Guardman's Bullmastiffs

Seven generations of AKC bullmastiffs loved and produced by Dr Larry P. Occhipinti, DVM and family since 1990, are Guardman's Bullmastiffs.

We are members of the ABA (American Bullmastiff Association), BONC (Bullmastiffs Of Northern California), and the CNBC ( Cascade Northwest Bullmastiff Club).
 
Dr.Larry serves as CNBC Committee Chair for Health and Behavior,  having previously served as club President from 2007-2009, regularly writing and sharing articles about bullmastiffs for the CNBC, BONC, and the ABA. He is also a member of the Gordon Setter Club of America, and serves on their Health and Genetics Committee, and is also a member of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club, USA.

Dr. Larry is also a member of both the AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Assoc), and the OVMA (Oregon Veterinary Medical Assoc), and is a practicing veterinarian and small animal veterinary hospital owner in Tidewater, Oregon.
 
With wife Linda and daughter Cindy we provide Tidewater, Oregon and surrounding residents in Alsea, Waldport, and Yachats, with full small animal veterinary services, including general medicine, dentistry, and surgery; as well as canine breeder services, such as OFA xray screening, ovulation timing, artificial insemination, pregnancy screening, and cesarian section surgical care.

Dr. Larry has also worked providing veterinary medical and surgical relief services for veterinarians, clients and pets in Newport, Oregon.

When not helping clients and pets, the Occhipintis keep busy tending to our bullmastiffs, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Gordon Setter, Siamese cats, mini-donkeys, assorted birds, fish, and reptiles; while trying to sqeeze in time for a little fishing, hiking, friends, family, church,  bullmastiff club activities, training and showing our bullmastiffs, and maintaining our properties on the Alsea River. and the Oregon coast.


Mission Statement for Guardman's Bullmastiffs:   "Stable, Sound, and Stunning Bullmastiffs"

We produce a litter every one to three years on the average...born and family raised in our home. Our last litter of bullmastiffs was whelped in our living room in April, 2007.
 
We feel it is very important to raise our bullmastiffs in our home, and allow them to completely mature before making any future show and breeding decisions.

By being patient, we feel much better equipped to properly evaluate them as concerns ease of training, performance at the dog shows, stability around people and animals, and their health screens for OFA health certifications at the appropriate ages.

Not every show winning bullmastiff should be bred....obtaining a conformation championship title is only a small part of the whole dog.

It takes us a good deal of time to make the best decisions regarding which of our dogs will be used for breeding, because it takes time to evaluate the whole dog, and not just success at obtaining titles of one sort or another. Many bullmastiffs obtain championsip titles before the age of 12 months, and then go on to develop health problems at maturity due to overgrowing beyond the breed standard parameters for height and weight. During that window when they were in standard, if taken to enough shows and professionally handled, many dogs can obtain a title in as little as a one to two month period in time. This is why we stress being patient, and not being in a hurry to obtain a title. I always get suspicious when titles are obtained rapidly with immature bullmastiffs as concerns the appearance and health of that same animal at age 3 or 4 years. I'd rather see a dog that slowly matures, and earns his title at maturity, then one which zooms in and becomes a Champion in 5 shows at the age of 1 year or less. Remember, judges only can chose the dog they feel is best on that day, and aren't concerned about whether that same animal will in the near future become grossly overstandard in size or weight at maturity. Many breeders ignore the parameters provided in our breed standard, and produce bullmastiffs that wind up considerably over 27" and 150+ pounds, obtain titles at young ages before these sizes are reached, then advertize the overstandard sizes as a prize winning virtue of their winning dogs at maturity. It pays to do your homework and determine why it's wise for this breed to remain within the parameters for height and weight provided for in the written breed standard, and which breeders consistently aim and produce dogs within those parameters.
  
We use a careful approach when evaluating bullmastiffs owned by other reputable fanciers when making decisions about adding other bullmastiffs to our breeding program...we look at the whole dog at maturity, not focusing on titles or physical appearance alone. Soundness, temperament, health, and longevity are equally important in our program.

Our goal is to constantly improve the physical traits of our dogs from generation to generation, while also producing stable, sound, and stunning bullmastiffs we are proud to share our home with, to share with others, and which remain true to the detailed descriptions provided to us in our written breed standard, and which live a healthy and long life.
 
We are sticklers for selecting only our very best and most sound and healthy show quality bullmastiffs to breed with others of similar type, temperament, soundness, and health.
 
The bullmastiff community of dedicated fanciers is a tight knit and devoted group, and we have been proud members of this community for 22 years and counting now.

We sincerely thank all our fellow fancier friends and cohorts for working with us to help improve both our and their bullmastiffs over the last 7 generations, and for all those great forever homes who have loved and are enjoying Guardman's bullmastiffs as much as we do!

THANK YOU.... one and all.

We couldn't do it without you!!