The German Shepherd Tibetan Mastiff Mix

Breed Info

German Shepherd mixed breeds are increasingly popular all over the world. If you are interested in the German Shepherd Tibetan Mastiff mix, this article will break down their personality and care requirements so you can better decide if this crossbreed is right for you.

About the German Shepherd Breed

German Shepherds are definitely a well-known popular dog breed all across the world, usually ranking 2^nd or 3^rd in popularity in the United States.

The German Shepherd Dog is a herding breed known for their work ethic, intelligence and wonderful instincts combined with their loving, loyal and fun personality.

German Shepherds are popular working dogs all around the globe excelling in the military, the police force, and as guard dogs. The great thing about the GSD breed is that they also make great family dogs who form a strong bond with their favorite people.

About the Tibetan Mastiff Breed

The Tibetan Mastiff is one of the oldest dog breeds around. The breed ranks 131 out of 197 dog breeds recognized by the AKC in the United States for popularity, which is not as popular as the German Shepherd.

Tibetan Mastiffs are a working dog breed known for their calm, courageous personality and being an excellent guard dog. Originally, Tibetan Mastiffs were used to protect cattle from large predators like wolves and bears.

As a large dog usually weighing more than 100 pounds, it is easy to see why the Tibetan Mastiff would serve as an intimidating force of protection for livestock, and in more modern times, for their families.

Although they are fierce at warding off threats, they are also huge softies around the people they know and trust, making them excellent family companions.

Why Cross a German Shepherd with a Tibetan Mastiff?

There are many reasons someone may want to mix a Tibetan Mastiff with a German Shepherd.

Since German Shepherds are so versatile, they are often used as guard dogs, but German Shepherds are known for being high drive, high energy dogs that can be too much for some people.

However, Tibetan Mastiff’s have a more imposing presence with a calmer personality.

Thus, a cross between the two breeds would likely result in the perfect dog for protection, with a calm personality, that is eager to please and spend time with their humans.

General Characteristics of a German Shepherd Tibetan Mastiff Mix

Although they are both larger dogs, the German Shepherd and Tibetan Mastiff have many differences.

If you are thinking about getting a Tibetan Mastiff GSD mix here are some characteristics and features you might expect for your pup:

Size

Tibetan Mastiffs are definitely larger than German Shepherds. Tibetan Mastiffs are more muscular and powerful adding to their mass.

Here is how these breeds compare with their height and weight:

Breed	Height (in.)		Weight (lbs.)
	Male	Female	Male	Female
German Shepherd Dog	24 – 26	22 – 24	65 – 90	50 - 70
Tibetan Mastiff	26 – 30	24 – 28	90 – 150	70 - 120

Therefore, it can be assumed that the offspring of a German Shepherd and Tibetan Mastiff could grow up to be up to 30 inches tall likely weighing between 90 and 130 pounds.

Coat

Both the Tibetan Mastiff and the German Shepherd are double-coated breeds who shed year-round and blow their coats twice a year.

Although it is no secret that German Shepherds are heavy shedders during shedding season, the Tibetan Mastiff has them beat!

Since the Tibetan Mastiff has a heavier coat of wooly fluffy slightly longer hair than the GSD, shedding season will be more fur filled.

Accordingly, a mix between these breeds will also result in a breed that sheds significantly every spring and fall when they blow their coat.

As far as coat coloring, German Shepherds come many color varieties such as black and tan, liver, sable, blue, and all black.

Tibetan Mastiff’s also have many color variations including all black, black and tan, brown, gold, and sable.

Since there are many color options for both breeds, the coloring of a mix will depend mostly on which parent the pup takes after.

Grooming

The grooming needs of both of these breeds are similar, thus the grooming needs of a GSD Tibetan Mastiff mix would be the same as well.

Outside of shedding season, your dog should be brushed once weekly. However, doing the shedding season you will need to brush them two or three times weekly (and vacuum your home or apartment regularly as well).

Unless they get unexpectantly dirty, you can expect to bathe your mutt about every 6 -8 weeks. Nail trimming and teeth cleaning requirements are the same as with any dog.

If your pup takes after their Tibetan Mastiff parent and has floppy ears as opposed to the erect ears of the German Shepherd, you need to make sure to keep their ears dry and cleaned more often as floppy-eared dogs can be more prone to ear infections.

Strength

There is no doubt that a German Shepherd Tibetan Mastiff mix will be an incredibly strong dog because of their muscle mass and size. They will also have an incredibly strong bite force.

Although German Shepherds have an impressive bite force at 238psi, the Tibetan Mastiff’ is more than double their bite force ranging from 500psi to 556psi.

Although it is hard to pinpoint exactly, a mix between these breeds will create a dog with an incredibly powerful bite force being at least 350psi in most cases.

Speed

German Shepherds can run at top speeds of up to 30 miles per hour, whereas the Tibetan Mastiff is a little slower because of its size at top speeds of 20 miles per hour.

Thus, a cross between these breeds would likely yield a mix that runs at a top speed of around 25 miles per hour.

Exercise Requirement

German Shepherds are very high energy and thus need more exercise to keep them from destroying things and getting bored. German Shepherds need on average a minimum of an hour of physical activity each day.

Tibetan Mastiff’s have a calmer personality, so they have a slightly lesser exercise need than that of the GSD at around 30 – 40 minutes of physical exercise daily.

Thus, the Tibetan Mastiff German Shepherd mix should need on average around 45 minutes a day.

However, keep in mind that this can vary between individual dogs. A mix that takes more after their GSD parent and has more energy will require more exercise daily as well as more mental stimulation.

Trainability

The trainability of this mix will greatly depend on whether they take more after their GSD parent or the TM parent.

The German Shepherd Dog is a breed that is very easy to train and ranked as 3^rd most intelligent dog breed. They will learn new commands in less than 5 attempts and maintain obedience to that new command 95% of the time.

The Tibetan Mastiff is also very intelligent, but slightly stubborn as well. Thus, sometimes they prefer to do what they want to do opposed to what you are asking them to do, making them more difficult to train.

A mix between these breeds will likely create a dog that although intelligent could be a little more difficult to train especially if the dog takes more after their Tibetan Mastiff parent.

They will need a strong leader and positive reinforcement training for the best results.

Temperament

The German Shepherd Tibetan Mastiff mix will be a confident, intelligent, protective dog that enjoys spending time with their family. They will be eager to please their humans, but also have their own ideas sometimes as to what they think is right.

Although this mix will be a great family companion, they will be leery of strangers from outside their circle. They can be good with kids, but because of their size they should be monitored around babies and toddlers and taught to be gentle.

This mix will also be good around other pets if properly socialized from an early age.

Health

Since the Tibetan Mastiff GSD mix is a larger dog breed, they will be more prone to elbow and hip dysplasia.

Other issues this cross bread could face are hypothyroidism, eye anomalies, ear infections, bloat, pancreatitis, and other digestive-related issues.

Lifespan

The Tibetan Mastiff has a lifespan of between 10 – 12 years, whereas the German Shepherd has a lifespan of between 12 – 14 years.

The Tibetan Mastiff German Shepherd mix will have a lifespan that is an average of the two breeds usually being around 12 years.

Other factors that will determine the lifespan of your mix will be the type of lifestyle they live.

Doing things like making sure they get regular exercise, feed them a quality diet, and keep them going to the vet regularly will greatly increase the chances of your pup living a long healthy life.

AKC Recognition

The AKC is a registry of purebred dogs, thus the German Shepherd Tibetan Mastiff mix is not recognized by the AKC.

The AKC does have a program called Canine Partners that allows mixed breeds to participate in some AKC-run events, so the GSD Tibetan Mastiff mix would be allowed to register for those specific canine sporting events.

How Popular is the German Shepherd Tibetan Mastiff Mix

The German Shepherd Tibetan Mastiff mix is not as popular as some other mixed breeds, thus is can be harder to find a breeder who specializes in this particular mix.

Usually, this mix comes about as a result of accidental mating and can more commonly be found as available for adoption at local animal shelters.

Breeders who do specialize in this mix are likely trying to create the ultimate guard dog qualities found in the Tibetan Mastiff while maintaining the fun, eager to please personality of German Shepherds.

Final Thoughts

The German Shepherd Tibetan Mastiff mix is a very large dog that is intelligent, loving, and protective over their family. They will require a strong leader as they can be stubborn, but with socialization and training can be excellent family companions.

If you aren’t sure that the German Shepherd Tibetan Mastiff mix is the right mixed breed for your check out the German Shepherd Coonhound mix and the German Shepherd Bloodhound mix as alternatives.