BettyR:  I can see the mastiff in your dogs.  It also looks like you take good care of them.  Good job.

What we have been hearing is that the start of the AM is very similar to these "Designer Breeders".  The original intent was to cross 2 different breeds to collect on a niche market.  It doesn't appear to me a noble endeavor like Bull Mastiffs where the breed was designed to save human lives.  It doesn't appear to be as noble as even the Australian Cattle Dog which was needed to help herd the cows.  It appears like the beginning was similar to a puppy mill trying to make a buck.  I am not against capitalism or trying to earn some money, however, I am against doing it irresponsibly.  Anatoly’s are not known for the best of temperaments.  You couple this with the size and power of the mastiffs and you can have problems. 

I don't think the people on this board consider you or your dogs the problem but rather the ridiculous claims from the AM breeders.  We have been on their web pages and seen "they drool less", "they are healthier", "No hip dysphasia", etc etc etc etc etc etc.  These are PR claims to sell dogs and they were focused at the EM Breed.  These people are saying what it takes to sell a dog (at extremely high prices) whether true or not.  There are exceptions to the rule but most of the people that got into the AM did so because of the claims from these breeders or planed on breeding themselves because of the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

Your AM's are probably great dogs.  They have to be they have a lot of their blood lines from the mastiffs.  Mastiffs are great dogs with great temperament.  They are loving and somewhat protective of their owners/property.  It's probably the mastiff in your AM that you like and admire.  The question is whether the Anatoly improved anything or made things worse.  Since the original breeding stock appeared to come from an auction, it is highly doubtful that they had the best intentions to improve anything but merely was looking for a market and used the unfounded claims to do so.

We are just trying to show the public that AM's are not bad dogs but rather shed the light on the matter and bebunk the claims and sales pitch.  In our eyes these designer dogs (including the AM) are nothing but a cross breeding system to make money.   Just because some good intentioned people like yourself, who got involved with the AM, don’t change the facts or the history or the original intent.  There is probably some good intentioned honest people that will get involved with these newest designer breeds mentioned on the other threads also but it don’t change the FACT that they are nothing but a cross breed equivalent to a mongrel and people are getting duped.  You obviously don’t agree with the new designer breeds according to your post but the EM community doesn’t see any difference between these designer breeds and the AM.

As I understand it, these designer dogs are going for thousands of dollars per dog.  Please use some common sense here and understand the motive behind these breeders.  It’s good ol American Capitalism at its worst.