[EleGirl]

A border collie (that's what, 60 lbs?) vs a Mastiff that's probably over 100 lbs and looks completely different? She's not seeing a dog, she's seeing a beast. Mastiffs are the sweetest dogs but they do look scary, especially if you're a very small person. She is not pretending to be scared for attention, she is scared because that is a HUGE dog. She may warm up over time, but we have family friends that have labs whose kids are afraid of my dog and the size difference is about 60 lbs.

It's more than that... the OP says the dog is 260 pound English mastiff

That's bigger than most people, and it has big teeth, and very strong jaw.

I've had large dogs that were big babies.... Newfoundlander, and a Mongolian Mastiff / German Shepard mix.

But I can see why a small child would be afraid of the 260lb very powerful dog.

 

[EleGirl]

This sounds more like a bear than a dog, according to OP.

Just a sweet little guy..

🤣 😂

 

[EleGirl]

I had on of those dogs... well he was half German Shepard and half Mongolian Mastiff. He was huge. And he was the biggest baby ever. Thought he was a lap dog.
🤣

 

[EleGirl]

My border collie can also knock her to the ground as well, The border collie and the mastiff both have the potential but she wasn’t even scared to meet collie

Could you post a picture of this English mastiff?

 

[EleGirl]

But it just doesn’t make sense, our border collie is bigger than her, and she isn’t hesitant whatsoever, even when they first met.

Border collies are tiny compared to an English Mastiff. I've had border collies; they are smaller and delicate in comparison. Plus, they have smaller, pretty faces. Their mouths are tiny compared to an English Mastiff.

Your need to respect your 4yr old daughter's concern about a dog that is many times larger than she is. You, as her father, need to support her when she has a natural reaction to danger. If you teach her to ignore the red flags that go up for her around this huge dog, you are teaching her to ignore danger... such as men who are a danger to her. Women have very good intuition; we can often pick up vibes from people and dogs that are a danger to us, and we need to respect that intuition.