Type the name of the breed you're looking for below
[wpdreams_ajaxsearchlite] Don't see the breed your're looking for? Click here and let us know!
Breed Characteristics
1 paw - breed exhibits the least amount of this characteristic
5 paws - breed exhibits most amount of this characteristic
[fbcomments]
Mastiff
| Other Names | English Mastiff, Old English Mastiff |
| Country of Origin | Great Britain |
| Weight | Males: 160 lbs. (72 kg) Approximately Females: 150 lbs. (68 kg) Approximately One of the heaviest breeds, a male Mastiff can exceed 200 lbs. (90.7 kg) |
| Height (at withers) | Males: 30 in. (76 cm) minimum Females: 27.5 in. (70 cm) minimum |
| Coat | The outer coat of the Mastiff is course and straight and of a moderately short length. The undercoat is dense, short, and close-lying. The coat should not be long enough to create any fringe on the belly, tail, or legs. A long or wavy coat is considered to be a fault. |
| Colour | The acceptable colours of Mastiff are fawn, apricot, or brindle. Brindle coloured Mastiffs should have fawn or apricot as a background colour and should be completely covered in very dark stripes. The muzzle, ears, and nose should be very dark in colour, the blacker the better. A similarly dark colour should be around the eye orbits and extend between them. A white patch on the chest is permitted |
| Litter Size | 2 - 5 puppies |
| Life Span | 9 - 12 years |
| Origin & History | Before the 19th century; The large dogs depicted in figurines and in bas-reliefs from the sixth century BC in Assyria during the reign of King Ashurbanipal may have some part in the ancestry of modern Mastiffs, but without genetic evidence or a clear historical link, this is speculative. There is a similar figurine from the same region during the Kassite period almost a thousand years earlier. These dogs may be related to the dogs that fought lions, tigers, bears, and gladiators in Roman arenas. It is less contentious that the Alaunt is likely a genetic predecessor to the English Mastiff Introduced by the Normans. These dogs were developed by the Alans, who had migrated into France (then known as Gaul) due to pressure by the Huns at the start of the fifth century. Intriguingly they were known from the Romans to live in a region (the Pontic-Caspian Steppe) about 700 km to the north of the region where the Assyrians once lived. Again, any canine connections are speculative. Likely a main progenitor of the Mastiff were the Canes Pugnaces Britanniae, or Pugnaces Britanniae for short (Latin meaning "combative (one) of Britannia"), which was the name given by the Romans to the original war-dog of the Britons. (However, the often repeated claim that there was a Roman official, Procurator Cynegii, especially responsible for purchasing dogs in Britain to be used in the amphitheatre, is due to a misinterpretation). The origin of the term "Mastiff" is unclear. Many claim that it evolved from the Anglo-Saxon word "masty", meaning "powerful". Other sources, such as the Oxford English Dictionary, say the word originated from the Old French word mastin (Modern French mâtin), the word being itself derived from Vulgar Latin *ma(n)suetinus "tame", see Classical Latin mansuetus with same meaning. The first list of dog breed names in the English language, contained within The Book of Saint Albans, published in 1465, includes "Mastiff ". This work is attributed to Prioress Juliana Berners, but in part may be translated from the early 14th century Norman-French work Le Art de Venerie, by Edward II's Huntmaster Guillaume Twici. In 1570, Conrad Heresbach, in Rei Rusticae Libri Quatuor, referred to "the Mastie that keepeth the house". Heresbach was writing in Latin; his work was translated a few years later into English by Barnabe Googe as Foure Bookes of Husbandrie. This work is adapted from De Re Rustica by 1st century Roman writer Columella, which highlights the Roman connection, but it has been speculated the Mastiff is descended from dogs brought to Britain by the Phoenicians in the 6th century BC. From Roman to Medieval times, these dogs were used in the blood sports of bear-baiting, bull-baiting, dog fighting, and lion-baiting. Dogs known as Bandogs, who were tied (bound) close to houses, were of Mastiff type. They were described by John Caius in 1570 as vast, huge, stubborn, ugly, and eager, of a heavy and burdensome body. When in 1415 Sir Peers Legh was wounded in the Battle of Agincourt, his Mastiff stood over and protected him for many hours through the battle. The Mastiff was later returned to Legh's home and was the foundation of the Lyme Hall Mastiffs. Five centuries later this pedigree figured prominently in founding the modern breed. Other aristocratic seats where Mastiffs are known to have been kept are Elvaston Castle (Charles Stanhope, 4th Earl of Harrington and his ancestors) and Chatsworth House. The owner of the Chatsworth Mastiffs (which were said to be of Alpine Mastiff stock) was William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire, known to his family as Canis. Mastiffs were also kept at Hadzor Hall, owned by members of the Galton family, famous for industrialists and scientists, including Charles Darwin. Some evidence exists that the Mastiff first came to America on the Mayflower, but the breed's documented entry to America did not occur until the late 19th century. 19th century to the First World War; In 1835, the Parliament of the United Kingdom implemented an Act called the Cruelty to Animals Act 1835, which prohibited the baiting of animals. This may have led to decline in Mastiffs used for this purpose, but Mastiffs continued to be used as guards for country estates and town businesses. Organised breeding began in the 19th century, when J.W. (John Wigglesworth) Thompson sought out a bitch, Dorah, from John Crabtree, the head gamekeeper of Kirklees Hall, whose dogs were often held in the name of his employer, Sir George Armitage. Dorah was descended in part from animals owned by Thompson's grandfather, Commissioner Thompson, at the beginning of the century, as well as a Mastiff of the Bold Hall line, recorded from 1705, a bitch purchased from canal boat men, another caught by Crabtree in a fox trap, a dog from Nostal Priory and another dog from Walton Hall, owned by Charles Waterton, the naturalist. J. W. Thompson's first stud dog Hector came from crossing a bitch, Juno, bought from animal dealer Bill George, to a dog, Tiger, owned by a Captain Fenton. Neither of these had any pedigree, as was normal for the period. Between 1830 and 1850 he bred the descendants of these dogs and some others to produce a line with the short, broad head and massive build he favoured. In 1835, T.V.H. Lukey started his operations by breeding an Alpine Mastiff bitch of the Chatsworth line, Old Bob-Tailed Countess (bought from dog dealer Bill White), to Pluto, a large black Mastiff of unknown origin belonging to the Marquis of Hertford. The result was a bitch called Yarrow, who was mated to Couchez, another Alpine Mastiff belonging (at the time) to White and later mated to a brindle dog also in White's possession. Lukey produced animals that were taller but less massive than Thompson's. After 1850, Thompson and Lukey collaborated, and the modern Mastiff was created, though animals without pedigree or of dubious pedigree continued to be bred from into the 20th century. Another important contribution to the breed was made by a dog called Lion, owned by Captain (later Colonel) John Garnier of The Royal Engineers. He bought two Mastiffs from the previously mentioned dealer Bill George. The bitch, Eve, bought by George at Leadenhall Market, was old enough to be gray-muzzled, but of good type; the dog, Adam, was of reputed Lyme Hall origin, but bought at Tattersalls and suspected by Garnier of containing a "dash of Boarhound", an ancestral form of Great Dane. Garnier took them with him when he was assigned to Canada and brought back their puppy, Lion. He was bred to Lukey's Countess to produce Governor, the source of all existing Mastiff lines. (Lion was also mated to Lufra, a Scottish Deerhound, and their puppy Marquis appears in the pedigrees of both Deerhounds and Irish Wolfhounds.) In the 1880s soundness was sacrificed for type (widely attributed to the short-headed, massive, but straight-stifled and chocolate-masked Ch. Crown Prince). This dog numerically dominated all of his contemporaries in terms of offspring. Subsequently, the Mastiff lost popularity but gained a consistency of type, with leaner, longer-headed specimens becoming relatively less common. Prominent among the breeders of this era were Edgar Hanbury and his relation, the politician and philanthropist Mark Hanbury Beaufoy, later Chairmen of The Kennel Club, who reaching his peak as a breeder with the Crown Prince grandson, Ch. Beaufort, eventually exported to America. Despite such imports, Mastiff numbers in the USA declined steadily through the 1890s and the early 20th century. From 1906 to 1918, only 24 Mastiffs were registered in the United States. After 1910, none of these were bred in America. By the time the First World War ended, other than for a few imports, the breed was extinct outside of Great Britain. After the First World War; In 1918, a dog called Beowulf, bred in Canada from British imports Priam of Wingfied and Parkgate Duchess, was registered by the American Kennel Club, starting a slow re-establishment of the breed in North America. Priam and Duchess, along with fellow imports Ch Weland, Thor of the Isles, Caractacus of Hellingly and Brutus of Saxondale, ultimately contributed a total of only two descendants who would produce further offspring: Buster of Saxondale and Buddy. There were, however, a number of other imports in the period between the wars and in the early days of the Second World War Those whose descendants still survive were 12 in number, meaning the North American contribution to the gene pool after 1945 consisted of 14 Mastiffs. In the British Isles, virtually all breeding stopped due to the rationing of meat. After the war, such puppies as were produced mostly succumbed to canine distemper, for which no vaccine was developed until 1950. Only a single bitch puppy produced by the elderly stock that survived the war reached maturity, Nydia of Frithend, and her sire had to be declared a Mastiff by the Kennel Club, as his parentage was unknown, and he was thought by some to be a Bullmastiff. After the war, animals from North America (prominently from Canada) were imported. Therefore all Mastiffs in the late 1950s were descended from Nydia and the 14 Mastiffs previously mentioned. It has been alleged that the Mastiff was bred with other more numerous giant breeds such as Bullmastiffs and St. Bernards, as these were considered close relatives to the Mastiff. In 1959, a Dogue de Bordeaux, Fidelle de Fenelon, was imported from France to the USA, registered as a Mastiff, and entered the gene pool. Since that time, the breed has gradually been restored in Britain, has reached 28th most popular breed in the USA, and is now found worldwide. |
| Personality | The Mastiff is a very massive, powerful, muscular dog. Dominance levels vary, even within the same litter, but it is often called a gentle giant. A born guard dog, the Mastiff rarely barks, but it is in its nature to defend its territory and family, and is more a silent guard rather than a barker. When an intruder is caught the dog is more likely to hold them at bay, either by trapping them in a corner or lying on top of them rather than an all-out attack. You do not need to train your Mastiff to guard. No matter how friendly it is, if it senses danger it will naturally guard on its own unless the owners are there to tell it otherwise. Self-confident and watchful, these dogs are patient and considered excellent with children. Intelligent, calm, even-tempered and docile, this breed is very large and heavy. They respond well to firm, but gentle, patient training. They love to please and need a lot of human leadership. Socialize them well to prevent them from becoming aloof with strangers. Owners need to be firm, calm, consistent, confident with an air of natural authority to communicate to the Mastiff that dominance is unwanted. If socialized with proper leadership it will get along well with other dogs. The Mastiff tends to drool, wheeze and snore loudly. It can be somewhat difficult to train. The objective in training this dog is to achieve pack leader status. It is a natural instinct for a dog to have an order in its pack. When we humans live with dogs, we become their pack. The entire pack cooperates under a single leader. Lines are clearly defined and rules are set. Because a dog communicates his displeasure with growling and eventually biting, all other humans MUST be higher up in the order than the dog. The humans must be the ones making the decisions, not the dogs. That is the only way your relationship with your dog can be a complete success. |
Care Requirements
| Health | Hip dysplasia: Ball and joint problem of the hip that causes arthritic like symptoms. Gastric torsion: Caused by exercising after excessive ingestion of food and water. Surgery is necessary. It can be helpful to feed the dog two or three smaller meals throughout the day rather than once a day. This can help prevent the Bloat or Gastric torsion. Obesity: Prone to weight gain. Osteosarcoma: Malignant bone cancer most commonly found in the knee. |
| Grooming | The smooth, short-haired coat is easy to groom. Brush with a firm bristle brush and wipe over with a piece of toweling or chamois for a gleaming finish. Bathe or dry shampoo when necessary. This breed is an average shedder. |
| Exercise | Mastiffs are inclined to be lazy but they will keep fitter and happier if given regular exercise. Like all dogs, the American Mastiff should be taken on daily regular walks to help release its mental and physical energy. It's in a dog’s nature to walk. While out on the walk the dog must be made to heel beside or behind the person holding the lead, as in a dog's mind the leader leads the way, and that leader needs to be the human. They should always be leashed in public. |
| Other Considerations | The Mastiff will do okay in an apartment if it is sufficiently exercised. They are relatively inactive indoors and a small yard will do. Famous Mastiffs: "Crown Prince", progenitor of the modern breed, owned by psychiatrist L. Forbes Winslow "Cash", owned by Trevor Dwyer-Lynch ("Patrick" from Coronation Street), also appeared in one episode of the show "Hercules" (a.k.a. "the Beast"), from the film The Sandlot (played by Ch. Mtn. Oaks Gunner) "Goliath" (a.k.a. "the Great Fear"), from the film The Sandlot 2 "Carlo" from "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches", a Sherlock Holmes story "Kazak", owned by Winston Niles Rumfoord, a wealthy space traveler in Kurt Vonnegut's novel The Sirens of Titan An English Mastiff also named "Kazak" appears in the fourth-season episode Un Chien Tangerine of Archer. "Moss" and "Jaguar", of the Japanese series Ginga: Nagareboshi Gin and its sequel Ginga Densetsu Weed "Mason The Mastiff", in the 2007 film Transformers "Leo", owned by Richard Ansdell, R.A., and the model for his painting "The Poacher", aka "The Poacher At Bay" "Rocky" (Ch Sterling's Against All Odds) appeared in the "Leech Trapper" episode of the TV series Dirty Jobs "Lady Marton", owned by Victorian industrialist Henry Bolckow, and claimed by some to have been a St. Bernard "Chupadogra" A.K.A. "Buster" is an elderly English Mastiff, voiced by Sam Elliott from in the 2010 film, Marmaduke. "Lenny" is a brindled English Mastiff from the 2009 movie, Hotel for Dogs "Captain Pickles" in "She's Out Of My League" "Spike" from a Mc Donalds commercial. "Ch. Semper Fi Groppetti Gargoyle" Best of Breed 2 years in a row at the Westminster Kennel Club Show at the Madison Square Garden show in New York City. He also took a Group 4 there making him the only mastiff ever to win a group placement there that was owner handled. |
