Mastiff

The Mastiff, also called the English Mastiff, is a large breed of dog.^[1] They have a rectangular body, thick muscles and a massive head with a wrinkled forehead.^[1] They stand from 27.5 inches (70 cm) to 30 inches (76 cm) at the shoulder and typically weigh between 120 pounds (54 kg) and 230 pounds (100 kg).^[2] The Mastiff is one of the largest breeds of dogs^[3] who can outweigh many full-grown men.^[1] They can be gentle with family members but are also excellent guard dogs.^[4]

A Mastiff

History

The early Mastiff was called a molosser or molossus.^[5] Genetics and breeding dogs to get certain characteristics was unknown then. In 350 BC, Aristotle wrote that the ancestor of the Mastiff was the Molosser.^[5] These were the war dogs and guard dogs kept by the Molossoi people, an ancient Greek tribe.^[6] Today the two names are often used to mean the same group or family of dogs. For example, the modern St. Bernard is sometimes described as a mastiff and sometimes as a molosser type.^[4]

Mastiff or Molosser breeds

While the Mastiff is a recognized breed, there are also a number of working dog varieties that are closely related to the Mastiff.^[7] Many prefer to class them as molosser breeds so as not to confuse them with the Mastiff dog breed.^[8] Currently there are about 14 different breeds in the molosser/mastiff family of dogs that are bred from or have a common ancestor with the Mastiff.^[7] These include the:

• Argentinian Mastiff^[8]
• Fila Brasileiro^[8]
• Bullmastiff^[8]
• Dogue de Bordeaux^[8]
• German Mastiff^[8]
• Cane Corso^[8]
• Neapolitan Mastiff^[8]
• Pyrenean Mastiff^[8]
• Spanish Mastiff^[8]
• Tibetan Mastiff^[8]

There are also a large number of dog breeds not called molossers or mastiffs, but are related to them.^[9] Some of these include the:

• American Bulldog^[9]
• Boxer^[9]
• Bulldog^[9]
• Great Dane^[9]
• Newfoundland^[9]
• Rottweiler^[9]
• St. Bernard^[9]

The list includes many more.^[9]

Training and temperament

When training a Mastiff, it is important to recognize they have a certain personality type that needs additional time and patience to learn things.^[10] A Mastiff is a very relaxed dog and takes his or her time in doing a task. Owners call this the "Mastiff tempo".^[10] A Mastiff can't be trained the same as a Border Collie.^[10] In temperament, a modern Mastiff is a patient, sweet-tempered family guardian and companion. Gentle training works best.^[1] It is important to start that training early in puppyhood.^[1] They are a dog of tremendous size and strength and owning a Mastiff is a large responsibility.

Mastiffs are very predictable when they are facing a threat to their family.^[11] If an owner and another person act in a threatening way, the Mastiff will usually get between them to protect its owner.^[11] This is hard for the other person to miss and usually results in a cooling down of a heated discussion. But, if the situation does get worse, the Mastiff will usually growl or snarl at the other person as a warning.^[11]

Early socialization is important so the Mastiff knows who belongs in the house and who does not. For example, if a Mastiff puppy sees strangers coming and going all the time, they tend to see this as normal and might not recognize an intruder if they see one.^[11] However, a properly trained and socialized Mastiff will usually corner a burglar or intruder.^[11] Unless the intruder does something foolish, like try to hurt the dog, he or she will probably not be hurt.^[11]