Spanish mastiff – Wikipedia

Spanish mastiff
FCI classification – n. (91)
Group	2 Pinscher and schnauzer dogs, Molossoids and Swiss Bovar dogs
Section	2 Molossoids
Standard n.	(91) of 26 May 2005
Original name	Spanish Mastion
Origin	Spain
Canine breeds

The Spanish mastiff It is a breed of Molossoid dog like mountain dog, among the largest and most impressive: its size has as a minimum limit for males 77 cm and for females 72 cm; But you want these measures to be widely overcome, preferring that males exceed 80 cm and females 75 cm ^[first] . It has always been employed in shepherds as a guardian of the flocks against wolves ^[2] .

Perhaps introduced in the Iberian peninsula by the Phoenician merchants, perhaps to come to the wake of brothers’s flocks, however cited by Virgil in the Georgics (… the vigorous Iberian Molosso …) is traditionally linked to the world of pastoralism.
In 1273 the breeders of Castile, León and Extremadura founded the Honrado Concejo de la Mesta Y Pastos de Castilla, in order to regulate the sheep breeding. In the official documents of the Concejo, among other things, the rules for the possession of the dogs accompanying the flock, proposing an optimal ratio of 5 mastiffs per 1000 sheep (with an average, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, of a population of 2500000 sheep in the territories of Castilla, we can calculate that about 12000 mastiffs carried out their task as guardians ^[2] ), but also what their treatment must be, how much dogs must eat (the same amount of food of the shepherds are reserved for them), and penalties for abuse are expected.

Although it was a breed deeply linked to the agricultural-pastoral world, the mastiff has always been loved also by large landowners and nobles, to the point that it was sometimes admitted to the royal court, as evidenced by the work “Las Meninas” of Diego Velázquez, which portrays the Infanta Margarita and its ladies in the company of the big dog. There are testimonies of the presence of Spanish mastiffs also next to the conquistadores of the new world: Diego de Salazar had “Becerrillo” next to it, and the puppy of this, “Leoncillo”, accompanied Nùñez de Balboa. Such dogs, suitably protected through light armor, come used as war dogs against the Indians. Sometimes we read the alleged existence of two types of mastiff, the “Mastin Ligero”, of more streamlined and dry build, used for hunting, and the “Mastìn Pesado”, the heavy type we know as custodian of the flock, but the major experts deny these statements.

The breed enters the official dogy after the 2nd world conflict, the first standard of race was drawn up in 1949. The need to accompany the transhumances, in recent decades the number of Spanish mastiffs has been reduced, but continues to be present Next to the shepherds. Even in the most prestigious “Expo” breeding lines, blood of rustic subjects is periodically reintroduced.

The massive corporate, the lassa skin, the abundant jogaia, the pending ears, and the quiet gaze, together with the calm Indole, transmit to those who do not know the breed a feeling of lazy and indolent dog and with poor attitudes to the action. At the time of need, however, the strength of the mastiff is explosively proved to be explosive, with shots that amaze the neophyte for unsuspected speed and agility. The selection made by the work of custodian of transhumant flocks in the endless territories of Castilla, where the 30 km daily movements were the norm, also provided him with a remarkable basic resistance in walking.

Typical of the great pastors-custodes, quiet, detached, independent and protective.
Unlike many giant breeds, characterized by a very low life expectancy, the Spanish mastiff quietly reaches 10-12 years of life.

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