English Mastiff Dog
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[ English Mastiffs, which are more often called
simply Mastiffs. ]The English Mastiff is a large breed of dog of the general mastiff type.
Appearance
This breed is powerfully built, with a massive body, broad skull and
head of generally square appearance.
The size should be very large, but it must be balanced by soundness. The
body is massive with great breadth, especially between the forelegs,
causing these to be set wide apart. While no height or weight is
specified for this breed, the approximate height is 25.5 to 30 inches
(70 to 76 cm) and weight 175 to 190 lb (79 to 86 kg).
The short coat is close-lying and the colour is apricot-fawn,
silver-fawn, fawn, or dark fawn-brindle, always with black on the
muzzle, ears, and nose and around the eyes.
Guinness Book of World Records recognizes a mastiff from England named
Zorba as the heaviest dog in the world, at over 343 lb (155 kg). Zorba
stood 37 inches at the shoulder and was 8 feet 3 inches from the tip of
his nose to the tip of his tail. Zorba set this record in November 1989,
when he was 8 years old.
Temperament
The Mastiff breed is a combination of grandeur, dignity, and courage;
calm and affectionate to its master, but capable of guarding. The breed
is innately good natured, calm, easygoing, and surprisingly gentle. It
is a well-mannered house pet but needs sufficient room to stretch out.
This is an extremely loyal breed and, though not excessively
demonstrative, it is devoted to its family and good with children.
However, it can be very protective of its owners and must be handled
sensibly, since it is exceptionally powerful and can be difficult to
control.
Health
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English MastiffThis is a particularly large dog demanding suitably
correct diet and exercise. The expected lifespan is 9 to 11 years.
Major issues include CHD and gastric torsion. Minor problems include
elbow dysplasia, obesity, osteosarcoma, and cystinuria. Problems only
occasionally found include cardiomyopathy, allergies, vaginal
hyperplasia, cruciate ligament rupture, hypothyroidism, OCD, entropion,
PRA, and PPM.
When purchasing a purebred Mastiff, experts often suggest that the dog
undergo tests for hips, elbow, eyes, thyroid, and DNA for Progressive
retinal atrophy.
History
The Mastiff name probably evolved from the Anglo-Saxon word "masty",
meaning "powerful". The Mastiff is descended from the ancient Alaunt and
Molosser and is recognized at the oldest British breed. The Mastiff
might have been brought to Britain in the 6th century BC. It was used in
the blood sports of bear-baiting, bull-baiting, dog fighting, and
lion-baiting. Throughout its long history, the Mastiff has contributed
to the development of a number of dog breeds.
When Sir Peers Legh was wounded in the Battle of Agincourt, his Mastiff
stood over and protected him for many hours through the battle. Although
Legh later died, the Mastiff 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.1
Some evidence exists that the Mastiff came to America on the Mayflower,
but the breed's documented entry to America did not occur until the late
1800s.
In 1835, Britain passed legislation making baiting illegal.
Subsequently, the Mastiff lost popularity and was virtually decimated in
England by the Second World War; however, sufficient numbers had been
brought to America by that time to keep the breed going. Since that
time, it has gradually risen in popularity.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "English Mastiff".
