Generally viewed as
the oldest British breed, the English Mastiff
probably arrived with the Phoenicians and other
Eastern traders over 2000 years ago.
Later English Mastiff
was exported to Rome where it gained popularity
as a war dog and a superb arena fighter, only to
find itself reintroduced to the British Isles by
the Romans, altough in an altered physical
state. It is then that the modern look of the
Mastiff started to take shape. Said to have
remained virtually unchanged up until the 20th
century, the English Mastiff nearly became
extinct during the World Wars. Whether English Mastiff
as a breed stayed the same up until that point is
debatable, because there are records of two very
different Mastiffs throughout those centuries; a
smaller, wider one and the larger, longer-bodied
type, as well as a few crosses of the two. Even
the Romans have separated these mastiff breeds, leading
many to believe that these were in fact the
predecesors of the old Bulldog and the old
Mastiff, linking these two breeds even closer
together, as well as proving that the modern
Bullmastiff was definetely not the first breed
of its type. Closely related to the French
Mastiff and the Neapolitan Mastiff, the English
Mastiff most certainly comes from the same
stock, influencing each other throughout
history. Used for baiting bulls, bears, lions
and other animals, the old Mastiff also made a
great watchdog and companion.
In the post-WW2 years,
a Mastiff salvation programme started. It has been
suggested that the modern incarnation of the
English Mastiff is a result of crossing the
leftover stock of dogs with the very breeds
descended from it, like the Bullmastiff and
other modern mastiffs, but this theory is not
very well accepted by many fanciers of English Mastiff. Whatever the truth is, the English
Mastiff has been successfuly revived and is a
popular breed once again. Nowhere near as
aggressive as in the past, this powerfull,
massive and sturdy dog - English Mastiff - is of imposing
appearance, well suited for a guardian, altough
comparatively more easy going and lethargic than
other modern protection dogs. A loyal and
devoted companion, English Mastiff makes a good family pet.
The short coat of English Mastiff is straight and coarse, most
commonly fawn, apricot, silver and brindle
coloured, always with a black mask. Average
height is around 30 inches.
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DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE
ORIGINAL VALID STANDARD :
24.06.1987.
 ORIGIN :
Great-Britain.
UTILIZATION : Watch and
security dog.
CLASSIFICATION F.C.I. :
group 2 Pinscher and Schnauzer-Molossoid
breeds-Swiss Mountain and Cattle Dogs and other
breeds.
Section 2.1 Molossoid breeds, Mastiff
type.
Without working trial.
GENERAL
APPEARANCE : Head, in general outline, giving a
square appearance when viewed from any point.
Breadth greatly desired; in ratio to length of
whole head and face as 2/3. Body massive, broad,
deep, long, powerfully built, on legs wide apart
and squarely set. Muscles sharply defined. Size
a great desideratum, if combined with quality.
Height and substance important if both points
are proportionately combined. Large, massive,
powerful, symmetrical, well-knit
frame.
BEHAVIOUR / TEMPERAMENT : A
combination of grandeur and courage. Calm,
affectionate to owners, but capable of
guarding.
HEAD
CRANIAL REGION
:
Skull : Skull broad between ears, forehead
flat, but wrinkled when attention is excited.
Brows (superciliary ridges) slightly raised.
Muscles of temples and cheeks (temporal and
masseter) well developed. Arch across skull of a
rounded, flattened curve, with depression up
centre of forehead from median line between
eyes, to halfway up saggital
suture.
FACIAL REGION :
Nose :
Nose broad, with widely spreading nostrils when
viewed from front, flat (not pointed or turned
up) in profile.
Muzzle : Face or muzzle
short, broad under eyes, and keeping nearly
parallel in width to end of nose; truncated,
i.e. blunt and cut off squarely, thus forming a
right-angle with upper line of face, of great
depth from point of nose to under jaw. Length of
muzzle to whole head and face as 1/3.
Circumference of muzzle (measured mid-way
between eyes and nose) to that of head (measured
before the ears) as 3/5.
Lips: Lips diverging
at obtuse angles with septum, and slightly
pendulous so as to show a square
profile.
Jaws/Teeth : Under jaw broad to end.
Canine teeth healthy; powerful and wide apart;
incisors level or lower projecting beyond upper
but never so much as to become visible when
mouth is closed.
Eyes : Small, wide apart,
divided by at least space of two eyes. Stop
between eyes well marked but not too abrupt.
Colour hazel brown, darker the better, showing
no haw.
Ears : Small, thin to touch, wide
apart, set on at highest points of sides of
skull, so as to continue outline across summit,
and lying flat and close to cheeks when in
repose.
NECK : Slightly arched,
moderately long, very muscular, and measuring in
circumference about one or two inches less than
skull before ears.
BODY :
Back and
loins : Back and loins wide and muscular; flat
and very wide in bitch, slightly arched in
dog.
Chest : Chest wide, deep and well let
down between forelegs. Ribs arched and well
rounded. False ribs deep and well set back to
hips. Girth one-third more than height at
shoulder.
Belly : Great depth of
flanks.
TAIL : Set on high, and reaching
to hocks, or a little below them, wide at its
root and tapering to end, hanging straight in
repose, but forming a curve with end pointing
upwards, but not over back, when dog is
excited.
LIMBS
FOREQUARTERS :
Legs straight, strong and set wide apart; bones
being large. Shoulder and arm : Shoulder and
arm slightly sloping, heavy and
muscular. Elbows : Elbows square. Pasterns
: Pasterns upright.
HINDQUARTERS : Broad,
wide and muscular. Second thigh :
Well-developed second thighs. Hock : Hocks
bent, wide apart, and quite squarely set when
standing or walking.
FEET : Large and
round. Toes well arched. Nails
black.
GAIT / MOVEMENT : Powerful, easy
extension.
COAT
HAIR : Short and
close-lying, but not too fine over shoulders,
neck and back.
COLOUR : Apricot-fawn,
silver-fawn, fawn, or dark fawn-brindle. In any
case, muzzle, ears and nose should be black
round orbits, and extending upwards between
them.
FAULTS : Any departure from the
foregoing points should be considered a fault
and the seriousness with which the fault should
be regarded should be in exact proportion to its
degree.
N.B. : Male animals should have
two apparently normal testicles fully descended
into the scrotum.
Specific care of your Mastiff
 Just like any other large breeds, the Mastiffs require specific care. The aim of breeding Mastiffs is not to produce mastodons, but healthy dogs with substance. Generally speaking, Mastiff is not a weak dog, on the contrary; Mastiff is rather rustic, and he doesn’t fear cold thanks to his good undercoat. The most critical period is that of growth. The worst thing for a young growing Mastiff puppy, is to be with another younger and livelier puppy, as those large puppies need to have long periods of rest during the day. There’s also another important thing: one should avoid, as it is sometimes done, to provide them with extra vitamins or calcium, without the advice of a veterinarian.
Mastiff should also make enough sport to remain healthy, and keep his musculature. And walking is good for both the owners and the animal. For a Molossian, Mastiffs tend to have good hips. In France, for instance, 70% are tested A or B, and there’s only a very small number of D or worst. An eye examination is also performed on the dogs. This is a common practice in the USA, and the Mastiff Club of America advises the breeders to test the eyes, hips and elbow of their dogs. A serious Dog breeder will never get angry if you ask him or her to see the dogs papers. Mastiffs, like other large breeds, don’t live very old, but you can probably expect to spend 10 years with your companion. Some Mastiffs sometimes reach the age of 13.
Training your Mastiff
Considering the weight and size of the dog, it is useless to say that he should know who’s the boss at home. Anyway, this will be rather easy to make him understand. You should teach him good manners at an early age, get him used to seeing other people by taking him in the streets, to be patient with children, and to get along well with other animals. But truly enough, this works with all the dogs.
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