Old English Mastiff
History
The Old English Mastiff breed has such a unique history behind them. From being seen in famous paintings and stone carvings dated back to thousands of years ago, to being known as "gladiators" and fighting with soldiers in Britain; it would surprise so many people to know how calm and loving these gentle giants truly are here in the United States today.
Appearance
This breed, massive in size, generally measures 27-30 inches in height for females and males. Both males and females weigh in at 150-200 pounds on average. This breed is extremely intimidating in appearance to many. Their large block-like shaped head, is accompanied by two triangular shaped ears that are large in size and folded along side of their face. Their rectangular muzzle is thick and broad, coming to a stop with a large black nose at the end. Their two almond shaped eyes are generally a light hazel to black in color. Their face should demonstrate a black mask, and they are allowed to have large "beauty marks" along their face as well. This breed is generally built very strong, and thick. This breed has a very long tail that is solid and tapers off at the end to a point. Their single layer, short haired coat is available in fawn, all shades of fawn, apricot, silver, brindle and tiger.
Temperament
It is important to note that this breed is known as a "gentle giant", but this is for the family in which he or she is living with and being cared for by. This breed, massive in size, and originally a guard dog, will absolutely guard his or her territory and take action if he or she feels that there is a threat towards the family. This breed can be very docile, calm and loving with its own family, and with other family children, dogs and pets he or she grows up with. Early socialization and training courses are highly recommended for this breed to encourage a solid foundation in the relationship with your new dog and prevent issues training him or her as they mature in age. This breed can be stubborn at times and will prefer to do what "they" please, at certain times. This breed requires a firm and confident owner who is consistent and can set rules and boundaries. Do not try and train your new Old English Mastiff to "guard", as he or she will naturally have a heavy instinct to do so. Please fully research and educate yourself about this breed prior to considering one for your family.
Grooming
This breed does drool and shed. Daily brushing, or wipe down is required as well as bathing when needed.
Special Notes
Please note that this breed is not meant for everyone. Fully research the Old English Mastiff prior to adding one to your family to ensure a life long commitment of physical and financial care for your new dog. This breed is prone to bloat, hip issues, gastric torsion, and heart issues.
All dogs originate from wolves (Canis Lupus). Each breed of dog was originally created by mixing different breeds together in an effort to bring forth certain characteristics. Once a breeder has created acceptable “breed characteristics” within their bloodline and these “breed characteristics” have shown to be reliably reproduced in the offspring for three (3) generations, the bloodline may be upgraded from the category of “foundation stock” to “pure-bred”.
The same “pure-bred” breed standards vary from different continents, countries, territories, regions, breed clubs, and canine pure-breed registries depending on the goals of their breeders. Dog DNA testing companies can have accurate results for a specific bloodline of a small colony of dogs. However, there are tens of thousands of different bloodlines in the world which have not yet been tested for marker baseline results by Dog DNA testing companies as of 2017. For this reason Dog DNA testing companies do not guarantee the 100% accuracy of their breed lineage results and will also show different marker results for the same pure-bred breed in different continents, countries, territories, regions, breed clubs, and canine pure-breed registries depending on the goals of their breeders.