Neapolitan Mastiff

History

Developed in Europe thousands of years ago, the Neapolitan Mastiff is of the Tibetan Mastiff bloodlines. This breed was bred for the harsh conditions of war and to be used as fighting dogs in Roman arena's. Later, they were used by police and as guarding and protection dogs. Today, this breed is popular in the USA and is best known for being companion and guard dogs.

Appearance

The Neapolitan Mastiff is a massive breed with males and females measuring 24-30 inches in height and weighing up to 165 pounds in weight. Some can be upwards of 200 pounds in weight. This breed has a very large head that is extremely broad in width and rectangular in shape; however covered in excessive wrinkles and skin. Their eyes are hardly seen, as they sit within the wrinkles, and are generally a light hazel to dark brown in color. Their two ears are cropped greatly and are small, triangles held closely to their head. When left natural, their ears are large in size, triangular in shape and folded down alongside of their face. Their tail is either cropped, or left natural and is long in length, held down and out and tapers down to a point. Their general body build is massive, a lot of extra skin hangs on their sides, legs and face. Appearing extremely strong, stocky, shorter to the ground and longer in appearance. Their single layer, short haired coat is tight to the skin and available in gray, blue, black, chocolate, red, tawny, brindle and all of these with or without white markings.

Temperament

The Neapolitan Mastiff is best suited for dog experienced owners who know how to remain pack leader at all times in the most proper ways. This breed can do well with children, dogs and other pets that he or she is raised alongside of. In general, the Neapolitan Mastiff is loving, loyal, affectionate, protective and a good listener. This breed is quiet, however will alert you when someone is approaching the home. This breed is naturally very protective and will protect his or her family and home no matter what it takes. Early socialization and obedience classes are highly recommended for this breed. The Neapolitan Mastiff requires daily physical and mental exercise to remain happy and calm when being indoors. This breed can be testy at times with their owner and needs consistency and patience.

Grooming

Please note that this breed is a heavy drooler. They do shed daily. Daily brushing and bathing when needed. Regular daily cleaning of the face and wrinkles is required.

Special Notes

Please note that the Neapolitaian Mastiff is not suited for everyone. Please fully educate yourself about this breed prior to adding one to your family to ensure you are able to provide life long commitment both physically and financially. This breed does drool. They are prone to cherry eye, bloat, hip and joint 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.