Spanish Mastiff (Mastín Español)
Temperament:
The Mastín Español - known as the Spanish Mastiff in German - is a very large, massive dog that is aware of its strength. This is quite useful for its task as a guard dog, which even takes on wolves. However, to many people this breed seems scary and that even without the giant demonstrating its strength. But is this fear justified?
Characteristics
The Spanish Mastiff is a confident dog. He is known to face strangers and even predators decisively if he perceives them as a danger. This intelligent, alert four-legged dog accurately assesses situations and decides how much of its enormous strength to use if the worst comes to the worst. This characteristic comes from the fact that this breed was primarily bred to guard and defend land and livestock.
So it is a dog with strongly developed protective instinct and a natural distrust of strangers. Nevertheless he would never attack without cause. This balance of strength and calmness is one of the most important features in the breeding of the Spanish Mastiff. At the same time, the massive quadruped has endless love and affection for his family. He loves to be always present in the circle of his people.
With consistent training and socialization, he is also well suited as a family dog, as long as he has a task and can live out his protective instincts. He gets along well with children. The Spanish Mastiff is very patient and shows cheerfulness with children and treats them tenderly. Nevertheless, small children should not be left alone with him, because he is still huge and very heavy and accidents can always happen.
The large four-legged friend tolerates other dogs, but is not known for wanting to play with them. He much prefers to observe what is happening and is consistently alert to see, smell or hear anything suspicious.
The Spanish Mastiff can be with loving consistency train well and can even learn many tricks. He is intelligent and works concentrated but still doesn't want to please his family at any price. If you treat him roughly or stubbornly, he decides for himself that he will not comply. This powerhouse knows he can get away with it.
After all, the females of this breed grow at least 72 cm tall and the males reach at least a withers height of 77 cm. However, there is room for improvement for both and the minimum size may and should be exceeded with pleasure. There is no officially defined weight for this breed, but many specimens vary between 54 and 90 kg.
Their short to medium length coat is thick, coarse and lies smoothly against the body. Thus, these dogs are well protected from the weather in mountainous areas, where they originally had their duties. It is necessary to distinguish between the top coat on the back and the coat that protects the ribs and flanks of this breed. On the legs the coat is slightly shorter, whereas on the tail it grows longer and silkier.
The Spanish Mastiff has no specific coat color. Nevertheless, unicolored specimens in yellow, dun, red, black, wolf gray or deer red are preferred in breeding. But also brindle, pied or dogs with white ruff may occur according to FCI breed standard.
Coat care:
Shedding:
Energy level:
Trainability:
Children suitable:
The right food
The Mastín Español is a very large, massive dog. So he needs more food than many other breeds. Nevertheless, you should definitely pay attention to him not to feed too much especially during growth. Like all large dog breeds, the Spanish Mastiff is prone to Hip joint dysplasia. Although this is usually genetic, it is aggravated by growing too fast, as this puts a lot of stress on the bones and joints.
While High quality, high energy feed so essential for this quadruped should be a exact diet plan to be followed, which ideally was discussed with a veterinarian. In addition, one should daily amount of food to be divided into 2-3 mealsto prevent gastric torsion. This is extremely serious and can be fatal if left untreated.
As a general rule of dog nutrition, it should be noted that they have a high protein content - in more detail, a lot of meat - in their feed need. Nevertheless also Fruit and vegetables not be missing. Many dogs also tolerate Cerealsbut this must be tried with each quadruped individually. High quality dog food contains neither sugar nor chemical additives such as flavor enhancers or colorants. You should always read the ingredients on the packaging carefully. As a rule of thumb you can remember: Words you don't understand don't belong in the food!
Spanish Mastiff (Mastín Español) Care
What the Coat care concerns, the Spanish Mastiff is quite straightforward. It is already enough to brush occasionally, to remove dead hair and coarse dirt. Only in the change of coat twice a year, he should be brushed more often. The ears, eyes, teeth and claws should also be checked regularly, as is necessary for any dog.
So while the physical grooming routine is pretty simple, the Mastín Español's attitude is far from easy. This breed is definitely not suitable as a beginner dog. Only experienced herding dog owners can properly handle these intelligent, powerful and confident four-legged friends.
Their upbringing is no walk in the park. These furry noses are not eager to please their owner at any price. If they don't like what is asked of them, they prefer to do their own thing. They know very well that with their size they can afford it. With loving consistency and patience the Spanish Mastiff can still be raised to be a wonderful companion.
Also a exact task, which he can contest in everyday life is imperative for this dog. After all, he was bred to protect herds. If the Spanish Mastiff has his job and can work out physically and mentally, he also likes to cuddle with his family at home and enjoy being together. So, in any case, he is not suitable for keeping in a city apartment, but also should not be excluded from family life in the house.
Suitable accessories
Basically the Mastín Español needs the same equipment as any other furry. However, this powerhouse needs from everything particularly stable and large variants. So be sure to check that the Equipment very high quality is. It should also generally much space for this quadruped be granted, since its berths are also huge.
A large brush and claw scissors are essential. In addition, toothpaste, toothbrush, ear cleaner and also a high-quality dog shampoo are advisable for the care of a dog. In addition, the cost of the above-average quantities of feed should not be underestimated. Also a Dog liability insurance is advisable. Accidents happen faster than you think and with such a powerful four-legged friend, the costs can quickly exceed the ideas. A good veterinarian is also important in the keeping of a dog.
Origin & History
The Spanish Mastiff belongs to the Molossians. These are very large, heavy and powerful dogs, which are already since ancient times exist. It is not known in detail how the Mastín Español was created. The widespread assumption is that the Ancestors of this breed brought to the Iberian Peninsula by the Greeks and Phoenicians about 2000 years ago were.
There they quickly became popular among Spanish itinerant shepherds. The dogs quickly proved that they could independently herd flocks and effectively defend them from predators such as wolves and also from cattle thieves. An additional advantage of these four-legged friends is that they are robust and reliably perform their duties in all areas and weather conditions.
As a result, the breed spread very quickly in Spain and became highly valued among shepherds. Even today they are very popular in their homeland. Outside of Spain, however, these dogs are hardly known until today. Already on 13.11.1954 the strong herd protection dogs were recognized by the FCI.
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