The history of the Spanish Mastiff

The Spanish Mastiff, the one we know today, was called Mastiff of Leon (a Spanish town in the North), Mastiff of Extremadura (a región in the south west of spain) and Mstiff of Castilla-la-Mancha ( aregion in the south of Madrid) some decades ago. The breed was nearly endangered, if there haven’t been a group of breeders 40 years ago who had been combing in the mountains of Northspain for the last good specimen under very difficult conditions and enormous persistence. They brought together and interbreeded these among profesional criterions until our dogs have recovered their breed and amount of dogs. But the history has begun much earlier…..

People don’t know scientifically where the Spanish Mastiff comes from. Some say without any scientific base, that the Europeen Mastiff has come from the famous Tibetean Mastiff, who was mentioned by Marco Polo. Such confusión got stuck with the people and let them forgot, that there are very CLEAR and concrete notes in Spain which are older than the ones from Asia. Those you can find in the book “la Mesta” (written in the middle-age) where the Mastiffs and sheepherds are treaten.

It was explained aswell, that the phoenicians had brought these dogs from Asia. But there no single note of old writers about it. We don’t believe that this people of market- and fish business had breeded those dogs. This would not have been logical.

In contrast to the Celtiberians, they urgently needed these big dogs, to protect their flocks of sheep against wolves and bears. Of course they had chosen these dogs from the very beginning, if not sheep breeding would have been imposible with so many wolves around. The archeology has brought proves in this direction, where it is said to find remains/bones of very big dogs.

However the Spanish Mastiff was ever since very connected to the flock of sheep, like part of it, and defended the sheep against wolves and thiefs.
Pay attention, if you get close to a flock of sheep with Mastiffs at night.

Its role as an guardian dog on farms and on their temporary movements towards south or north had got a huge significance in the past. During a thousand years a balanced and classy character was chosen and archieved.
Without showing disproportionate agressivity , the Spanish Mastiff knows, who is the strongest and it doesn’t need to show it, except in case of provocation or danger for its clan.

Exactly, the end of the sheepmovement and the disappearing of the wolves was the reason for the difficult situation of the Spanish Mastiff, we were talking about in the beginning. Afortunately the Spanish Mastiff recovered its position and is apreciated as a guardian dog, especially at places where there have always been wolves and at new territories, they reached. These are the places where Spanish mastiffs provides every day an irreplaceable work.