Mary Allen
Shoulder height: 60 – 75 cm
Weight: 50 – 70 kg
Age: 10 – 11 years
Color: grey, black, brown, deer red
Use: guard dog, protection dog
The Neapolitan Mastiff belongs to the group of mastiff-like dogs among the Molossoids. It comes from Italy and is a direct descendant of the Roman war dogs. It is a very impressive figure: its extremely massive, massive, and large body is surrounded by plenty of loose skin that forms many wrinkles and folds. It is the ideal protection and watchdog for large properties and needs an experienced dog owner.
Origin and history
The Neapolitan Mastiff is a direct descendant of the Roman Molosser dog. These war dogs were used in military campaigns as well as fighting people and wild animals in the circus arena. Over the years, the Neapolitan Mastiff has become the guard dog of farmsteads in southern Italy. Systematic breeding of the breed only began in the early 1950s.
Appearance
The Neapolitan Mastiff is an impressive sight. Its massive and massive body is surrounded by loose, loose skin. The head and neck in particular have many folds. Adult males reach a height at the withers of up to 75 cm and a weight of 70 kg. Its body is even longer than it is tall. About the size of the dog, the ears are small, triangular in shape, flat, and lying close to the cheeks. The Neapolitan Mastiff’s coat is short, rough, dense, and hard. The typical colors are all shades of gray, and black but also brown and fawn (deer red).
Nature
The Neapolitan Mastiff is a very territorial dog, making it an excellent protector and typical guard dog for large estates. It takes its responsibility for the house and yard very seriously. It is very suspicious of all strangers. It has a very strong personality, it hardly tolerates strange dogs in its territory. The Neapolitan Mastiff is difficult to provoke, is impressively self-assured, but reacts lightning-fast when first attacked.
Requires knowledgeable and consistent training, it is not a beginner’s dog. Puppies need to be shaped and socialized early on. It does not require any particular physical activity – although it likes to go for walks – the Neapolitan Mastiff is unsuitable for people who particularly love sports or dog sports.