The Spanish Mastiff is a historic breed with an impressive physique. It is considered the largest dog breed originating in Spain. Among its qualities, its ability as a guardian of houses and land stands out. For this reason, many families choose to adopt a Spanish mastiff: in addition to enjoying his company and affection, they especially value his characteristics as a guard dog.
Both due to its physical characteristics and its character, the Spanish mastiff is an excellent furry friend to live with at home. To have a total conviction of its adoption, it is important that you know everything about this breed to verify that you are qualified to welcome it into your home. To discover how to know if a Spanish mastiff is pure , the importance of its purity and the differences with the Leonese mastiff, at OneHOWTO we recommend that you continue reading this article.
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Index
- Is it important that a Spanish Mastiff is pure?
- Characteristics of a pure Spanish mastiff
- What character does the Spanish Mastiff have?
- How to know if a Spanish mastiff puppy is pure
- Difference Between Spanish Mastiff and Leonese Mastiff
Is it important that a Spanish Mastiff is pure?
The importance of the purity of the Spanish mastiff is relative . It can always be useful to know the breed or if it is a mestizo of any breed that we identify to have all the possible information, to know a little more about what its most specific physical and mental needs are , to be aware and check if we are qualified to adopt it. and take care of it properly. For example, it is convenient to know if it is more likely that he needs to expend a very high level of energy or not, which is important to know if we can have him at home and offer him what he needs or not; In this sense, living in the countryside is not the same as living in a flat in the city.
Beyond this aspect, whether a Spanish mastiff is purebred or mestizo should not condition your decision on its adoption . The love, affection and dedication that he will deserve from you will be the same regardless of his purity.
Many people have a special predilection for purebred dogs for the whim of having a small furry breed, without paying attention to their most basic needs. The most important thing is the predisposition to take care of them, dedicate time to teach them a basic education to socialize and live together and give them physical and mental conditioning. Everything else, including his purity or being of mixed race, is a secondary factor.
We recommend you take a look at this other post about What to know before adopting a dog .
Characteristics of a pure Spanish mastiff
The Spanish mastiff stands out for its impressive physical characteristics:
- It is a strong dog, of great sizeand muscular power. His skull is large, with a compact and stocky skeleton.
- The hair of this dog is fine, short and smooth but very denseas it has several layers.
- The minimum height of this breed is approximately 77-78 cm in males and 72-73 cmin females. However, they can exceed this minimum average height by several cm and reach more than 80 cm at the withers in the case of males and more than 75 cm at the withers in the case of females.
- The weight of the females is also slightly lower than that of the males. That of females ranges between 40 and 60 kilos while in males it is between 50 and 70 kilos.
- The large head of the Spanish mastiff supports tremendously strong jaws, bearing a large dewlap.
- The ears are drooping, the eyes are darkand small in size, and the nose or nose is dark.
- The color of the coat is diverse: gray, brindle, yellow, black, fawn and even reddish and with spots combining these colors.
What character does the Spanish Mastiff have?
These are some of the character traits and behavior of the Spanish Mastiff:
- The character of the Spanish mastiff is authoritarian and imposing in the face of strangersand unknown animals that may seem intruders, which is the result of its guardian instinct of the flock and the family . For this reason, he brings it out when he acts as a guard dog in any territory, be it a house, cattle, land or farm.
- His bark is hoarse, intense, deep and of high severity. Therefore, it is easily perceived from a distance.
- With acquaintances or relatives, it is a hairy noble and meek. He is very intelligent, so training him is simple to enhance his virtues as a guard dog.
- It does not support loneliness, so it is convenient that you do not leave it alone for a long time: keep it close to you or a family member if you spend many hours away from home so that it does not fall into problems such as separation anxiety or depression. Being a guard dog, there are people who tend to let him spend many hours alone guarding a certain place, but it is important to avoid it. He will have no problem guarding an area or a herd as long as the person or persons in charge of him are also there, but then it is necessary not to leave him there and take him home. To constantly monitor today, there are alarm systems and cameras.
- Receiving the attention it deserves, the Spanish mastiff is a breed (and its mestizos) with which you can live without any problem. In addition, he is also good at living with other animals, especially if he has taken good advantage of his puppy stage to socialize him with other dogs and animals.
How to know if a Spanish mastiff puppy is pure
To check if a Spanish mastiff puppy is pure, it is necessary to analyze its physical appearance and behavior:
- Above all, the first thing we will see is that for a puppy it is very large, strong, with short and fine hair, but very dense, with several layers of fur. It has a large head, floppy ears, and dark eyes . The coat color can be grey, black, yellow, brindle, fawn and reddish.
- The character is noble and meek with his close circle, but authoritarian and imposing before strangers. He stands out for his guard dog skills and his great intelligence . However, in this case, it must be taken into account that although one can begin to differentiate some of these characteristics from his character, he is a puppy, so he will behave like a puppy ; for example, he will be much more active and curious than an adult.
However, the most efficient method to discover if a Spanish Mastiff puppy is pure is to request the pedigree certificate of its parents or to present it to breed and beauty contests.
Difference Between Spanish Mastiff and Leonese Mastiff
There are hardly any differences between the Spanish mastiff and the Leonese mastiff. In fact, to speak of the Leonese mastiff is to speak of a breed derived from the Spanish mastiff and that arose from the León area and that, in some cases, is referred to as a sub-race.
Thus, it is practically the same breed with very similar characteristics. They are confused on many occasions due to their enormous resemblance in temperament and physique. In the case of the Spanish mastiff, other breeds of mastiff developed on the peninsula with great size, intelligence and strength are included, while the Leonese mastiff can be distinguished from the rest by the type of coat and corpulence, but in the end both are mastiffs of the area of Spain.
Now that you know all this about the Spanish Mastiff dog breed, we encourage you to read these tips on How to care for a Spanish Mastiff .