Mastiff Relationships

[Penelope's Mom]

The only mastiff I have any kind of experience with are EMs and I'm curious as to how all the mastiff breeds are related. For example, do you breed an EM with something else to get a BM?

I guess what I'm asking is...no matter how "different" it is from the original mastiff, how are all mastiffs related?

 

[ruthcatrin]

WAY BACK, yes, the various breeds of mastiff were created by breeding (at least in general) one breed of mastiff with other breeds of dogs to create the new breed (don't try that today, crossing an EM with a Bulldog to create a BM will get you laughed at by the knowledgeable, though it may be a good money maker on craigslist). The EM is credited with being in the background for ALOT of breeds (and not just many of the other mastiffs). There's discussion (But no one's ever been able to prove it to me) that the European molosser breeds, including the mastiffs, are descended from the original TMs brought to Europe by invaders.

 

[Penelope's Mom]

Interesting. I see a huge resemblance between the EM and the BM, but the rest look very different, at least to me.

 

[ruthcatrin]

Some of that has to do with current breeding trends. There's been a big push in the 20 or so years to push the EM, Dane, and to some degree the BM (and even the TM *sigh*) to be BIGGER, taller, heavier boned. And then there's the difference location makes. A European bred Dane is built quite different from many of the Danes you see here in the US.