A Spanish mastiff is a large dog, its origin, as its name indicates, is in our country, in Spain, where it was very common to see Spanish mastiffs in abundance in the past, being sheep herders and guard dogs.
Spanish mastiffs were very abundant in the middle and modern ages, because most people were dedicated to the field, a guard dog was needed for sheep, being also used as defense dogs. However, due to the civil war, the crossings and industrialization, the population of these dogs decreased significantly, almost disappearing
Spanish mastiffs have unique characteristics which make them different from any other animal. These characteristics must be explained step by step in order to fully understand what the Spanish Mastiff is like…
What do you need for a Spanish Mastiff?
- Read these instructions carefully to know exactly the characteristics of the Spanish mastiff breed.
Instructions for a Spanish Mastiff
Physique:
The Spanish mastiff is a dog that attracts attention; first of all, they are huge and heavy dogs and can weigh up to 75 kilos in the heaviest variants. The hair is abundant and quite hard hair that is distributed throughout the body, the color can vary, and there are black, beige, light brown mastiffs… Despite its large size and weight, it can become a dog with enormous agility due to its extensive musculature and its origins.
Behavior and character:
Spanish mastiffs are characterized by several determining factors.
- Intelligence: The intelligence of the Spanish Mastiff is quite high, since it is capable of perfectly distinguishing friends from enemies, of detecting any danger and is easily trained. The Mastiff also knows perfectly well the amount of strength it has, so it also you will know when you can use it and when not
- Instinct: His instinct is to distrust strangers, which is why he is made to detect any small danger.
- Character: It is a docile dog with the master and aggressive with strange animals. With humans he is usually well behaved.
Uses:
The uses that are given to it are very similar to those of antiquity; mastiffs are abundantly seen as sheep herding dogs, since it seems that it was designed to watch the cattle of strangers. As for its use as a companion dog, it is recommended, since despite its size and strength it is a very friendly dog and good with its owner and will also act as a small guardian for the smallest of the house.
Health and food:
Being dogs of enormous size, they must eat in proportion to their weight. As for the type of food, they like meat, legumes and feed for large dogs. The health of the mastiff is generally good, although being a large dog; it will live at most 12 years if it is well cared for. The only dangerous disease is a disease related to the hip ofthe animal, which is transmitted by genes from generation to generation and leaves the dog paralyzed.
Tips for a Spanish Mastiff
- Tips for caring for a Spanish mastiff: First of all, you should try to have a decent amount of space available, this is because it is a dog that has been a shepherd and therefore needs to move freely around the house. If you have a puppy, we recommend taking it to training because that way you will get a more obedient and good dog. Now we are going to talk about the attitude that you have to have with him, these dogs are very affectionate and they need you to pay enough attention to them so that they do not feel sad, also try to give them a lot of affection and don’t scold them too much. Take the Spanish mastiff for a walk at least 3 times a day to relieve himself, the walks should last at least half an hour each and let the dog run a little, do not change the time of the walks since dogs are animals of habit that only relieve themselves at specific times. Feed the dog properly with the aforementioned food, pay attention to it and play with it, brush its fur every day to remove the remains of hair that falls out and give it a bath at least once a month. Finally, make sure you have the Spanish mastiff’s papers in order, with their vaccinations, chip and up-to-date check-ups, going to the vet every time our dog gets sick or we think he might be.
