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The Pyrenean Mastiff is a trotting dog breed, originally from the Aragonese Pyrenees (Spain). By its large size and strength the FCI included it within the Group 2 / Section 2 – molosoids and mountain dogs.

It comes, as all molosoides, Asian dog who came to Europe centuries ago. The first breed standard, It was approved only in the year 1946, since to date the breed had been totally ignored by the official dog world, even though the Pyrenean Mastiff, it had been from its first dawn a very important breed for local development, given that for centuries was used to defend livestock from the attack of bears and wolves.

For a long time the Pyrenean mastiff accompanied flocks of sheep on their transhumance routes from the Aragonese and Navarrese Pyrenees to the Maestrazgo. Its main function was the keep herds and their masters from attacks by wolves and thieves.

During the 20th century and especially after the Spanish civil war, due to economic difficulties, the Mastiff went into decline as it was very expensive to keep a dog of its size.

Over the years 70 a group of fans began a work to recover the breed through the few specimens that were in the field and that still had typical characteristics of the old Molossian.

In the year 1977 created the Spanish Pyrenean Mastiff Club, which organizes the selection and breeding program of the breed. Currently the breed has great international recognition as evidenced by the existence of clubs in many European countries and in the United States..

The Pyrenean Mastiff is a large size dog, well proportioned, powerful, muscular and skeletal structure compact. Its head is large, strong and slightly long, with a cráneo-hocico relationship of 5:4.

It has eyes small, almond-shaped, ranging from color avellana to dark brown (what is the most common). The ears are triangular, medium-sized and hanging attached to the head.

The tail is thick at the base, strong, flexible and hangs until the Hock.

Regard to the size, In fact, there is no maximum limit because the idea is that the specimens are as large as possible. But according to the standard, yes, there are some minimums that cannot be lowered. according to standard, years. At that time, the minimums are 77 cm for males (Although it is preferable that they be above the 81 cm.) and 72 cm for the Herms (Although it is preferable that they exceed the 75 cm.).

The the mantle of the Pyrenean Mastiff is thick and quite long (of 6 to 9 cm length). Being longer on the shoulders, the neck and belly. It is hair must be rough to the touch, not soft and woolly.

The color base is white, with a well-defined mask. Some examples are brands of the same color as the mask, irregularly shaped but with sharp contours.

Favorite colors (according to standard) for the mask, and stains are soft grey, intense Golden Fawn, Brown, black and grey silver.

Observations

It is a breed that is still in the reconstruction phase and on the recommendation of the Club del Pyrenean Mastiff from Spain, not yet been included in the show ring, because he is expected to make the media playback smoother.

Although at the beginning of their walks among us, the Pyrenean Mastiff was used as a guardian of livestock, the time change and animals over time, so today he is a perfect house keeper.

It is a dog aware of its strength and power, reason why never shows aggressiveness, But if you feel threatened, He or his family can be really fearsome.

Let's not forget that it protected livestock from wolves and bears...

Despite the passage of time, The Pyrenean Mastiff preserves its "rusticity" in full form and this means that it does not adapt well to life outside its natural environment, which is the countryside and its tenants..

For that reason, If we decide to integrate a Pyrenean Mastiff into our family, it will be important comply with it as it is, without imposing conditions of life that cercenen your happiness, how would it be… life in a small apartment in the middle of the city. That would play against your emotional balance, and with the size that has this dog, Perhaps the best is to have it happy and balanced (that all animal).

Something characteristic of the Pyrenean Mastiff is that wherever he is with children he is always sweet and very tolerant.. Because the converted part of his flock and the cares much.

He is also super careful with them, because as we said above, he is aware of his strength and might.

• FCI CLASSIFICATION:
• Group :
• Section : . .

Federations:

• – FCI – Pinscher and Schnauzer-Molossoid type dogs – Swiss Mountain Dogs and Cattledogs. Section 2.2 Molossoid, mountain type. ⓘ
• – AKC – Dogs working ⓘ
• – ​KC – Working dogs ⓘ
• – UKC – Watchdog ⓘ

Spain

26.05.1982

Use:

Nursery and defense. In the past it was used as a defense against vermin, especially the wolf and the bear. Currently fulfills perfectly the task of guardian of estates and people, being very receptive to training.

General appearance:

It is a dog of great height, hypermetric and of medium proportions. Well proportioned, extremely powerful and muscular. compact skeleton. Discreetly long hair. Despite its enormous size it should not be clumsy or lymphatic.



IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS:

Media structure. Proportional and harmonious in all circumstances.

• Body length slightly greater than the height at the withers.
• The relationship between the length of the skull and the muzzle should be 5/4.
• The width of the skull should be equal to or slightly greater than its length.
• The relationship between the raised to the cross and the chest perimeter must be approximately 7/10.

Loving, tame, noble and particularly intelligent, he is both brave and fierce in front of strangers, to whom he never backs down In his relationships with other dogs he is benevolent, aware of its unique power. The case is revealed in the fight, denoting the patterns of behavior acquired after centuries of fighting the wolf. His bark is deep and deep and his expression is awake.

Head:

Grand, strong and moderately long. The relationship between the length of the skull and that of the muzzle should be 5/4. Cranio lines- moderately divergent facials, prone to parallelism. The skull-face set seen from above must be long and uniform, without a very marked difference in width between the base of the snout and the temples. Seen from the side it must be deep, not hosted.

• Skull : Width, strong, sub-convex profile. The width of the skull should be equal to or slightly greater than its length. Marked occipital Crest.
• Depression links (Stop): Soft, little sharp, but defined.

facial region:

• Truffle: black, wet, big and wide.
• Snout: Straight profile. Seen from above it appears discreetly triangular, wide at birth, gradually decreasing towards the truffle but without being pointed.
• Lips: The upper one should cover the lower one well but without sagging. The lower one forms marada lip commissure. The mucous membranes must be black.

  Jaws / Teeth: Scissor bite. White teeth, strong and healthy. Big fangs, long, sharp and well crossed for prey. Very dimensioned and powerful molars. Rather small incisors. All premolars exist. Black palate, very marked stretch marks.

• Eyes: Small, macaroons, Hazelnut coloured, preferably dark. With a watchful eye, noble, friendly and intelligent, but of extraordinary severity before an adversary. The eyelids are pigmented in black and preferably attached to the eyeball with the animal in attention. It is typical a faint relaxation of the lower eyelid that shows a discreet conjunctiva portion when the dog is at rest.
• Ears : Mediums and falls, form triangular, plan, inserted above the eye line. At rest falling and attached to the cheeks. At attention clearly separated from the face and partially erect in its third-posterior. They should not be amputated.

Neck:

Truncated cone, width, strong, muscular and flexible. Thick and somewhat detached skin. Double gill well defined but not excessively abundant.

Body:

Rectangular. Very strong and robust, denoting great power but flexible and agile.

• top line: Straight, horizontal, even on the move.
• Cross: Well marked. Back: Powerful, musculada.
• Pork loin: Long, wide and powerful; narrows as it reaches the ijar.
• Rump: Wide and strong. Its inclination is about 45° in relation to the horizontal.. Elevation to the rump equal to the elevation to the cross.
• Breast : Width, deep, muscular and powerful. The tip of the sternum marked. Ribs with wide intercostal spaces and rounded, not flat. The relationship raised to the chest cross/perimeter must be approximately 7/10.
• Belly and flanks: Belly moderately tucked up; lowered flanks and very broad flanks.

Tail:

Thick born, middle insertion. Strong, flexible and heavily populated with decidedly long and soft hair, forming a showy plume. At rest, his bearing is rather low, fully reaching the hocks and always angled in its final third. When the animal is moving or excited, it lifts it in a saber, with an obvious thread at the end, but never fully folded or resting on the rump.

Tips

PREVIOUS MEMBERS:

• As a whole: Perfectly Plumb, viewed from the front straight and parallel, clearly perceiving muscles and tendons. The length of the forearm should be three times that of the metacarpus. Bone strong with powerful metacarpo.
• Back: Oblique, very muscular. Longer than the forearm. Scapulo-humeral angle close to 100°.
• Arm: Very powerful.
• Elbows: Strong and glued to the rib cage. Humero-Radial Angle next 125 °.
• Forearm: Of strong bones. Straight and powerful.
• Metacarpus: Seen from the side with little inclination. It is practically the continuation of the forearm.
• Previous feet: Of cat, Tight toes. Strong phalanges, high and well arched. Robust and hard nails and pads. Moderate interdigital membrane with hair.

LATER MEMBERS:

• As a whole: Powerful, muscular. Seen from the side proper joints. Seen from the side and back, correct feet. Hocks without deviations. They must be able to easily propel the dog, strength and elegance.
• Thigh: Strong and muscular. Coxo-femoral angle close to 100°.
• Knee: FEMORO-TIBIAL ANGULO NEAR 120 °.
• Leg: Long, muscular and strong-boned.
• Hock: Open angle, close to 130 °.
• Metatarsus: Well marked, with clear appreciation of the tendon. Presence or not of spurs that can be single or double, admitting your amputation. With equal merits, the presence of double spurs should be preferred..
• Hind feet: Of cat, slightly oval. Slightly longer than the front feet.

Movement:

The preferred gait is the jog that must be harmonious, powerful and elegant with no tendency to laterity. Without ambling The preferred gait is the trot that must be harmonious, powerful and elegant with no tendency to laterity. Without ambience.

Mantle

Elastic, thick and pinkish, with darker pigmentations. All mucous membranes must be black.

• Fur: Bushy, thick and moderately long. The ideal average length set on the center of the upper line is 6 to 9 cm., being longer on the back, the neck, under the belly and behind arms and legs, in addition to the tail plume, whose texture is not as piggy as in the rest of the body. The hair must be piggy, not woolly.
• Color: Basically white and always with a well-defined mask. Eventually patches of the same color as the mask unevenly distributed throughout the body, but well marked. Ears always stained. Tricolor specimens or whites are not desirable. Always white ends and ends. The mask must be very concrete and the edges of the spots preferably well defined. Hairline should be as clear as possible, being the white ideal. The most appreciated colors are, in order of preference, pure white or snow white with medium gray spots, deep yellow gold, brown, black, grey silver, Light beige, sand, marbled. Red-yellow spots are not desirable for stains or a yellowish-white background.

Size and weight:

There is no maximum limit in size, always being more valuable, equal proportions, the largest specimens.



Height to the cross:

Minimum limits:

• Males: 77 cm.,
• females: 72 cm..

However, it is to be hoped that these figures are greatly exceeded. It is considered convenient to exceed the 81 cm males and 75 cm. females.

Fouls:

Any deviation from the aforementioned criteria is considered as a fault and the severity of this is considered to the degree of the deviation to the standard and its consequences on the health and well-being of the dog..



MINOR FAULTS:

• Muzzle profiles carried without excess.
• Bite in clamp; absence of any premolar.
• Distorted and undulating back-lumbar line during march, not in excess.
• For something wavy; hair that slightly exceeds 9 cm in the upper line.
• Very slight shyness.

SERIOUS FAULTS:

• Fragile or lymphatic appearance.
• Snout pointed or overly blunt.
• Moderate upper prognathism.
• Absence of several premolars or canines not due to trauma.
• Small incisor lace defects.
• Excessive entropy or ectropion.
• Amputation in ear.
• Upper lines.
• Height at the rump significantly higher than the height at the withers.
• Tail resting on the rump; tail plumeless; tail not angled at its end; tail docking.
• Wrong limbs.
• Metacarpus, metatarsals and weak feet in general.
• Cow hocks during walking or in season.
• Lateral braceos during operation.
• Very wavy or curly hair. Hair length slightly less than 6 cm in the upper line or slightly higher than 11 cm.
• Discoloration in the ears.
• General unbalanced character.

FALTAS DESCALIFICANTES:

• Aggressiveness or extreme shyness.
• Any dog ​​showing clear signs of physical or behavioral abnormalities must be disqualified..
• Depigmented truffle and mucosa.
• Split nose.
• Excessive undergrowth or undergrowth.
• Hair length equal to or less than 4 cm or more 13 cm above the upper line.
• Absence of white color, ends and ends not white.
• Completely white layer Absence of mask.
• Diffuse spots that do not stand out from the background and indicate interbreeding.

Males should have two normal-appearing testicles fully descended into the scrotum..
Only functionally and clinically healthy dogs, with the typical conformation of the breed, should be used for parenting.

Source: F.C.I - International Cynological Federation

1. Mostín d’o Pireneu, Mostín, Mostín d’Aragón, Mastí dell’Aragó, Gos ramader, Mastín Español del Pirineo (English).
2. Mastín del Pirineo (French).
3. Mastín del Pirineo (German).
4. Mastin d’Argon, Mastín del Pirineo (Portuguese).
5. Mastín del Pirineo (español).