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 The Breed is thought to be a descendant of the ancient molossian breeds that were transported by the Romans to fight in the arenas as they, the Romans, were so taken with their size and bravery.
After the Romans left England, the dogs were kept to guard farms and stock against bears and wolves, being known also as Bandogs.
By 1800 the bull, bear and lion baiting had vastly reduced and so the Mastiff breed declined, almost to the point of extinction.
However, thanks to Commissioner Thompson of Haifax’s love of the breed, this was reversed and all of today’s Mastiffs can be traced back to his breeding.
The first Neos entered the showing in 1946 and were seen by Piero Scanziani who became an avid breeder and only three years later started a breeding programme with the most outstanding stock from Italy which perfected the Neos and proved instrumental in the acceptance of the Breed in the Italian Kennel Club.
Because of the very size of the Mastino, training must be started from a very early age and should be done in a consistent and well-balanced way.
The Mastino is a very intelligent breed of dog and learns his commands very quickly. They do listen to the command but seem to obey it in there own time! |
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