Breeding for Excellence


improving family life, 

one mastiff at a time!

Mastiff History

There is evidence of Mastiff-like giant dogs dating back as far as 2500 BC in the mountains of Asia. Bas-reliefs from the Babylonian palace of Ashurbanipal (now on display in the British Museum) depict Mastiff-type dogs hunting lions in the desert near the Tigris River.

Their coloration, of course, cannot be told, but other than being taller and leaner than current-day Mastiffs (as ours would be if raised in a desert and fed lightly), they are remarkably like our modern Mastiffs, despite the passing of nearly 4500 years.


Marco Polo wrote of Kubla Khan, who kept a kennel of 5,000 Mastiffs used for hunting and war.

When Hannibal, 'a great Carthaginian leader', crossed the Alps, he took with him several battalions of trained war mastiffs, who, during their long travels, "fraternized" with local breeds to produce what became the St. Bernard, once called the Alpine Mastiff, as well as other giant breeds.


Even the Chow Chow carries Mastiff blood, as does the Pug, which was originally a form of dwarf Mastiff.

Theories advanced by various authors have focused on one or more of the above to try to identify the *origin* of the breed. What should matter the most to us is what the breed is like now, and how it came to be that way.





Stowe's Annual, a reference book, shows that King James I (1603-1625) sent a gift of two Lyme Hall mastiffs to Phillip II of Spain. These, or their immediate descendants, are certainly the Mastiff-type dogs shown in famous portraits of the Spanish royal children.

Other sources indicate that Mastiffs were used as war dogs by the ancient Celts, and accompanied their masters into battle.




Tax collectors have not evolved much over the centuries; the penalties for failing to meet their requirements were extreme.


In the Elizabethan Era, the Mastiff was used to fight wild animals (e.g., bears, tigers, etc.), usually for the entertainment of the Queen. After the cessation of this cruel sport, Mastiffs continued to be bred by the Dukes of Devonshire and Sutherland, the Earl of Harrington, and other nobles.

According to the scanty records of the Pilgrim Fathers, two dogs, a Mastiff, and a spaniel accompanied the Plymouth colonists aboard the Mayflower on their journey to the new world.

In England, dog shows became popular in the mid-1800s. Wealthy people kept and bred Mastiffs and started the first recorded pedigrees.


During the World Wars, Mastiffs were used to pull munitions carts on the fronts. In America, they were frequently found on plantations as property guards.


In England, they were sometimes called "the Butcher's Dog" because a butcher had enough meat scraps to feed a Mastiff well, and could, therefore, afford to keep one, even though he was not wealthy.

Mastiffs began to decline in popularity until the late 1800's when interest revived briefly, and Mastiffs started to be imported into America.

World War I saw their decline again in England, and by the 1920's they were almost extinct in that country in their pure form. It was considered unpatriotic to keep dogs alive who ate as much in a day as a soldier; entire huge kennels were put down as a result.


Now, fortunately, Mastiffs have well established again, the United States has perhaps the greatest number.

Breeders today have bred the Mastiff for gentleness and have created an excellent companion, large enough to deter intruders and yet gentle enough to be dependable around children.

A Mastiff History tale