Mastiff facts for kids

A Mastiff

A Dogue de Bordeaux, one of the mastiff breeds

A mastiff type dog is usually a very large and strong dog. These dogs are part of a group called molossers. The words "mastiff type" and "molosser" are often used to mean the same thing.

Many different dogs can be called "mastiff types." This includes bulldog breeds, the Great Dane, and mountain dogs. Even some smaller dogs, like the Boston Terrier, can fit this description. It's important not to confuse "mastiff type" with the specific dog breed called the English Mastiff. The English Mastiff is often just called "the Mastiff."

Meet the Mastiff Breeds

Living Mastiff Breeds

Breed	Other Names	Home Country	What They Do	Picture
Aksaray Malaklisi	Turkish Mastiff & Central Anatolian Shepherd	Turkey	Guard dog & protects farm animals
Alano Español	Spanish Alano & Spanish Bulldog	Spain	Used in old sports with bulls & hunting large animals
American Mastiff	---	United States	---	---
Bandog	---	---	---
Boerboel	South African Mastiff	South Africa	Guard dog
Boxer	German Boxer & Deutscher Boxer	Germany	Hunting large animals
Broholmer	Danish Broholmer & Danish Mastiff	Denmark	Guard dog
Bulldog	British Bulldog & English Bulldog	England	Used in old sports with bulls
Bulldog Campeiro	---	Brazil	---	---
Bullmastiff	---	England	Guard dog
Ca de Bou	Majorca Mastiff, Mallorquin Mastiff & Majorcan Bulldog	Spain	Used in old sports with bulls
Cane Corso	Italian Mastiff & Italian Corso Dog	Italy	Catch dog & guard dog
Cane da presa	---	Italy	---
Cão Fila de São Miguel	São Miguel Cattle Dog & Azores Cattle Dog	Portugal	Herding dog
Cimarrón Uruguayo	Uruguayan Cimarron & Cimarron Dog	Uruguay	Guard dog
Dogo Argentino	Argentine Dogo & Argentine Mastiff	Argentina	Hunting large animals & guard dog
Dogue de Bordeaux	Bordeaux Mastiff & French Mastiff	France	Guard dog
English Mastiff	Mastiff Old English & Mastiff	England	Guard dog
Fila Brasileiro	Brazilian Mastiff	Brazil	Guard dog, protects farm animals & tracking dog
Gaddi Kutta	Indian Leopardhound & Mahidant Mastiff	India	Hunting large animals & protects farm animals	---
Gran Mastín de Borínquen	Puerto Rican Mastiff	Puerto Rico	Guard dog & hunting dog	---
Great Dane	Deutsche Dogge & German Mastiff	Germany	Hunting large animals
Guatemalan Dogo	Dogo Guatemalteco & Guatemalan Bull Terrier	Guatemala	Guard dog
Korean Mastiff	---	Korea	---	---
Neapolitan Mastiff	Mastino & Italian Molosso	Italy	Guard dog
Olde English Bulldogge	---	United States	A modern dog breed like the old Old English Bulldog
Perro de Presa Canario	Canary Mastiff & Canarian Molosser	Canary Islands	Guard dog, catch dog & used in dog sports
Rottweiler	---	Germany	Guard dog, herding dog, pulling carts & police dog
Shar Pei	Cantonese Shar-Pei	China	Hunting large animals used in dog sports
Terceira Mastiff	Fila da Terceira	Portugal	---
Tosa	Tosa Inu & Japanese Mastiff	Japan	Used in dog sports

Extinct Mastiff Breeds

These are mastiff-type dogs that no longer exist today.

Breed	Other Names	Home Country or Region	When They Lived	What They Did	Picture
Alaunt	Alaunt de Boucherie	Central Asia & Europe	Ancient times & Middle Ages	Hunting, guard dogs & used in dog sports
Alpine Mastiff	Cane Garouf, Patua	Alps	Ancient times to 1800s	Guarding
Bullenbeisser	German Bulldog	Germany	Died out by World War II	Used in old sports with bulls & bears
Dogo Cubano	Cuban Mastiff	Cuba	From the 1500s to late 1800s	Helped find people who had run away
Molossus	---	Southern Europe	Ancient times	War dogs, hunting, guard dogs & used in dog sports
Old English Bulldog	---	Great Britain & Ireland	1600s to 1800s	Used in old sports with bulls & used in dog sports

Dog Family Tree

Scientists study the genome (the complete set of instructions for building a dog) to understand how dog breeds are related. This research shows that mastiff types and molosser dogs are very closely related to each other. They share a common family history.

Images for kids

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  The Mastiff by Philip Reinagle, 1805

See also

In Spanish: Mastín para niños