Mastin Del Pireneo Breed History Written By Mr Finn Espen Nergard.

The Pyrenean Mastiff.

The Pyrenean mastiff, also called Mostin De Aragon or Mastin Del Pirineo, are one specific breed among many other big dogs called Molosser. The function of the Pyrenean Mastiff was to follow herds of sheep from winter to summer grazing land to guard and protect them along the way, against wolves, bears & thieves. The Pyreneans distant  relatives were probably the big dogs brought from Mesopotamia & Asyria to Spain about 400 years b.c. You can find remnants form big dogs in excavations south in Spain but we haven't exactly heard of these dogs before 1273. At that point there is the first documentation of mastines. In the year 1450 the so called "Sheep & Herd Federation" was formed in Spain. At that time the federation was very powerful largely due to the sheep driven  economy. In the kingdom of Aragon alone  you could find about 1.750.000 sheep in the 15th century. The quantity of wool exported was enormous, about 2.000.000kg wool per year. One statement by this federation said that: 1. Everyone who hurts or damaged a mastin receives a penalty of 5 sheep.
2. Mastins are to be treated with special care and to be given the same food as the shepherds. 3. Upon finding a "lost" mastin you are to give it to the federation, who in turn will find a suitable solution / new owner. 4. Every flock of sheep (1000 pieces) shall have 5 mastins to guard them. From what we understand of these laws, the mastins were highly prized and of great value!  Being a Giant Breed the Pyrenean Mastiff are known to have have some joint concerns along with other mastines like the Spanish Mastiff, Mastiff de leon and so on.. For several hundred years the Pyrenean was isolated due to its geographical isolation. This in addition to the climate and the "old breed" has lead to our Pyrenean mastinos. The nearest relative is probably the Pyrenean mountain dog. These two breeds were probably common until the Pyrenees were split almost in two different parts . North became France and south became Spain . Another relative is also found in Spain, the Spanish Mastiff. This breed is from the lower located parts of Spain and because of the climate and location it is now a different breed in many ways. (e.g. shorter coat). BREED DESCRIPTION: The Pyrenean mastiff are a rectangular big and strong dog. The minimum height for females are 72cm or 28" and for males 77 cm, or 30 " The biggest individual is always preferred. There are no upper limits regarding the height. The head is big and wide with a slight but definite stop.

The ears are medium sized are placed higher than the eye line. Colour of the eyes are hazel the darker the better with a calm, kind, and intelligent look.
The nose is powerful which gives the face a deep profile. The throat is strong and heavily coated which helps the dog to protect itself during possible attacks. The shoulders are massive, bent, with powerful muscle substance. The backline is straight, but a slightly swaying backline allowed. this trait was found often among the old mastines.

The bone structure is powerful and massive. The front legs should be separated to make room for a wide and deep breast. The back legs have to be strong and angled well enough to give a powerful impulse to the dog. Double dewclaws are usual but not obligatory. The PM has a tight, coarse and moderate long coat between 6-9 cm.

This is longer on the shoulders, throat, under the stomach and on the backside of the legs. The base colour is always white with a characteristic mask covering both ears. Usually there are several spots on the rest of the body, but they have to be well defined and with the same colour as the mask. Colours are grey, golden, brown, silver grey, black, marbled, and sand colour but never red !

BEHAVIOUR.

The temperament is not complicated, the PM will learn fast and his behaviour is very routine. Even if the Pyrenean mastiff appears passive, it will always be aware of everything that goes around it. This kind of behaviour makes the dog very stable even in extreme situations. This of course in addition to that the fact that this dog is aware of its power, strength and size. The Pyrenean mastiff is not an aggressive dog, it will seldom look for trouble. But with a smoothness and quickness in the movement , he is well prepared to take it. The male , as a lover, will not accept any competition from other dogs.

He has almost no time to eat and just in this situation he will leave the female. The female is almost the opposite, very feminine and would like to be flirted with by 2 or even more males. When visiting places where a PM is located, you will always be met by deep barking. The Pyrenean mastiff assure you that you are walking on private property and after an complete inspection the he will follow you to the door�.. or keep on barking if he  doesn't like what he has inspected. The behaviour is very dependable. Saying this he is willing to give his friendship away, especially to children !!

The Pyrenean mastiff loves his owners and family are the ones he loves the most and will have most confidence in. The Pyrenean mastiff likes short and simple commands,  used from day one !! With a hard and punished education you will get a shy ,nervous and uncomfortable dog. The Pyrenean mastiff tolerates well a pretty hard climate over long periods due to the long and strong coat. It will search for the highest part on the property and lay down there for hours just doing almost nothing but being aware.

EVOLUTION: The Pyrenean mastiff became an "offer of the time " in the 1930 `s. Things happened which lead to less work for the dogs and it became less important. Wolves and other predators were almost wiped out and the railway started to transport the sheep more and more� In addition of course, there was civil war between 1936-39 and the world war 2 which meant there was less food available to spare on giant breed dogs. All this lead to an dramatic reduction in numbers of Pyrenean mastiffs.

Luckily there were dedicated enthusiasts who had either had these dogs or heard about them. They travelled around Spain and found about 100 dogs. Of  these only 30 were used to start the breeding program again ! The Spanish club had only one mission in mind, to save the Pyrenean mastiffs existence and to make the breed known in rest of the world. Even though he may be a relatively seldom seen dog , you could say that the "pioneers" have succeeded in their mission.          Hand Drawn Artwork By Sharron Hulley

The Pyrenean Mastiff is found in many countries across Europe and in the US.   Today you will  find about 4000 Pyrenean mastiffs in Spain.

Kind Thanks To Finn Espen Nerg�rd for allowing the use of this text. Photos are of Pms that were either bred by or belonging to: Cabana De Otaula, (Spain.) Valle De Los Volcanos, (Germany.) Murtoi's, (Italy.) Breton,(Australia.) Irrishmans, (Finnland.) Ojinegras, (Finland.) and mostin owned by Juan Bueno (Spain.)

Pyrenean Mastiff Breed Delegate: Anne Briglia.

FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE BREED FOR JUDGES & INTERESTED PARTIES CLICK HERE

Breeders.

Breton (03) 5998 1194.