The Pyrenean Mastiff or Mastín del Pirineo is a Spanish

breed A breed is a specific group of breedable domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist seve ...

of large

livestock guardian dog A livestock guardian dog (LGD) is a dog type bred for the purpose of protecting livestock from predators. Livestock guardian dogs stay with the group of animals they protect as a full-time member of the flock or herd. Their ability to guard t ...

from the

autonomous community The autonomous communities () are the first-level administrative divisions of Spain, created in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy to the nationalities and regions that make up Sp ...

Aragón Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to south): Huesca, Zaragoza, a ...

in north-eastern Spain. It was traditionally used to protect flocks during the annual

transhumance Transhumance is a type of pastoralism or Nomad, nomadism, a seasonal movement of livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures. In montane regions (''vertical transhumance''), it implies movement between higher pastures in summer and low ...

to high summer pasture in the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

. It is a distinct and separate breed from the

Spanish Mastiff The Spanish Mastiff or Mastín Español is a breed of dog from Spain, originally bred to be a guard dog and whose specialized purpose is to be a livestock guardian dog protecting flocks and/or herds from wolves and other predators. Historica ...

or Mastin Español and from both the

Pyrenean Mountain Dog The Pyrenean Mountain Dog or is a French breed of livestock guardian dog; in France it is commonly called the Patou. It originates from the eastern or French side of the Pyrenees Mountains that separate France and Spain and is recognised as a ...

and the

Pyrenean Shepherd The Pyrenean Sheepdog, the Chien de Berger des Pyrénées in French language, French, is a small to medium-sized Dog breed, breed of herding dog from the Pyrenees Mountains region of France. It is found herding flocks of sheep throughout the Pyr ...

History

The Pyrenean Mastiff originated in the historic

Kingdom of Aragon The Kingdom of Aragon (; ; ; ) was a medieval and early modern Monarchy, kingdom on the Iberian Peninsula, corresponding to the modern-day Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, in Spain. It became a part of the larger ...

, where it has been documented since the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. Its origins and purpose were in the annual

of flocks to the high pastures of the

for the summer months, and the return to lower ground for the winter. The dogs were kept with the sheep from an early age; their job was to protect the flocks from predators, and in particular from

wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gr ...

. Like other European flock guardian breeds, they were often fitted with a spiked metal wolf collar or for extra protection. Three of the dogs were shown in Madrid in 1890. In the first edition of the ''Libro de Orígenes Español'' (Madrid, 1913), the second entry for dogs registered in 1912 is a "Mastín Español del Pirineo". In the latter 1940s the wolf disappeared from the Pyrenees, and once it was no longer needed for its principal function, the breed began to decline. It was fully accepted by the

Fédération Cynologique Internationale The (; FCI; ) is the largest international federation of national kennel clubs and purebred registries. The FCI is based in Thuin, Belgium and has 98 members and contract partners (one from each country). History The FCI was founded in 1911 un ...

in 1954. In 1977 a

breed society Breed clubs are associations or clubs with activities centered on a single, specific breed of a particular species of domesticated animal. The purpose of the association will vary with the species of animal and the goals and needs of the members ...

, the , was formed; the dogs gradually became diffused through much of Spain, and later spread to other countries in Europe and the Americas, and to Australia and Japan.

Characteristics

The Pyrenean Mastiff is a very large dog. The minimum acceptable height at the

withers Withers are the ridge between the shoulder blades of an animal, typically a quadruped. In many species, this ridge is the tallest point of the body. In horses and dogs, it is the standard place to measure the animal's height. In contrast, catt ...

for dogs is , and for bitches ; there is no upper limit, and larger dogs are preferred. They have a heavy white coat with a mask of a darker colour, and often with patches of the same colour on the body; the ears always have darker spots. The weight varies between about and . File:MasPiri-Astro-SVE.jpg, Dog File:MasPiri-Puma-FIN.jpg, Bitch

References

{{Authority control, state=collapsed FCI breeds Dog breeds originating in Aragon Livestock guardian dogs