AKA: Moskovskaya Storodzevay Sobaka
Description: The Moscow Watchdog is a cross behtween St Bernard and Russian Spotted Hound breeds. They are a big sized breed and very heavy too. They are a muscular dog, strong but not graceless. A well developed breed. Coat is thick but just regular in length with a very long tail reaching the floor.

Temperament: A good companion dog and an excellent watchdog too. They are a genius dog and trained as watchdog. But a firm obedience training must be implemented to them. They have a very good temperament. The purpose of training them is to let them properly understand that they should obey their owner and a pack leader status. They must be trained to be aware that their owner will always lead their way.

Activity: They are required to have daily long walk,brisk walking and jog to gain more energy and burn excess fats since they are a heavy weight breed. But they must learn to heel beside their owner and not lead the way.

Health: In general, they are a healthy breed. Their life span is 5-11 years.

Grooming: They needed to be brushed regularly to remove dead hair. Bathe them only when necessary.

Breed Group: Mastiff
Color: red and white
Height: 25-27 inches (64-69 cm.)
Weight: 100-150 pounds (45-68 kg.)
Country Of Origin: Soviet Union

Dynamics: Moscow Watchdog is a very rare breed. Before they couldn’t be find in Soviet Union Union but later became famous in Europe through United States. And now was considered by the FCI to be on the second Molosser group and being shown to some dog shows in Russia, where they are fully recognized as breed.

Photo by Canarian

AKA: Mutt, Mixed Breed, Cross Breed, Mix Breed
Description: Mongrel comes in various size and shapes. They come in different breeds. So their appearance also varies.

Temperament: Their traits and characteristics will also depend as to what their parents do possess. It may be guard dog, herders, hunters or any combination of traits. As long as you know how to train them and deal with every traits they possess and what is important is you also know how to deal with them like in socialization trainings and teach them good manners and let them understand that you are their owner and leader.

Activity: Required to have daily exercise, walking, or jog to be more healthy and not develop bad behaviors.

Health: This varies depending on the breeds they came from. But usually they are more healthy compared to pure breed dogs.

Grooming: Also depends on their appearance and breed. But generally occasional brushing of hair and bathe when only necessary.

Breed Group: n/a
Color: this will depend on the breed they came from.
Height: also varies
Weight: varies on the breed of their parents.
Country Of Origin: dogs first originated in Eurasia

Dynamics: This Mixed breed dogs known as vira-lata in Brazil and Dominican Republic. There are some of them who doesn’t have an owner and only feeds in streets, or on trashcans. But they also have talent when it comes to sports like flyball, frisbee and many others.

Photo by Aaandy

Description: The Nebolish Mastiff is considered the most agile dog of the Mastiff breeds. Its body is muscular, structured with large bones. Its head is broad, its chest is wide, and its jaws form a scissors bite. Its coat is usually short or medium-length. But there are also Nebolish Mastiff dogs with long coats. Its body ends with a tail that can be docked.

Dynamics: The Nebolish Mastiff is a fearless, alert, and intelligent breed. It is known to be stubborn if it thinks that its owner cannot handle it well. Once a part of the family, however, it becomes a oyal and very protective companion. It brings about an air of dignity, and is good natured, patient, and even tempered. It can be playful with children and get along with them well. Socialization is important, of course, to void destructive behavior in the dog.

In training the Nebolish Mastiff, the owner has to achieve sort of pack leader status. He or she has to be dominant over the dog, otherwise the Nebolish Mastiff will belittle you and not follow you. It is intelligent this way. The training also has to be consistent and firm, with the line between the leader and the follower clear between the owner and the Nebolish Mastiff.

Breed Group: Mastiff, Working

Weight: 95-200 pounds (43-90 kg)

Height: 27-36 inches (79-90 cm)

Color: The coat of the Nebolish Mastiff can be either fawn or brindle, of any shade of the colors, including a rare silver. The coat can also have markings, although it is preferred that the dog not have any markings at all. The markings can be a black mask or any white markings on the body.

Country of Origin: The Nebolish Mastiff is one of the rarest breeds of the Mastiff types. The breed was developed in the Northwest and Canada, back in the late 1960s. There have been many reports on the exact breakdown of the breeding program of the Nebolish Mastiff, all still just claims and with no certainty.

Activities: The Nebolish Mastiff loves to run and swim, and so this dog should be taken out everyday for its daily delights. Walking everyday with a little play session can suffice for those owners who do not have much time on their hands. When walking out, the Nebolish Mastiff should be made to heel beside or behind the owner, as a sign that you are the leader and the dog should follow you. Otherwise, it will ignore you and take off on its own to have fun.

Grooming: Combing or brushing regularly is enough as a grooming routine for the Nebolish Mastiff. Bathe only when necessary.

Other Info: The Nebolish Mastiff has a life expectancy of 10 to 14 years. It is generally a very healthy breed, developed to be agile and free of genetic defects. This breed is not fit to live in an apartment, as it likes to explore and occasionally romp around. This breed loves warm climate, and loves the water.

Photo: Boxers of Whiteface Ranch

AKA: Mastino Napoletano, Italian Mastiff, Mastino, Italian Bulldog, Neo Mastiff

Description: The Neapolitan Mastiff is a powerful dog that looks intimidating and serious. It has a rectangularly proportional body, with a wrinkled face, a massive head, and a muscular limbs. Its wrinkles usually go from the face to the chin and continues to go down the neck, forming a prominent dewlap. The skull is broad, somehow emphasizing its intimidating look. Add to that that the Neapolitan Mastiff walks with a loose and cat-like gait.

The nose is black, and the jaws form a scissors bite. The ears can be cropped, and the Neapolitan Mastiff’s tail can be docked. But these are painful for the dog, and so many prefer the natural look of the breed. The eyes of the Neapolitan Mastiff is blue at first, at puppyhood, but as it grows darker as it grows up. They usually vary with the dog’s coat color.

Dynamics: It may have a vicious and intimidating appearance but the Neapolitan Mastiff is actually a calm and peaceful dog. When provoked or threatened, however, they become fearless and overprotective. It is a highly intelligent breed that is loyal and devoted of its owner or family. It is serious and quiet, but suspicious of strangers.

In owning the Neapoiltan Mastiff, one has to be dominant and show some leadership skills. The Neapolitan Mastiff is not for the meek people. It should be trained consistently and confidently, with you as a leader and the dog as an obedient companion. Socialization is also important for this breed, beginning at puppyhood. This breed gets along well with non-canine pets if socialized with them early on. It also does well with children but the children also has to know how to be dominant over the dog.

The Neapolitan Mastiff was once used for fighting, and so the breed has grown tolerant of pain. It is also a natural guard dog even without the necessary training. Excessive barking will not be a problem with the Neapolitan Mastiff as it is usually a calm animal.

Breed Group: Mastiff

Weight: Up to 165 pounds (74 kg), but there have been cases where a male Neapolitan Mastiff went up to nearly 200 pounds (90 kg)

Height: males 26-30 inches (65-75 cm), females 24-28 inches (60-70 cm)

Color: The coat of the Neapolitan Mastiff can either be solid or brindle, and blue is the most common color. Black is also very common among the breed. A chocolate Neapolitan Mastiff is rare. There are dogs with a little white on the chest and toes and this is acceptable. However, there should be no white markings on the face.

Country of Origin: The Neapolitan Mastiff comes from directly from the line of the Roman Molossus, but it is commonly acknowledged that all European mastiffs descended from the Tibetan Mastiff. The first Asian mastiffs were said to have been brought to Greece by Alexander the Great, and then the Greeks introduced the dogs to the Romans. The Romans then trained and used the dogs in combat and fighting, and from the first of these dogs descended the Neapolitan Mastiff. It became a prominent breed of Italy in 1946.

Activities: The Neapolitan Mastiff, as a pup and in its growing up years, should be limited in its exercises and play sessions. This is to reserve their energy for healthy bones and muscles. When it becomes old enough, it will need a great deal of exercise and long walks.

Grooming: The coat of the Neapolitan Mastiff is short, and therefore easy to groom. Bathe only when necessary, and groom regularly with a rubber brush.

Other Info: The Neapolitan Mastiff has a life expectancy of up to 10 years. Its massive body make sit prone to physical ailments like hip dysplasia and pano-ostiosis (growing pains). It is also prone to the “cherry eye,” where the eye tissue protrudes too much and becomes irritated and inflamed. The Neapolitan Mastiff can live in an apartment as long as it is exercised everyday.

Photo: Lisa M. Herndon

AKA: Mioritic Shepherd Dog

Description: Mioritic Sheepdog is a breed that has large size head and its skull is broad. Their eyes are regular in size that is hazel or amber that is shaped in oval. Ears are like pendant clinging unto its face, with big black nose. Their body is rectangular in shape that is strong and powerful with muscles. Teeth are in scissors bite and chest and shoulders are broad. They have long feathered hair that is carried down. They have a fluffy hair usually have patches of black in it.

Temperament: They are considered an excellent guard dog but could also be god pet dog to its owner. They are very dependent of their owner, affectionate also with children. But they are very alert to suspicious strangers that would invade their homes. They are an alert dog and fearless that could always protect their homes from all suspicious attacks. They are a very observant to every move they might hear or sense. But they should also be trained well on pack leadership for them to be more familiar with the basic rules to treat their owners as their leader above them and that would always lead their way.

Activity: They are required to have daily exercise like daily walking and jog so they would have more energy and be healthy and also for them not develop bad behaviors.

Health: No known health issues for this breed. Their life span is about 12-14 years.

Grooming: Brushing their long coat would be best grooming for them. Bathe them only when necessary.

Breed Group: Flock Guard

Color: white, lightly cream or pale gray, and with patches

Height: Male: 27-29 inches (70-75 cm.) Female: 25-28 inches (65-70 cm.)

Weight: depending on their waist to be proportional.

Country of Origin: Romania

Dynamics: This kind of breed is famous in Romania and has a lot of fans. That is because they are an attractive dog with fluffy hair and color patches on their hair.

Photo by Summer06