Dog Breeds > Neapolitan Mastiff
The Neapolitan Mastiff
The Neapolitan Mastiff is probably one of the largest mastiffs that you will see. This muscular and bulky dog may seem ferocious and wild to you because of its appearance but in reality, this dog is a friendly, trustworthy and loyal pet and companion.
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Fascinating Facts
The Neapolitan Mastiff, also known as the Italian Mastiff or Mastino Napoletano is said to be the direct descendant of the Roman Molossus.
Physical Appearance
The Neapolitan Mastiff’s fully-grown size and weight is about 26 – 30 inches and 160 – 165 pounds respectively. The Neapolitan Mastiff is a large, strong and bulky dog breed. This dog appears to be rectangular in shape when viewed sideways. Aside from this, another apparent characteristic of the Neapolitan Mastiff is its wrinkles on its face, neck, shoulders and front legs and even at the back.
The head of the Neapolitan Mastiff is composed of large skull that is proportional to the size of its body, muzzle that is 1/3 of the size of the skull, black large nose that has wide nostrils and dark eyes with drooping eyelids. The small and triangular ears are either left natural or cropped.
The coat of the Neapolitan Mastiff is thick, straight and smooth. The coat color includes brown, black, tawny and white and brindle. There are times that a chocolate-colored Neapolitan Mastiff appears but this is a very rare case.
Grooming
Taking care of the Neapolitan Mastiff’s short and smooth coat is easy. Daily brushing would be sufficient to properly groom this handsome dog. Simply run a wet chamois or wet towel to make the coat more shiny and smooth. Bathe only if necessary.
Mood
The Neapolitan Mastiff is a breed that looks ferocious and wild at first glance. If you take a closer look, this breed is very friendly, affectionate and gentle to everyone. This dog highly enjoys the presence of its masters. The Neapolitan Mastiff is also protective, intelligent, obedient and well-behaved. The most distinguished feature of the Neapolitan Mastiff is its excessive drooling especially during hot weathers.
The Neapolitan Mastiff tends to dominate every pet in the house due to its massive size. It can even try to dominate its masters if they did not show the Neapolitan Mastiff proper attitude. As much as possible, do not try to over pamper this dog because it may develop serious behavioral problems such as Small Dog Syndrome, Separation Anxiety and other destructive and unpleasant behavioral pattern like biting furniture, chasing other pets and even biting strangers and its masters.
With Children
The Neapolitan Mastiff is naturally friendly and loving with children. This breed is very playful and protective at all times. Parents should accompany their small children whenever playing with the Neapolitan Mastiff so that no accidents would happen to them.
Training & Exercise
The Neapolitan Mastiff should always be engaged on daily exercise to properly spend its great stamina. Under exercised dogs usually display improper behavior and exercise would make it behave accordingly. Daily long walk or run is the recommended exercise for this breed. Make sure that you do not make the Neapolitan Mastiff exercise on a very hot weather condition or else it would become irritable and impatient.
The Neapolitan Mastiff is obedient enough to follow instructions or commands. This dog is very sensitive when it comes to instructions. Trainers/handlers/owners should be warned that this dog would surely become mindful and stubborn once you give it rough and tough training instructions. It also responds well to food-reward challenges.
Health & Life Expectancy
The Neapolitan Mastiff can live up to 10 years. Usually, 3 – 18 month-old Neapolitan Mastiff puppies suffers from joint pain that is also known as pano-ostiosis. This breed is also vulnerable to cherry eye, bloat and even hip dysplasia.
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