Spanish Mastiff: Difference between revisions

 

==Varieties==

In addition to its considered "official" variety, which is the current and modern Spanish Mastiff framed in a rigid aesthetic pattern and recognized by the largest canine entities, there is also its more primitive, traditional variety, considered unofficial, that does not meet any aesthetic standards and has as its objective, still today, to serve its owners acting in the protection of flocks against predators. These unofficial strains, for the purpose of differentiation, are termed the Traditional Spanish Mastiff, Working Spanish Mastiff, Leonese Mastiff, and Wolf Dog. These unofficial strains continue to act actively in their original and primitive function, with figures published by the World Wide Fund for Nature in 1986 showing a 61% reduction in predation of livestock when flocks are guarded by Mastiffs.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Pablo |first1=Ofelia de |last2=Zurita |first2=Javier |date=19 October 2023 |title='I got to know the wolf': how Spain's shepherds are learning to live with their old enemy |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/oct/19/wolf-how-spain-shepherds-learning-to-live-with-old-enemy-aoe |access-date=19 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231019112350/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/oct/19/wolf-how-spain-shepherds-learning-to-live-with-old-enemy-aoe |archive-date=19 October 2023 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1986 |title=LO QUE EL LOBO NOS DA BENEFICIOSECOSISTÉMICOS Y LOCIALES DELLOBO IBÉRICO |trans-title=WHAT THE WOLF GIVES US ECOSYSTEM AND SOCIAL BENEFITS OF THE IBERIAN WOLF |url=https://wwfes.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/manifiesto_lo_que_el_lobo_nos_da.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230511142116/https://wwfes.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/manifiesto_lo_que_el_lobo_nos_da.pdf |archive-date=11 May 2023 |access-date=19 October 2023 |website=WWF (Spain) |language=es}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Perea |first=Silvia |date=2019 |title=Morphological and molecular assessment of hip dysplasia in two body types of Spanish Mastiff |url=https://digital.csic.es/handle/10261/247461 |journal=International Journal of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=32–39|hdl=10261/247461 }}</ref>