The Pyrenean Mastiff or Mastín del Pirineo is a Spanish

breed A breed is a specific group of 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 several slig ...

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 eu, autonomia erkidegoa ca, comunitat autònoma gl, comunidade autónoma oc, comunautat autonòma an, comunidat autonoma ast, comunidá autónoma , alt_name = , map = , category = Autonomous administra ...

Aragón Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises th ...

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

transhumance Transhumance is a type of pastoralism or 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 lower vall ...

to high summer pasture in the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...

. 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. Historical ...

or Mastin Español and from both the

Pyrenean Mountain Dog The Pyrenean Mountain Dog (french: Chien de Montagne des Pyrénées) is a breed of livestock guardian dog from France, where it is commonly called the Patou. The breed comes from the French side of the Pyrenees Mountains that separate France an ...

and the

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

History

The Pyrenean Mastiff originated in the historic

Kingdom of Aragon The Kingdom of Aragon ( an, Reino d'Aragón, ca, Regne d'Aragó, la, Regnum Aragoniae, es, Reino de Aragón) was a medieval and early modern kingdom on the Iberian Peninsula, corresponding to the modern-day autonomous community of Aragon, ...

, where it has been documented since the

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

. 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''; plural, : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been reco ...

. Like other European flock guardian breeds, they were often fitted with a spiked metal

wolf collar A wolf collar (also known as it, roccale, italic=no or , es, carlanca, italic=no) is a type of dog collar designed to protect livestock guardian dogs from attack by wolves. Wolf collars are fitted with elongated spikes to stop wolves from attac ...

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 Fédération cynologique internationale (FCI) (English: International Canine Federation) is the largest international federation of national kennel clubs. It is based in Thuin, Belgium. History The FCI was founded in 1911 under the auspices ...

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 of ...

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

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