Quote:
Originally Posted by sammyg2
Uh huh. despite the fact that the breed was developed to protect livestock from stuff like bears.
The Mastiff is descended from the ancient dogs brought to Britain by ancient traders and is recognized as the oldest British breed. It has been speculated that the Mastiff might have been brought to Britain by the Phoenicians in the 6th century BC.[9] It was used in the blood sports of bear-baiting, bull-baiting, dog fighting, and lion-baiting.
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I think you missunderstand, Sammy. "Baiting" and "fighting" as "blood sport" are far, far different from "protecting from". And yes, a pack of Bull Mastiffs would do a fine job of protecting a flock from predators. I won't dispute that. You have to realize, however, that a good number get killed in this duty, even operating as a pack. The dog fighting you mention was almost certainly one-on-one but, just as certainly, the bear and lion baiting was done with packs, just as it is today. And I'm sure they lost a lot of dogs.
I have been "up close and personal" with dogs that have a bear at bay. I'm not so sure I have ever been so scared in my life. Any attempt at an accurate description of just how vicious they are, and how quickly they can move, would come off as a b.s. exageration to someone who has never seen it. In the few instances I saw it,
every dog (out of 6-8) got hurt, some far worse than others, before we could shoot the bear (or get them away from a too small bear). Half of them requiring some serious stitches. I never saw one killed, but my God could that happen quickly. One on one, where the bear could focus his attention on just one dog? No contest. No way. Over in the blink of an eye. The only way the pack makes it is by playing an expert, well choreographed game of tag-team. Even then they get tagged around the edges.