i have a 7 month old neapolitian mastiff. we got her when she was 3 months old since we had her she has lived with a male and female lhaso aphso. they shared a shed and yard and also house together never with any problems infact like a family. last week the mastiff broke season and also we ended up getting a litter sister of her which had been getting a hard time from the mother dog. we went out last night for bout half an hour and when we got back the two lhaso's where dead, the new mastiff we got was clean and dry but the one that had been rared with them was covered in blood, you can imagine distress caused. my question is is this common for a bitch in heat to act this way or is this just a bad dog that should be done away with? bearing in mind this same dog has been an absolute pleasure to look after in every way up until this point.

Hi ,i am so sorry about the death of your dogs ,But you should not leave dogs of this breed to run with small dogs this was just waiting to happen? If you want this breed you must keep it on its own and not with another bitch of any breed, it is not a bad bitch it is just the breed, why didnt you read up on this breed befor you went and got one?.WHY WHY WHY.

Hi Guest

So sorry about your dogs, please feel free to email me( you can access my email if you are a member) I am the only Neo owner on this board.

Alison :)
Edited to remove my email details

Hi,

So Sorry about your little dogs.

Unfortunately large dogs such as these which are a fighting breed (originally) should not be left alone with small dogs and care should be taken when leaving them with any other dog. Your bitch has hormones at the moment and will probably be stroppy and feeling a bit strange and might even be worried about what is happening to her. She probably also was upset by the arrival of another large dog, especially when she was in the delicate condition.

You don't know what happened, maybe the new bitch was bullying the little ones and she stepped in, but it got our of control. This is something you will unfortunately never know.

Please do some serious research on this breed and if you are intending to keep both bitches, get some advice from someone who knows the breed to ensure you don't have any further problems.

Some dogs are just not right for the average person!!!! and some breeders unfortunately will not tell you the bad things and just want to sell their pups either to make money or so they don't get stuck with them. :(

Anyone breeding dogs should have a thorough knowledge of the breed they are promoting and breeding and should pass as much of this knowledge as possible onto new owners and potential puppy buyers.

Did your breeder give you advice and details on the breed itself, what to expect as they grow up, what they were originally bred for etc etc.

manda
X

Hi Manda
Neapolitan Mastiff have NEVER been bred as fighting dogs, they ORIGINALLY and some still are bred for protection and guard. Please do not confuse this breed with other breeds that were originally bred for fighting.

Alison :)

Hi Alison,

Apologies for this error, it's just one of my many sources of info states they were bred originally to fight in Roman Arena's, maybe this was in very, very ancient times?

manda
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Hi Manda,
I must admit all research I have done says that the mastiff breeds says that they were designed for fighting and "aggressive-defence" (a pre-emptive strike force, I suppose).
:)

Hi In all the research I have done on this breed there is only one pice of evidence that suggests this breed was bred for fighting, but this goes back to 55BC.

"Caesar also describes finding fierce mastiff dogs fighting alongside their masters against the Roman legions during the Roman invasion of Britain in 55 B.C. Many of these British fighting mastiffs were brought back to Rome for use in the arena against the native fighting dogs. At this task, the British dogs proved to be superior. As such, it is likely that today's Neapolitan Mastiff contains much of the blood of these ancient British dogs as well as the blood of the indigenous Roman breed, for breeders of the ancient Roman fighting dogs would have taken advantage of the best qualities of each breed in the composition of the ultimate arena dog."

But this still only suggests they contain some of the traits of the fighting dogs, not that they were bred for it.

All too often they get confused with a fighting breed, if the offer ever arose they would quite simply walk away.

Alison

breed info

Well it seems in most american based info it does say it was originally bred for fighting, however all european based info says it never has been. So even I am confused now

Alison

Hi Alison,

I guess it's very, very far back then, I know they are a lovely breed and I would dearly love to have one (have loved them the moment I saw onw years and years ago), but couldn't be doing with all that slobbering :D

I hope the original poster isn't going to keep litter sisters together, they could be in for even more problems, what do you think, being a Neo. owner?

manda
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I have never wanted any posting to be a wind up more than this one.

How could anyone leave a large dog such as this nea with two small dogs is beyond me. I have a lhasa so I suppose my emotions are getting to me but this person shouldnt have goldfish let alone dogs. How could anyone who has only had a dog for 16 weeks not ensure the safety of their other dogs and then take on another one. Please let this be a wind up.

GIna
My Neo is in company of 2 lhasa apso all the time with no problems just cos this is a large breed doesn't mena it can't be left with little ones.

Alison

Hi Alison. :)

I know nothing about neos other than their size. I know the size of lhasas too. :) I would never ever leave ANY sort of large dog for any length of time with small dogs it is just too risky as far as I am concerned. Under supervision and when the family is together then fine but not when they are on their own. Having a dog for 16 weeks is a relatively short period to get to know their nature. IMO as a dog lover not an expert.

I have nothing against neos and am sure they are lovely dogs but I still stand by what I have said above. I dont want to get into a debate about neos just the fact that I believe owners should be careful of their animals and this posting upset me - a supposedly useless loss of life of a breed of dog I love. The large dog could have been any breed I would still feel the same.

You have two lhasas too - forgive me for asking but as the Guest had them too are they supposed to be companion dogs for neos or just a coincidence :D :p

Gina :)

Hi Gina
the lhasa apso are not mine, they live next door but they are always in my garden or my dogs in there's. My other dog is a Dobermann and he also socializes with the lhasa's, never any problems:)

I agree that the dog should not have been left alone, but only because of the new addition and the season therefore hormone changes the Neo bitch was experiencing. I am no expert on Neo's as Kylie is my first and only had her five 1/2 months and she is not a puppy she is four. I have spent months researching this breed, and still got lots to learn.

Alison :)

Hi Alison

I think we learn all the time - I still am but only had Barney for 18 months. Have had shih tzu (Molly) for less than that so am learning all the time :D

Sounds like you are having a great time with your two :)

My two are small (Molly very) so I would not leave then together on their own as she is a tease :p

Gina