tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732486.post5496573940124766979..comments2023-10-26T03:19:41.569-07:00Comments on Stephen Bodio's Querencia: Spanish mastiffsSteve Bodiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14434597061701369867noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732486.post-6896816834771429422017-11-09T14:07:36.527-08:002017-11-09T14:07:36.527-08:00We are experienced mountain walkers and this summe...We are experienced mountain walkers and this summer were in north west Spain in an area where there are wolves. Cattle in small herds of about 70 cows calves and a bull are free roaming . We had met a mastif which was very friendly but it was with a farmer and was elderly..<br />A few days later we were on a mountain walk and saw about 5 separate herds of cows plus horses all free roaming. I noticed this white dog about 600 metres away coming towards us so was a bit cautious but he made it very clear he was pleased to see us. We did not make a fuss of him because we knew his responsibilities. He was properly equipped with a spiked collar as protection. He wanted to stay with us and walked back with us doing circuits round us in the scrub. We came upon a herd of cows scattered both sides of our path and we would normally not walk through the middle of them but had no option. The dog immediately changed his behaviour and walked to heel with us until we had cleared the herd when he went back to his original behaviour. When we got back to our car he then left us .<br />We met other mastiffs and they I was vey impressed by the way they interacted with people and their herdsPeternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732486.post-74960462050169052822017-02-03T10:28:10.241-08:002017-02-03T10:28:10.241-08:00I am working on the project of breeding true masti...I am working on the project of breeding true mastiff from Spain, I am from Spain and know the bread very well,<br /><br />Fernando<br />fernandohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07046383810968950600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732486.post-90340200103606454412015-03-04T06:05:10.856-08:002015-03-04T06:05:10.856-08:00Hi..my name is hasan and i am from South Korea. I ...Hi..my name is hasan and i am from South Korea. I want to buy a spanish mastiff one year puppy. So how much for one puppy and how much for sending a puppy to South Korea by air. Thanks hasanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00389790473917868560noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732486.post-49053703246345260622014-12-03T13:39:23.323-08:002014-12-03T13:39:23.323-08:00The " official " Spanish Mastiffs FCI or...The " official " Spanish Mastiffs FCI or AEMPE ( like the Abelgas line )are Spanish Dogues ,products of extreme consanguinity and crossbreeds ,worthless as LGD's .There are existing proofs in Spain ,in France , that these showlines are not at all usefull as LGD's and lack completely efficiency .As they have exagerated skin they are for all useful in front of your entry door if you have air draught there.<br />The authentic ,native Spanish Mastiff is hidden in hands of authentic shepherds and livestock breeders. These native ,authentic Mastiffs over generations constantly out of real working lines are the right ones as LGD's .Don't forget that a LGD has to be an atletic , agile ,natural,high resistant ,robust,persistent dog with a high grade of vigilance ,watchfulness and reaction speed . So fat ,obese ,short-legged,lymphatic dogs ( one hundred kilos dogs ? ) you can simply forget them as LGD's.<br /> If you buy take original ones from authentic shepherds not from official commercial breeders presenting you a lot of papers full of beauty champions FCI , top elements of unability !Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732486.post-59796010692273031552014-10-27T08:31:52.976-07:002014-10-27T08:31:52.976-07:00I own a pair of yearling Spanish Mastiffs and live...I own a pair of yearling Spanish Mastiffs and live on a small farm with goats and poultry (chickens and geese). They are quite friendly with people, but have already deterred a pack of coyotes from setting up shop. Foxes no longer kill my birds. What was once a nuisance bear has moved on, leaving my livestock and bees alone for a change. My SMs are fantastic LGDs and all-around farm dogs: happy to protect their pasture, happy to hop in the truck and go! Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732486.post-50700203867274167352014-05-19T13:30:38.036-07:002014-05-19T13:30:38.036-07:00congratulations, this is the first english languag...congratulations, this is the first english language web where i get to see pictures of real working type spanish mastiffs as the ones my grandmother in el valle del jerte owns, not like those crappy show line dogs from cinco deseos ranch...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01571030617140024324noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732486.post-32397886600718447182014-01-16T23:28:20.832-08:002014-01-16T23:28:20.832-08:00Hello, My name is David Vega,Now I am LA based. I ...Hello, My name is David Vega,Now I am LA based. I am from a little village in Cantabria( North of Spain) , my family came from one of the most abrupt regions of my country: Picos de Europa. I have seen Spanish Mastiffs all my life, this is a unique breed. They are huge, powerful and fearless dogs. I have seen males up to 100kg they live more years than the common LGDs breeds, they can resist low and high temperatures.<br />They will take a bullet from you, they don´t care if it´s a wolf or a bear, they will die defending your cattle. I have heard a lot of stories of these guys taking down wolves and scaring bears.<br />The best Spanish Mastiffs I have seen in USA are Brenda M. Negri´s ones form Cinco Deseos Ranch: https://www.facebook.com/CincoDeseosRanchLivestockGuardianDogs?fref=ts <br />They are breed in unique conditions, they are around cattle, goat and sheep from the very beginning and they learn to work as a pack. <br /><br /> Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04330155955444228091noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732486.post-35644334568714188122013-01-03T06:32:04.839-08:002013-01-03T06:32:04.839-08:00You really need to ask Cat Urbigkit, who should se...You really need to ask Cat Urbigkit, who should see this, but anything of MINE is fine with credit. If she doesn't see this soon, email me at "ebodio- at gilanet- dot- com" and I will forward her address.Steve Bodiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14434597061701369867noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732486.post-41059321293126596172013-01-03T04:54:11.707-08:002013-01-03T04:54:11.707-08:00Hello,
I am currently writing a book with respect...Hello,<br /><br />I am currently writing a book with respect to wolves and livestock guardians and was wondering if I could use some of your information in the area for Spanish Mastiffs. <br /><br />Thanks,<br />Pat Mallenby, B.A., B.ScAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732486.post-60330069317217638512012-10-05T21:39:14.370-07:002012-10-05T21:39:14.370-07:00Cat, at this time I own the only Abelgas bred Span...Cat, at this time I own the only Abelgas bred Spanish Mastiffs in the USA. Gregorio Fidalgo Tejedor's dogs in Spain are considered by most to be the top working line in Spain upon which so many others based their breeding programs. There seems to be so many misconceptions about the breed here already in the US not helped any by those who have repeatedly marketed the breed as exotic expensive pets and promoted show conformation, rather than promoting and breeding for their working ability. Ironically, the imported ones I have (9 total) come from both working and show backgrounds and all have equally taken to guarding my sheep. I attribute some of this to being raised up here in a large pack of dogs - I run about 20 adult dogs on my ranch. I know some claim the show bred mastines cannot guard but this is not true; if raised up from young with sheep or stock, and brought up with older guard dogs, I have found they can also become very fierce protectors; I know mine sure are, and hold their own with the working bred Spanish Mastiffs just fine.<br /><br />Brenda M. Negri<br />Cinco Deseos Ranch LGD's<br />www.lgdnevada.com<br />Winnemucca, NVBrenda M. Negrihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01286290075169347984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732486.post-37561828797440452512012-09-28T12:49:35.010-07:002012-09-28T12:49:35.010-07:00I am also a Spaniard man and I absolutely agree wi...I am also a Spaniard man and I absolutely agree with the last comment. Kennel dogs are not true mastines, mastines are in the countryside, bred by farmers. Certainly they are very similar to other livestock dogs in Europe and Asia. You can see some of them -from today and from the past- in our blogs http://elmastindecampo.blogspot.com http://elmastindecampoytrabajo.blogspot.com <br /> Nice work and chronicle, Cat.<br /><br />Greetings,<br /><br />CarlosAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732486.post-6024469885406597682012-09-27T15:34:43.034-07:002012-09-27T15:34:43.034-07:00Im spanish boy, my family have mastin español, spa...Im spanish boy, my family have mastin español, spanish mastif for guard of cows against the wolfs and bears in the mountains of north of spain, in other zones guard sheeps and horses.<br />in other cases guard houses and gardens or enterprises.<br />BUT THE 100per100 spanish mastif you cant find in shows of dogs, the sheper spanish mastif, is les fat, please dont buy dogs of shows because if you buy this you can give ok result about the work of dogs. you must find dogs in spanish countriside go out to shows and busines... this spanish mastifs are the original, looks like turkish kangal and other mastifs in your eviroment. <br /><br />sorry for my englishAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732486.post-3465805081753297842012-03-27T16:30:53.179-07:002012-03-27T16:30:53.179-07:00Excellent information on the working style and abi...Excellent information on the working style and ability of the Spanish Mastiff! The ranchers I've been in communication with in Spain have all reported similar stories and I've found this to hold true in my experience with my Spanish Mastiff's on my own farm over the years. They have a close working style with the livestock and seem to do best with human interaction as well. They do not tend to be human aggressive, but are very savvy and intelligent and seem to read people (and their intentions) accurately and respond accordingly. <br />Lois Jordan<br />www.fallcreekfarm.net<br />http://spanishmastiffs.blogspot.com/Fall Creek Farm Spanish Mastiffshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02235351534236184758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732486.post-88694268514851259612011-04-05T15:20:01.699-07:002011-04-05T15:20:01.699-07:00I am hoping to own a Spanish Mastiff in the very n...I am hoping to own a Spanish Mastiff in the very near future. We currently use Maremmas to guard our goat herds...but I really like the mastiff temperament. Please let me know when you get all your ppictures and writings finished..I'd love to see and read more about your trip. Very interesting. I think Livestock guardian DOGS are the best route for this ridiculous over population of wolves. The problem is having enough dogs to be able to combat against these LARGE packs that ranchers in the west are having to deal with. Luckily CA is not yet home to those giant predators....but who knows what the future holds.<br />Jess<br />Faint-Hearted Ranch<br />www.faintheartedranch.netJesshttp://www.faintheartedranch.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732486.post-87621212786795611112011-03-25T14:08:58.317-07:002011-03-25T14:08:58.317-07:00We run 7000 commercial ewes and we breed our own g...We run 7000 commercial ewes and we breed our own guard dogs. They are Marema, Ak bash, Anatolian, with a little Pyrenees. What ever works we breed. Our 3 guard dogs on the summer range grabbed a bear buy the butt and ran him out of the herd. I have never heard of the Mastiffs but it sounds like I should look into the breed. We had one litter that had a huge pup in it and he looked like one of your Mastiffs. We were trying to think of a guard dog breed with that coloring and now you have solved the mystery. At first we thought one of the Border collies got to the bitch, but there was only one black tri dog in the litter and he was huge. It did not look Border Collie, it was too big for a Border Collie cross. We have wolves, Puma, and coyotes to contend with and we loose very few sheep to predators. We run 3 guard dogs to the band. Anita Phillips J & A Phillips RanchAnita Phillipshttp://battleborn@pmt.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732486.post-28352683745626438052010-11-30T07:43:13.549-08:002010-11-30T07:43:13.549-08:00Great comments - I'm busy trying to transcribe...Great comments - I'm busy trying to transcribe our interviews and notes now, so I'll do more posts on what we learned a little later on, including items on husbandry and training, as well as various guarding behaviors. <br />Maggie, the dogs will almost always stand broadside in the road while the sheep cross - many a guard dog have been killed by speeding trucks in such encounters, and many a sheep have thus been saved.<br />Heather, the wolves in Spain are not as large as our wolves in the Northern Rockies, but they are still much closer in size than a to a western coyote. Average weight is about 90 pounds for an adult male, and average pack size is about seven. The write-up I'm working on includes information about the predator populations as well as the dogs and livestock. I did get a few photos of bears and wolves, which I'll post later with more info. Now back to transcribing ...Cat Urbigkithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12649103651692682453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732486.post-76835914364269253312010-11-28T06:50:43.762-08:002010-11-28T06:50:43.762-08:00Fascinating Cat.
How do the Spanish wolves compar...Fascinating Cat.<br /><br />How do the Spanish wolves compare to US wolves in size and predatory behavior?<br /><br />A documentary I saw once on Italian wolves portrayed animals that were closer to coyotes or red wolves in their size and habits than to timber wolves.Heather Houlahanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13891198124130533198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732486.post-138760412094408872010-11-27T13:07:44.458-08:002010-11-27T13:07:44.458-08:00Fascinating study. I have met a couple of dogs tha...Fascinating study. I have met a couple of dogs that do that raking thing with their teeth, and it truly is a "gentle" warning to "move on, nothing to see here." Interesting to hear of that behavior from livestock working dogs. The dogs I know to hae done that are guard/attack dogs, and at the time I thought I was just lucky they didn't decide to clamp down.<br /><br />Best Regards,<br /><a href="http://af.linkedin.com/pub/albert-rasch/14/623/958" rel="nofollow">Albert A Rasch</a><br /><a href="http://trrtactical.blogspot.com/2010/10/how-terrorists-choose-their-targets.html#links" rel="nofollow">The Range Reviews Tactical: How Terrorists Choose Their Targets</a>Albert A Raschhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11431765456546701021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732486.post-88634868383115749312010-11-27T08:46:14.482-08:002010-11-27T08:46:14.482-08:00Cat, I saw a fleeting minute on a cable TV program...Cat, I saw a fleeting minute on a cable TV program a night or 2 ago that had me quite awe struck. It was a show about meteor hunters (in colorado?)and their pickup is (time for a laugh) stopped on a highway with a flock of sheep crossing in front of them, and as the camera panned there were 3 or 4 huge white guard dogs standing some distnce apart from each other, facing the flock as it crossed, all dogs on the highway, and as the meteor hunter guys drove on past they said something to the dogs,,there were no people there,,those dogs knew exactly where the danger came from on that road. With great respect,,Maggie in SW WIAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732486.post-56169196882284805072010-11-26T17:55:29.805-08:002010-11-26T17:55:29.805-08:00Cat,
What kind of "training" do they do ...Cat,<br />What kind of "training" do they do that we don't commonly do?Jenny Glenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04606055794620433163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732486.post-16414807551930751042010-11-26T14:50:39.512-08:002010-11-26T14:50:39.512-08:00Thanks for letting me post this article to my blog...Thanks for letting me post this article to my blog, Cat. Many years ago I started using the Great Pyrenees to protect my sheep from coyotes - a bit ahead of the times then. We didn't/don't have wolf problems in our area (Sierra foothills). Today, I've turned to the llama as a sheep guard. The one I have is very effective - he is a gelded 7 year old. Posted some photos of him on my blog - link below. Mimi Cary Drake http://azawakh-idi.blogspot.com/2010/11/my-working-dogs-and-livestock.htmlakilah (Mimi Drake)https://www.blogger.com/profile/05124203550481721682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732486.post-39274049052226020472010-11-26T14:44:29.754-08:002010-11-26T14:44:29.754-08:00This comment has been removed by the author.akilah (Mimi Drake)https://www.blogger.com/profile/05124203550481721682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732486.post-10955573082030337342010-11-26T10:50:55.077-08:002010-11-26T10:50:55.077-08:00Eugene:
Actually the conditions are not so differe...Eugene:<br />Actually the conditions are not so different. Most range sheep herds in the West are herded also. What seems different is the training given to the dogs in Spain, since we do very little training here.Cat Urbigkithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12649103651692682453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732486.post-37148129096288320122010-11-26T10:38:58.419-08:002010-11-26T10:38:58.419-08:00Very interesting!
As I understand, the working con...Very interesting!<br />As I understand, the working conditions are very different in Spain and Wyoming. Spanish Mastiffs live and work much closer to their owners. It is intereting to see, how they will work in new environment. <br /><br />EugeneUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01176760157820769806noreply@blogger.com