A lot has been said and published about the History of the Breed throughout the years. There are many books, old and new, that specifically refer to it, written for Christina de Lima-Netto, EL BULLMASTIFF and EL GRAN LIBRO DEL BULLMASTIFF Y MASTIFF; in fact in this one I devote some 120+ pages to the History from its origins to the present times, and to my best knowledge the amount of information referred in it is the largest, when compared to the rest of the books on the Breed, originally written in English, French, German, Italian or Spanish. Therefore, if you are familiar with Spanish I truly recommend that you read EL GRAN LIBRO DEL BULLMASTIFF Y MASTIFF, since its 400 pages and 200+ photos will certainly add to your best knowledge of the Breed.

Therefore, here it goes, since there are indeed a few aspects I would like to emphasize, as these are in my modest opinion the ones that explain what Bullmastiffs have come to be in the present time.

It is known that dogs similar to what modern Bullmastiffs are like nowadays have existed for centuries; where they came from is still a matter of high discussion but what matters is not the geographical origin, but the reason for which they became so important to men.

Dogs of immense fortitude and strength were used in the past to fight different beasts, bulls included, as a divertimento for the wealthy and also for the ordinary people, but at a point in time this bloody entertainment was banned, first in England and later in the Iberian Peninsula, where the fiercest dogs were said to live. In Spain and Portugal dogs of this kind, called “Perros de Toros” (literally translated as bull-dogs) were used until the mid of the XIX century and, in fact, there is a very interesting large size painting that portrays the patio of the ancient Madrid bullfight ring, where two dogs that are very much alike modern bullmastiffs are depicted.

Therefore, here it goes, since there are indeed a few aspects I would like to emphasize, as these are in my modest opinion the ones that explain what Bullmastiffs have come to be in the present time

It is known that dogs similar to what modern Bullmastiffs are like nowadays have existed for centuries; where they came from is still a matter of high discussion but what matters is not the geographical origin, but the reason for which they became so important to men.

Dogs of immense fortitude and strength were used in the past to fight different beasts, bulls included, as a divertimento for the wealthy and also for the ordinary people, but at a point in time this bloody entertainment was banned, first in England and later in the Iberian Peninsula, where the fiercest dogs were said to live. In Spain and Portugal dogs of this kind, called “Perros de Toros” (literally translated as bull-dogs) were used until the mid of the XIX century and, in fact, there is a very interesting large size painting that portrays the patio of the ancient Madrid bullfight ring, where two dogs that are very much alike modern bullmastiffs are depicted.

This work of art, “Patio de caballos de la antigua plaza de Madrid, antes de la corrida” was painted by Spanish Manuel Castellano (1828-1880) in year 1854 and it is known to portray many people who were consummate experts in the Bullfight tradition and many contemporary bullfighters, for which there is no reason to believe that the two dogs (a brindle and a fawn red) that appear in the left hand corner, weren’t also portrayed from real.

The fact is that when you see this immense painting (approx. m) that is shown at one of the annex buildings to the Prado Museum, in Madrid, you cannot deny the similarities of those dogs, to modern Bullmastiffs; indeed, taken that this masterpiece was painted over one hundred and fifty years ago, those two dogs look a lot more like the Bullmastiffs we see today, than the contemporary British “Night Dogs”. I know that not too many people will be happy with this remark, but the evidence cannot be denied.

Litografia, Luis Ferrant 1835

Whatever the case, the Bullmastiff was recognized as such under this name, in year 1924, by the British Kennel Club and it is said to be a breed of British origin. Like I said at the very beginning if you are fluent enough in Spanish, I invite you to read what I have to say about the Breed, its origins, present and future in both books off Christina de Lima-Netto EL BULLMASTIFF and EL GRAN LIBRO DEL BULLMASTIFF Y MASTIFF. I am sure you none of the two will deceive you and, as a matter of fact, Douglas B. Oliff, one of the most important historians of the breed and the molossers in general, wrote a preface to it. As a matter of fact, while writing my book, where out of the over 400 pages, there are some 100 devoted to the search of the origins of the breed, she had the immense honour of being able to go through Douglas’ scrap book, a privilege granted to a very few, for which I am very grateful.

French Newspaper (1952 )

Newspaper ( 1906 )

(Original text written by Christina of Lima-Netto and Federico Baudin specifically for this web page and protected with Copyright. Not even whole can be reproduced not partially by any way, without Castro-Castalia's express assent in writing).