Q 01/05

The English Mastiff holds what distinction among all living dogs?

A) It is the largest by mass

B) It is the tallest

C) It is the oldest breed

D) It is the rarest

Answer · why

A) It is the largest by mass

It outweighs the wolf by up to 110 pounds on average; the Irish Wolfhound and Great Dane are taller but far less robust.

Q 02/05

The Mastiff is likely descended from the Alaunt and which ancient British war dog?

A) Canis Molossus

B) Vertragus

C) Pugnax Britanniae

D) Agassaean

Answer · why

C) Pugnax Britanniae

The Roman poet Grattius rated British dogs above the famous Molossians when serious fighting was called for.

Q 03/05

Which colour feature must every English Mastiff display, whatever its coat colour?

A) A black mask

B) A white chest blaze

C) Black-tipped tail

D) White feet

Answer · why

A) A black mask

Coats run apricot, fawn, silver-fawn or striped, but the muzzle, ears, nose and eye rims are always black.

Q 04/05

How many Mastiff births were registered in the UK in 2020, leaving it a vulnerable native breed?

A) 12

B) 38

C) 104

D) 71

Answer · why

C) 104

The breed has meanwhile grown in popularity worldwide, reaching 28th place in the United States.

Q 05/05

The oldest sculpture of a mastiff-like dog comes from which region, during the Kassite period?

A) Ancient Egypt

B) Mesopotamia

C) Shang China

D) Hittite Anatolia

Answer · why

B) Mesopotamia

It is a ceramic and paint sculpture from the mid-2nd millennium BC.