Post by Spike on May 31, 2022 17:03:39 GMT
Could an AKC Molosser Group become a reality?
Continued...
What is it, then, that these self-appointed Molossers have in common? What is it that binds them, and makes them comfortable assuming, even seeking out, the Molosser label? No one can say for sure, as each breed culture is as unique as the breed it cherishes, but we can hazard some guesses.
First, there seems to be a willingness among Molosser fanciers to accept and even embrace the idea that in some shape or form, their breed’s job description at one time included protection.
This does not mean that these breeds have sharp temperaments – sometimes, quite the opposite. Consider the Mastiff. As a whole, the Mastiff community promotes their dogs for what they are: gentle giants, with the emphasis on “gentle.” Justifiably famous for their love of women and children, Mastiffs are not poster children for ferocity, nor are they promoted as such. But they are a breed developed to “keepeth the house,” and they do have a protective instinct, though it is more likely to manifest by sitting on an intruder rather than savaging him. When you weight 250 pounds, you have that option.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, we have the Fila Brasiliero. This Brazilian breed made frequent appearances in Habig’s Molosser Magazin, even though phenotypically, with its down face and houndy ears, it just as easily evokes a Bloodhound as a Mastiff. But the Fila’s raison d’etre is protection of its master, so much so that its standard makes accepting the touch – just the mere touch – of a stranger a disqualifying fault. Clearly, the draw of the Molosser category for this breed is a desire to be placed among those breeds developed for protection, as it is the ne plus ultra for that purpose. But in this respect the Fila is atypical of most other modern Molossers, which try to distance themselves from that xenophobic temperament.
Shared points of reference seem to be another commonality between fanciers who embrace the Molosser label. The Bullmastiff, for example, defines itself by what the Mastiff is not, and so a kinship of sorts exists, as these two breeds lean on each other conceptually. The Dogue de Bordeaux, being France’s answer to the Bullmastiff, is another close branch on this family tree. In Italy, the two Italian mastiff breeds – the Cane Corso and the Neo – counterbalance each other. Many countries, from South Africa to Japan to Spain, have their own home-grown mastiffs, and, in recognition of these extended family ties, these breeds often accept the Molosser moniker handily. (With the exception, we’ve previously noted, of the German Mastiff, the Dane, which has evolved so far from its mastiff identity that it no longer sees itself as one.)
Finally, many of those American breed communities that are aware of and accepting of the Molosser label have maintained ties to their parent countries and fellow enthusiasts overseas. There is no serious American Dogue de Bordeaux fancier, for example, who does not know the name Raymond Triquet, widely acknowledged as the savior of the Dogue, and the architect of the standard. He is responsible for the second sentence of the AKC standard for the Dogue de Bordeaux: “He is a typical brachycephalic molossoid type.” If you’re a Dogue fancier and you don’t know your breed is a Molosser, you haven’t been paying attention in class, not just today, but all semester.
Davies of the AKC Realignment Committee notes that a good-sized group would contain 15 to 20 breeds; the smallest groups proposed by the committee on the first go-round encompassed about a dozen breeds (such as Pointers and Setters, and Sighthounds). Doing the math, then, there are the six breeds that appear regularly in this magazine, and so are reasonably assured to want to take on the Molosser mantle: the Bullmastiff, Cane Corso, Dogue de Bordeaux, Mastiff, Neapolitan Mastiff and Tibetan Mastiff. Then there are the Boerboel and Dogo Argentino, both of which entered the AKC Miscellaneous Group in January 2011, and both of which culturally might be comfortable with the Molosser moniker, making eight breeds. Could another four be persuaded to join the fold?
To test the waters, Modern Molosser sent an email to the presidents of the Bulldog Club of America, the American Rottweiler Club and the St. Bernard Club of America, inquiring whether, if there was a Molosser Group on the table, those breeds would consider themselves a part of it. Only the Rottweiler club sent a response, saying its board would be discussing it. That hesitance is to be expected: Parent clubs by their very nature do not respond swiftly to questions that their membership have not had a chance to gnaw on.
So we dashed off a query to Bulldog breeder-judge Anne Hier, who knows the development of the breed, and so could speak from a historical perspective. “I agree with the FCI that the Bulldog is of molossoid descent,” she replied, outlining the breed’s “Bandogge” heritage, though noting that by the time bull-baiting became illegal in Britian in 1835, Bulldogs “hadn’t been bred with any molossoid stock such as the Mastiff for a few centuries.”
Culturally, though, Hier doesn’t think the Bulldog is an ideal fit for a Molosser Group. “Bulldogs have not been bred for a protective, utilitarian, working temperament for almost 200 years. They are companion dogs,” she says. “As a Bulldog breeder, I do not prefer to see the breed viewed by the public as a guard or working animal, which might be the impression given if they were classed in this group for show purposes.”
Continued...
What is it, then, that these self-appointed Molossers have in common? What is it that binds them, and makes them comfortable assuming, even seeking out, the Molosser label? No one can say for sure, as each breed culture is as unique as the breed it cherishes, but we can hazard some guesses.
First, there seems to be a willingness among Molosser fanciers to accept and even embrace the idea that in some shape or form, their breed’s job description at one time included protection.
This does not mean that these breeds have sharp temperaments – sometimes, quite the opposite. Consider the Mastiff. As a whole, the Mastiff community promotes their dogs for what they are: gentle giants, with the emphasis on “gentle.” Justifiably famous for their love of women and children, Mastiffs are not poster children for ferocity, nor are they promoted as such. But they are a breed developed to “keepeth the house,” and they do have a protective instinct, though it is more likely to manifest by sitting on an intruder rather than savaging him. When you weight 250 pounds, you have that option.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, we have the Fila Brasiliero. This Brazilian breed made frequent appearances in Habig’s Molosser Magazin, even though phenotypically, with its down face and houndy ears, it just as easily evokes a Bloodhound as a Mastiff. But the Fila’s raison d’etre is protection of its master, so much so that its standard makes accepting the touch – just the mere touch – of a stranger a disqualifying fault. Clearly, the draw of the Molosser category for this breed is a desire to be placed among those breeds developed for protection, as it is the ne plus ultra for that purpose. But in this respect the Fila is atypical of most other modern Molossers, which try to distance themselves from that xenophobic temperament.
Shared points of reference seem to be another commonality between fanciers who embrace the Molosser label. The Bullmastiff, for example, defines itself by what the Mastiff is not, and so a kinship of sorts exists, as these two breeds lean on each other conceptually. The Dogue de Bordeaux, being France’s answer to the Bullmastiff, is another close branch on this family tree. In Italy, the two Italian mastiff breeds – the Cane Corso and the Neo – counterbalance each other. Many countries, from South Africa to Japan to Spain, have their own home-grown mastiffs, and, in recognition of these extended family ties, these breeds often accept the Molosser moniker handily. (With the exception, we’ve previously noted, of the German Mastiff, the Dane, which has evolved so far from its mastiff identity that it no longer sees itself as one.)
Finally, many of those American breed communities that are aware of and accepting of the Molosser label have maintained ties to their parent countries and fellow enthusiasts overseas. There is no serious American Dogue de Bordeaux fancier, for example, who does not know the name Raymond Triquet, widely acknowledged as the savior of the Dogue, and the architect of the standard. He is responsible for the second sentence of the AKC standard for the Dogue de Bordeaux: “He is a typical brachycephalic molossoid type.” If you’re a Dogue fancier and you don’t know your breed is a Molosser, you haven’t been paying attention in class, not just today, but all semester.
Davies of the AKC Realignment Committee notes that a good-sized group would contain 15 to 20 breeds; the smallest groups proposed by the committee on the first go-round encompassed about a dozen breeds (such as Pointers and Setters, and Sighthounds). Doing the math, then, there are the six breeds that appear regularly in this magazine, and so are reasonably assured to want to take on the Molosser mantle: the Bullmastiff, Cane Corso, Dogue de Bordeaux, Mastiff, Neapolitan Mastiff and Tibetan Mastiff. Then there are the Boerboel and Dogo Argentino, both of which entered the AKC Miscellaneous Group in January 2011, and both of which culturally might be comfortable with the Molosser moniker, making eight breeds. Could another four be persuaded to join the fold?
To test the waters, Modern Molosser sent an email to the presidents of the Bulldog Club of America, the American Rottweiler Club and the St. Bernard Club of America, inquiring whether, if there was a Molosser Group on the table, those breeds would consider themselves a part of it. Only the Rottweiler club sent a response, saying its board would be discussing it. That hesitance is to be expected: Parent clubs by their very nature do not respond swiftly to questions that their membership have not had a chance to gnaw on.
So we dashed off a query to Bulldog breeder-judge Anne Hier, who knows the development of the breed, and so could speak from a historical perspective. “I agree with the FCI that the Bulldog is of molossoid descent,” she replied, outlining the breed’s “Bandogge” heritage, though noting that by the time bull-baiting became illegal in Britian in 1835, Bulldogs “hadn’t been bred with any molossoid stock such as the Mastiff for a few centuries.”
Culturally, though, Hier doesn’t think the Bulldog is an ideal fit for a Molosser Group. “Bulldogs have not been bred for a protective, utilitarian, working temperament for almost 200 years. They are companion dogs,” she says. “As a Bulldog breeder, I do not prefer to see the breed viewed by the public as a guard or working animal, which might be the impression given if they were classed in this group for show purposes.”