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The Mastiff was originally a war dog with Caesar's Roman legions, as well as a gladiator in the Roman arena, fighting dogs,
bulls, and lions. Later, in England, the breed was often used as a village guardian, patrolling the streets at night to control
prowling wolves. Today, these dogs are often used as companions, family members, therapy workers, and watchdogs.
The Mastiff was bred to be a war dog, which is hard to believe if you are the beloved parent to a Mastiff! History shows
Mastiffs hunting lions, fighting bulls, and even driving an elephant to its knees. Mastiffs were also known to be led into
war by the thousands and being fierce fighters! There are even records of them being fought in the Roman Coliseum against
bears, lions, tigers, bulls, boars, other dogs, and humans.
Even though their reputation was as a vicious fighter, they were also well known as guard dogs and loyal companions. In
later years, the Mastiff was bred less to attack and more as a guardian and pet. When visitors came to the castles, the Mastiff
was trained to walk close to the guest and lean heavily against them and growl. This was a show of, im watching you! rather
than, ill eat you, and if you have ever had a big dog lean all its weight against you and lowly growl, you can see that its
enough to know that you're on notice and best behave yourself.
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