History
The Neapolitan Mastiff is one of the Molosser type of dogs, which probably descend from a common stock; whether this was the Molossus attested in antiquity is controversial.
Despite centuries of popularity throughout Europe, this type of dog was almost lost after World War II. Soon after the war, Italian painter Piero Scanziani established a breeding kennel to turn the mastiff-type dogs of Italy into a formal breed which was then named the Neapolitan Mastiff and English Mastiff was used to help in this process. A Neapolitan Mastiff has set the record for giving birth to 24 puppies, although 4 of them didn't survive.
Neapolitan Mastiffs were also trained to bait bulls, bears and jaguars.
Read more about this topic: Neapolitan Mastiff
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