In my opinion, the Papillon is the king of the dog kingdom. Their assertiveness with large dogs often cowers the big guys. More often than not, a small or medium sized dog with any agressiveness and agility will back down larger dogs.

I have also seen a four pound Japanese Chin cause Great Danes and Newfoundlands to turn tail and run the other way. She is quite the terror of the neighborhood and she doesn't even have any teeth!

As far as size is concerned, the Tibetan Mastiff and the St. Bernard are tied for the largest AKC registered breeds. They both top out at a whopping 200lbs. As with any breed, this is the acceptable weight range and some specimens may get larger than the breed standard. The tallest is the Irish Wolfhound which ranges up to 34" at the withers.

It has been a while since I have heard anyone use stone as a mass measurement. Since I do not have my conversion book handy, what is a stone in kg. or lbs.?

I do not want to cause an argument, but the origins of the mastiff breed are not clear. My sources state that the breed was developed throughout Europe and Asia many thousands of years ago. The Romans are said to have brought them to the British Isles during their expansion as the guard dogs of the garrisons. There is also debate that the mastiff as we know it today probably descended from the Molossian, a dog of great size and ferocity bred for war in the Mediterranean, but that this may also be in doubt considering the range of the breed was far greater than that of the empires. It most certainly was developed on the mainland, however.



[This message has been edited by Sophies Daddy (edited January 07, 2001).]