FCI

ORIGIN : Great-Britain.

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE ORIGINAL VALID STANDARD : 24.06.1987.

UTILIZATION : Watch and security dog.

GENERAL APPEARANCE : Head, in general outline, giving a square appearance when viewed from any point. Breadth greatly desired; in ratio to length of whole head and face as 2/3.  Body massive, broad, deep, long, powerfully built, on legs wide apart and squarely set.  Muscles sharply defined.  Size a great desideratum, if combined with quality.  Height and substance important if both points are proportionately combined.  Large, massive, powerful, symmetrical, well-knit frame.

BEHAVIOUR / TEMPERAMENT : A combination of grandeur and courage.  Calm, affectionate to owners, but capable of guarding.

HEAD

CRANIAL REGION :

Skull : Skull broad between ears, forehead flat, but wrinkled when attention is excited.  Brows (superciliary ridges) slightly raised.  Muscles of temples and cheeks (temporal and masseter) well developed.  Arch across skull of a rounded, flattened curve, with depression up centre of forehead from median line between eyes, to halfway up saggital suture.

FACIAL REGION :

Nose : Nose broad, with widely spreading nostrils when viewed from front, flat (not pointed or turned up) in profile.

Muzzle : Face or muzzle short, broad under eyes, and keeping nearly parallel in width to end of nose; truncated, i.e. blunt and cut off squarely, thus forming a right-angle with upper line of face, of great depth from point of nose to under jaw.  Length of muzzle to whole head and face as 1/3. Circumference of muzzle (measured mid-way between eyes and nose) to that of head (measured before the ears) as 3/5.

Lips: Lips diverging at obtuse angles with septum, and slightly pendulous so as to show a square profile.

Jaws/Teeth : Under jaw broad to end.  Canine teeth healthy; powerful and wide apart; incisors level or lower projecting beyond upper but never so much as to become visible when mouth is closed.

Eyes : Small, wide apart, divided by at least space of two eyes.  Stop between eyes well marked but not too abrupt.  Colour hazel brown, darker the better, showing no haw.

Ears : Small, thin to touch, wide apart, set on at highest points of sides of skull, so as to continue outline across summit, and lying flat and close to cheeks when in repose.

NECK : Slightly arched, moderately long, very muscular, and measuring in circumference about one or two inches less than skull before ears.

BODY : 

Back and loins : Back and loins wide and muscular; flat and very wide in bitch, slightly arched in dog.

Chest : Chest wide, deep and well let down between forelegs.  Ribs arched and well rounded.  False ribs deep and well set back to hips. Girth one-third more than height at shoulder.

Belly : Great depth of flanks.

TAIL : Set on high, and reaching to hocks, or a little below them, wide at its root and tapering to end, hanging straight in repose, but forming a curve with end pointing upwards, but not over back, when dog is excited.

LIMBS

FOREQUARTERS : Legs straight, strong and set wide apart; bones being large.

Shoulder and arm : Shoulder and arm slightly sloping, heavy and muscular.

Elbows : Elbows square.

Pasterns : Pasterns upright.

HINDQUARTERS : Broad, wide and muscular.

Second thigh : Well-developed second thighs.

Hock : Hocks bent, wide apart, and quite squarely set when standing or walking.

FEET : Large and round.  Toes well arched.  Nails black.

GAIT / MOVEMENT  : Powerful, easy extension.

COAT

HAIR : Short and close-lying, but not too fine over shoulders, neck and back.

COLOUR : Apricot-fawn, silver-fawn, fawn, or dark fawn-brindle.  In any case, muzzle, ears and nose should be black round orbits, and extending upwards between them.

FAULTS : Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog.

Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified.

N.B. : Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.

AKC (Amerikansk Standard)

General Appearance
The Mastiff is a large, massive, symmetrical dog with a well-knit frame. The impression is one of grandeur and dignity. Dogs are more massive throughout. Bitches should not be faulted for being somewhat smaller in all dimensions while maintaining a proportionally powerful structure. A good evaluation considers positive qualities of type and soundness with equal weight.

Size, Proportion, Substance:
 

Size - Dogs, minimum, 30 inches at the shoulder. Bitches, minimum, 27-1/2 inches at the shoulder. Fault-Dogs or bitches below the minimum standard. The farther below standard, the greater the fault.
 

Proportion - Rectangular, the length of the dog from forechest to rump is somewhat longer than the height at the withers. The height of the dog should come from depth of body rather than from length of leg.
 

Substance - Massive, heavy boned, with a powerful muscle structure. Great depth and breadth desirable. Fault-Lack of substance or slab sided.

Head:
In general outline giving a massive appearance when viewed from any angle. Breadth greatly desired.
 

Eyes - set wide apart, medium in size, never too prominent. Expression alert but kindly. Color of eyes brown, the darker the better, and showing no haw. Light eyes or a predatory expression is undesirable.
 

Ears - small in proportion to the skull, V-shaped, rounded at the tips. Leather moderately thin, set widely apart at the highest points on the sides of the skull continuing the outline across the summit. They should lie close to the cheeks when in repose. Ears dark in color, the blacker the better, conforming to the color of the muzzle.
 

Skull - broad and somewhat flattened between the ears, forehead slightly curved, showing marked wrinkles which are particularly distinctive when at attention. Brows (superciliary ridges) moderately raised. Muscles of the temples well developed, those of the cheeks extremely powerful. Arch across the skull a flattened curve with a furrow up the center of the forehead. This extends from between the eyes to halfway up the skull. The stop between the eyes well marked but not too abrupt. Muzzle should be half the length of the skull, thus dividing the head into three parts-one for the foreface and two for the skull. In other words, the distance from the tip of the nose to stop is equal to one-half the distance between the stop and the occiput. Circumference of the muzzle (measured midway between the eyes and nose) to that of the head (measured before the ears) is as 3 is to 5.
 

Muzzle - short, broad under the eyes and running nearly equal in width to the end of the nose. Truncated, i.e. blunt and cut off square, thus forming a right angle with the upper line of the face. Of great depth from the point of the nose to the underjaw. Underjaw broad to the end and slightly rounded. Muzzle dark in color, the blacker the better. Fault-snipiness of the muzzle.
 

Nose - broad and always dark in color, the blacker the better, with spread flat nostrils (not pointed or turned up) in profile.
 

Lips - diverging at obtuse angles with the septum and sufficiently pendulous so as to show a modified square profile.
 

Canine Teeth - healthy and wide apart. Jaws powerful. Scissors bite preferred, but a moderately undershot jaw should not be faulted providing the teeth are not visible when the mouth is closed.

Neck, Topline, Body:
 

Neck - powerful, very muscular, slightly arched, and of medium length. The neck gradually increases in circumference as it approaches the shoulder. Neck moderately "dry" (not showing an excess of loose skin).
 

Topline -In profile the topline should be straight, level, and firm, not swaybacked, roached, or dropping off sharply behind the high point of the rump.
 

Chest - wide, deep, rounded, and well let down between the forelegs, extending at least to the elbow. Forechest should be deep and well defined with the breastbone extending in front of the foremost point of the shoulders. Ribs well rounded. False ribs deep and well set back.
 

Underline - There should be a reasonable, but not exaggerated, tuck-up.
 

Back - muscular, powerful, and straight. When viewed from the rear, there should be a slight rounding over the rump.
 

Loins - wide and muscular.
 

Tail - set on moderately high and reaching to the hocks or a little below. Wide at the root, tapering to the end, hanging straight in repose, forming a slight curve, but never over the back when the dog is in motion.

Forequarters:
 

Shoulders - moderately sloping, powerful and muscular, with no tendency to looseness. Degree of front angulation to match correct rear angulation.
 

Legs - straight, strong and set wide apart, heavy boned.
 

Elbows - parallel to body.
 

Pasterns - strong and bent only slightly.
 

Feet - large, round, and compact with well arched toes. Black nails.

Hindquarters:

Hindquarters - broad, wide and muscular.
 

Second thighs - well developed, leading to a strong hock joint.
 

Stifle joint - is moderately angulated matching the front.
 

Rear legs - are wide apart and parallel when viewed from the rear. When the portion of the leg below the hock is correctly "set back" and stands perpendicular to the ground, a plumb line dropped from the rearmost point of the hindquarters will pass in front of the foot. This rules out straight hocks, and since stifle angulation varies with hock angulation, it also rules out insufficiently angulated stifles. Fault-Straight stifles.

Coat
Outer coat straight, coarse, and of moderately short length. Undercoat dense, short, and close lying. Coat should not be so long as to produce "fringe" on the belly, tail, or hind legs. Fault-Long or wavy coat.

Color
Fawn, apricot, or brindle. Brindle should have fawn or apricot as a background color which should be completely covered with very dark stripes. Muzzle, ears, and nose must be dark in color, the blacker the better, with similar color tone around the eye orbits and extending upward between them. A small patch of white on the chest is permitted. Faults-Excessive white on the chest or white on any other part of the body. Mask, ears, or nose lacking dark pigment.

Gait
The gait denotes power and strength. The rear legs should have drive, while the forelegs should track smoothly with good reach. In motion, the legs move straight forward; as the dog's speed increases from a walk to a trot, the feet move in toward the center line of the body to maintain balance.

Temperament
A combination of grandeur and good nature, courage and docility. Dignity, rather than gaiety, is the Mastiff's correct demeanor. Judges should not condone shyness or viciousness. Conversely, judges should also beware of putting a premium

The oldest reasonably comprehensive description of a mastiff was written in 1631 by Barnaby Googe:

The mastie that keepeth the house. For this purpose you must provide you such a one as hath a large and mightie body, a great shrill voyce, that both with his barking he may discover, and with his sight dismaye the theefe, yea, being not seene, with the horror of his voice put him to flight. His stature must neither be too long nor too short, but well set; his head, great, his eyes sharp and fiery, either browne or grey; his lippes, blackish, neither turning up nor hanging to much down; his mouth, black and wide; his nether jaw, fat and coming out of it on either side a fang appearing more outward than his other teech, even with his heather, not hanging too much over, sharpe, and hidden with his lippes; his countenance, like a lion; his brest, great and shag hayrd; his shoulders, broad; his legges, bigge, his tayle, short; his feet are great. His disposition must neither be too gentle nor too curst, that he neither faune upon a theefe nor flee upon his friends; very waking; no gadder abroad, nor lavish of his mouth, barking without cause.