{"data":{"slug":"assyrian-mastiff","name":"Assyrian Mastiff","url":"https://techtools.cz/tools/dog-atlas/assyrian-mastiff","api_url":"https://techtools.cz/dog-atlas-api/v1/breeds/assyrian-mastiff","also_known_as":["Mesopotamian Mastiff"],"kind":"landrace","extinct":true,"group":{"key":"molosser","label":"Mastiff \u0026 Mountain","fci_group":2,"fci_group_name":"Pinscher and Schnauzer, Molossoid and Swiss Mountain and Cattle Dogs"},"size":"Giant","origin":"Iraq","countries":[],"height_cm":null,"weight_kg":null,"life_expectancy_years":null,"temperament":["Powerful","Fierce","Protective","Courageous"],"exercise_level":"Medium","wikipedia_views_60d":1335,"summary":"The Assyrian Mastiff was an ancient landrace of Mesopotamia, known from Neo-Assyrian reliefs. Powerful and heavily built, it guarded livestock and hunted lions and wild horses.","photo":null,"updated_at":"2026-10-15T14:33:09Z","ratings":{"energy":3,"exercise":3,"grooming":1,"shedding":2,"trainability":2,"barking":3,"kids":2,"other_dogs":2},"coat":"Short","colors":[],"fun_fact":"Clay figures of these dogs carried inscribed names such as \"Consume his life\" and \"Don't stop to think, bite\".","sections":{"overview":"The Assyrian Mastiff was an ancient landrace of dog found in Assyria. It is known chiefly from carvings and clay depictions rather than from living animals.\n\nIt served as a livestock guardian against predators and as a hunting dog for lions and wild horses. The modern Assyrian Shepherd, also called the Kurdish Mastiff, is probably its descendant.","history":"The ancestors of this dog are thought to come from the region between India and Persia, where they were domesticated and used for hunting. Mastiff-type figures from around 2000 BC carry inscribed names such as \"Catcher of the hostile one\".\n\nMore reliefs depicting these dogs date from roughly 1000 to 650 BC, in the Neo-Assyrian Empire. The name is most likely taken from these images.","appearance":"Reliefs show a massive dog with a deep chest, heavy limbs, and a short, broad head with a short, blunt muzzle. The loose skin forms large folds on the face and the lips hang heavily.\n\nThe ears were of medium size and the coat appears short, with no roughness on the tail. A nineteenth-century writer saw a strong similarity to some English mastiffs.","personality":"No direct record of its temperament exists, but its role points to a bold, fiercely protective and powerful dog. Names carved on figures, such as \"Don't stop to think, bite\", suggest a courageous and aggressive hunter and guardian.","care":"As a historic landrace, it is no longer kept. Dogs of this kind would have lived outdoors with livestock and the hunt."},"recognition":{"fci_number":null,"fci_standard_url":null,"akc_url":null},"sources":{"wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assyrian_Mastiff","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q113570342","wikipedia_revision":1352285140},"profile":{"written_by":"AI model (Claude Sonnet) from the sources above","written_at":"2026-10-15T13:59:38Z"}}}