Talk:Molossian hound

Neapolitan Mastiff
In the N. Mastiff article it states a history dating back to the 0s AD. This article contends that the mastiff is 50 years old. The N. Mastiff article stated that the dog was 'rediscovered' in the 1940s, this seems reasonable to me; but I don't know the truth and I'm dumb so I'll leave it up to you guys to do any necessary changes. ABart26 08:24, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

Story about Alexander the Great's dog
I removed it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.22.157.31 (talk) 13:32, 6 August 2009 (UTC) Here is the section I removed: "The Molossian breed was most certainly a very large dog similar to the Mastiff we know today, Alexander the Great's dog named Peritas was a Molossian. Peritas followed Alexander throughout his epic conquest. When Alexander was trapped alone on the wrong side of the Mallians fortification, his men were blocked from reaching Alexander momentarily, Leonnatus fighting fiercely heard Peritas howl and bark from behind him, and without looking back shouted "go Peritas ! run to Alexander!" the fearless dog ran through the men fighting and lept into the group of Mallians who had just wounded the king in the shoulder with a javelin, Peritas killed several men giving the men time to get Alexander, and stop them from slaughtering him. But, the brave dog had been mortally wounded with a javelin as well, with Peritas' last strength he laid his head on the wounded king's lap and, gazing into his master's eyes, died." If somebody wants to provide a reference and give the snippet its own section, go right ahead.

Citation? Relevance?
The second from last paragraph reads : "The poet Grattius, a contemporary of Ovid, writes "...when serious work has come, when bravery must be shown, and the impetuous War-god calls in the utmost hazard, then you could not but admire the renowned Molossians so much." There is no citation for this, an to me it seems that this quote speaks about the PEOPLE, not the dogs. Correct? - Sahmejil (talk) 08:31, 13 January 2010 (UTC)

He was talking about Dogs, not people, however its a misquote, there is no but in the original text and its saying the dogs of the Britons are superior to the Molossians, probably why no citation is given

"What if you visit the straits of the Morini, tide-swept by a wayward sea, and choose to penetrate even among the Britons? how great your reward, how great your gain beyond any outlays! If you are not bent on looks and deceptive graces (this is the one defect of the British whelps), at any rate when serious work has come, when bravery must be shown, and the impetuous War-god calls in the utmost hazard, then you could not admire the renowned Molossians so much." http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Grattius/Cynegeticon*.html#ref38 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 111.92.243.198 (talk) 14:39, 25 March 2014 (UTC)

the breed is not extinct
The breed still exists in Greece to this day and is recognized by the Kennel Club of Greece : — Preceding unsigned comment added by Fainomenon (talk • contribs) 20:06, 26 November 2013 (UTC)

Moreover, it is described as "extinct" in the first sentence of the History section, and then comes the fourth sentence: "The Molossus breed still exists in its original form in the mountainous regions of Albania." This level of wikiweirdness is out of my pay grade. Lewis Goudy (talk) 02:18, 10 March 2017 (UTC)

I never really go on talk pages, but I also thought it was weird that it's listed as "extinct" and then shortly after says it still exists in Albania... — Preceding unsigned comment added by 8.33.150.4 (talk) 20:36, 16 May 2017 (UTC)

Further to my earlier comment: the Molossus is definitely not extinct, it is officially recognised in its homeland, by the Kennel Club of Greece and moreover there is a wiki page of the breed. It is the same dog, in the same location, since antiquity. Fainomenon

2020 Clarification Needed (Resolved)

 * This section has been moved from the top to the bottom of the talk page. Cavalryman (talk) 22:47, 28 April 2020 (UTC).

The last paragraph is a little unclear:

"In part due to mistranslations of ancient texts and assumptions based solely on size, many modern kennel clubs, including the Fédération Cynologique Internationale, group the distinct mastiffs with livestock guardian dogs as a single type they call the "molosser".[1][23] This is further confused by a number of modern livestock guardian breeds having the word "mastiff" in their name (such as the Pyrenean Mastiff, the Spanish Mastiff and the Tibetan Mastiff).[1][23]"

This seems to be making an important point, but is missing a rudimentary introduction sentence. There is not enough context to explain what is the "truth" is versus the mistranslations/assumptions. It would help to add 1-2 sentences explaining:
 * What dogs are molossers?
 * Are mastiffs molossers or related to them in any way?
 * Are the Pyrenean Mastiff, the Spanish Mastiff, and the Tibetan Mastiff actually related or not related to a) the molossers and b) the mastiffs?
 * What is its relationship to the Molossus_of_Epirus — Preceding unsigned comment added by Winspiff (talk • contribs) 16:13, 27 April 2020 (UTC)

If these sentences were cleared up, I think a lot of the other comments below would also be clarified. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Winspiff (talk • contribs) 16:10, 27 April 2020 (UTC)


 * Hello, all of the comments above were made prior to the article being completely rewritten late last year. The issue with the questions you have posed above is nobody can definitively answer them, everything is speculation given these dogs existed over 2000 years ago. The sentence above was included to articulate the categorisation of both mastiffs and livestock guardian dogs by some kennel clubs as a single type despite evidence indicating they are distinct. Kind regards, Cavalryman (talk) 22:47, 28 April 2020 (UTC).

Your comment clarified exactly the question I had. I added a sentence based on your clarification! Winspiff (talk) 14:59, 29 April 2020 (UTC)

"Dogge" listed at Redirects for discussion
The redirect [//en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dogge&redirect=no Dogge] has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at  until a consensus is reached. BD2412 T 19:28, 16 July 2023 (UTC)

Requested move 19 March 2024

 * The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review after discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

The result of the move request was: moved. (closed by non-admin page mover) Vanderwaalforces (talk) 17:17, 26 March 2024 (UTC)

Molossus (dog) → Molossian hound – Per WP:NATDIS, alternative name is mentioned in article and is used in multiple reliable sources:, Traumnovelle (talk) 23:50, 19 March 2024 (UTC) The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
 * Support per NATURAL.--Ortizesp (talk) 12:56, 20 March 2024 (UTC)