What were bullmastiffs bred to do?
They are one of the very few dogs bred to be a guard dog vs. people. And they are a very special kind of guard dog. They were bred to catch poachers in England. At the time poaching was a ‘capital’ offense. That meant the dogs were expected to chase a desperate (and usually armed) man down, knock him down and keep him there until a gamekeeper could come and arrest him. Without seriously injuring him. The dog was bred to be big, strong, and, independent. These dogs were not intended to chase the offenders away, they are intended to detain the offender. You don’t often see them in action, since most people stay away from them. They rarely bark except when they want out to investigate a noise.
