Italian Greyhound vs Giant Maso Mastiff - Breed Comparison

The Italian Greyhound is an ancient breed, a purebred originating in Italy but with evidence to suggest it was also to be found in Turkey and Greece.

It's a small breed dog that became popular with Italian royalty in the 16th century. Over the centuries, the dog's appearance has remain unchanged, although breeders tried to make it even smaller, leading to problems with the health of the dog.

Towards the end of the 1800s, it was fortunate that breed fanciers implemented breeding programs to restore the dog's look's and strength. The American Kennel Club registered the Italian Greyhound in 1886. Today the dog is a wonderful companion dog.

The Giant Maso Mastiff is a fairly new dog breed so you aren’t going to find much history on him.

The breed was only started in 2001 so as to create a mastiff dog that would have fewer health problems and therefore have the chance to live longer. The Giant Maso came about because of a mix between the Old English Mastiff and the Cane Corso Italiano.

As stated, breeding began in 2001 and the dog has inherited intelligence and protective instincts from both these dogs.

The sweet Italian Greyhound is much like the regular Greyhound, just smaller but every bit as sleek, elegant and fine-boned. He stands at between 33 and 38cm at the withers and weighs just 3 to 7kg. He is slender and elegant.

He has long, fine-boned legs and his short, smooth coat makes him easy to groom too. The coat comes in a number of colors such as fawn, tan, grey, reddish, chocolate and black.

Temperament.

Described as sweet, intelligent and playful, the Italian Greyhound adapts easily to life in the city or to country life.

He is easy to train too, and even though he is small and amicable, it is still a good idea to have him trained and socialized as he is just a simple pleasure to have around then. He just loves the company of his human family and becomes a gentle friend to other dogs, to children in the home and to the elderly.

He is a frail toy dog, and he needs to be constantly watched over that he isn’t handled roughly by disrespectful children or from bigger pets. He is an active breed and will love to be played with and join you on your walks. Even though he is such a frail, fragile looking dog, he has a feisty, stubborn, defiant side to him and that is why training and socialization becomes important. He will be reserved around strangers.

The Giant Maso Mastiff is a large dog breed and can stand at between 67 to 70cm in height and weigh 60 to 90-kg.

He has a big square head with medium sized floppy ears and thick neck covered with loose skin. Muscular, he is a deep chested dog with powerful legs and long tail. The fur of the dog is short and sleek and can be a number of colors such as fawn, an apricot color, gray and black as well as brindle.

Temperament:

Intelligent, protective, self-confident, balanced and calm, the Giant Maso Mastiff may be quite an imposing looking dog but he is gentle-natured towards his family.

The large dog loves to please and receive praise from his human family. He is the perfect friend, getting on well with children in the home as well as with other dogs. Training and socialization is easy for this dog and it is important that he is trained if you want him to be an obedient pet.

He is gentle, intelligent, protective – simply known as a gentle giant, being calm, steady and amicable. This breed loves to please and needs lots of companionship from his human family, loving just to lie close by to them.

He isn’t a particularly active dog, but will still need to join you on a walk every day. It is why the Maso Mastiff can live in the city or in the countryside, because not being an overly active dog, he doesn’t need a large garden.

If you’re looking for a sweet, gentle canine friend, the Italian Greyhound promises to be just that. They just crave human companionship and are eager to please.

He isn’t the ideal playmate for children, simply because he is frail and can get hurt easily in rough play.

Small he may be, but he is intelligent and alert, and he will bark to warn you of strangers. They are essentially indoor dogs, and when you bring one of them into your home, you’ll be rewarded with a devoted, loving and loyal canine friend.

Your Giant Maso Mastiff is such a gentle giant of a dog. He is well behaved and gentle so that it almost seems unnecessary to have him trained and socialized and yet doing so will make him even more amicable.

Calm and gentle he makes the perfect pet for families where there are children as well as elderly people. He is quite frankly everyone’s friend, being a loving family pet. If you’re a family more into indoor games and TV watching than an outdoor, sporty kind of family, the Giant Maso Mastiff will suit you.

He will love to settle down and watch TV with you. He isn’t particularly active, although he will certainly need a walk every day.

Those who have owned a Giant Maso Mastiff will tell you that this is an excellent family pet, making a wonderful companion dog.

Your small Italian Greyhound isn’t a sickly dog breed, and in fact, with the right care, he can live to be between 10 to 14 years of age.

As with any dog breed however, there will be some more common conditions to watch for in the Italian Greyhound. Some of these are epilepsy, hyperthyroidism and periodontal disease.

Epilepsy:

There are different types and causes of seizures, and there are actually no definitive tests for epilepsy. One seizure isn’t enough to make a diagnosis and more than one seizure is usually recorded before a diagnosis can be made and treatment prescribed.

These treatments don’t cure Epilepsy but rather control the symptoms and keep the dog seizure-free so that they can have a normal life.

Seizures are not all the same – some are life-threatening and advice from the internet can’t be looked upon as adequate. With a dangerous disease such as epilepsy, excellent and qualified veterinary help will be required.

Periodontal Disease:

Gum disease can be terrible for your pet. Apart from bone loss and loss of teeth, your pet will experience pain. Periodontal disease may well be common in dogs, but it can be prevented.

Once an animal has eaten food, particles of food, saliva and bacteria form plaque over the teeth and this doesn’t only cause damage to the teeth but to the entire immune system.

This disease can cause inflamed gums and loss of teeth. It is important to brush your pet’s teeth with special canine toothbrush and toothpaste.

The truth is, periodontal disease can cause more problems than just tooth pain which is bad enough. Dogs with gum inflammation may be at higher risk for heart- and kidney disease too. If you’re worried about your dog, take him in to your vet for an oral examination and teeth cleaning.

There has always been the concern with joint disorders in large breed dogs. Both hip- and elbow dysplasia can occur with your Giant Maso Mastiff, more so if you overfeed him as a puppy and he grows too fast.

With hip dysplasia, the long bone of the leg forms incorrectly. This can lead to pain and lameness with your pet.

Also check out bloat. This is a serious illness when the stomach fills with air and can twist. Gastric Dilatation-Volvolvus, is an emergency situation then which is found more often in large, deep-chested dog breeds.

If you see your dog with a bloated stomach and acting in a strange, lethargic way, get him to the vet immediately as bloat can be life threatening.

Grooming:

The Italian Greyhound has a short, smooth, satin-type coat which is easy to maintain. Gently brush him once or twice a week, being careful not to press down hard as he has frail, bambi-like legs.

He also sheds little, making him a low maintenance breed. Because of the short coat, take particular care of him in the Winter and don’t allow him to become overly cold.

Diet:

Your Italian Greyhound will require a diet rich in nutritional value, and if your particular dog is quite active you will need to feed him about 450 calories a day and sometimes more.

Each dog is an individual and will have different dietary needs. If you feed your pet a top quality commercially manufactured food, read the packaging for guidance on food portion sizes.

Speak to your vet if you are unsure how to feed your dog so that his food and the amounts you feed him contribute to his good health. He must always have access to fresh, cool water.

Grooming:

As an average shedder, the smooth, shorthaired coat is easy to groom, and a good brush twice a week will be adequate.

The Giant Maso Mastiff has floppy ears and therefore these should be checked for ear infections. Wax build up and dirt will need to be checked and cleaned.

His nails will need to be clipped, especially if they don’t wear down on their own and his teeth will need to be cleaned 2 or 3x a week to avoid dental disease.

Diet:

With a large dog breed puppy such as the Giant Maso Mastiff, rapid growth is a risk factor for developing joint and bone conditions. The growth period can last till 12 months and puppies of large breeds should actually have their caloric intake adjusted during this growth period.

It is important to ensure that your puppy grows at a slow, steady rate. If you are feeding dog food from the commercially manufactured range, if you aren’t sure, speak to your vet about large breed dog foods. You want to be sure that this gentle giant of yours receives the best dog food there is, whether commercial branded dog food or your own home-made food. Good nutrition is imperative for the health of your pet.