Dog Experts--what kind of dog was THAT!?

[heartmama]

We were driving around an old neighborhood looking for stuff on the curbs when we passed a house with a man and two dogs in the front yard. As we approached I saw the dogs from the back and thought "Oh, those are two really huge dogs". Then as we passed them I looked back and said to dh "Oh my word those are some kind of boar!". Dh looked and said "No, they are dogs". I kept looking and saw they were more like dogs than boars, but the only word that really fit was "BEAST". They literally looked like something from a Lord of the Rings novel.

Best description: Black, thin sparse fur, I thought I could actually see the skin. Almost greyish colored skin I think. Massive and hulking at the shoulders and chest area, with a black large neckless head that had a snout reminscent of a wild black boar. The dogs back seemed to be about level with the kneeds of the man nearby. Tough to say. They were slow moving, sort of like bears.

What was that?!?!

[canadianchick]

Could they have been pot bellied pigs?

[angie7]

Presa Canarios? Neo Mastiffs?

[heartmama]

No it wasn't a pig of any kind--the legs were dog legs. and 3/4 of the body looked like a dog. But the front end was reall massive and broad and the head reminded me of a boar. I will google the two breeds mentioned.

[heartmama]

Definitely not a mastiff. They have squashed faces and look very doggy.

The body is a lot like the presa, definitely that kind of hulking massive build. But the head was more snouty, like a pig.

[Ola_]

Irish wolfhounds? Their chests are more deep than broad though, but they are a bit scruffy looking.

Hmm, ok, I thought you were describing a much taller dog, after a second read I see you're not. What was their coat like?

[greenmagick]

Shaved or bad coat chow?

[heartmama]

I'm bad at guessing height. These WERE big dogs. Although not as tall as a Dane. My impression at first from the back was that they were two really massive black labs, but then from the side the coat was thin, almost bare in patches I thought. The photo of the Presa Canario looked about right in terms of body. But the head was very blocky on the Presa--these dogs had pointier faces.

Honestly I thought as we drove away I was looking at chupacabras...remember that video that surfaced of one running away from the police? They kind of looked like that. Weird, pointy faces, almost blackish grey skin and scant fur...but these were BIG dogs.

[heartmama]

Now that mention chow--body definitely not, these were big dogs. But there is something a little bit about a chow face that seems like you are getting warmer...

[greenmagick]

shaved akitas? some chows are pretty big....but they could be a mix so who knows Massive to me would mean over 150lbs.....

[angie7]

Originally Posted by greenmagick

Massive to me would mean over 150lbs.....

: we have Danes, 150 lbs is nothing to us

[greenmagick]

You know, I keep picturing the dogs from Willow....ever see that movie? They kind of were like boar/dogs and were huge

Originally Posted by angie7

: we have Danes, 150 lbs is nothing to us

: and my dad has had saints and a mastiff which in the bulk department whoa!

[LeahBoo]

Neapolitan Mastiff was my first thought. I know you said not mastiff, but did you look up the neapolitans specifically? They're, um, unique...

[Girl In The Fire]

Your description is a little confusing...but going by your description the first thing that came to mind was a Central Asian Sheepdog.

Did they have erect pointed ears, floppy ears, or no ears at all ?

Was their muzzle long or short?

Was their head shape round or brick shaped?

Did they have a tail, was it long or short?

Were the dogs solid black or did they have white markings or were they brindle (striped) ?

This is a good guide to mastiff breeds but some of the breeds on here are very rare/non existent in the US.

http://www.moloss.com/001/ptxt/breed.html

[heartmama]

I asked dh why it was that we thought the dogs looked like boars and he said it was because you could see their dark grey/black skin. The fur was almost totally absent, just sparsely scattered over the body. Plus, there was no neck, the heads just came right out of a broad torso.

So, honestly, I have no idea what they were, if it was a breed with such a bad coat it all fell off the skin! I doubt I would recognize a dog breed sans all the fur!

[Shera971]

Cane Corso?

[heartmama]

If you crossed the cane corso with this you would just about have it...

http://www.itsnature.org/ground/mammals-land/wild-boar/

Whatever it was that's the first time a dog gave me chills.

[rhubarbarin]

Sounds like Neapolitan Mastiffs to me. I have seen some really funky-looking ones in person, although most of the google images a search brought up were more attractive. They are the right size, have the giant neck and the odd, lumbering gait, they are black or gray. It might have been an optical illusion that they had bald patches.. many Neapolitans have brindling or lighter areas that could look that way.

Here is a pic of a particularly boar-ish one: http://www.abcalert.com/images/neo1234.jpg

[mesa]

if it weren't for your description of the neck, I'd think standard Xolo.

http://www.cyberpet.com/dogs/azuwyn3.jpg

Maybe shar pei? http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_V6R3yKS1tZ.../Shar-Pei2.jpg

I dunno...interesting sounding dogs, though.

[graceomalley]

Sounds like some kind of mastiff mix. Probably neo mixed with something just as bulky. If they were old and/or arthritic it might have made an impact on the way they were walking (particularly if they were overweight).

The sparse coat wasn't necessarily a breed thing, it could have been an infection or disease.