Tonedog: I'd agree a lot of competitive fighting dogs are basically of the veantre type- bks, tosas, presas, perhaps even ovcharkas to a degree, so it is obviously a rather effective type for dog/dog combat. 

I am not really sure about LGD´s belonging to this type, actually many of them can be classified as “rank driven curs” (teeth showing, back humping etc.) but among the rank driven curs you can also find a lot of “top class” heavy Tosas! They might be silent, but still you can see that it is all about dominance and with that said basically rank drive.

But you said “ovcharkas to a certain degree” and here we go! Yes, I agree and that´s why my interest in them was always a versatile kind of LGD, meaning one that was and still is also used for hunting. I would say most of this special LGD-type you find in Kazakhstan and Iran, where they are actually used for hunting too. In Iran it is the Mazandarani Mastiff.

Tonedog: I'm currently reading - researches into the history of british dogs (from ancient laws, charters and historical records) from 1866 (and containing much older passages), which I have read parts of here and there but I'm just now noticing something I haven't before. And that is the people who were employed to walk dogs on lead were called "veltrars" "vaultres" "veatrers", pretty much anything along those lines (such was the nature of very early english- very inconsistent and random) and I think this is really the last clue I need to suggest the alaunt veantre was a lead in bandog type, named after this very fact.

This would go hand in hand with something else I have realized again and again over the years. The Alaunt Veantre obviously was the “meanest” of all European Alaunt types, as for some reasons they are frequently portrayed muzzled, while obviously the butchers´ dog could work pretty well in groups. 

Tonedog: The book also distinctly mentions multiple times that ALL alaunts are hunting hounds, and specifically strong hunting hounds used to hold game. The veantre MAY have been influenced by shepherd's mastiffs for size, but the 3 alaunt types were definitely not sheep guarding dogs, or guard dogs of any kind. Definitely dogs of the hunt and definitely western european/medieval, rather than ancient caucasian or persian or whatever. 

Yes, I would come to the same conclusion here. The size came from an ancestral mastiff-type, so it should have been an “ancient Alaunt type” like you still find them in Iran, Caucasus, Kazakhstan, Turkey etc., but enough European hunting blood involved to make them useful for hunting large and dangerous game as their main duty.

Probably with better killing abilities than the butchers´ dog.

So the LGD x Running Mastiff type is an interesting and definitely my favourite combination, as they have this historical link on the mastiff-side.

Regards

Andreas

P.S. Does the "orange-board" for you also not work? Lol I am talking about my board. It obviously has a server issue today.