Suliot Dog, part I

David Hancock in his article on "Dogs Monthly" magazine, August 2001, and in his book "Mastiffs, Large Game Hunters" refers to the Dog of Soulioton in accordance with a testimony of lord Truro:  "the German boarhounds were around 28" at the shoulder for the medieval hunt, the extra size came later from the Suliot Dogs introduced as Parade dogs for continental regiments. Lord Truro introduced one of these dogs to Britain, it was a huge hound. The Suli Mountains are in what was Molossia, an area famed for its giant hounds and fierce flock guardians. The pursuit of a giant dog led the German boarhound being bred with these Suliot Dogs ...".

Scripture from "Dogs the Ultimate Dictionary of over 1000 Dog Breeds" , Desmond Morris, 2001, Random House UK, page 618.   "Also known as the Suliot Boarhound, this extinct breed was employed as a property guard and, during wartime, as a protector of military outposts. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Suliots were a tribe inhabiting the mountains near Parga in what is now the extreme north-western corner of modern Greece, and this dog was their impressive guardian. It was a local form of the ancestors of the breed which today we call the Great Dane. Described as ' full in mouth, fierce, coarse in aspect and rugged in coat' this huge guard dog is reputed to have been the largest canine that ever existed, standing 4ft (121 cm) tall. As a guard dog, its ears were traditionally cropped. Writing on the history of the mastiff in 1886, M.B.Wynn comments: '...the true Molosser...identical or almost so, with the modern Suliot Boarhound' ".