I was intrigued by an ad about dogs that grow to over 200 pounds and so, I inquired. The breeder's location was no way near our place and I had no idea where it was. And so off we went and when we reached the Sisalation Kennels, Gretchen greeted us by looking at me coupled with a sniff. She turned her back, walked away and entered the house. Then her owner came out. As soon as we were inside the compound, she came out and sniffed my shoes and my clothes. Satisfied, she rolled over with her tummy exposed and pawed at me. I squatted and started petting her. Her owner then brought out the puppies. I wrote off the check and got the runt, the only one left out of Gretchen's litter. OLA registered as AGFA OF SISALATION was born day after my birthday. Somehow, we understood each other and there's this special bond between us. Nobody liked her. While she way a puppy, she looked like a malnourished rat and there's no way she'd grow over 200 pounds.

Neapolitan Mastiffs are such gentle giants. They always like to be with their person. Protection comes naturally for them. During lazy Sunday afternoons when there are no scheduled dog shows, I would while away at the Aso Casa, Guiguinto. The Cob dogs on the lose, OLA would choose to just stay underneath the lounge chair where I would usually doze off for an afternoon siesta.

Do not dare to come near me!  Once, my caretaker needed to ask me something and approached where I was napping thinking that it was okay since he feeds and take care of Ola.  To his terror, Ola darted at him.  I woke up just in time.  I miss her terribly. She passed away in 1997 afflicted with a malignant tumor that caused complications. It started with the Heartworn injectable that caused a lump. Resorting to cheaper alternatives make it not always worth it in the end.

A year later, I bought another Neapolitan Mastiff . . . and another. It was my birthday and I had the money. My business was doing very good then. I splurged. I got two out of the same litter, ARNO and ASOLA. Arno, I called ALDO from the Italian Shoe Outlet in Canada. Asola, I named Francesca. I figured that because the Neos were after all, Italian, I might as well give them Italian names to match. ALDO was my birthday present while CESCA was for Christmas. When I brought ALDO home, while I was carrying him like a baby, he took a dump, stuck in my hand was his shit. He did it while we were on the elevator. I decided to let him stay at the condo as we normally don't bring home a puppy from another kennel straight to ours. Cortijos is our halfway house, the quarantine. There were other people in the lift. I couldn't let go of the shit. It was a long way to go up to the 9th floor.

Aldo dislikes girls with long hair. Unfortunately while he was staying at Cortijos, the help hurt him. So every time he sees a girl with long hair, Aldo associates it with the one who has hurt him in the past. Other than that, he is very gentle-mannered.

We stopped weighing him when he reached 155 pounds. His size would terrify anyone he bumps into. I once brought him to work and took my mom's station wagon. He was too big for me to control and there were too many long-haired girls around so I decided to just leave him in the car. I had only been away for about ten minutes when the security guard came looking for me. The long-haired girls kept passing by the car and he said that Aldo might destroy the car as he was rocking and rolling inside making the car jump up and down. I brought him home.

Cesca on the other hand, I decided to give away to a better home. I couldn't keep up with the amount of dog food the 3 Neos consume. Now that Ola passed away, ALDO remains as our one and only Neo ...

and Bergsteiger Wirtshaus Arno

The Gentle Giants

ReCOHllections   

How many times have you come across if not in all the dog books you could possibly get your hands on to study the breed first and foremost before buying? Dogs are abandoned, put to sleep and abused rooted in ignorance. All puppies are cute. And not all puppies stay as cute and cuddly. I knew right from the start how my Neos will turn out. The ad said that they will grow to about 200 pounds. There were no available books about them in our country. I just saw a couple of other Neo ads in the Dog World Magazine. I fell in love with their looks.

Owning them is a different story. Once matured, they eat from 16 to 18 cups of dog food a day. If you have one for a pet, then it's probably best. To breed them is heavy on the pocket. Imagine 12 to 16 Neapolitan puppies aged two months and growing and they are already as big as a 5-month-old Golden Retriever.

We learn from our mistakes. Experience is the best teacher. Now, when I bump into someone who wish to acquire the larger breeds, I discourage them. It's not only the food. Space is another factor. You just can't give these larger breeds enough space to make their bones stay healthy with exercise. My heart bleeds for Aldo. A hectare of land is not even enough. I tried to show him once. He was the only Neo entered. The judge refused to give him the award because of weak pasterns. Aldo isn't dysplastic. He just lacks exercise. He's in better shape now especially that he's the only Neo Cob has. It's one breed we can not live with out but it's a pity that not too many people will know because of the disadvantages of owning the larger breeds entail. These reasons make the breed rare and when something is rare, they're generally more expensive. Definitely, the Neos are expensive to keep but having one is worth being loved by them. For breeders, before breeding your Neos make sure you already have placements for your pups! Otherwise ...

OTHER VERY IMPORTANT FACTORS TO CONSIDER:

For a number of years, ALDO was the ONLY NEO STUD AVAILABLE.  It wasn't until recently that the Neapolitan Mastiff breed was recognized by the American Kennel Club.

Aldo's parents originally came from North America but exported and registered initially in Taiwan before they were shipped to the Philippines. Other than these lines, there are no other lines to outcross with.

With a limited gene pool, the recessive genes are surfacing.  Please be forewarned that some conditions are genetically transmitted such as low immune system, skin allergies or demodectic mange manifestations and cystic growth or tumours.  Although Aldo is free of hips dysplasia, the Cob Kennels can not fully guarantee Aldo's genetic make-up as a whole and suffice it to say, good enough to breed.

We, at Cob, strive to be Responsible Ethical Breeders and as a measure to discourage backyard breeding, we reserve the right to refuse to breed bitches to Aldo.  A subtle way is by asking an unimaginable stud fee.