Does anyone know much about this particular breed? I've always found it rather bizarre looking, but I've never been able to find much information on it.

Some images for your viewing pleasure:

Looks like a walking vet bill to me

It does look as though it might have difficulty seeing.

difficulty seeing, eating, drinking, breathing, walking, scratching... it was bred for looks... just look at the way it holds its paws...

Yes, I see what you're saying, but then you could say that about a lot of the more popular breeds, these days.

I dont know how you cant find much information about them... i just googled "korean mastiff" and it came with an entire page of info..


http://www.masterdomainkennels.com/historyofthedosa.htm

http://www.themightydosa.com/Korean_Mastiff_History.html

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/k/koreandosamastiff.htm

http://www.themightydosa.com/

The above website gives more info in regards to history, breed standard and a more realistic looking Mee-Kyun dosa

Thanks, but I guess I was looking for reputable sources. Dog breed info is dicey at best and has nothing in the history section. I don't tend to trust 'breeder' sites all that often, and the history page doesn't seem to be working for me.

Now, are you always this hostile or have I just been misinterpreting your last couple of posts?

Thanks, but I can't seem to get that page to work for me.

It doesn't look a very happy dog with all that excess skin

possibly misinterpretation, its a bit hard to portray emotion over the internet

Theres a good page on jindojunkie about the dosa.

The Name

The first thing to clarify is that "dosa" and "tosa" are the same word in Korean and mean the same thing to Koreans. The divergence in spelling is due to how the word is Romanized to English.


In Korean, the dog's name is . The Romanization of directly into English is "dosa," which takes into account of another Korean consonant with a stronger d/t sound.

However, since the dogs are mostly from Japan and the Japanese prefer "tosa" in their Romanization, "tosa" is more commonly used in the English-speaking world.

"Dtosa" will be used in the remainder of this page to re-emphasize that the two words are the same.



Are there differences between a Korean dtosa and a Japanese dtosa?

It's been generalized that the dtosa of Korea is this massively wrinkled, red beast while the dtosa of Japan is this fit and trim fighting animal.

This isn't quite true. In both countries, you'll see dogs of both types.

The dtosas in South Korea have their origins from Japan, and, as much as I would prefer it to not be, there are some Koreans who fight their dtosas. With similar origins and functions, many of these fighting dogs in Korea look very much like their fighting counterparts in Japan.

The majority of the dtosas in Japan are utilized for fighting, but there are reports where a few areas (Kochi, I think?) that have red dogs with wrinkles, similar to those in Korea, which caters to tourists.

A better way to catagorized the dtosa would be by type rather than from country. Koreans have labelled the heavily wrinkled, deep red dtosas as "Mee-Kyun", which translates into "beauty dog" and the fighting dtosas as "Thoo-Kyun", which translates into "fighting dog."


Meekyun dosa

Thookyun dosa

Ok, my bad.

rebelt i think it is slightly incorrect..

most sites say the dosa shouldnt be mistaken with the tosa..

"This breed should not be confused with the Japanese Tosa, even though they are related. Unlike its Japanese cousin, the Mee-Kyun Dosa is not a fighter at all and is bred primarily as a companion pet and Show dog. There is also the fighting Too-Kyun Dosa variety, which is considered by some to be nothing more than a Korean/Taiwanese strain of the Japanese Tosa breed. The Mee-Kyun Dosa was developed in the late 1800's from a variety of imported European and Asian working breeds, but most fanciers agree that it was finally established as a recognizable type by crossing the Japanese Tosa-Inu with the Neapolitan Mastiff and the Dogue de Bordeaux over the next 100 years. In the 2nd half of the 20th century, a small percentage of English Mastiff blood was introduced into some strains as well, but the "Beauty" Dosa was mostly developed through generations of inbreeding and selection based on coat colour and temperament.



In appearance almost identical to a red-coloured variety of the Neapolitan Mastiff, the Mee-Kyun Dosa is a massive, large and loose-skinned Molosser, somewhat lethargic and seemingly sluggish. However, this wrinkled gentle giant can make a good property watchdog and is reportedly easy to obedience train. Devoted to its owner and loving of children, the Dosa is said to be a good family companion, but it is still rarely seen outside of Korea. The head is large, round and wide, with many wrinkles on the face and hanging ears and lips. The neck is strong and has prominent dewlaps. Wide-chested and tall, the Dosa makes a convincing guardian. The coat is short, smooth and flat, always coming in shades of orange, red and brown. Average height is around 29 inches.
"

Ohhh. Thanks for that. Very interesting.

I like how they consider the hideously wrinkled version to be the 'beauty' version.

lol indeed.. I think they look ugly.. I love mastiffs, but these dogs are just sad to me.. They seem to struggle under their own weight..