Young Writers Society

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Hmmng most of my experience with the Spanish war dogs was their use to maul prisoners, guard bases, and join in the general massacres at Tenochtitlan and other Aztec sites (because lol, leave it to the Spaniards to massacre tons of innocent people in style, especially in La Inquisición), so I can't rightly say. Even the little I do know mostly derives from pictures and the like. It wouldn't hurt to go on the Internet and search a bit, in case you haven't already? As a last note, considering how the Aztecs responded to Spanish horses (basically, startled by giant deer with people riding them), I can imagine they may have been surprised by the hounds.

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A few misconceptions, here:

War dogs came in large packs and were trained to hunt the Indigenous population like wolves hunt game. They were also used as guard animals for camps, scouts, and a whole host of very front-line heavy work. Source 1, source 2, source 3.

Also, the dogs had their own armour (same with horses); it's how they survived so long. In general everyone who went to war was armoured, for their own safety, because animals and soldiers are expensive to replace and it's cheaper long-run to just armour them properly. Especially when you consider all of the specialized training involved in having animals go against many of their natural instincts (horses are prey animals, dogs generally try to be self-preserving and not go after people who are too scary); this training costs time and money, so people don't want to spend it every few battles, especially when so far from home. Image for dogs | Image for horses

The thing about Spanish war dogs is they were used for psychological warfare and because the Indigenous population was believed to be sub-human, worthy of being hunted like prey animals in Europe. The dogs were used for absolutely grisly ends, meant to terrorize, intimidate, and kill. They weren't brought over piecemeal, and were instead a solid part of the extermination of the Aztecs.

Because that's what the Spanish wanted. To exterminate the Aztecs, Maya, Inca, and other Indigenous groups of the area. They were in the way of the gold, silver, and mercury the Spanish thought they were entitled to, so if they weren't going to hand it over, they were going to be destroyed. Those they could not destroy, they enslaved.

The slavery the Spanish implemented after they succeeded in destroying civilization is extremely cruel and destroyed a few other Indigenous populations (eg- more than just the Aztec were enslaved) after the fact. If you want an idea of how they used the land after they got it, check out this article on slavery and these two articles on mercury and silver.

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Honestly, all I did was a simple Google. There's a lot of info if you know what terms to use— the term I used was "Spanish war dogs" to purge all of the War Dogs movie stuff out. If you plug it in yourself, you'll find your own sources, and other terms to use that'll get you more research.

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Hey there!

I actually don't have a lot of info on dogs or mauling -- I'm not a master of Google-fu like Rosey or Silv -- but I did want to mention one thing. You definitely know how to use Google, but there are actually more efficient ways that help us in Resources find the results we're looking for with much less energy than sifting through all the miscellaneous sources.

(And legit? I've never been to Mexico City. I lived in Florida for most of my life. I have been to Mexico, if that counts, but it was far north Sonoran Mexico.)

I did grow up with a dog -- a Chow/Golden mix -- but the worst he ever "mauled" anyone was a bite on the hand that didn't even draw blood. If you're not squeamish, I'd look up documentary photos or film of dog fighting rings and the like -- that sounds like what you might be looking for. While those are usually dog vs. dog, it gives you an idea of how a dog might attack something.

Best of luck!

Thank you!


Now, off to watch some dog fighting....

yeesh i wouldn't recommend that if you've got a weak stomach or have any affection towards dogs...

I have a few big dogs who have gotten in fights and I'll tell you how scary it is. Once my GSD got in a fight with somebody else's Pitt (because they were being irresponsible) and that almost was a lethal accident. Luckily it was just stitches to an ear for the GSD. Also the two Pyrenees used to be extremely protective of their food and would fight each other when they were younger. Even so they were 50+ lbs. The GSD is like 100lbs, he's huge but he's 11 years old and has hip dysplasia. We do have a pitt mutt, but she doesn't fight unless another dog literally jumps on her. She used to be more aggressive since she was a rescue who was abused, but she's fine now. We also have a lab but she's old and fat and never bothers anyone.

But really, even in smaller fights it's terrifying to watch the dogs go at each other. They rear up on their hind legs and spit and hair flies everywhere. Growling and barking doesn't describe the sound they make, it's equivalent to roaring.


So to answer the question on mauling, what a mastiff would do is the same as what a pitt would do, only they're bigger and have bigger jaws so therefore the damage is more extensive. Pitts are notorious for fighting and tearing people up, and they're quicker than mastiffs and they lock their jaws when they get a hold of something. So I'd say the damage is more extensive compared to that of a pitt because of the mastiff's absolute hugeness. On a scale of 1 - 10 where a pitt is an 6, a mastiff would probably be a 10.

Dogs usually go for the neck and arms/legs. The neck is a killing bite (crush the windpipe/rip out the jugular), that's where a real fighting dog would want to get somebody at. If they're trained to only bring the person down and not kill, they'll go for the arms and legs. Maybe watch a documentary on police dogs for training specifics.

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