Just as societies needed to differentiate between two people who shared the same first name (leading to surnames), a dog’s function, or in this case, how it was handled, became its name. A big mean dog lead by a band of leather after being uncoupled from a chain became a “band dog” because of that band, or leash. The name “Bandog” was not a breed, then, it was a description of a duty or purpose.  If there is any doubt about such a dog’s ferocity, one need only read the statement written by William Harrison when he described England in 1586:  “Bandogge which is a huge dog, stubborn, uglier, eager, burthenouse of bodie, terrible and fearful to behold and often more fierce and fell than any Archadian or Corsican cur.”

Early on, bandogs were typically eastern shepherds and mastiffs crossed with Bullenbeissers, hounds, and local bloodlines thrown in, and while appearance was the last thing anyone cared about, over time, specific types were established regionally. By the time the Norman King, Knud the Great, was in power (995 -1035), the Mastiff was cited under forest law, and Dr. Caius “sealed the deal,” as it were, by presenting the Bandogge and Mastiff as one in his book, Of English Dogges: “...among others characteristics, the “Mastiff or Bandogge is serviceable against the fox and the badger, to drive wild and tame swine out of meadows, and pastures, to bite and take the bull by the ears, when occasion so required.” 

We don’t hear the word, “bandog” used much in modern usage, though sometimes it’s used in the very immoral, very illegal, and very cruel fighting world. Neither is it altogether extinct. There is the Australian Bandog, the Bandogge Mastiff, and the American Bandogge Mastiff, all of which we’re still investigating. In the 60’s, Dr. John B. Swinford, a veterinarian from Long Island, sought to create a “super mastiff” having all the functionality and protectiveness of a Molossus ancestry, while keeping obedience and fidelity as essential characteristics. Mostly, he wanted to create the Swinford Bandog, a recreation of the original working mastiff of the Middle Ages. Readers interested in learning more about Swinford can do no better than to refer to Denise Flaim’s excellent article here.

Some might be wondering where the word “alaunt,” fits in since historically, some sources imply that alaunts and mastiffs are the same thing, including our old friend, Dr. Caius,. In the 14th century, Gaston Phoebus made a distinction between the two words, but this is topic for another time. We’ll end here with the compromise that while initially, bandogs were so named for the type of work they did, there are enough sources that specify the Mastiff as one of those dogs.