Mastiff & Molosser
Mastiff & Molosser type dogs include the English Mastiff, Bull Mastiff, French Mastiff (Dogue De Bordeaux), Newfoundlands, St Bernard, Tibetan Mastiff, Neopolitan Mastiff, Cana Corso and others.
These large breeds tend to be on the edge as far as whether they are Brachecephalic breeds or not. It often depends on the breeding and can vary between regions. But they have more substantial noses than smaller brachycephalic breeds so they may very well generally have no breathing issues.
However because they are so large, they do all tend to have a number of specific health issues related to their size including Heart conditions, Gastric Torsion and others as well as a typically shorter life span.
In all cases as larger dogs age or if they are overweight they tend to be less tolerant of heat and in any situation where they do become stressed or anxious for any reason, even other unrelated health issues they may have more difficulty breathing which can exacerbate the problem.
We therefore do still have to ensure that owners are aware that we consider them to be breeds at risk during transport, that we will make transport decisions as best we can based on the information provided by the owners. and that there are additional terms & conditions they need to be aware of and accept.