TOSA Inu dogs might look quite familiar due to the crossbreeding with many European dogs.

They originate from Japan and have quite an interesting history but outside of Asia they tend to be much bigger than the ones bred there.

What is a Tosa Inu?

Originating from Japan, these dogs are incredibly rare and were bred in Tosa, Shikoku (modern day Kochi).

Inu actually just means dog in Japanese.

They started their existence as the Shikoku-Inu but we then crossbred with European dog breeds such as Old English Bulldog, English Mastiff, Bull Terrier and Great Dane.

This was done to create a bigger, more powerful breed of dog.

Primarily used for fighting in their native habitat, the crossbreeding was done to create a bigger, stronger form of fighting dog.

Are Tosa Inu dogs illegal?

In this country, there are an incredibly limited list of banned dogs.

One such breed is the Tosu Inu, or Japanese Tosu as it is referred to on the government website.

It is against the law to sell, abandon, give away or breed from a banned dog.

The police do have the powers to take such a dog away from you in a public place but in a private place, authorities would require a warrant.

It is worth nothing that if they have a warrant for something else, they can still seize the dog.

Where do Tosa Inu dogs come from?

In Japan, these dogs were bred purely for fighting purposes.

They are only breed still used legally in the country for Japanese dog fighting.

Back in the early 1900s there were around 5,000 breeders of the Tosa Inu dog.

Globally they are still banned in 18 different countries with the United Kingdom and Ireland being two of those.

While they are quiet, calm and relaxed to the naked eye they can turn quite quickly if aroused.

This could be anything from a small child run towards them to play to an attacker running towards your family.

Some are capable of pulling in excess of 3000 pounds.

Purely bred for blood sports, Japanese rules stated that dogs could not make any noise in the pit, with these dogs apparently capable of fighting silently.

There is absolutely no need for anyone to have this breed of dog in this country and let's be frank, who can actually control a dog capable of pulling such weights.

They have incredibly short life-spans, only living around 10 years and an incredibly high number are crippled by bone and joint diseases.