The Pastor Garafiano is a Spanish

breed A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...

sheep dog A sheep dog or sheepdog is generally a dog or breed of dogs historically used in connection with the raising of sheep. These include livestock guardian dogs used to guard sheep and other livestock and herding dogs used to move, manage and co ...

native to the island of

La Palma La Palma (, ), also known as ''La isla bonita'' () and officially San Miguel de La Palma, is the most north-westerly island of the Canary Islands, Spain. La Palma has an area of making it the fifth largest of the eight main Canary Islands. The ...

in the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

. The name comes from the

comarca A ''comarca'' (, or , or ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, ...

of Garafía, in the north of the island, where the breed was most common, although specimens can be found throughout the island. The breed was officially recognized by the

Real Sociedad Canina de España is the Spanish kennel club. It was founded in Madrid as the on 27 June 1911, and became a legal entity on 12 July 1911; on 1 December 1911 it received the royal patronage of Alfonso XIII, and the word 'Real' was added before the name. It has b ...

in 2003.

History

This is a distinct canine population, it is a native to the

of Garafía, on the island of La Palma, where it was used by shepherds to bring the herds of

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

s. Because of this, the animal thrives well in steep and rocky areas. It has very heterogeneous characteristics, because there has only been performed a functional selection. Its core competency is the grazing of goats and sheep in rugged terrain, by the geography of

. Its origin lies the pre-Hispanic times, although the crossings with other races (most importantly the Belgian shepherds) after the conquest contributed to the development of the Pastor Garafiano. For a time, this breed was on the verge of disappearing due to out-breeding with other dog breeds. Successive crosses, especially from 1960s with other breeds of shepherd dogs, demonstrated the necessity to work for its recovery and selection from the few pure specimens of the race that kept the shepherds of the island. To avoid the disappearance of the dog breed the ''working group to recovery of the Pastor garafiano'' was created, which became the ''Spanish association of the Pastor Garafiano Dog''. Among the objectives of the association are the censuses, the creation of breeding centers, the participation in dog shows and fairs, etc. The breed has been brought in samples of indigenous breeds that have been held in the Canary Islands, as well as international exhibitions held in

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Santa Cruz de Tenerife, commonly abbreviated as Santa Cruz (), is a city, the capital of the island of Tenerife, Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and capital of the Canary Islands. Santa Cruz has a population of 206,593 (2013) within its admi ...

and

Las Palmas Las Palmas (, ; ), officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a Spain, Spanish city and capital of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital (jointly with Santa Cruz de Tenerife), the most populous city in th ...

. The Department of Ethnology of the School of Veterinary of the

University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria The University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, also known as the ULPGC (''Spanish'' Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria) is a Spanish university located in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the capital city of Gran Canaria island. It is the unive ...

has conducted several studies on the breed, which were presented at the symposium of indigenous breeds held in Córdoba in March 1992.

Features

Body

Lupoid, medium proportions or moderately rangy, well balanced, medium to large. The rump slightly higher than the cross, rather short neck and small head in relation to the body.

Weight

Specimens typically weigh between 28 and 35 kg for males and between 24 and 30 kg for females. These are the weights that were given before, currently the weight is 35 to 46 kg for males and 25 to 35 kilos for females.

Height

The height at the withers of males is between 57 and 64 cm, whereas in females between 55 and 62 cm. Currently, this data also changed to 60–70 cm for males and 55-65 for females.

Head

Conical, relatively small compared to the body, slightly curved front, which highlights for the somewhat back implantation and separated from the ears, that may be split or prone split to forward. May also appear erect, observing then a tendency to keep them folded to any stimulus, showing its inner face. The nose is always black. Eyes are oblique, almond-shaped and brown. Short collected lips. Pincer bite. Stop soft and very pronounced.

Legs

The legs are strong, well-positioned, highlighting further for its proportions. Sometimes it has spurs, which are often double and some implanted.

Hair

The coat is tawny or alobada. Puppies are born brown, changing color as adults, appearing in some cases white hairs or spots on the chest, toes or tail tip, usually disappearing to grow. The hair is abundant and more or less long. Sometimes it is soft while in other cases it is rough. It accumulates at the base of the ears, neck, tails, tail and the edges of the legs. The tail is usually crowded with hair, taking sabre shape being slightly curled, but never on the back.

Temperament

The character of Pastor Garafiano is docile and friendly. When it meets strangers shows a typical attitude: barking, folding ears, tail movements and turns in the head showing the corner of its mouth in a smile. It is quiet and restful appearance but it becomes very active while performing any physical activity.

References

External links

Official Association Pastor Garafiano

Inclusion in BOE
{{Pastoral dogs Dog breeds originating in the Canary Islands La Palma Herding dogs