The Presa Canario 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 ...

of large dog of

mastiff A mastiff is a large and powerful type of dog. Mastiffs are among the largest dogs, and typically have a short coat, a long low-set tail and large feet; the skull is large and bulky, the muzzle broad and short (brachycephalic) and the ears dro ...

catch dog A catch dog is a specially trained dog that is used to catch large animals in hunting, working livestock, and baiting. As hunters, catch dogs are contrasted with bay dogs who corner prey animals and alert their handler by howling, or baying. C ...

type. It originates in the

autonomous region An autonomous administrative division (also referred to as an autonomous area, entity, unit, region, subdivision, or territory) is a subnational administrative division or internal territory of a sovereign state that has a degree of autonomy� ...

of 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 ...

, and is found mostly in the islands of

Gran Canaria Gran Canaria (, ; ), also Grand Canary Island, is the third-largest and second-most-populous island of the Canary Islands, an archipelago off the Atlantic coast of Northwest Africa which is part of Spain. the island had a population of that co ...

and

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...

. It was formerly known as the Dogo Canario. It was traditionally used as a

guard dog A guard dog or watchdog (not to be confused with an attack dog) is a dog used to watch for and guard property against unwanted or unexpected human or animal intruders. The dog is discerning so that it does not annoy or attack the resident hum ...

, as a

herding dog A herding dog, also known as a stock dog, shepherd dog, sheep dog or working dog, is a Dog type, type of dog that either has been trained in herding or belongs to dog breed, breeds that are developed for herding. Herding behavior All herd ...

for both sheep and cattle, and for

dog-fighting Dog fighting is a type of blood sport that turns game and fighting dogs against each other in a physical fight, generally to the death, for the purposes of gambling or entertainment to the spectators. In rural areas, fights are often staged in ...

, which was legal in Spain until 1936 and may have continued clandestinely thereafter.

History

The Presa Canario derives from the Bardino Majorero, which was formerly distributed throughout the

. Dogs of this type were

cross-bred A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. ''Crossbreeding'', sometimes called "designer crossbreeding", is the process of breeding such an organism, While crossbreeding is used to main ...

with various dogs of

molossoid The Molossus ( el, Μολοσσός, Molossós; also known as the Molossian hound, Epirus mastiff) was a Dog breed, breed of dog from Ancient Greece. History The Molossus were dogs that were kept by the ancient Greeks, Greek tribe and kingdom o ...

type introduced to the islands at different times during the colonial period. The Presa Canario was particularly influenced by dogs brought from the British Isles with the large influx of British residents in the late nineteenth century. By the 1960s it was close to extinction. A

breed society Breed clubs are associations or clubs with activities centered on a single, specific breed of a particular species of domesticated animal. The purpose of the association will vary with the species of animal and the goals and needs of the members of ...

, the Club Español del Presa Canario, was formed in 1982, and drew up a provisional

breed standard In animal husbandry or animal fancy, a breed standard is a description of the characteristics of a hypothetical or ideal example of a breed. The description may include physical or morphological detail, genetic criteria, or criteria of athletic ...

, which was published by the government of the islands. The standard was approved 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 ...

in 1989. In 1991 the dog was included in an official list of national symbols of the Canary Islands as a symbol of the island of

. It was officially recognised by the Spanish national government in 2001. The breed was provisionally accepted by the

Federation Cynologique Internationale A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governi ...

in 2001 under the name Dogo Canario; it was fully accepted in 2011. In December 2018, at the request of the Real Sociedad Canina de España, the name was changed to Presa Canario. Importation and sale of the breed is prohibited in Australia and New Zealand.

Characteristics

The Presa Canario is a large dog with a heavy muscular body. Dogs stand at the

withers The withers is the ridge between the shoulder blades of an animal, typically a quadruped. In many species, it is the tallest point of the body. In horses and dogs, it is the standard place to measure the animal's height. In contrast, cattle ar ...

and weigh some ; bitches stand about and weigh approximately less. The head is broad, massive, square, and powerful brachycephalic shape. Proper head and good expression are part of the breed standard, and are manifest in the best breed specimens. The ears are normally

cropped Cropping is the removal of unwanted outer areas from a photographic or illustrated image. The process usually consists of the removal of some of the peripheral areas of an image to remove extraneous trash from the picture, to improve its framin ...

, both to create a more formidable expression and to prevent damage while working with cattle. If cropped, the ears stand erect. In countries where ear-cropping is banned, the ears are close fitting to the head; they hang down and should be pendant or "rose"-shaped. The upper lip is pendulous, although not excessively. Seen from the front, the upper and lower lips come together to form an inverted V. The flews are slightly divergent. The inside of the lips is a dark colour. The breed is also characterized by a sloping topline (with the rear being slightly higher than the shoulders). Another characteristic of the breed is the shape of the paws (cat foot) and the catlike movement of the animal. The body is mesomorphic, that is, slightly longer than the dog is tall, contributing to the feline movement.

Use

The Presa Canario was traditionally used as a

, as a

for both sheep and cattle, and for

, which was legal in Spain until 1936 and may have continued clandestinely thereafter. Until the 1950s it remained a common practice in all of the islands.

Footnotes

{{Mastiffs Catch dogs Dog breeds originating in the Canary Islands Dog fighting breeds FCI breeds Mastiffs Rare dog breeds