The Villano de Las Encartaciones 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

working dog A working dog is a dog used to perform practical tasks, as opposed to pet or companion dogs. Definitions vary on what a working dog is, they are sometimes described as any dog trained for and employed in meaningful work; other times as any dog w ...

from the region of Las Encartaciones in the province of

Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. B ...

, in the Basque country; it is found also in

Álava Álava ( in Spanish) or Araba (), officially Araba/Álava, is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Álava, former medieval Catholic bishopric and now Latin titular see. Its ca ...

, in eastern

Cantabria Cantabria (, also , , Cantabrian: ) is an autonomous community in northern Spain with Santander as its capital city. It is called a ''comunidad histórica'', a historic community, in its current Statute of Autonomy. It is bordered on the east ...

and in northern

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of t ...

. The traditional use of the dogs is in management of the Monchina breed of cattle of Cantabria and the País Vasco, and particularly to assist with bringing the cattle down from the mountain pastures between October and December. In 2009 there were fewer than 200 dogs registered in the

studbook A breed registry, also known as a herdbook, studbook or register, in animal husbandry and the hobby of animal fancy, is an official list of animals within a specific breed whose parents are known. Animals are usually registered by their breeders ...

. It is one of five Basque breeds of dog, the others being the

Basque Shepherd Dog The Basque Shepherd Dog, eu, Euskal Artzain Txakurra, italic=no, es, Perro de Pastor Vasco, italic=no, is a traditional Spanish breed of sheepdog originating in the historic Basque Country. It is believed that they originated from Central Europ ...

, the Erbi Txakur, the Pachón Navarro and the Villanuco de Las Encartaciones.

History

The Villano is a traditional

of the region of Las Encartaciones in the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

, in the Basque country, and to some extent also of

, of eastern

and of northern

. Its history is inextricably entwined with that of the Monchina breed of mountain cattle of that region; the association between the two is so close that it has been said that "one breed could not exist without the other". It was formerly a smaller dog than it is today. The traditional method of capturing Monchina cattle in the mountains of Bizkaia involved the use of two types or breeds of dog: the Villano was used to cut out and drive the cattle chosen by the ''ganaderos'' to a point where they could be caught by larger and heavier

Alano Español The Alano Español or Spanish Bulldog is a Spanish breed of medium to large sized dog of alaunt-bulldog type. It has at various times been used as a war dog, for bullfighting, for the management of cattle, for hunting and as a guard dog. In th ...

dogs. From the 1960s, rather than use two breeds of which neither could perform the function of the other, breeders began to

cross-breed 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 ...

them in the hope of combining the capabilities of both in a single animal; this gave rise to the modern Villano. 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 o ...

, the Club Nacional del Villano de Las Encartaciones, was formed in 1997. It is one of five Basque breeds of dog, the others being the

, the Erbi Txakur, the Pachón de Vitoria and the Villanuco de Las Encartaciones. Of these, all but the Pachón de Vitoria are indigenous to the Basque Autonomous Community, and were recognised as traditional Basque breeds by government decree in 2001. In 2003 a

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 ...

was published in the ''Boletín Oficial del País Vasco''. In 2005 the Villano was added to the list of dog breeds recognised by the national government of Spain. It was among the fourteen indigenous animal breeds included in the rural development plan for the País Vasco for 2007–2013. With the Erbi Txakur it is one of the most seriously endangered breeds of the Basque Country: in 2009 there were fewer than 200 dogs registered in the

Characteristics

Dogs stand some 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 ...

, bitches about .

Use

The traditional use of the dogs is in management of the Monchina breed of cattle of Cantabria and the Paìs Vasco, and particularly to assist with bringing the cattle down from the mountain pastures between October and December. The association between the dog breed and the cattle breed is so close that it has been said that "one breed could not exist without the other". The Villano is also used for

boar hunting Boar hunting is the practice of hunting wild boar, feral pigs, warthogs, and peccaries. Boar hunting was historically a dangerous exercise due to the tusked animal's ambush tactics as well as its thick hide and dense bones rendering them difficul ...

, given its qualities as a

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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Villano De Las Encartaciones Dog breeds originating in the Basque Country (autonomous community) Dog breeds originating in Castile and León Dog breeds originating in Cantabria Rare dog breeds Dog breeds originating in Spain Basque domestic animal breeds