The Portuguese Sheepdog (, literally 'dog of Serra de Aires') is a medium-sized breed of dog of the

herding Herding is the act of bringing individual animals together into a group (herd), maintaining the group, and moving the group from place to place—or any combination of those. Herding can refer either to the process of animals forming herds in ...

dog type Dog types are broad categories of domestic dogs based on form, function, style of work, lineage, or appearance. Some may be locally adapted dog types (or ''landraces'') that may have the visual characteristics of a modern purebred dog. In cont ...

, and is one of the indigenous regional dogs of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. The Portuguese name refers to Serra de Aires, a mountain near Montforte in the

Alentejo Alentejo ( , , ) is a geographical, historical, and cultural region of south–central and southern Portugal. In Portuguese, its name means "beyond the Tagus" (). Alentejo includes the regions of Alto Alentejo Province, Alto Alentejo and Bai ...

region (sometimes mistaken for the Serra d'Aire, a range of hills or mountains marking the boundary between

Ribatejo The Ribatejo () is the most central of the traditional provinces of Portugal, with no coastline or border with Spain. The region is crossed by the Tagus river (''Ribatejo'' translates to "upper Tagus", or more precisely, "up the Tagus" relative ...

and Oeste, north of the

Tagus The Tagus ( ; ; ) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales between Cuenca and Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally westward, and empties into the Atlantic Ocean in Lisbon. Name T ...

river). The breed is nicknamed ('

macaque The macaques () constitute a genus (''Macaca'') of gregarious Old World monkeys of the subfamily Cercopithecinae. The 23 species of macaques inhabit ranges throughout Asia, North Africa, and Europe (in Gibraltar). Macaques are principally f ...

dog', 'monkey dog') for its furry face and lively attitude.

Appearance

Portuguese Sheepdog is a medium-sized dog, standing 45 to 55 cm (17½ to 21½ ins) at the

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

for males (females slightly smaller) and 17 to 27 kg (37 to 60 lbs) in weight. The dog's body is long and has a long

coat A coat is typically an outer garment for the upper body, worn by any gender for warmth or fashion. Coats typically have long sleeves and are open down the front, and closing by means of buttons, zippers, hook-and-loop fasteners (AKA velcro), ...

without an undercoat, of medium thickness and described as having a "

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope that is mostly 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 ...

like" texture.Original Standard in Portuguese from the Portuguese Kennel Clu
Estalão Do Cão Da Serra De Aires
; or in English translation from the FC
Breed Standard from the Fédération Cynologique Internationale
The lack of an undercoat makes the dog less resistant to extreme weather as a

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 ...

. Typical coat colours include yellow, chestnut, grey, fawn, wolf grey (Portuguese: or ), and black, with tan marks. White hairs may be mixed in with the coat, but there should be no large white patches. The tail should be long, and a

natural bobtail A natural bobtail is an animal's tail which due to a mutated gene grows unusually short or is missing completely. The genes for the shortened tail may be dominant or recessive. Because of legislation restricting or preventing docking, natural bob ...

is a disqualification under the

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 phenotype, physical or morphology (biology), morphological detail, genotype, g ...

, meaning that owners are discouraged from breeding such non typical dogs, and tailless dogs cannot compete for breed championships. The tail should never be docked. The drop (hanging) ears are set high and close to the head. Detailed descriptions of all of the ideal proportions and colours are listed in the original breed standard, as well as faults which are aspects not typical for the breed or that are structural problems.

History

Ancestors of the modern breed were traditionally used for herding cows, sheep, goats, horses, and even pigs in the Serra de Aires and in the

.United Kennel Club breed standard
As with other breeds who came from undocumented, working dog origins, "... data is rare, or does not exist ... most guardian and herding breeds do not have records before 1900".
(in Portuguese) Retrieved 4 October 2008 The dog is recognisable as one of the old-fashioned

types Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * Ty ...

of European sheepdogs, believed to be closely related to the Pyrenean and Catalan Sheepdogs. It is also believed to be descended from Briards imported into Portugal in the early 1900s by the Conde de Castro Guimarães from

Cascais Cascais () is a town and municipality in the Lisbon District of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera, Estoril Coast. The municipality has a total of 214,158 inhabitants in an area of 97.40 km2. Cascais is an important tourism in Port ...

, and crossed with the Pyrenean Sheepdog.FCI Breed Standard
The landscape of the Serra de Aires is barren and harsh and it has been noted that the breed would have had a difficult time adapting to the climate there.
(in Portuguese) The first

was written by Antonio Cabral and Felipe Morgado Romeiros and was accepted by the Portuguese Kennel Club. The breed was recognised internationally in 1996 by the

Fédération Cynologique Internationale The (; FCI; ) is the largest international federation of national kennel clubs and purebred registries. The FCI is based in Thuin, Belgium and has 98 members and contract partners (one from each country). History The FCI was founded in 1911 un ...

, under the name Portuguese Sheepdog in English. The breed has been exported to other countries, and has become a popular companion and pet in Europe. In the United States, the breed is recognised by the

United Kennel Club The United Kennel Club (UKC) is a kennel club founded in 1898 in the United States. In contrast with the American Kennel Club, which is non-profit and which only clubs can join, the United Kennel Club is a profit-making corporation, open to indivi ...

in its

Herding Herding is the act of bringing individual animals together into a group (herd), maintaining the group, and moving the group from place to place—or any combination of those. Herding can refer either to the process of animals forming herds in ...

group as of 2006, also under the name Portuguese Sheepdog. It is also recognised and listed under its original name or various translations by minor kennel clubs, specialty clubs, and Internet dog registry businesses, and is promoted as a rare breed for those seeking an unusual pet.

Related Portuguese breeds

The Portuguese Sheepdog is a regional herding breed, and in other areas of the country the Saint Miguel Cattle Dog,

Estrela Mountain Dog The Estrela Mountain Dog () is a large dog breed, breed of dog from the Serra da Estrela, Estrela Mountains of Portugal. They are a livestock guardian dog bred to Livestock guardian dog, guard herds and homesteads and also kept as a family ...

, Castro Laboreiro Dog and

Rafeiro do Alentejo The or Rafeiro Alentejano is a Portuguese breed of flock guardian dog. It is named for its area of origin, the Alentejo region of southern Portugal. It is recognised by the Clube Português de Canicultura, and was definitively accepted by the ...

traditionally did similar work herding livestock in other mountain areas of the country. Nowadays, most of them are kept as pets.

Health

No recurring health problems or claims of extraordinary health have been documented for this breed. They are prone to ehrlichiosis transmitted by

tick Ticks are parasitic arachnids of the order Ixodida. They are part of the mite superorder Parasitiformes. Adult ticks are approximately 3 to 5 mm in length depending on age, sex, and species, but can become larger when engorged. Ticks a ...

s. Abdominal tumors are to be expected on senior dogs, so regular echograms are advised after the eighth year of life.

Temperament

The FCI breed standard states that the ideal Portuguese Sheepdog is "exceptionally intelligent and very lively."

Activities

Portuguese Sheepdogs can compete in

dog agility Dog agility is a dog sport in which a handler directs a dog through an obstacle course in a race for both time and accuracy. Dogs run off leash with no food or toys as incentives, and the handler can touch neither dog nor obstacles. The handle ...

trials,

obedience Obedience, in human behavior, is a form of "social influence in which a person yields to explicit instructions or orders from an authority figure". Obedience is generally distinguished from compliance, which some authors define as behavior infl ...

, showmanship,

flyball Flyball is a List of dog sports, dog sport in which teams of dogs race against each other from the start to the finish line, over a line of hurdles, to a box that releases a tennis ball to be caught when the dog presses the spring-loaded pad, t ...

tracking Tracking may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Tracking, in computer graphics, in match moving (insertion of graphics into footage) * Tracking, composing music with music tracker software * Eye tracking, measuring the position of ...

, and

events.

instincts and trainability can be measured at noncompetitive herding tests. ''Portuguese Sheepdogs'' exhibiting basic herding instincts can be trained to compete in herding trials.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Portuguese Sheepdog FCI breeds Herding dogs Dog breeds originating in Portugal