In the Spanish Stud Book for the year
1923, the existence of this breed is already established.
The first official entry was in the year
1928 and in 1929, such a breed was exhibited for the first time at a dog
show in Barcelona.
STANDARD
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ORIGIN:
SPAIN
UTILIZATION:
Guardian and cattle dog.
CLASSIFICATION F.C.I.:
Group 2,Section 2.1: Molosser – Type: Dogo
CAC & CACIB
GENERAL APPEARANCE:
A tipical Molossian of somewhat elongated build, strong and powerful, of
medium size. The difference between the sexes is apparent in the head,
whose circumference is definitely greater in dogs than in bitches.
BEHAVIOUR/TEMPERAMENT: Quiet by nature,
he can under some circumstances be courageous and brave. He is at ease
with people, faithful and devoted to his master. As a watch and guard dog,
he is unsurpassed. In quiet situations, he is trusting and self assured.
When roused, his expression is piercing.
HEAD: Strong and massive.
CRANIAL REGION:
Skull: Large, broad and almost square.
Its circumference, specially in males, is greater than the chest
measurement taken at the withers. Forehead is broad and flat. Frontal
furrow well defined. Seen from the front, due to the shape of the skull,
back of skull is not visible. Upper planes of skull and muzzle are almost
parallel, lightly converging.
Stop: Seen from side, strongly defined
and protruding; seen from front, only noticeable because the eyebrow
arches form a definite frontal furrow.
FACIAL REGION: The jaw muscles are strong,
protruding, well developed and reach to the middle region below the eye.
Even though there are some folds which occur sideways over the chewing
muscles, there are altogether no folds in the skin of the head.
Nose: Black and broad. The philtrum
between the nostrils is well defined.
Muzzle: Set on at inner corner of eye,
broad and conical, in profile reminiscent of blunt cone with a broad base.
The nasal bridge is straight, rising slightly. Lenght of muzzle is in
proportion of 1 to 3 length of skull.
Lips: Laterally the upper lip covers the
lower lip to the middle part of the muzzle, where the corner of the mouth
appears. The upper lip is rather taut, whereas the lower lip is folded in
its middle part, so that in a closed muzzle, the lips are not noticeable.
The completely red mucous membrane of the mouth cavity has distinct
transversal ridges and the rims of the gums have black pigment.
Jaws/Teeth: The jaws are strong, incisors
in correct row and canines well apart. The mouth is complete, teeth white
and strong. The bite is undershot; the gap of the not exaggerated
undershot bite should not be more than 1 cm. When the muzzle is closed,
teeth must not be visible.
Eyes: Large, oval in shape. Lids wide
open, clearly outlined and slightly slanting. Colour should be dark as
possible and according to coat colour. Conjuctiva not visible. Looked at
from front, white of eyes should not be visible. The eyes are deep set and
far apart.
Ears: Set on high and to the sides,
rather small, with inner ear opening visible and drawn backwards in a curve;
it is a so called "rose ear". In repose, the tip of the ear is below the
line of the eye.
NECK: Strong, thick, in harmony to the
whole. At set on, roughly the diameter of the head; fitting well into
withers. Skin slightly loose; thin dewlap permitted.
BODY:
Loins and flanks: Short, relatively
narrow, with definite arch towards croup.
Croup: 1 to 2 cm higher in position than
withers. Slanting to horizontal at an angle of 30° and slightly narrower
than chest.
Chest: The rib cage is somewhat
cylindrical, deep and reaches to the elbows. As the top of the shoulder
blades are wide apart, the chest is broad at the height of the withers.
Lower line: The chest line runs parallel
to the ground. The belly line rises and is tucked up lightly, not
greyhound-like.
TAIL: Low set on. Thick at root, tapering
towards the tip. Hangs naturally in repose; in action in forms a slight
curve and is raised to height of the top line.
LIMBS:
FOREQUARTERS: Straight, parallel, set
well apart.
Shoulders: Moderately short, slightly,
slanting, hardly protruding.
Upper arm: Well muscled, straight, strong
bone structure.
Elbows: Standing away from the chest
because of width of breast but in no way turned out.
Front feet: Strong with thick, close
together, lightly rounded toes. Pads slightly pigmented.
HINDQUARTERS: Muscles broader than in
forequarters.
Upper Thigh: Broad, naturally angulated.
Hock: Short, straight, strong.
Dewclaws: Not desired.
Hind feet: Strong with thick which are
longer than those of front feet but altogether oval in shape. Pigmented
pads preferred.
GAIT/MOVEMENT: The typical movement of
this breed is the trot.
COAT:
HAIR: Short and rough to the touch.
COLOUR: Brindle, fawn colour and black,
preference in this order. In brindle dogs, dark tones are preferred, in
fawn, the deeper shade is preferred. White patches are permitted on front
feet, on chest, on muzzle, up to a maximum of 30 % of the whole coat. A black
mask is also permitted.
SIZE:
Height at the withers: Dogs: 55-58 cm,
weight 35-38 kg
Bitches: 52-55 cm, weight 30-34 kg.
MEASUREMENTS FOR A MEDIUM SIZE DOG:
Weight: 36 kg
Height at croup: 58 cm
Height at withers: 56 cm
Chest circumference: 78 cm
Head circumference: 59,5 cm
Length from back-skull to set on of tail:
73 cm
Length from back-skull to end of muzzle:
22 cm
Length of muzzle to top: 8 cm
FAULTS: Any departure from the foregoing
points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the
fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree.
SERIOUS FAULTS:
Dog which are taller at
withers than their height at croup.
Undershot by more than 1 cm.
Scissors or pincer bite.
Lack of two premolars.
Lack of rose ear, but ears which lie flat, close to cheeks. Ears set on
erect, even if the back third is the shape of a rose ear.
Tail shaped like a Bulldog’s.
Any other serious fault according to the standard.
DIQUALIFYING FAULTS:
Overshot mouth.
Light or yellow eyes.
Cropped ears or docked
tail.
White colour which takes
up more than 30% of the whole body elsewhere than on front legs, chest and
muzzle.
Patches of any other
colour.
Shyness.
N.B.:
Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended
into the scrotum.