Perro de Presa Canario

The Perro de Presa Canario, or simply Presa Canario, is a large Spanish dog of mastiff or catch dog type from the Canary Islands, found mostly on Gran Canaria and Tenerife. It was formerly known as the Dogo Canario. It was traditionally used as a guard dog, to herd cattle and sheep, and for dog-fighting, which was legal in Spain until 1936 and may have carried on in secret afterward.

History

The breed derives from the Bardino Majorero, a dog once found throughout the Canary Islands. Dogs of that type were crossed with various molossers brought to the islands during the colonial period. Dogs from the British Isles had a particular influence, arriving with the many British residents who settled in the late 19th century.

By the 1960s the Presa Canario was close to extinction. A breed society, the Club Español del Presa Canario, was formed in 1982 and drew up a provisional standard, which the Real Sociedad Canina de España approved in 1989. In 1991 the dog was named an official symbol of the island of Gran Canaria, and the Spanish government recognized the breed in 2001.

The FCI accepted it provisionally in 2001 under the name Dogo Canario and definitively in 2011. In December 2018 the name was changed to Presa Canario at the request of the Spanish kennel club. The breed has been in the American Kennel Club’s Foundation Stock Service since 1996. Importing and selling these dogs is prohibited in Australia and New Zealand.

Appearance

The Presa Canario is a large dog with a robust, muscular body. Under the international standard revised in 2023, males stand 61 to 66 cm at the withers and weigh about 45 to 57 kg, and females stand 57 to 62 cm and weigh 40 to 50 kg. The earlier standard of 2018 called for heavier dogs, with males at 50 to 65 kg.

The head is broad, massive and square, with a short muzzle. Cropped ears stand erect. Where cropping is banned, the ears hang close to the head and are pendant or rose-shaped. The upper lip hangs a little, and seen from the front the lips meet in an inverted V. The inside of the lips is dark. The coat is fawn, brindle or black.

Care and health

A study of dogs in the United Kingdom found a median lifespan of 7.7 years for the breed, well below the 12.5 years found for dogs overall.

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