Dog breeds :
Portuguese Watchdog / Rafeiro do Alentejo
Elo, Ch. Portugal, Spain, Gibraltar, Intenational, World 2000
General
A large dog, strong and sober. From profile slightly convex. An excellent watch dog, very particularly at night, in Alentejo he is used either to watch over the isolet houses or to follow the herds. He is devoted to his master, but aggressive towards strangers.
Characteristics
This is a corpulent, sober dog, a dog of peaceful demeanour. Its silhouette is slightly convex and males are bigger and have a bulkier head than females.
Conformity to the physical type, temperament and movements are basic factors to take into account. The height at the withers varies between 66 and 74 cm in males, between 64 and 70 cm in females.
Head with a broad, rounded skull, proportional to the corpulence, eyes dark and very characteristically expressive, earls amsll to mediumsized, triangular, placed halfway along the skull, bending at the base and dangling.
The neck is short and strong, with a regular dewlap, the trunk is robust, bulky and muscular, the chest broad and deep.
Strong, upright limbs, both front and rear. Long and curving tail, on a line with the rump and falling underneath and between the hocks.
Hair of medium length, thick, straight and dense, its colour blak, wolflike, tawny or yellowish, in a fair, striped or white-spotted pattern.
Temperament
An excellent, safe and self-confident guard dog, particulary alert at night.
With its highly noble character, it is tough to strangers but docile with children.
Undoubtedly a dog more for defence than attack, unmistakable by the low, deep tone of its barking, which can be heard a long way off.
Because of its powerful fangs and its courage, it is often used in packs for game hunting.
History
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Origin
They are claimed to be descended from huge dogs on the vast Tibetan highlands, thousands of years ago. These powerful mastiffs are commonly said to have migrated slowly westwards into Asia Minor. They are thought to have crossed the Balkans, following the Roman legion from the Black Sea to the shores of the Atlantic.
Over so vast an area and through centuries of natural seletion, they acquired characteristics of their own, which eventually differentiated them from region to region.
Utilization
An excellent watch dog, very particularly at night.
Classification
Pinscher and Schnauzer - Molossians and Swiss Mountain- and Cattledogs
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