Presa Canario Dog Breed Information

The full name of the Presa Canario breed is Perro de Presa Canario. The name means the "Canary Dog of Prey," and so the Perro de Presa Canario is sometimes simply known as the Canary Dog. This breed belongs in the Working Group of the American Kennel Club, but is currently a part of the Foundation Stock Service and not actually registered with the AKC yet.

  1. Colors and Markings

    • A Perro de Presa Canario is allowed by the AKC to be registered with a black, fawn or brindle coat color. Any of these coat colors can come with a small amount of white markings. All of these colors and markings are considered standard to the breed. The dogs must have a black or dark brown coloring on the face called the mask that should not go over the eyes. Eyes are always brown; blue, gray and yellow eyes mean the dog is disqualified from conformation shows.

    Breed Clubs

    • The Perro de Presa Canario is registered by two breed clubs in the United States: the American Presa Club and the United Perro de Presa Canario Club. The American Presa Club can be found at 133-19 128th St., So. Ozone Park, NY 11420, and the United Perro de Presa Canario Club is located at 239 Raritan Ave., Middlesex, NJ 08846.

    Development

    • A type of cattle dog called the Iberian Presa served as the foundation for the Perro de Presa Canario. The Presa Espanol of large and bulldog types were added later, then English colonists brought the breeds that later developed into the English bulldog and English mastiff and added these breeds into the mix. A type of sheepdog called the Bardino Majorero was added last.

    Uses

    • The Perro de Presa Canario was developed as a guard dog for farms and cattle herds on the Canary Islands, as well as to hunt down stray dogs. Later, the dogs were used for dog fighting until the 1940s when dog fighting was prohibited, which nearly resulted in the breed's extinction. The dogs are now used as watchdogs.

    Other Characteristics

    • Male dogs should be between 23 and 26 inches tall, and weigh approximately 100 pounds, while female dogs are usually between 22 and 24 inches in height and weigh around 85 pounds. Perro de Presa Canario dogs are always single-coated, and the hair should have a harsh texture.