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The breed had its original habitat In the Estrela Mountain Range since very early times, its true origin lost in time. However, it must be one of the oldest breeds in the Iberian Peninsula.
It was to be found from the foot of the mountain to its highest places (2,000 metres, approximately), mainly in the summer when, after the snow had thawed, the pastures thrived in the high ground, being sought by the cattle once the excessive heat had dried up the pastures at the foot of the mountain. They accompanied the herds, as vigilant guardians, protecting them from the wolf, which abounded and roamed the land.
GENERAL APPEARANCE AND CHARACTERISTICS
Convexilinear dog, molossoid, mastiff type; inseparable companion of the shepherd and faithful guardian of the flock, which he fiercely protected against the wolf and the cattle stealer. Splendid guard of estates and houses; for personal defence and even used with advantage as a draught animal. A rustic animal, robust and corpulent, with lively movements and imposing manner. Alert, calm and expressive look. To be respected for its renowned aggressiveness towards strangers and his characteristically docility towards the master.
Well proportionate, morphologically perfect, of distinct overall harmony, revealing an ethnic purity rooted in time.
HEAD
Strong, voluminous, with well developed jaws. No lose skin in the skull and face. Long and slightly convex; with stop little pronounced, and at a distance approximately equal from the tip of the nose and the occipital vertex. Well set on. Proportionate to the body, as is the skull in relation to the face, which gives, in the whole, a marked harmony.
SKULL Well developed, rounded and convex in profile.
Occipital vertex (occiput) - Only slightly marked.
EARS Small, in relation to the whole (11 cm / 4 ½ ins. In length by 10 cm / 4 ins.) In width; thin, triangular, rounded at the tip; pendulous; set on moderately high; inclined backwards, falling laterally against the head and allowing a view, at the base, of a little of its inner side.
EYES Horizontal, neither sunk nor prominent, oval in shape; of equal and regular size; of intelligent and calm expression; preferably dark amber in colour. Eyelids closing well and with black edges. Eyebrows a little pronounced.
MUZZLE Long, narrowing towards the tip without being pointed; tending to straightness over most of its length and very slightly convex near the tip. Broad, always darker than the fur, preferably black.
MOUTH Opening well back, with large lips, not very thick, not pendulous and fitting well together. Oral mucosa, roof of the mouth and edge of the lips intensely pigmented with black. Strong and white teeth, well implanted and fitting well together. Complete set of teeth, preferably with the scissors type of bite.
BODY
NECK Straight, short and thick; well set on and without excess dewlap.
CHEST Well sprung, without being barrelled; wide, deep and well let down.
TOP LINE Back almost horizontal and preferably short, wide loins, short, well muscled and well joined to the croup, which slops slightly.
BOTTOM LINE Abdomen not very voluminous, well proportionate to the bulk of the animal, merging insensibly with the confining regions; the bottom line should rise gradually and gently from the sternum to the groins.
TAIL Whole, long, reaching to the point of the hock when the animal is at rest. Thick, in the form of scimitar; set on moderately high; well furnished with hair and feathered in the long-haired dogs, forming a hook at the end. Carried below the horizontal, falling naturally between the thighs when not in movement. When the animal is excited and in movement, that tail passes the horizontal, curving upwards, forwards, sideways and downwards.
FRONT AND REAR MEMBERS
Well aligned, when animal is stood in the proper position. Forearms and metatarsus nearly round in form. Well made frame, well muscled and with good bone. Well developed joints; regular angulation, with great ease of movements. Hock slightly low, reasonably open and when aligned, followed by a vertical metatarsus.
FEET Proportionate to the bulk of the animal. Strong; neither round nor over-long; midway between cat foot and hare foot, in order to avoid being aplayed. Thick toes well joined together and furnished with abundant hair between them and between the pads. Thick and hard pads. Dark nails, or rather black and well projecting.
Single or double dewclaws can be present.
COAT
HAIR Strong, slightly coarse, without being too harsh, reminiscent of goat hair; smooth or slightly waving and lying down in almost the whole body; very abundant, both in the short-haired and the long-haired varieties.
Normally, the hair varies in length in different areas. On the limbs, from the elbows and hocks downwards, it is shorter and more dense, as well as in the head; on the ears, it decreases in length from the base to the tip, becoming fine and smooth; it is longer in the tail, which is abundant, thick and feathered in the long-haired variety, around the neck and underside, forming a ruff and on the thighs which are abundantly feathered, as are the backs of the forearms, particularly in the long-haired variety.
The undercoat is made up of fine hairs, short, abundant and intertwined at the base of the guard-hairs and, usually, lighter in colour than the outercoat. It is particularly found in the long-haired variety.
COLOUR The only permissible colours are fulvo, lobeiro and cream, either plain or with white patches localized on the underneath of the chin, underside of the neck, chest, underside of the body and on the feet, where they should not extend more than the joint between the foot and the pastern.
Portuguese designation, could be translated as fawn
Portuguese designation, could be translated as brindle or wolfgrey
HEIGHT
71 cm, + and – 3 cm (68 cm / 26 ¾ ins. to 74 cm / 29 ins.) for dogs,
66 cm, + and – 3 cm (63 cm / 24 ¾ ins. to 69 / 27 ¼ ins.) for bitches.
WEIGHT
Dogs – 45 to 60 Kg (99 to 132 lb.)
Bitches – 35 to 45 Kg (77 to 99 lb.)
Measurements
Head
Length of skull - 13,5 to 14,5 cm (5 ¼ to 5 ¾ ins.)
Width of skull - 12,5 to 14 cm (5 to 5 ½ ins.)
Length of muzzle - 12 to 13 cm (4 ¾ to 5 ¼ ins.)
Chest
Circumference - 75 to 80 cm (29 ½ to 31 ½ ins.)
Width - 18 to 20 cm (7 ¼ to 7 ¾ ins.)
Height - 28 to 29 cm (11 to 11 ½ ins.)
Top line
Length - 63 to 65 cm (24 ¾ to 25 ½ ins.)
Width - 12 to 15 cm (4 ¾ to 5 ¾ ins.)
Length
Body - 68 to 73 cm (26 ¾ to 28 ¾ ins.)
Tail - 40 to 45 cm (15 ¾ to 17 ¾ ins.)
Height
At the withers - 63 to 74 cm (24 ¾ to 29 ¼ ins.)
Of foreleg - 34 to 39 cm (13 ½ to 15 ¼ ins.)
At the croup - 63 to 74 cm (27 ¾ to 29 ¼ ins.)
MOVEMENT
Normal and easy movement.
FAULTS
Penalties
Head Narrow, long and pointed.
Eyes Wall eyed or unequal in size.
Ears Badly set on, very large, fleshy and round.
Coat Muzzle light in colour, specially with blue mask. Hair
departing from the normal type.
Bulk above or below the limits set out by the standard, but
within a tolerance of 2 cm (¾ ins.) above or below the latter.
Disqualifications
Head Very narrow, very long and very pointed, that is,
completely outside that of the molossoid type.
Jaws Overshot or undershot.
Tail Amputated, rudimentary or missing from birth.
Coat Albinism. Colours different from those specified in the
standard. Hair departing completely from the natural type.
Bulk Excessive (gigantism) or diminutive (dwarfism), that is,
more than 2 cm (3/4 ins.) above or below the
measurements given in the standard.