The Estrela Mountain Dog*

The Estrela Mountain Dog is an ancient breed, supposedly the oldest breed of the Iberian Peninsular. It's true history will probably never be known but suffice it to say that they remained with their working origins until recent years. He is a devoted friend, great protector and a wonderful deterrent to those with bad intentions.

This is not a massively giant dog, he should have the strong construction of any mountain breed but still remains agile and not overdone in any way. Remember, this breed was evolved to fight large predators so needs strength of body but also a good brain. The dogs sit on the mountain side watching, they look for anything out of the ordinary, they do not need constant aggression but to be ready at any time to protect their own. To fulfil this task the Estrela needs excellent sight and hearing which can lead to a noisy dog if not controlled. To me, this is the perfect guard, a dog who fits into family life in every way but will protect his own with his life if needed.

The Estrela temperament should be loyal, affectionate to his owners, aloof, intelligent and alert and inclined to be stubborn. They may be distrusting of strangers but should never be nervous. One of the greatest assets of the breed is his love of children. Estrela adore children to the point of ignoring adults if there are children around. An Estrela that does not love children is not a true Estrela.

The most important thing in an Estrela's life is you, he needs to be with you, to know he is loved and to feel he is secure in this. This breed will become your true soulmate if you treat him right, this is an association I have found with no other breed I have known. Treat him right and you will have a very special friend.

The Estrela has three accepted colours:-
Fawn:- From a yellow tone through to a dark mahogany, with or without guard hairs. Should never be so pale as to appear dirty white.
Brindle:- This is a base colour of any acceptable fawn with the addition of black or brown streaks or smudges over it.
Wolf Grey:- A mixture of grey and black hairs intermingled. With or without black guard hairs.

In all the colours a black mask is highly desirable. The ears and tail of the Estrela are true breed features and highly prized. The ears are set with the root being set level with the eyes. They should be carried falling backwards against the side of the head with a small portion of the inner ear showing.

The tail is set moderately low and has a hook which resembles a scimitar. It is important when breeding that we try to retain these features.

There is one major drawback with the Estrela Mountain Dog, it is more'ish. It is almost impossible to stop at one. Before you know it you have more. If he is treated right he will live happily on his own but this is not a dominant breed so you can usually run males and females together with no problems. He is not usually a fighter so males may make aggressive noises but are unlikely to fight if correctly reared.

BE WARNED ESTRELA MOUNTAIN DOGS ARE ADDICTIVE

* NOTE: This information and photo has been contributed by, and is property of Marcia Dovey, and is gratefully used here with permission.

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