Castro Laboreiro Dog

Working

Coat

Solid:
Grizzle: Grey grizzle (regular).
Brindle: All of the above must always be brindled with .
White Markings: Allowed as trim on the chest.

Eyes

Nose

Faults

None

Disqualifications

No brindling.

Varieties

None

Notes

This breed is named after a small town, Castro Laboreiro, in northern Portugal.
The modern breed is descended from a very old molosser type dog that worked as a livestock herder in the mountains, defending the flock against large predators.
No one knows the origin of the breed for sure, but there are many legends about it. The Portuguese breed club notes that "Everything that is written about their origins is pure fiction, without any scientific or historical accuracy...data is rare, or does not exist...most guardian and herding breeds do not have records before 1900".

The desired appearance for which the Castrohas been bred is somewhat wolflike in outline. It is a large dog, but not oversize. Height should not be above 60cms (24ins) at the withers and weight should not be more than 40kgs (88lbs); females somewhat smaller. Coat colours are also described in wolf terms, dark wolf colour, light wolf colour.

Breed Files

Filename: Castro Laboreiro Dog
Offset: 6600
Base: Dalmatian
SCP: Dalmatian
Accepted: April 15, 2010
Notes: Includes four topline variations, body size variations, ear and tail variations and optional nails and liplines. When grizzle, use hair10 texture on any present shaded (ie non-brindled) areas.