Presa oder Dogo Canario?

Are not us, the defenders of the Perro de Presa Canario those that say that the Dogo Canario and the Perro de Presa Canario is a same breed; are the breeders (and supporters) of the Dogo Canario those that persist in that they are the same breed. And the subject has its explanation. The thing DOGO CANARIO does not sell well. It sells the denomination Perro de Presa Canario. It is so simple. If they were able, these breeders (and supporters) with the director of the club that represents the breed at the top, they would return to the traditional denomination, the one that we, the breeders of the Perro de Presa Canario represent.
They would make it disappear from the terrestrial sphere by the ominous results obtained at the time of promoting for the sale its products. Only for that reason, because the denomination in itself, the traditional or the new one, is for them irrelevant.
The sales; that is the only thing that had interested and interest them. But that is not possible, due although they requested it, the FCI would not return back.
But is that aside the denomination Dogo Canario we have the dog (the one we denominate breed), and its standard.
The breeders of Perro de Presa Canario, we have like guide the standard of the breed, a Racial Pattern elaborated from many years (product of consensus between the most significant breeders at that time of both canary provinces) in which is meticulously described the animal and its coats. For those who have not read it I will say that the coats most characteristic of the Perro de Presa Canario are the brindle, the fawn, and the black, being able to display all of them white spots in the extremities, in the lower abdomen, in the chest, around the neck, in the face, and the tail. The breeeders of Dogo Canario breed taking as guides their Racial Pattern (recognized by the FCI in June of 2001) in which only accept the coats, brindle, fawn and sand – although in this standard the white colour is mentioned, in the reality the club of the breed does not accept it.
Many years ago I denounced by means of the newspaper El Día (Tenerife) that the Spanish Club of the Perro de Presa Canario (today of the Dogo Canario), it directors and partners, at the time of breeding they did not take as guides the Racial Pattern recognized by the Royal Canine Society of Spain, and that they were breeding a sort of dog similar to the Bullmastiff, in which they were only accepted like characteristic the coats brindle, fawn and the sand, in the three cases with black mask without exceeding the height of the eyes.
In one speech given to the directors and partners of the CEPPC about genetics applied in the breeding of dogs, a professor of the university (not specialized on this matter) of San Cristóbal de La Laguna, recommended the assistants to use indiscriminately the Bullmastiff in their crossings to get in short time to consolidate the breed. Apparently this recommendation was effective.
The standard approved by the FCI, apart the considerations relative to its origin (the reference to the blood of the Majorero Dog as genetic base of the dogs of the aforesaid club is totally false of course), is in essence a copy of the Bullmastiff standard.
Throughout several years, the breeders of the CEPPC frequently used in their crossings the Bullmastiff, secretly of course, so that nobody knows it. The dance of false papers between the breeders of this club has been a constant during many years. And still continue that dance of papers.
Respect to the differences morphological, phenotypical, and functional between the Perro de Presa Canario and the Dogo Canario, they are evident.
The Perro de Presa Canario is an animal robust and athletic, dynamic, of wide and deep rib cage but not like barrel, with strong extremities and correctly positioned, parallel to each other. Its head -the head is the part of the animal that better defines and characterizes the breed- well proportioned (6-4), the snout straight, never turned-up, Nasofrontal depression is little noticeable, marked depression cranium-frontal, the skull flat, or hardly convex, thick-lipped gathered, non-hanging, the masseters muscles well developed, bite in scissors, the eyes of medium size and attentive gaze, intelligent as if it was a person.
The Dog Canario usually is more near the ground, I means that their legs generally are shorter, and frequently turned, the angles more straights (the percentage of hip´s dysplasia in this breed is very high), the rib cage something cylindrical and less deep -in the work this dog suffer from asphyxia very easy and gets tired long before that the Perro de Presa Canario-, its head usually is convex, the nasofrontal depression frequently is pronounced, the cranium-frontal depression in most of the units is almost nonexistent, the thick-lipped pendants, the masseters muscles little developed, the wrinkles in his head are often abundant, and they display with certain frequency a slight prognatismo (undershot bite) and absence of premolars. This dog, unlike the Perro de Presa Canario, is clumsier in its movements, learns with more difficulty, does not respond well to the training in defence, attacks and persecution, its guard instinct is very low, get sick very easy, and is of little longevity, this means that he get old early and dies at an age in which the Perro de Presa Canario is still young, healthful and perfectly apt for the work. I maintain that this longevity of the Perro de Presa Canario proceed from the high percentage of blood of the Perro de Ganado Majorero that runs by its veins.
The description that I just finish doing of the Perro de Presa Canario is not product of a whim mine, is an ascertainable reality. And equally true is the description of the Dogo Canario. And both realities have their explanation. The Perro de Presa Canario is breed and selected for the work. The Dogo Canario is breed (is not selected) thinking about the shows, to be able then to sell offspring of champions. Champions of what? I always say.

Manuel Curtó Gracia