Castro Laboreiro Dog

The Castro Laboreiro Dog is one of the oldest breeds of the Iberian Peninsula and takes its name from the village of Castro Laboreiro, in the Melgaço municipality at the very north of Portugal. The FCI standard places its home in a rugged mountain area that runs from the Minho river up to the Peneda and Soajo mountains, reaching altitudes of about 1,400 metres and bounded by the Minho, Trancoso, Laboreiro and Mouro rivers.

It was bred to guard, and it still is. The Clube Português de Canicultura describes it as essential in protecting flocks from wolf attacks, which remain frequent in the area the breed comes from, and notes its habit of patrolling the property in its care. The same source records a characteristic alarm bark that starts deep, rises to a lower pitch and ends in drawn-out high notes.

The coat is what most people notice first. The standard calls the preferred colour the "mountain colour", a name given by the people of Castro Laboreiro themselves and treated by local breeders as a mark of the breed: a brindle of grey shades overlaid with lighter and darker black brindling, darker on head, back and shoulders and lighter towards the belly and lower legs.

The breed is registered by the FCI.

What the standard asks for

Bred for: Guard dog, watch dog and livestock guarding dog

“The breed has a slight mastiff type.”
— FCI standard no. 170

Size, standard by standard

• FCI — height 58-64 cm (males), 55-61 cm (females)

Full standards: FCI.

• The breed is named after a single village in the far north of Portugal.
• Its home range reaches altitudes of around 1,400 metres.
• Portuguese breeders call the preferred brindle shade the “mountain colour”.
• Its alarm bark changes pitch as it goes, beginning deep and ending high.
• It is a livestock guardian first and a companion second, and it works away from the shepherd rather than at heel.