Rafeiro of Alentejo

		Rafeiro of Alentejo
		FCI standard Nº 96

Origin		Portugal
Translation		Portuguese Kennel Club. Revised by Jennifer Mulholland and Renée Sporre-Willes
Group		Group 2 Pinscher and Schnauzer, Molossoid breeds, Swiss Mountain and Cattle Dogs and other breeds
Section		Section 2.2 Molossoid breeds, Mountain type
Working		Without working trial
Acceptance on a definitive basis by the FCI		Wednesday 24 November 1954
Publication of the official valid standard		Tuesday 04 November 2008
Last update		Monday 04 May 2009
En français, cette race se dit		Rafeiro de l'Alentejo
Diese Norm ist in deutscher Sprache sichtbar		Rafeiro von Alentejo
En español, esta raza se dice		Rafeiro del Alentejo
In het Nederlands, wordt dit ras gezegd		Rafeiro van Alentejo
In his country of origin, his name is		Rafeiro do Alentejo

Usage

Guard dog for property and livestock.

Brief historical summary

It is believed to descend from molosser dogs from the Middle East. On account of their size and courage they were used by tribes whose livelihood depended on livestock husbandry, thus performing a crucial role for this type of community.
With the beginning of the transhumance, which implies temporary displacement of large flocks, it was noticed that they were exposed to many dangers during their long journeys. On their route to the mountains in the summer and back to the plains in the winter, flocks were always accompanied by large dogs, which lead to the latter being spread along the route from region to region. Thus is explained the appearance of this powerful dog, in the Alentejo plains, which has been called Rafeiro do Alentejo since the end of the 19th century.

General appearance

Large sized dog, powerful, rustic, sober and calm. Outlines in head slightly convex, the general structure is rather longer than high (sub-longilinear).

Important proportions

Rectangular (Sub-longilinear), with height at withers slightly inferior to body length.
Skull width and head length should have a relation of 1/2.
Muzzle and skull length should have a relation of 2/3.
Chest depth should be slightly less than half the height at withers.

Behaviour / temperament

An excellent farm and estate watch dog, it is also a very useful livestock protector, more vigilant at night, being very serious when guarding territory or any other property entrusted to it. It has a calm and confident expression, neither aggressive nor shy.

Head
Cranial region
Head		Voluminous tending to massive, in proportion to the size of the dog; wide at the rear of the skull, narrower and less convex in the forehead. The superior cranium-facial axes are moderately divergent.
Skull		Broad; rounded in both the longitudinal and transversal axes; superciliary arches not prominent; slight frontal furrow between and over the eyes; occipital protuberance not too pronounced; well muscled sides of the skull.
Stop		Not pronounced.

Facial region
Nose		Oval, with tip slightly downwards and towards the rear part of muzzle; black coloured well open nostrils.
Muzzle		Nasal bridge straight, its cross section arched. The muzzle has a wide and high base, tapering moderately towards the nose and is shorter than the skull.
Lips		Black, slightly rounded in front, overlapping, well cut; of medium thickness; showing a slight curve in the inferior profile.
Jaws and teeth		Strong and well developed; scissors bite, pincer bite accepted.
Cheeks		Slightly evident with prominent masseteric area.
Eyes		Small; elliptical; set almost level with the foreface; brown (preferably dark); dark pigmented lids; firm and adherent to the eyes. With a calm expression.
Ears		Medium set-on, with low mobility, folded and hanging. Small, with a narrow base and length equal to or slightly more than the width; Triangular and rounded at the tip. At attention they remain folded, rising at the base and folding vertically.

Neck

Well set into the shoulders; straight; short; strong; with even, single, longitudinal dewlap, proportioned to the size.

Body
Body		Strong, well muscled, slightly longer than the height at the withers, voluminous.
Topline		Straight, almost level; a slight slope from fore to rear is tolerated.
Withers		Not prominent, well connected to the neck.
Back		Slightly sloping tending to horizontal.
Loin		Of medium length; straight and broad, well muscled.
Croup		Slightly sloping; of medium length; broad and muscled, in relation to the substance.
Chest		Broad; well let down to, or slightly below the elbow. Fore chest : Broad, but not too evident.
Ribs		Well sprung; slightly inclined towards to the back.
Underline and belly		Almost horizontal sternum; belly not tucked up, following the line of the sternum.

Tail

Set on at medium height following the croup; thick at the base, may be slightly curved or turned up at the tip, but no kink, long; at rest hangs down reaching at least the hock, preferably below it, in action it may rise and curl without resting on the top line.

Limbs

Forequarters
Generality		Strong, wide apart, upright when seen from front and from profile.
Shoulders		Strong; of medium length; well developed and muscled, approximately 105º scapula-humerus angle.
Upper arm		Strong; of medium length; inclined and muscled.
Elbows		Close to the thorax, neither turning in nor out; humerus-radius angle between 130º and 135º.
Forearm		Vertical; long; strong and well muscled.
Carpal		Thick; with good joints.
Pastern		Of medium length; thick; slightly sloping.
Forefeet		Toes thick, tight (not splayed) and slightly arched (rounded); strong nails, coloured according to the coat colour; pads thick and tough.

Hindquarters
Generality		Strong, wide apart, upright when seen from back and profile.
Upper thigh		Long; broad; well muscled but not exaggerated; hip-femur angle approximately 105º.
Lower thigh		Strong; moderately inclined; of medium length; well muscled.
Stifle		Strong joint; in line with the body without turning out; femur-tibia angle between 125º and 130º.
Metatarsus		Thick, of medium length, set at medium height; very slightly sloping; may have single or double dewclaws.
Hock		Strong; lean, of medium height; tibia-tarsus angle approximately 140º
Hind feet		Toes thick, tight (not splayed) and slightly arched; strong nails, coloured according to the coat colour; pads thick and tough.

Gait and movement

Heavy, slow, roll without exaggeration.

Skin

Thick, rather close fitting; internal mucous membranes partially or totally pigmented with black, external mucous membranes fully pigmented.

Coat
Hair		Short or of medium length, this being preferred; thick, straight and dense, evenly spread down to between toes.
Colour		Black, wolf grey, fawn or yellow, with or without brindling, always with white markings; or white with patches of these colours.

Size and weight
Height at withers		Males: 66-74 cm, females: 64-70 cm.
Weight		Males: 45-60 Kg, females: 35-50 Kg.

Faults

• Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog and its ability to perform its traditional work.
• Faults listed should be in degree of seriousness.

General faults

Behaviour : Shyness.

Appearance : Bad overall condition, thinness or obesity.

Muzzle : Long, narrow, slightly curved in profile, with vertically truncated nose.

Backline : Carp or saddle back.

Croup : Long, too sloping down, narrow.

Tail : High or low set.

Limbs : Cow hocked or too wide in the front; incorrect angulation and lack of uprightness of pasterns.

Feet : Disproportioned to the body size, splayed or hare feet.

Coat : In poor condition; long hair; wire or wavy hair.

Serious faults

General Appearance : Light build or lymphatic.

Head : Not proportioned to the size, lack of volume, pronounced stop, flat and narrow skull, parallel longitudinal superior cranium-facial axes.

Eyes : Light coloured, not elliptical, slanted, lids not very adherent to the eyeball.

Ears : Big, rounded, not folded, not hanging, partially cropped.

Neck : Absence of dewlap; too folded or double dewlap.

Chest : Narrow and flat ribs.

Tail : Curled when at rest, hook at the tip; short; docked.

Mucous membranes : Partial external lack of pigmentation of the mouth, eyelids, lips and nose.

Height : Males: less than 66 cm or more than 75 cm.

Females: less than 64 cm or more than 71 cm.

Disqualifying faults

Behaviour : Aggressive or overly shy.

Type : Atypical.

General appearance : Extremely light in build or very lymphatic.

Head : Very narrow and long.

Muzzle : Too long; convex profile.

Jaws : Undershot or overshot.

Eyes : Too light, of different sizes and colour.

Ears : Very bad set, excessively big and round.

Tail : Anurous.

Mucous membranes : Total lack of pigmentation (albinism) of the mouth, lips and nose.

Coat : Too short.

NB :

• Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified.
• The above mentioned faults when occurring to a highly marked degree or frequently are disqualifying.
• Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
• Only functionally and clinically healthy dogs, with breed typical conformation should be used for breeding.

Bibliography

https://www.fci.be/

Detailed history

It is in principle the largest of the three Portuguese guard dogs. It is also undoubtedly the rarest. In addition, the few subjects that are presented in the exhibitions of his country are of variable aspect, which suggests that the race is not the object of a followed and severe selection. Its survival appears to be due only to its traditional employment with herds and on farms.

There is no special club for the breed. As for the "Portuguese Canine Society", it has never published that its standard and the list of national champions. The official documentation of Rafeiro do Alentejo is therefore extremely poor, even more so than for other Lusitanian breeds. Thus, the paragraph of the generalities, at the head of the standard, giving some indications on the character, the uses and the origin, is extremely reduced.

The denomination of this dog tells us that its cradle is the province of Alentejo, consisting of trays without marked reliefs, where have developed large farms dedicated to sheep farming. This province, located south of Lisbon, is best known as the main dissemination area for the small Portuguese herding dog called Cao da Serra des Aires.

From a morphological point of view and in terms of abilities, the Rafeiro do Alentejo has many similarities with the Cao da Serra da Estrela. The latter is native to the mountainous center of Portugal, north of the capital, but is widespread in most of the country. The two breeds have often been crossed between them, and one of the objectives of the promoters of the dog Estrela; which is currently attracting interest; is to eliminate Alentejo blood boosters. This is probably what motivates the current trend towards abandoning the short-haired variety of Estrela.

Indeed, the differences between the two breeds reside mainly in the length of the coat and in its colors. While the Estrela has long hair, the Alentejo is short or half long. In terms of colors, the yellow, the wolf, the beast are common to both dogs, the Alentejo may also have a brindle or black. Lastly, the Estrela is most often of solid hue, and the Alentejo pie (half-white, half-colored), but that is not a rule.

If we ignore the characteristics of the coat, it is clear that the two dogs have a very close structure. Their size is practically the same, to within 2 centimeters. The head of the Alentejo is described as a little stronger and shorter, which does not seem very obvious. One can therefore wonder if the Alentejo is a local variety of Estrela or if both are to be considered variants of the same breed. There is no information to support either hypothesis, and the Rafeiro do Alentejo could go as far back as several thousand years (like the Estrela) to a hundred or two hundred years if the race was formed in the eighteenth or nineteenth century (like many dog breeds). It is only excluded that this is a recent breed selected by dog-lovers: the Alentejo has hardly ever been raised as an exhibition dog (of a certain size hears).

If little information is available on the ancient history of this dog, we do not know much about its past. For example, since the creation of the Club Português de Canicultura in 1934, the Rafeiro do Alentejo has not been awarded ten national championship titles, and if we make the total number of dogs of this breed in the main Portuguese exhibitions do not reach the number of twenty each year. And again, some dogs are involved in several competitions. Finally, when we examine the results of exhibitions over a decade, it appears that only three farms have a production in this breed: they have affixes Do Talefe, Do Xeres and Do Alvalade, the latter also producing the race Rafeiro de Castro Laboreiro.

One can hope that, like its Spanish neighbor, the Portuguese dog will wake up and take care of promoting, if not saving, its indigenous breeds. As far as the Rafeiro do Alentejo is concerned, it must be admitted that the "niche" of mountain dogs seems already very crowded, even if one regularly discovers in the show rings new breeds of big dogs.

The dog of the Alentejo is served by the fact that it is not exotic and by its unknown origins, but it has the advantage of being a "new" dog, a race very little "worked". It is therefore mainly by his behavior that he can seduce. This dog, kept in touch with its traditional uses, is indeed endowed with a very strong character. He is reputedly very suspicious of foreigners, and even aggressive, which can come from the fact that, living permanently with the herds, he has little opportunity to frequent humans, or that, chained in the farmyard, he develops aggression. The few people who attend dog shows do not seem to have a special biting and nasty background.

Like many mountain dogs, the Alentejo is worn indolently during the day and becomes active only at dusk. This mixture of mistrust and assurance must make him a particularly effective guardian. It is also said to be very rustic and very sober, which is still the traditional farming mode, because it is obvious that the needs of a male of 50 kilos are not different from those of specimens of other breeds. presenting a similar format.

A final remark concerns its conformation and its pace: although its approach is defined as "heavy, slow and undulating", its morphology is not excessively heavy and must allow it to possibly deploy a great activity.

Are these characteristics sufficient to win the favor of a wider audience, even international? Or will it be necessary to wait for it to be declared "race in danger of extinction" to attract attention?

Details: Written by: Francis Vandersteen; Also available:; Last Updated: 23 January 2024; Hits: 538

Rafeiro of Alentejo