Can de Chira

The Can de Chira is an Aragonese herding dog from the Spanish Pyrenees, recognised as a breed only very recently.

History

It worked sheep and goats in the valleys of Aragon, moving flocks between valley and mountain pasture with the transhumant shepherds. Its numbers fell with transhumance itself, and Aragonese breeders and regional authorities began documenting the survivors in the twenty-first century — the same late rescue several Spanish and Italian regional herders have had.

Temperament

The breed is known for being attentive, biddable with its shepherd and self-directed with stock, wary of strangers and steady in difficult country.

Care and training

It needs substantial exercise and real work; without stock it will find something to herd. The medium coat needs regular brushing.

Health

Generally robust from working selection; nothing is widely documented as breed-specific. These are patterns for the breed rather than a forecast for one dog; the measured facts are in the panel.