Can de Palleiro

The Can de Palleiro is Galicia's native farm dog — the name means "straw-stack dog", after where it slept while guarding the farmyard.

History

It is a Galician landrace that worked the small mixed farms of north-west Spain, herding cattle, guarding the yard and killing vermin. It nearly disappeared as those farms consolidated, and was recognised and rebuilt by regional authorities from the 1990s.

Temperament

The breed is known for being alert, hard-working and closely bonded to its farm and family, reserved with strangers without being aggressive. It is a versatile farm dog rather than a specialist.

Care and training

It needs regular exercise and a job of some kind; it is an intelligent working dog and grows bored easily. The medium coat sheds seasonally and needs only regular brushing.

Health

A landrace shaped by farm work, it is generally robust with no defect widely documented as specific to it. These are patterns for the breed rather than a forecast for one dog; the measured facts are in the panel.