Cão de Gado Transmontano

The Cão de Gado Transmontano is a very large Portuguese livestock guardian from Trás-os-Montes, in the north-east of the country.

History

It has guarded sheep and goats on the high plateau there for centuries, working loose with the flock rather than under a shepherd's direction. Portuguese wolf-conservation programmes have placed these dogs with flocks in wolf range since the 1990s, on the argument that a working guardian reduces losses and therefore reduces the killing of wolves — an unusually well-documented modern role for a landrace guardian.

Temperament

The breed is known for being calm, self-directed and highly protective, bonded to its flock and household and distant with strangers.

Care and training

It needs space, secure boundaries and early socialising, and it is unsuited to a town household. Exercise needs are steady rather than intense. The coat sheds heavily.

Health

Working selection has kept it sound; very large breeds carry the usual joint concerns. These are patterns for the breed rather than a forecast for one dog; the measured facts are in the panel.