Majorca Shepherd Dog

Breed Rating

Breed Details

General

The Majorca Shepherd Dog is also known as Ca De Bestiar and Perro de Pastor Mallorquin. It is a medium to large size flock guardian and farm dog that originated in Balearic Island of Spain. It is considered smaller version of Cao de Castro Laboreiro of Portugal with its same body build and coat colour. It is a friendly yet suspicious of strangers breed that is utilized as a herding, protecting and general farm dog. It is an ancient breed and as such its exact origination is uncertain.

This well proportioned breed stands between 25-29.5 inches and weighs between 77-88 lbs. It comes with a well defined head and medium size muzzle that leads to black nose. Small and round eyes are set apart. Triangular shaped ears are set high and hang down to the sides of the head. It has a straight and strong back, muscular loin, deep and broad chest and well sprung ribs. Strong and straight forelegs and well muscled hindlegs provide the dog with necessary strength and speed to herd the cattle. Its tail is undocked, carried down when the dog is at rest but rises to a saber fashion when the dog is in motion. The coat comes in two varieties, long-haired and short-haired. Both coats are black in color.

This rare breed outside its country of origin is NOT recognized by AKC however it is recognized by FCI and UKC.

Color

The Majorca Shepherd Dog comes in only one color that is black.

Coat

There are two coat varieties for this dog. Long-haired dogs have up to 7 cm long hair that are wavy on the back. The undercoat is well distributed but not thick. Short-haired dogs are more commonly seen with a short coat that has hair length of 1.5 to 3 cm. on the back. The undercoat is very thin and fine.

Personality

Ever since its inception, this breed has been used exclusively as a working and protecting dog that was also involved in dog fighting. It is an excellent herding dog of the flock as well as an able protector. This dog is highly territorial of its property due to its inherent instincts to protect its family, flock and property. Though friendly and affectionate with the whole family, the dog tends to bond itself more with one person in the family which is in most cases, its owner. It is a very loyal breed that will not hesitate to go to any lengths should it senses any threat to its family or belongings. Although refuted by many owners of this breed, there are speculations that these dogs are not suitable as family pets, specially for families with small children, due to their propensity for biting and inherent fierceness. Proper training and socialization are of utmost importance specially when the dog is a puppy. This breed will require large amounts of exercise to be happy and content. The dog is very tolerant of heat despite its black coat. These dogs have been exported to Brazil to be assigned Guardian of family roles in hot weathers due to its heat tolerance capabilities.

Care

Short coated Majorca Shepherd Dog will need minimal grooming. Long coated Majorca Shepherd Dog will need more grooming than short coated breed due to obvious reasons.

Training

Early age training becomes most important for this dog if it is to be used as a family pet. The dog should be socialized with children, people, places and other dogs consistently from puppyhood to throughout its life. It will be best trained with a firm yet gentle owner who can win the confidence and trust of this breed.

Activity

It is an energetic and lively dog that requires lots of exercise. This dog will best suit an active family or owner with a large yard where this dog can play and run as it likes.