- Preferred: The most common is the wolf colour and the most colour is the “mountain colour”, so called by the locals and considered as an ethnic trait by the breeders in Castro Laboreiro
- It is a brindle coat with a base colour of different shades of grey overlaid with lighter and darker shades of black brindling.
- It is typical with hair of three different colours: ranging from pine-nut to reddish and mahogany.
- The brindling can be of lighter and darker shades on different parts of the body
- darker on head, back and shoulders
- medium dark on body, croup, and thighs and lighter on belly and lower parts of the limbs.
- Permissible: A small white spot 0n the chest
About the Castro Laboreiro Dog
Origin: Portugal
- Typical life span
- 11-13 years
- Size
- Large — from its typical weight
- Weight
- Male
- 30-40 kg
- Female
- 25-35 kg
- Height
- Male
- 58-63 cm
- Female
- 55-60 cm
- FCI status
- Recognised by FCI
- FCI group
- Pinscher and Schnauzer - Molossoid and Swiss Mountain and Cattledogs
- Origin
- Portugal
- Also called
- Perro de Castro Laboreiro
- Known hereditary risks
- Not researched yet
About
What is a Castro Laboreiro Dog?
An ancient, large, and powerful Portuguese livestock guardian dog with a distinctive wolf-like appearance and movement. This rustic mountain breed is known for its formidable and unique graduated bark that starts low and rises in pitch.
Castro Laboreiro Dog history and origins
Ancient Portuguese livestock guardian breed from the Peneda-Gerês mountains of northern Portugal. Developed to protect herds from wolves and other predators, it is one of the oldest and rarest breeds on the Iberian Peninsula.
Castro Laboreiro Dog appearance and size
Males typically weigh 30-40 kg and stand 58-63 cm at the shoulder; females 25-35 kg and 55-60 cm.
What the breed standard says
- Bred for
- Guard dog, watch dog and livestock guarding dog
- Behaviour and temperament
“A loyal and docile companion to its family, it is essential in flock protection against wolf attacks which, in the breed’s area of origin, are still very frequent. Due to its constant vigilance, it is an ideal sentinel of property entrusted to it, patrolling it frequently. Of noble nature. Very agile and active, it can show some hostility, without being quarrelsome. It has a characteristic alarm bark, starting with a deep sound, rising to low- pitched and ending in prolonged high-pitched sounds”
Quoted from FCI standard n°170. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
Breed reference from The Dog API.
Characteristics
- Size
- Large
- Exercise needsRead from what the breed was bred to do, in the registry’s own words: “Guard dog, watch dog and livestock guarding dog” That is a working purpose, not a measured exercise requirement — an individual dog’s needs depend on its age, health and household.
- 2 of 5
- Easy to train
- —
- Amount of shedding
- 1 of 5
- Grooming needs
- 4 of 5
- Good with children
- —
- Cost to keep
- —
- Tolerates being alone
- —
- Intelligence
- —
- Health of breed
- Not researched yet
Pros & cons
Pros & cons for the Castro Laboreiro Dog
What you get with the Castro Laboreiro Dog
- Purpose stated in the standard: “Guard dog, watch dog and livestock guarding dog”
- The standard describes the breed as: “A loyal and docile companion to its family, it is essential in flock protection against wolf attacks which, in the…”
What you are taking on
- High grooming needs — the standard’s own description is “The hair is thick and long on the buttocks, which are very hairy”
Drawn from sources rather than written as an opinion — cited health research, the registry’s own standard, and peer-reviewed longevity. FCI breed standard. One breeder’s animals can differ from any of it, and an empty column means we hold nothing for that side rather than that there is nothing to say.
Characteristics
FCI standard · Castro Laboreiro Dog
Coat and colour
As the FCI standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording, tagged preferred and permissible.
Coat
Short hair on body (approximately 5 cm)
without undercoat.
Slightly dull, smooth, flat on most of the body and very thick
in general, it is shorter and denser on the head and ears, where it is thin and soft, and on the limbs below the elbow and hock.
The hair is thick and long on the buttocks, which are very hairy
thick, resistant, and somewhat harsh to touch
Colour
- Preferred
- Permissible
- Undesirable
- Disqualifying
Preferred, permissible, undesirable and disqualifying are FCI’s own words about the breed. They describe what the standard asks for — not an assessment of any individual dog, and not ours.
Shortened from FCI standard n°170 — each label is the standard’s own wording with the verdict lifted into the tag beside it. Read the full clause at source.
What the breed standard says
- Size
- “Height at the withers: Males: 58 - 64 cm (with a tolerance of + 2 cm). Females: 55 - 61 cm (with a tolerance of + 2 cm). Weight: Males: 30 - 40 Kg. Females: 25 - 35 Kg”
- FCI states a tolerance around the figure.
Quoted from FCI standard n°170. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
What the standard penalises
What a judge marks the Castro Laboreiro Dog down for, and what puts one out of the ring, in the registry’s own words. This describes the breed standard — it is not a checklist for the animal in front of you, and a pet with a disqualifying fault is an unshowable dog rather than an unhealthy one.
Severe faults
Marked heavily against a specimen in the ring.
- Eyes: Yellow, loose lids.
- Tail: Hunting-horn shape, curled or with hook at the tip
Disqualifying faults
Puts an animal out of the ring altogether.
- Skull/Muzzle: Convergent longitudinal superior cranium-facial axes.
- Nose: Any colour other than black. Jaws: Undershot or overshot.
- Eyes: Wall eye or difference in sizes.
- Deafness: Congenital.
- Tail: Docked or rudimentary. Anurous.
- Colour: Albinism. Pied or very different from breed type.
- Size: Oversized or undersized
Breed-level information from The Dog API. It describes the Castro Laboreiro Dog in general; any individual animal can differ.
Health guide
What to ask for in a Castro Laboreiro Dog
No breed-specific health panel has been written up for the Castro Laboreiro Dog on this platform yet. That is a gap in our records, not a clean bill of health — ask the breeder which hereditary conditions their lines are tested for, and ask to see the results for both parents, dated and from a named laboratory.
Gallery
No photographs yet
This is where Castro Laboreiro Dog owners’ own photographs will go, from the pet profiles they keep here. Nobody has added one to a public page yet.
A photograph in a pet profile stays private to its owner. We will not put one here unless they ask us to.
Puppies
No puppies listed right now
No Castro Laboreiro Dog breeder has a record on this platform yet, so there is nothing to list. That is a gap in our coverage, not a fact about the breed.