Guardians *' 564'.# 1706#+0 1) h 1467)7'5' %10 Carla Cruz Biologist, owner of Aradik kennel, Portugal cmocruz@gmail.com
The sun hasn’t been shining for long over the single farm at the bottom of the steep Estrela Mountains’ valley, yet the goats have already been milked. They are getting restless in the barn, while the dogs are calmly laying outside, waiting for the doors to open and their day to begin. A puppy plays inside with the lambs and kids, until an impatient goat butts her to stop. The shepherd finally opens the gates and the 250-head goat and sheep flock starts its path up the mountain. The dogs follow it, one ahead, one behind and one towards the middle of the flock – all flanks are covered and guarded. The shepherd leads the flock part of the way, but doesn’t stay with it all day. In the Estrela Mountains, in the centre/north of Portugal, the wolf has disappeared in the mid 1980s, so it has been fairly safe to leave the livestock unattended during the day, freeing farmers for other chores – although stray and feral dogs are becoming an increasing problem all over the country, and they may eventually have to go back to tending for the flock during the whole day. The flock does not remain up in the mountains all season, it comes home every night to be milked
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and for night protection. How does the shepherd know where to go fetch his animals at night? “It’s all in the wind. I study the way the wind blows during the day, and depending on its direction I know the animals will be at such or such place.” During the day, the flock’s only protection is the local breed of livestock guarding dogs – large (26-28+ inches at the shoulder, 80-120 pounds) yet agile dogs known quite simply as Estrela Mountain Dogs. They are “armed” only with large spiked metal (or less frequently leather) collars which they wear since they are a few months old. But they do have their own natural “survival kit” – their big size, the loose skin that makes it harder for bites to cause serious damage and their color. Although these dogs can come in various shades of fawn, wolf-gray or brindle, the latter is preferred by most shepherds, as this coloring helps the dogs go by unnoticed against the rocky granite background, vegetation and amidst the dark goats. When a predator – 4 or 2-legged – tries to approach the flock, the dogs’ deep warning barks are easily heard from a distance, but the dogs are not easily located. This is often more than
enough to discourage all but the boldest to approach further. If the barking, posturing or signaling doesn’t work then the dogs will engage in open confrontation, but that is usually the last resort, not often required. Exception is made when flocks cross villages; there the dogs just keep to the flock, they may go bark to a curious dog that approaches the flock too closely, but generally ignore people; however, back in open field, it’s business as usual. Some history Despite a surge of interest in Portuguese dog breeds since President Obama decided upon a Portuguese Water Dog as his family’s pet, and the popularity of this breed in the United States, internationally it is the Estrela Mountain Dog who is probably the bestknown breed outside Portugal’s borders. And it is undoubtly the best-known national breed within them. There are even tales and stories about the breed’s prowess dated from at least a couple of centuries ago. Although Portugal has 3 other livestock guarding dog breeds (Castro Laboreiro Watch Dog, Alentejo Mastiff and Transmontano Mastiff), it is the Estrela Mountain Dog who is often mentioned in books and reports about the Estrela Mountains, country living or general Portuguese ethnography, where the guard dogs with spiked collars are sometimes mentioned. Its popularity is such that even in a national zoology textbook for high-school dated from 1923, the wolf is described by comparing it to this breed – “The wolf is similar to an Estrela Mountain Dog, from which it can be distinguished because its tail is hanging and hairier and its ears are upright and pointed.” The exact origins of the breed cannot be pinpointed exactly, although it is speculated a similar type dog probably already existed in the area during roman times (2nd century BC). It is interesting that the first mention of dogs in independent Portugal, dated from 1199, comes from the breed’s area of origin, as a law against killing hounds or flock dogs and
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also imposing fines for each lost spiked collar. Most of the Estrela Mountain Dogs’ popularity in rural environments is due to transhumance routes. The Estrela Mountains, the highest in mainland Portugal (reaching 1.2 miles in height), are covered by snow during Winter, so seasonally flocks would go to the littoral or mainly to the south of country looking for better pastures, whilst during Summer time they would flee heat and droughts by going up the mountains for fresh food. Transhumance could involve flocks up to 2500 heads in up to 9 days of journey to new feeding grounds. Livestock, and the dogs accompanying them, would therefore spread throughout most of the south of the country. Some pups would sometimes be offered to the owners of the lands where the flocks grazed. These dogs thus became known throughout most of the country, and their fame as fierce flock and farm guardians spread. Even if transhumance doesn’t occur nowadays (with the spread of commercial feeding, better transportation and reduction of livestock husbandry during the 20th century, its need disappeared), the Estrela Mountain dog is still the reference for farm and flock guard anywhere in Portugal. Yet the breed’s fame is not restricted to rural environments. Although the Estrela Mountain Dog was mostly known in the countryside, that changed when the railroad reached the Mountains, in the middle of the 20th century, and tourism bloomed. People from all over the country were exposed to the local specialties, like the famous cheese and the dogs. And this gave shepherds an outlet for their unwanted pups. One breed, two varieties You see, the Estrela Mountain Dog comes in two coat varieties – long and short-haired. For their flocks, mountain people prefer the short-coated dogs. “They don’t get so hot in the Summer.” “During Winter, they don’t get soaked wet or get snow chunks trapped on their
coat.” But out of short-coated dogs, longhaired ones can be born. And shepherds have no use for them. “The short-coated ones are for guarding the flock, the wooly ones are only good for guarding the door”, they say. But teddy-bear-looking fluffy pups were easily sold to eager tourists, who began spreading the longhaired dogs to the rest of the country. And the success of this once despised variety is such that nowadays most people don’t even know that there is a short-coated variety. These dogs continued their life discretely as flock guards, whereas the long-haired ones, especially those with the prettier fawn coloring, thrived as pets and home guards within and outside of Portugal.Currently, even most shepherds from areas other than the mountains know only of the longhaired dogs.
those stay at the farm and their offspring is sold for profit. He keeps his line of short-coated dogs for guarding his flock. It’s a line that has been selected for generations, passing on from father to son. His current pup is now 6 months old, starting to go through the awkward “teenage” phase, all legs. She is getting taller but still needs to finish growing and fill up. She already has some strength, but is still a long way from having the maturity that
Growing up Back in the valley’s farm, our shepherd doesn’t care much about the ancient history of the breed. He has long-haired dogs, because he likes the looks, but
goes with it. She sometimes already barks at strangers, mostly following the adults’ attitudes, but doesn’t yet really know what to do.
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The pups will be born in the barn, near the livestock, and will spend their first few months there, eating and sleeping with the sheep and goats. This is crucial for them to bond with their flock. When they are strong enough, they will start going out with the flock to the fields. These dogs are not terribly pampered. They are loved and well taken care of, but they are meant to be flock guards, not house pets, so contact is kept to the bare essential, especially when growing up, so they don’t learn to stray from the flock looking for food and attention.
from page 27
Shepherds in the mountains say “the dog is 3 years a puppy, 3 years a dog and 3 years a glutton”. Which is the same as saying they know it takes a long time for a flock dog to fully develop into a reliable guardian. Even if they can reach an adult size and look impressive by around 18 months, these dogs need to reach mental maturity to be able to function effectively. In some dogs it can occur at approximately the same time, but for most that only happens after the second year. Also, being large dogs, their life-span isn’t very long – a pet dog may reach 10-odd years,
but working dogs in harsher conditions will usually have a shorter life. How does the shepherd select his pups? Well, he may go with choosing the strongest one, the one(s) with the typical black mask and, quite specially, the one(s) with dewclaws. Both these traits are considered signs of purity, even if not all the dogs may show them. (The ears pulled back and a hook at the tip of the tail are also a very typical traits, but aren’t visible on a young puppy.) Or he may go with the age-old process of separating the pups from the mother and choosing the one she picks up first – mother knows best!
Elsewhere in Portugal Maybe in the Estrela Mountains livestock guarding dogs aren’t as needed to keep predators away as they used to be, but just a few dozen miles away the endangered Iberian wolf still persists. There is little wildlife left in the country, so wolves don’t have much natural prey and have to turn to livestock as their main food source. Therefore, there is conflict between these predators and rural populations. But the wolf is a fully protected species, and killing it by any means is illegal. As a shepherd once told me, “I don’t mind the wolf, I actually enjoy seeing it in the wild, I just don’t want it to come to my flock!” Problems have been mitigated by payment of compensations for lost livestock, and this past couple of decades through the (re)use of properly educated livestock guarding dogs to protect sheep, goats and cows, promoted by the wolf protection non-governmental organization and natural parks. The Estrela Mountain Dog has been playing a crucial part in this, specially the short-coated variety, as it has been uninterruptedly bred as a working dog for generations.
A long tradition… After the flock has comes home for the night, after it has been cared for and the farm work is done, the shepherd sits on his house’s steps smoking a cigarrete. One of his dogs comes by and lies by his side. His hand moves to caress the animal’s head, just below the ears. They both watch the setting sun, looking far beyond it deep in thought, maybe aware they are doing their part in preserving an age-old tradition… Q
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