Perro de Presa Canario is former times wide spread in Europe holding and fighting dog, which is extinct in its original form by now. One of the most ancient representatives of moloss group, which has been on the edge of extinction for a long period of time, is saved by now by rapidly growing number of passionate dog fans. Some Canary dog historians claim that the dog inhabited the islands since they were populated by celtibiers i.e.long before conquering of Spain by Rome. Supporters of this theory provide a hypothesis of Canary islands name origin taking its roots from Latin word "canis"-"dog" and creating a fame of breeding a fierce guard and holding dog on a "Dog Islands" as proof of their ideas. The first mention of distant ancestors of Perro de Presa Canario date back to the times of the reign of Juba - King of Mauritania. It was about 50 years before the birth of Christ: the king's men, who were sent to the Canaries to investigate the country, upon their return to Jub a's court presented him with two large dogs which they brought as foreign curios. After this the history of the Canaries plunges into a mysterious world of myths and legends.And only in 1402 the french sailers Jean de Bethencourt and Gadifier de la Salle conquered some islands in the Canary archipelago in the name of the king of Castillia. It means that for over 1380 years the Canary Islands were just forgotten and there was no reliable information about the above-mentioned two large dogs during the reign of Juba and Juba II.When french sailers arrived on the islands they found dogs there, but with no doubt small dogs, looking like wolves, which seem to have nothing in common with the large ones of the Juba era, mentioned by Plinius. In accordance to the historical evidences, these dogs were used to live in the islands of Tenerife with the aboriginal people the Guanches (then conquered by spanish).The first evidences of the presence of the Presa and the Perro de Ganado (a st rong shepherd dog whose history has many things in common with that of the Presa Canario) are some decrees issued by spanish on the islands of Tenerife and Fuerteventura. For example, decree dated 1515 forbade to own a dog, with the exception of sheepherds that could own a Perro de Ganado (not a Presa ). The following decree imposed that only butchers that had to kill their cows could own a Presa, wich had to be chained up during night and day and that was set free only to solve his duties.The ancient Presa is said to be a very strong dog. It's holding abilities were used to kill not only cows but also to destroy wild stray dogs which caused a lot of trouble to local people. For this and other reasons the Presa started to be used as guard dog.A bit later, in the 17 th century, obligatiry declaration of Presa ownership was introduced.Then, aproximately in 1650, were issued some decrees that provided the killing of these dogs because of the heavy damage caused by them to the c attle. So, the Presa and Perro de Ganado used to coexist in the Canary islands for about 4 centuries and the result is a great number of crosses between them, till when the Presa disappeared.The extinction of the breed was caused by issuance of appropriate laws as well as by a great deal of interbreeding. All this led to the fact that at the end of the 19 th century, according to specialists, there was not a single true Presa left.Together with the arrival of Spanish conquerors and colonists, different breeds of holding-dogs were brought to the islands and they spread quickly in their new environment. Among them there was a Spanish holding dog-the Presa Espanol, which played its role in the subsequent formation of the Perro de Presa Canario. Irrespective of the fact that there were different variations of Presa Espanol present, from a large Mastiff to a Bulldog and Alano, they all corresponded to their functional predestination. Holding dog was faced with a very serious chal lenge, which demanded the development of very special qualities: large size must be combined with agility and drive; hard, powerful carcass and well-developed muscular system provided the dog with a sufficient power. Bravery in a fight, distrust and unbelievable persistence make it irreplaceable as both guard and holding dog. Count de Yebes have mentioned Presa as a dog with jaws, powerful as pincers. "The fight is it's mission", he said, "It dashes into battle with unbelievable speed trying to catch animal's ears". Hence it's name: "Presa" in spanish means "hold, catch or press". As far as Presa Espanol was spreading, it became subject to the genetic influence of local dogs, already present on the archipelago: Perro de Ganado and its cross-breeding forms, which had the blood of ancient Presa in their veins. So the formation of a new breed started. Despite further English influence-the introduction of the fashion of dog-fighting to the Islands as a result of which blood of f ighting dogs brought by the British-Bull terrier, English bulldog, Mastiff, Great Dane was added to the local breed, still the founder of the genetic code of the present Perro de Presa Canario is Perro de Ganado Majorero - farmer's shepherd's dog, which interbred with even the Presa, which became subject to extinction. Thanks to Ganado the actual representatives of Presa Canario have an especially impetuous temperament. That dog was appreciated for its intelligence (easy trainable), great physical resistance, little bark, incorruptible courage, it is an excellent guardian, dedicated mostly to the management of goat herds, contributed to the Presa Canario a great part of its expression. So by the 20 th century on the Canary Islands there was intensive crossbreeding between local and foreign species from abroad with the aim of creating the most powerful and efficient fighting dog.As a result, dogs did not have a precise phenotype. What is known of these dogs is that they were not so large, in fact, their weight was about 45 kg. What concerns the colour of the coat, Presas that inherited the genetic code of the Perro de Ganado Majorero were mainly brindle, commonly refered to as "verdino"(greenish tonality), also (even in smaller part) fawn and black. White spots should be derived from crosses with Bulldogs and Bullterriers, while the Great Dane should have transmitted the black and the fawn coat a more time. There were evidences of various types of Presa Canario. The most famous among them were: the Perro de la Tierra in Gran Canaria (a dog very similar to the Perro de Ganado Majorero, but with a stronger guard instinct), the Perro Basto (a large dog used as guardian) in Tenerife, then the Perro de Ganado Mahorero (mainly in Fuerteventura) and the Perro Bordon that derived from crosses with the British Bulldog.Perro Majorero or Bardino was especially widespread. It preserved the distinctive temperament of a shepherd's dog, a special greenish colo uring, the influence of English blood of fighting-dogs caused a roughness of cover, an extraordinary set of teeth and endowed with fighting abilities.Fightings went on till the fourties when they were forbidden. The Presa Canario started decrease in its numbers and it remained relegated to very few breeders. Fortunately their stock was maintained (mainly in Tenerife and Gran Canaria), preventing the total disappearance. This situation was worsened by the introduction of new and strange breeds to the islands (German Shepherd, Doberman, Great Dane, Neapolitan Mastiff,etc.).
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