Also known as the Cao Fila de Sao Miguel, Sao Miguel Cattle Dog, Chien Fila de San Miguel, Saint Miguel Cattle Dog, Azores Cow Dog, and the Azorez Cattle Dog, the Azores Cattle Dog is an intelligent, serious, and protective dog. But how do you know whether you are ready to purchase a pet and if this breed is right for you? This information is absolutely necessary in making the decision to purchase a pet.
History
The origin of the Azores Cattle Dog can be traced back to 19th century Portugal. Enthusiasts believe that the Azores Cattle Dog descended from such breeds as the Perro de Presa Canario and various Mastiff breeds and dates back as far as the 15th century, though this has never been proven scientifically or otherwise.
Throughout its history, the Azores Cattle Dog has been most commonly used for herding, driving, and guarding cattle against predators such as wolves and wild cats, and as a watch and guard dog, proving its superior abilities to work endlessly without supervision while providing protection and devoted companionship.
Today, while the Azores Cattle Dog has attained an underground popularity as a working, guardian, and companion dog, the breed remains rather rare outside of its native Portugal.
Personality Traits
Best known for its hard working and dedicated nature, the Azores Cattle Dog loves to keep busy with work or play. These dogs thrive on strong and dependable relationships with humans, and are willing to do anything necessary in order to protect their owner and property. This breed is very intelligent, yet overly dominant, stubborn, and independent, creating difficulty in training. As a pet, the Azores Cattle Dog is loyal and loving. The Azores Cattle Dog is not suited for full-time indoor or apartment living, as it enjoys spending time outdoors, taking long and leisurely walks, and having plenty of room to roam, run, and play.
Train-ability
Due to its dominant, independent, and stubborn attitude, the Azores Cattle Dog can prove quite challenging to train. This breed is known for growing bored and impatient with repetitive exercises and tasks.
Establishing immediate dominance, trust, and respect is key to successfully training the Azores Cattle Dog. These dogs require an experienced, confident, and patient handler with a stern and serious approach to repetitive exercises and tasks.
Benefits and Disadvantages of the Breed
There are many benefits to owning an Azores Cattle Dog, such as its no hassle, low maintenance coat. This active breed is always on the go, and often quite amusing and entertaining to watch while at play. When properly socialized from a young age, the Azores Cattle Dog gets along well with older and well-behaved children. These dogs are alert, territorial, and protective, making an incredible watch and guard dog by announcing the arrival of guests and unwanted visitors, and serving as a deterrent to would-be intruders. The Azores Cattle Dog is loyal and loving, making an excellent working dog, guardian, family pet, and companion alike.
Unfortunately, there are also disadvantages to owning an Azores Cattle Dog. These energetic and hard working dogs require large amounts of daily exercise and room to run and play outdoors. Anyone wishing to purchase this breed lacking the adequate amount of time and space to dedicate to the dog is strongly advised against doing so. An Azores Cattle Dog not receiving the proper amount of exercise and space will often act out by destroying property, chewing, digging, barking, whining, and ignoring basic training such as housebreaking.
The Azores Cattle Dog is not recommended for households with small or ill-behaved children or other pets. Even with proper socialization from a young age, the Azores Cattle Dog is known to be impatient with small children and show excessive aggression, dominance, and jealousy towards other animals.
As previously mentioned, the Azores Cattle Dog remains rather rare outside of its native Portugal and can prove quite challenging to train. Individuals seeking to purchase this breed often encounter such challenges as inability to locate a breeder, extremely high prices, and being placed on long waiting lists.
Common Health Concerns
While the Azores Cattle Dog is typically known as a healthy and hearty breed, they do suffer from a few health problems, including: hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, distichiasis – ingrown eye lashes, cherry eye, cryptorchidism – failure of one or both of the testicles to fully descend, obesity, and bloat.
Now that you know all about the breed, do you think you are ready to own an Azores Cattle Dog? Remember, purchasing a pet is a big decision and should be discussed thoroughly and seriously with your entire family.
Sources:
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/caofiladesaomiguel.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/cao_fila_de_sao_miguel
