General Apperance

A mastiff type lupoid dog with rather rectangular lines. A strong dog, of pleasant appearance and often of striking coat. His gait is free, easy and full of nerve. His bark is quite characteristic, very loud, starting in variable, generally low tones and ending up in prolonged high-pitched sounds similar to howling.

Head
Even in size showing lightness rather than coarseness; dry but not too lean, skin well developed, but without wrinkles; slightly long head, rather rectangular and well set. Jaws powerful with good occlusion.

Cranial Region

Skull
Fairly developed and seen from front slightly salient . Profile almost straight frontal furrow hardy noticeable. Occipital crest hardly marked.

Stop
Not very marked, nearer to the tip of the nose than to the top of the skull.

Facial Region

Nose
Well developed, large, straight, nostrils well open, always black.

Muzzle
Nasal bridge long, strong, straight throughout is whole length tapering towards the tip of the node, without however being narrow or pointed.

Mouth
well cut; lips regular, neither pendulous nor fleshy, close fitting, with labial corners hardly visible. Mucous membranes of the mouth, the hard palate and edges of the lips strongly pigmented with black.

Teeth
Whole, White, strong and well set into well muscled jaws. Normal bite.

Eyes
Slanting, even with the socket, tonsil shaped, medium sized, perfectly equal and well open. Severe and hard expression. Different shades of brow , from hazel in dogs with a light coat too very deep brow , almost black in dogs with darker coats .

Ears
Of medium size, (12 cm/12 cm), moderately thick, almost triangular with a rounded tip; fairly high set, hanging, falling naturally close and flat to the head, parallel to each other. When the dogs is attentive, the ear turns forward, its outer surface remaining in forward position.

Neck
Straight, well shaped, short, well set to the head and body, of well proportioned thickness. Proud carriage. No dewlap.

Body

Upper Line
trainght back of the medium length; loins strong, wide short and well muscled, nicely joined to the rump in a gently sloping line.

Chest
Ogival in shape, high, broad and rather deep.

UnderLine
Rather flat belly, even somewhat narrow, with distinct difference in level between the xyphoid and the groin, forming a noticeable rising underline.

Tail
Entire , not docked . At rest the tail should reach the hock . Nicely dressed sabre tail, long and thick at the set on, very hairy on the underside, well attached to the rump; set higher than usual. At rest, it falls down naturally to the buttocks wich should be covered with abundant hair, yet not between them. When the dog is excited, the tail is carried above the topline bending upward, forward and slightly sideways, but never carried downward like a hunting-horn.

Fore and Hindquarters

Both fore-and hindquarters very correctly vertical, either seen from the front or from the rear; seen from the side, the forelegs still appear upright whilst in the hind legs the line of the rear pastern below the hock joint to the ground slopes a little forward, off the vertical (dog standing too far under). Well-developed bone well covered with powerful muscles especially on the upper arms and on the thighs, the latter showing distinct muscular masses, easily seen from the rear. Forearm rather cylindrical, straight, slimming gradually down to the pastern which should be neither too long nor too bent (not down in pastern). Joints and articular angulations well developed; medium open angles (shoulder-upper arm almost straight, tíbio-társico angle medium blunt).

Feet well proportioned to the size, rather rounded than long, almost cat feet. Large toes, naturally arched, neither turned outwards (splay feet) nor inwards (bow feet), and well connected. Thick, tough pads. Well grown nails, black or dark grey, strong, smooth and regularly worn. Single or double dewclaws acceptable.

Movement

Easy rhythmical gait, the legs moving parallel to the median plane of the body. This dog normally moves at a natural walk or sometimes in an easy amble, unless a strong reason urges him to trot or even to gallop.

Coat

Hair is thick, resistant, rather rough to the touch, slightly dull, smooth, very close over the entire body and very dense. Short hair ( 5cm), is the usual. Generally the hair is thicker and shorted on the head and the ears where it is softer and finer as well as on the lower parts of the fore-and hindlegs. It is thicker and longer in the tail, especially on the underside, making it appear heavier in the middle part. Very hairy thighs. No undercoat.

Brindle colours in all shades from very light to medium and dark shades, the latter being more usual. Exceptionally all three shades may be present on different parts of the same dog: dark wolf colour on the head, back and shoulders, medium shade on the chest, rump and thighs, light colour on the belly and the lower parts of the limbs. The most preferred, however, is the locally called “Mountain colour” considered by the breeders in Castro Laboreiro as a characteristically ethnic trait: The dog shows the mahogany colour or pine-seed colour in Whole body.

Heigth

55 to 60 cm for the males and 52 to 57 for the females , mas como já se verificou, actualmente estas medidas tem que ser revistas, pois grande parte do efectivo existente ultrapassa as mesmas. Já foi solicitada uma tolerância de 5cm para a altura máxima tanto para os machos como para as fêmeas.

Weigth

Males between 30 and 40 Kg. Females between 25 and 35 Kg.

Faults

Head: Oversize , too bony or too fleshy. Too narrow, too long or to pointed.

Nose: Any other colour than black.

Jaws: Under-or overshot mouth.

Eyes: Wall eye, different in size.

Ears: Atypical set on, very large, fleshy or rounded.

Deafness: Either congenital or acquired.

Tail: Hunting-horn tail, docked tail, congenital short tail, tail non existent.

Coat: With markings or very different from the for the breed typical colour.

Size: Gigantism or dwarfism.

Males animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.