Perro de presa mallorquin is a typical Molossian

Molosser

Molosser is a category of large, solidly-built dog that includes several breeds, probably all descended from the same root stock. The name derives from Molossia, a subregion of ancient Epirus, ancient Greece, where the large shepherd dog was known as the Molossus.The proper noun "Mastiff", however,...

 of somewhat elongated build, strong and powerful, of medium size. The difference between the sexes is apparent in the head, whose circumference is definitely greater in dogs than in bitches. The Perro de Presa Mallorquin was almost extinct after World War II, and the few remaining dogs were crossed with Ca de Bestiar, English Bulldog and perhaps Perro de Toro.

History

The Balearic Islands

Balearic Islands

The Balearic Islands are an archipelago of Spain in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.The four largest islands are: Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera. The archipelago forms an autonomous community and a province of Spain with Palma as the capital...

 are an archipelago of four large islands and eleven small islands in the Mediterranean off the east coast of Spain. Its people and language are Catalan

Catalan people

The Catalans or Catalonians are the people from, or with origins in, Catalonia that form a historical nationality in Spain. The inhabitants of the adjacent portion of southern France are sometimes included in this definition...

 based. The bigger of these islands is Majorca.

In 1232, the King of Aragon expelled the Moors

Moors

The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...

 from the Balearics. The Spanish brought with them the Iberican Mastiff. Many of today's Spanish breeds of mastiffs, claim to be this breed; the Spanish mastiff, the Pyrenean mastiff or the old Spanish Alano, some Ca de Bestiar breeders believe that their dog was the breed that King James I brought over.

The first written mention of the Spanish Alano was in 1350 in King Alfonso XI

Alfonso XI of Castile

Alfonso XI was the king of Castile, León and Galicia.He was the son of Ferdinand IV of Castile and his wife Constance of Portugal. Upon his father's death in 1312, several disputes ensued over who would hold regency, which were resolved in 1313...

's Book of Hunting. The Ca de Bestiars' origin on the island is dated as 16th or 17th century. In the French translation they call the Iberican mastiff, an Iberican perro de presa () in English this is a Catch dog

Catch dog

A Catch dog is a specially trained dog that is used to catch large animals in hunting, working livestock, and baiting.As hunters, catch dogs are contrasted with bay dogs...

, this name can be given to any fierce breed whether Mastiff or Alano.

The King brought the Balearic islands into Aragon's Spain. Trading began between Majorca and Barcelona as well as France, stopping the trade they did with Genoa

Genoa

Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....

 and other Italian Republics during the Moorish occupation.

Mastiffs, Alanos and big herd dogs would have found their way to the island through trade and aristocrats settling down and bringing their dogs (Alanos in the 14th century were commonly used in hunting for boar and other wild animals, highly respected by aristocrats). All three of these breeds were probably crossed at different points for various functions.

In 1713, the English took over the Balearics at the Treaty of Utrecht

Treaty of Utrecht

The Treaty of Utrecht, which established the Peace of Utrecht, comprises a series of individual peace treaties, rather than a single document, signed by the belligerents in the War of Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht in March and April 1713...

. This is probably when the word CA DE BOU evolved. Ca de Bou is Catalan for Bull-Dog, it is a common mistake to understand this word as a visual element and not a function. In the case of the Ca de Bou it is because of its function as a Bull Baiter that it is named Bull-dog.

The Ca de Bestiar was well regarded by the locals as a good herder and guardian. Their sizes and shapes would depend on the function you were looking for. The old Ca de Bestiar had large powerful bodies, strong necks and thick bones (mastiff type) and there were also the smaller ones like today's. Whatever the function, they could withstand high temperatures.

The English during their reign of the island introduced the sport of bull-baiting

Bull-baiting

Bull-baiting is a blood sport involving the baiting of bulls.-History:In the time of Queen Anne of Great Britain, bull-baiting was practiced in London at Hockley-in-the-Hole, twice a week – and was reasonably common in the provincial towns...

. The common belief is that the English brought over bulldogs and crossed them with the local guard/hunting/herd dog which could have been a mix of Alano, Ca de Bestiar and Iberican mastiff.

The English Bulldog's origin is unclear, the first written mention in England is in 1632. Some people believe the breed originates in Spain, MB Wynn writes in his 1886 book History of the Mastiff the following: "it has been presumed without any decided proof that the Spanish bulldog was originally imported from England, but the truth of this is far from certain, and having inspected some of the most noted Spanish bulldogs that have been imported to this country, I have come to the conclusion that although the Spanish bulldog is or was the remnant of the true Pugnaces, yet it differs considerably to the British bulldog of modern age (19th century), in more characteristics than its greater size".

The Spanish bulldogs imported to England in the late 19th century all weighed around 40 kg, about the same as a Ca De Bou. In the standard it says the English looked for a breed which would be well suited for bullfighting. What better than Spanish Bulldogs, when you are only 146 km from Barcelona. The English would have known their bulldogs were not well adapted for the heat. Until then there was probably no reason to have low to the ground dogs but for bull-baiting it helps. This Perro de Toro, Spanish Bulldog was then crossed with the local Ca de Bestiar so that it could withstand the terrible heat of the island during the bullfight.

The English did not have an easy time in the Balearics. Forty-three years after the Treaty of Utrecht, the French (1756) invaded with a force of 12,000, after defeating the British under Admiral John Byng

John Byng

Admiral John Byng was a Royal Navy officer. After joining the navy at the age of thirteen he participated at the Battle of Cape Passaro in 1718. Over the next thirty years he built up a reputation as a solid naval officer and received promotion to Vice-Admiral in 1747...

, captured Port Mahon

Mahon

Mahón is a municipality and the capital city of the Balearic Island of Minorca , located in the eastern part of the island. Mahon has the second deepest natural harbor in the world: 5 km long and up to 900m. wide...

. Restored to England in 1763, 19 years later the Spanish took it back (1782). The British seized it again in 1798 and it was finally ceded to Spain by the Peace of Amiens in 1803. The English left in 1803 the island of Majorca leaving behind the sport of bullbaiting. Bull and bear baiting were banned in England in 1835, in Spain it was not banned until 1883.

The Majorcans must have been impressed with the dogs they had created and passed them into other functions guarding, hunting, holding the bull while the butcher came to end its life.

It was probably in the 19th century that the Ca de Bou acquired its look and typicity. The sport of bullbaiting was an expensive one and the new sport and trend of dog fighting was spreading across Europe and the Colonies. Different areas and countries had their fighting dogs. Their shape and sizes would depend on taste, climate, surroundings. Still today you can hear some people say this breed is stronger than another.

In England where the sport began, they preferred bull and terrier

Terrier

A terrier is a dog of any one of many breeds or landraces of terrier type, which are typically small, wiry, very active and fearless dogs. Terrier breeds vary greatly in size from just a couple of pounds to over 70 pounds and are usually categorized by size or function...

 crosses, they like them small; in the USA they liked them bigger i.e. pit bull

Pit bull

A Pit bull is any of several breeds of dog in the molosser breed group.Many jurisdictions that restrict pit bulls, including Ontario, Canada,, Miami, Florida, U.S...

s. In France they liked big dogs to fight such as the Dogue de Bordeaux, which was 3 kinds back in the 19th century; Parisian (mastiff type), Bordelais (bull-mastiff, dogue type), Toulousain (Spanish bulldog type, longer muzzle, some believe it to be the Perro de Toro, as Toulouse

Toulouse

Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...

 is next to the Spanish border).

In Spain they had Perro de Presas, different types the Spanish Alano, Perro de Toro (Spanish bulldog, heavier version of the Spanish Alano), Perros de Tierra (low to the ground dogs). In the Canary islands

Canary Islands

The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...

 they had Perro de Presa Canario. In Majorca, the Perro de Presa Majorquin (Ca de Bou) had been perfected for the climate and many functions including that of fighting. Dog fights were not banned in Spain until 1940.

The first written mention of the Ca de Bou was in 1907, suggesting that the race was well known in 19th century. The president of the Dogue de Bordeaux club, speaks of them when the best of each breed met in Madrid, for a fight match in the 1920s.

By 1923, the breed is registered in the Spanish stud book, the first official entry is in 1928 and in 1929, the first Ca de Bous are shown at the Barcelona Dog show.

The famine of the 1920s and 1930s did not help the breed. In 1946, the standard is created and is not recognised by the FCI

Fédération Cynologique Internationale

Fédération Cynologique Internationale is an international federation of kennel clubs based in Thuin, Belgium. The English language translation, World Canine Organisation, is not often used.Its goals are described in Article 2 of their regulations:...

 until 1964. By 1964 they were no pure specimens left, the trend for new breeds like German Shepherds, Great Dane

Great Dane

The Great Dane , also known as German Mastiff or Danish Hound , is a breed of domestic dog known for its giant size...

 and Rottweiler

Rottweiler

The Rottweiler is a medium to large size breed of domestic dog that originated in Rottweil, Germany. The dogs were known as "Rottweil butchers' dogs" because they were used to herd livestock and pull carts laden with butchered meat and other products to market...

s did not help the cause either. The breed was brought back to life in the eighties. It had been crossed with the Ca de Bestiar, the Majorcans were still producing dogs based on functionality. Both Ca de Bous and Ca de Bestiar have their special qualities, so to cross them was not rare. From such specimens, they managed to find those that seem to be more Ca de Bou than Ca de Bestiar.

In the nineties, other nations took interest in the breed. In Poland and Russia they found a lot of success. There are rumours of more than 2000 Ca de Bous in Moscow. There are only around 250 in Spain. The race is well appreciated for its function in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

, where the Champion Chimo was sent to and other famous Spanish Ca de Bous. Other nations like France, Holland, Denmark, Finland and Sweden also have breeders but not many and the breed is pretty well unknown. The first Ca de Bou was introduced to the UK from France in 2001 by a Mr. Williams of Gloucestershire.

In the 21st century, the Ca de Bou's future looks good. There is a bigger interest in the breed and thanks to the internet a closer link between Ca de Bou owners, breeders and passionate people, who love this breed. The increased interest carries with it potential pitfalls, however, as with the rapid development of other breeds when breeders try to match increased demand.

Temperament

The Perro de Presa Mallorquin was developed for power and tenacity, and these are strong components of its personality. If challenged, it will not back down. Although it is respectful of all in the family including children it needs an owner who trains it properly, it should not be trusted other animals, and it should be socialized from puppyhood and into adulthood.

This is an intelligent dog who needs an owner who can understand and handle it. Bred to stand up to almost any challenge, using harsh methods will only incite the Perro de Presa Mallorquin and could prove dangerous. Instead, owners should work with their Perro de Presa Mallorquin from puppyhood to teach obedience and manners in as positive a way as possible but correcting any unwanted behavier from the beginning. Working with knowledgeable trainers is critical.

Exercise

The large Perro de Presa Mallorquin needs several long walks daily to stay physically and mentally sound. It is critical that it be properly socialized from puppyhood during these outings so that, as it grows and continues to be exercised outside, it is not a threat to others around it. Participating in obedience classes and competitions is a great way to work with a Perro de Presa Mallorquin while exercising it.

External links

• Information from thebreedsofdog.com
• Ca de Bou information
• Ca de Bou French Forum
• Corazón Abierto Kennel
• Ca de Bou Von Zillion http://home.scarlet.be/marbertels/cadebou.htm
• Ca de Bou from Russia, St.-Petersburg
• Hasta Siempre http://hastasiempre.chiens-de-france.com