Question 1

Is the Estrela the same as the Pyrenean Mastiff?

Accepted Answer

No. They share a peninsula and a body type, and they are separate breeds with separate standards: the Pyrenean Mastiff is a Spanish flock guardian from the Pyrenees, white with patches, and the Estrela is the Portuguese mountain dog with small rose ears and a hooked tail. The confusion is common enough that the two get mixed up in videos and breeder listings.

Question 2

Do they really have double dewclaws?

Accepted Answer

Some do, and some have a single dewclaw on each rear leg, and the FCI standard allows both. It is not a breed requirement, so a puppy without them is not faulty, and a puppy with them needs monthly trimming.

Question 3

Are they good with sheep and chickens?

Accepted Answer

Nearly always, when the dog grew up with them. The instinct is to stand between the stock and anything unfamiliar, and a puppy that spent its first months in a pen of lambs will do it without being taught. An adult that has only known a garden needs a line and a handler for the first month, and should never be left with lambs until it has ignored them for a whole season.

Question 4

Why do the FCI and Kennel Club standards disagree?

Accepted Answer

Two registries, two translations, almost twenty years apart. The Kennel Club version is looser on white markings and on the height tolerance, and neither difference affects a pet. For a show dog, enter under the standard of the country you are showing in.

Question 5

How do I find one outside Portugal?

Accepted Answer

They are thin on the ground, so start with the national breed club in your country and expect to wait for a litter. When one appears, the hip grades of both parents come before anything else about the puppy.

The Estrela Mountain Dog: A Portuguese Guardian With a Curious Trait

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