Canary Bird or Canary Island?…the Origins of the Canary Dog Revealed!
The Canary Dog, or the Presa Canario or even the Dogo Canario as the breed in known has a strange name that often confuses people. Was it named after a canary bird? Or the Canary Islands? What’s the story? Well, this gorgeous breed originates from the Canary Islands. Hence its name. (Forget Tweedie bird for now). It was bred as a multi-purpose farm dog and Canary Dog enthusiasts believe that a certain farm dog breed from the Canary Islands; called : “Perro de Bardino Majorero” was crossed with the Mastiff and other English dogs that were brought to the island by visitors. It is believed that this dog breed: the “Perro de Presa Canario” ( or: the Canarian Dog of Prey) was created sometime during the 18th century as a flock and guard dog. Sadly a lot of the Canary dogs lost their lives to Dog Fights…that which was introduced by English settlers and perpetuated with the use of other Mastiffs and Bulldogs.
After 1940 – during a period when dog fights were prohibited, the breed almost became extinct. Luckily in the 1970’s well-meaning breeders made it their life-work to rekindle the genetic make-up of this powerful breed. It truly remains the : ” perro de la tierra ” (The dog of the land ). As for Tweedie…yes, the little yellow songbirds we call canaries have little green ancestors who once lived on what are now Spain’s Canary Islands. You might think that the islands are named after the birds, but such is not the case. “Canary” derives rather from the Latin word canis, or “dog”, and the name Canaria was given to one of these islands because of its population of fearsomely huge canines. Both the dogs and the birds were brought back to the Continent, but while the canaries prospered, those fierce dogs of the past (the grand-daddies of the Canary Dogs) have since become extinct. The name Canaria, however, stuck to both the islands and the birds…and gave the basis for the naming of the star of this Blog…the Canary Dog. As for Sylvester, he has no part in the story!
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