Canary Dog Blog

How does one come up with the names of dog breeds? It seems that it is a rule of thumb that their breed name has the country of origin stated in it as gourmet specialty coffee packs display where it originated from.

It is said that the Canary dog or the Perro de Presa Canario existed way back between 30 and 25 BC when King Juba in Mauritania deployed a expedition to survey the territory. On this journey they noticed huge dogs and brought two back to the King who was pleased by their appearance and attributes. He marked the location as the “Island of Dogs“.  Archaeological digs has also revealed dogs buried along with their masters as guides in the afterlife.

Another historical find is that a tribe called the “canarii” inhabited the island and then it was called the “Islands of Canaria” which had been taken from the Latin term “Insularis Canaria” – Island of the Dogs. Tracing back origins can be amazing and thrilling when trying to know more about one’s dog.

A lot of people are afraid of the Canary dog, in much the same way as with Dobermans and Rottweilers. The Media has made sure that people fear this breed. The notoriety of this breed is due to negative publicity after being linked to two fatalities. In 2001, a 32 year-old woman, by the name of Diane Whipple of San Francisco, California, was killed by two dogs that were Presa Canario/Mastiff-crosses. In 2006, Shawna Willey, a 30 year-old Florida woman, was also killed by a dog identified as a Presa Canario. Although it doesn’t do much for the breed’s popularity, there are avid fans, who even after this negative publicity would buy a Canary dog, to breed it for fighting, or simply because they respect the breed itself. Although it still has a lot of work to do, to be recognized and respected, more and more people are becoming avid fans of this beautiful breed.