Estrela Mountain Dog portal

November 03, 2016

The Licrase-Liga dos Criadores e Amigos do Cão da Serra da Estrela breed club has announced their decision to postpone the Monográfica championship show, which was to be held on November the 12th, in Gouveia, by the Serra da Estrela. The decision stems from the dispute between the breed club and the Portuguese Kennel Club (CPC), which did not allow the show to be held, on the grounds that the chosen judge, Manuel Correia, has already judged a championship show this year. LICRASE argues there isn't any written regulation stating that no judge can judge more than one championship show per year and that several Portuguese judges have previously done so.  The Licrase announcement can be read here (in Portuguese). 

09/13/2016

The 26nd Breed Club Specialty Show "Monográfica do Cão da Serra da Estrela", will be organised by LICRASE - Liga dos Criadores e Amigos do Cão da Serra da Estrela,  on November the 12th, 10.00 AM, in the town of Gouveia, at the Quinta Madre de Água, and will be judged by Mr. Manuel Correia. More information soon.

06/09/2016 

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More than three decades after being introduced in the Vale de Zebro Marines School, which bred and used the breed for working purposes (examplas are the unforgettable

Xangai da Vila Aradas and his son Sertã de Vale de Zebro), the Estrela Mountain Dog is back with the Portuguese Marines, represented by youngster Xangô da Quinta do Ganhão. A new challenge for the breed and for the institutions's canine training center's responsible, Sergeant Sérgio Ponte - an initiative that should help promote the Estrela's multiple working capacities. 

16/05/2016

The second edition of "Castro Daire - The Last Transhumance Route" will take place in June the 25th and 26th in that northern town, hosted by the townhall. The stars of this event that recreates the traditional arrival  of the flocks from th Estrela Mountains into town will be about one thousand sheep and goats, dozens of livestock guarding dogs  (mostly Estrelas) and their shepherds.

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The event, which will be broadcast live on the 25th on national channel RTP1, will follow the herd until Castro Daire and the Montemuro Mountains and include a display of working dogs, some of which typical Estrelas, and confraternization dinner of traditional transhumance dishes and tastes.

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Cattle dogs' owners and visitors are invited to participate and to spend the night on the free transhumance camping lot, set on a ravishingly beautiful spot, with good conditions, tents, toilets, shower rooms and capacity for about 120 people plus plenty of space for those who wish to bring their own tents. The complete programme will be spread this week. You can now book camping and dinner, to the email a.jose.pocas66@gmail.com or calling (351) 911786059 (José Poças).

05/14/2016

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Grupo Lobo (association for the conservation of the Iberian Wolf) is organising an ecoturism walk in the land of the Wolf, in Vale do Côa, from June the 10th to 12th. The programme includes a walk and visiting shepherds, cattle breeders and cheese producers, and also a cheese taste.

The price is 40 euros/person (50% off discount for children under 12) and includes all the activities in the programme, friday dinner, saturday picnic lunch and an insurance.

Entries and information:

Rotas & Raízes: geral@rotaseraizes.pt

Grupo Lobo: globo@fc.ul.pt / (351) 217500073

cesanto@hotmail.com / (351) 933 237 709

05/13/2016

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On May the 28th, in Castro Daire, a SPEC - Ecology Portuguese Society, with the help of Grupo Lobo, organizes a free-entrance walk to meet cattle and cattle dogs. The Iberian Wold still exists in this area and many Estrela Mountain Dogs are to be found here, performing their original task as livestock guarding dogs.

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04/11/2016

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14-month-old junior bitch Sutter by Trailsend, owned by her breeder Cindy Martishius, was Best in Show at the 10th Portuguese canine breeds specialty show Parade of Portugal, hosted by the Estrela Mountain Dog Association of America. 29 dogs of three breeds (also the Podengo and the Portuguese Water Dog) paerticipated in the show, which took place on April the 8th in Hickory, North Carolina, and was judged by Portuguese-American Tony Raposo.

Foto: Penny Glackin

03/04/2016

On March the 8th, at 5pm, the Lisbon University's College of Science hosts a session about the conservation of the Iberian Wolf in Portugal, which includes a screening of Jean-Jacques Annaud's film "Wolf Totem" and a debate. The session is organized by Grupo Lobo and Liga para a Protecção da Natureza. More information.

01/29/2016

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The Estrela will be featured in the next episode of "Animais Anónimos", a programme on the national tv channel RTP1. It will include an interview with Manuela Paraíso, breeder, book author ("Cuidar do Cão da Serra da Estrela / Rearing the Estrela Mountain Dog") and founder of the Comunidade do Cão da Serra da Estrela. Broacast: January the 31st, ats 12h15 pm.

01/26/2016

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10th Parade of Portugal, a Portuguese canine breeds specialty show organised every year by the Estrela Mountain Dog Association of America, will take place on April the 8th in Hickory, North Carolina, USA. The event is open to all Portuguese breeds recognised by the United Kennel Club. This year's edition will be judged by Luso-American Anthony Raposo. 

26/01/2016

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The Comunidade do Cão da Serra da Estrela will participate in the 5th Pet Festival, between January the 29th and 31st, at FIL (Parque das Nações, Lisbon), where it will organise the debate

"The breeder in society - their role in the breed preservation and animal welfare", on the 30th, 7pm. The aim is shaking the prejudice against pet breeders, who are socially depreciated due to backyard breeders, who breed ramdomly and for profit. This debate will focus on the importance of serious breeding and its role in breed preservation, in adequate fitting in society and in animal well-being. Other topics include educating citizens regarding purchase/adoption of animals and the benefits of cooperation between breeders and animal rescue associations. Confirmed participants:  Portuguese dog breeds breeders Carla Cruz (biologist, canine technical consultant, breeder of Barbado da Terceira) and Manuela Paraíso (broadcaster, breeder of Estrela Mountain Dog)) e two representatives of animal welfare/rescue associations (to be announced).

O programa do Pet Festival inclui também, no sábado, às 15h30, a palestra informal "O Cão da Serra da Estrela, de guardador de gado a companheiro da família", por Manuela Paraíso.

01/08/2016

Lisbon art gallery Chiado 8 - Arte Contemporânea presents the exhibition "The Meeting", by Carolina Piteira, which is part of the project ‘The Arts and the Marks’, in which the artist shows works representing 18 national marks. The Estrela is the face of insurance company Fidelidade ("fidelity"). The exhibition can be visited until January the 20th, monday to friday, 12.00 pm to 8 pm, free entrance.

11/04/2015

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On November the 21st, at 10am, FIL, at Parque das Nações, Lisbon, will host the 25ª Exposição Monográfica do Cão da Serra da Estrela, nosted by the APCSE- Associação Portuguesa do Cão da Serra da Estrela and judged by Dutch Ilona Onstenk-Schenk. The Monográfica is the breed club specialty show mandatory for the national conformation championship.  Entries until November the 6th, to infoapcse@gmail.com. 

On October the 17th, at 9pm, the Parque Municipal de Exposições do Cartaxo will host a major breed event, the 1st Encontro Global do Cão da Serra da Estrela, which includes ludic and edicational activities, such as lectures and workshops for children, technical lectures about hip dysplasia, a talk about transhumance, photography exhibitions,  the screening of the documentary film "Transumantes", by director Fernando Faria Paulino, obedience and handling demonstrations, an educational dog display, the presenve of a herd with its shepherd an LGD Estrela and a "canipaper" (a ludic competition for participants and their Estrelas), whose winner will obtain for his Estrela 1-year-feeding by Luposan.

A participação no canipaper e na mostra pedagógica carece de inscrição, que será gratuita se efectuada até 1 de Outubro, tendo a partir dessa data um custo simbólico, podendo ser feita no próprio dia do evento.

Paralelamente, está a decorrer um concurso de fotografia, cujas fotos participantes serão expostas durante o Encontro, sendo a vencedora premiada, e também concursos de escrita e de desenho/pintura/trabalhos manuais, abertos à participação de alunos, de todos os ciclos, de escolas do concelho do Cartaxo. Todas estas competições têm por tema o Cão da Serra da Estrela.

07/30/2015

On August the 8th,  Grupo Lobo invites everyone to walk the ancient herd paths in Monte Baldio de Meridãos, near Cinfães, northwest of the Estrela Mountaiin Range, 25 years after it was abandonned. The goal is recreating pastoral traditions of the Montemuro mountain contributing to valorise the herds' role in the mountain's ecosystem, as well as the shepherd's and the cattle dogs'. The programme celebrates pastoralism and biodiversity in areas where there's still much to learn about coexisting with the Wolf. Entries until August the 4th: globo@fc.ul.pt.

06/20/2015

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Grupo Lobo is organizing a fund-raising campaign to buy the estate where they settled their Iberian Wolf Recovery Center - a natural sanctuary near Tapada de Mafra, created in 1987 on a 42-acres area, which offered refuge to wolves who could not live in freedom and enables a great many actions for the preservation of this species, to which the Estrela Mountain Dog is deeply bound in its origin and essence. The canpaign runs until July he 2nd and rewards all donations. You can contribute here.

June the 18th 2015

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8-year-old UKC Grand Champion male Canil Akaroa's Dourado, owned by Tracey Conner, was Best in Show at the 9th Parade of Portugal Portuguese breeds specialty show, which took place on June the 10th in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Entries Estrela Mountain Dog, Portuguese Podengo and Portuguese Water Dog were judged by Ms. Nancy Gallant. The photo displays Dourado and his owner on a previous show, in which he won RBIS.

June the 8th 2015

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In April 2015, Lusófona University's College of Veterinary Medicine, in Lisbon, started a protocol allowing breeders and owners of puppies of Portuguese breeds, aged 4 to 12 months, to do a free early screening of hip dysplasia. This protocol is part of a MD research by Dr. Ana Santana and will last for 3 years. Contacts: imagiologialusofona@gmail.com, (351) 961847699 (College hospital). 

June the 7th 2015

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On June the 27th, the town council of Castro Daire recreates the traditional transhumance route that shepherds and herds used, on their way from the Estrela mountain range, towards the evergreen pastures of the Montemuro mountains. The event, that starts at 4 pm, follows the cattle and includes photography exhibitions by Filomeno Silva and Albino José Poças, a documentary film by Fernando Faria Paulino aboout the last transhumance shepherds interviewed in 2002, typical gastronomy by the Confraria do Bolo Podre and a recriation of pastoral rituals. Also taking place, on the 27th and 28th, the programme  Rota de transumância by the company Nómadas - Turismo de aventura includes walking up the tracks traditionally used by shepherds and flocks.