Say, “Monkey Dog,” to folks who know their dog breeds,  and we’d hazard a guess that everyone will say, “Affenpinscher!”

Move over, Affenpinschers, there’s another Monkey Dog in town. According to Jeanne Joy Hartnagle-Taylor’s “Herding Dogs of the World,” the Cão da Serra de Aires, sometimes called the Portuguese Sheepdog, is also known as the Monkey Dog, probably because a shaggy long beard, moustache, and eyebrows that don’t cover its eyes are similar to certain simian breeds. The herding breed indigenous to Portugal was named after Castro Guamaraes’ farm in Alentjo. Evidently, Castro imported Briards in the late 19th century and bred them with local droving dogs. The end result was a quick, agile, all purpose farm dog well suited for the hot dry summer and windy, freezing winters of Portugal’s southern plains. It’s one more thread in the world’s rich tapestry of dog breeds. Totally awesome. Oh, and we made it up about Charles Darwin and sriracha.

Image from Wikipedia