Many of our beloved breeds have in their ancestry other breeds, and a breed like the Black Russian Terrier has a whole lot of them – but it’s not alone in having multiple breeds in its heritage. The Pointer, Bulldog, Great Dane, Spanish Mastiff, Great Pyrenees, Bull Terrier, Boxer, Dogue de Bordeaux and Irish Wolfhound all played a part in the development of the Dogo Argentino, and the breed’s creator, Dr. Antonio Nores Martinez, had something very specific in mind when he chose these breeds.
From the Boxer, Martinez got vitality and gentleness, and from the Pointer, he got a keen sense of smell. The Bulldog added boldness, as well as a broad chest the dog would need for strength and endurance. The Bull Terrier made the Dogo fearless, the Great Pyrenees gave the Dogo Argentino a white coat and protective instincts, the Spanish Mastiff gave the Dogo its quota of power, and the Great Dane lent its large size. From the Irish Wolfhound, the Dogo got the instinct to hunt wild game, and from the Dogue De Bordeaux came powerful jaws – and finally, the Dogo got from the Mastiff its stamina and power. At the root of these breedings was the now extinct Cordoba Fighting Dog, legendary for its tremendous power and strength. For all that size, the Dogo is quite agile, and for all its instinct to hunt, the dog is expected never to be aggressive with its people. It’s really a remarkable breed that is loving, loyal, and has just a touch of mischief. As the breed club states, “a warm body and soft couch will keep a Dogo quiet for hours.” That said, it’s not a breed recommended for first time owners as a Dogo can be stubborn while being a dog that must know its boundaries.
“I still remember as if it were yesterday… the day when my brother Antonio told me for the first time his idea of creating a new breed of dog for big game, for which he was going to take advantage of the extraordinary braveness of the Fighting Dog of Cordoba. Mixing them with other breeds which would give them height, a good sense of smell, speed, hunting instinct and, more than anything else deprive them of that fighting eagerness against other dogs, which made them useless for pack hunting. A mix that would turn them into sociable dogs, capable of living in freedom, in families and on estates, keeping the great courage of the primitive breed, but applied to a useful and noble end; sport hunting and vermin control.”
Agustin Nores Martinez (brother of Dr. Antonio Nores Martinez) from History Of The Dogo Argentino
Image: Dogo Argentino by Jean-Michel Labat is available as a print, pillow, phone case and more here.