The Dogo is the only international recognized dog-breed of Argentina.
Dr. Antonio Nores Martinez, a hunting enthusiast, was not satisfied with the exixting breeds capabilities, although many breeds had one or more of these
wanted capabilities, not one of them had everything Dr. Martinez wanted in a dog.
Starting in the 1920's with "The Fighting Dogs of Cordoba", a mixture of the Spanish Mastiff, Bulldog, Bullterrier and Boxer, bred solely for fighting, he added nine more
breeds to this already existing mixture, wanting to create a hunting breed capable to match the big game of South America, the wild boar, jaguar and cougar.
Finnish & Swedish CH. Tigre Vom Knausserwald.
Owner: Sirpa Turunen, Finland.
These 10 breeds, with the Cordoba Dogs as a base, were all added because of their wanted traits. The Cordoba dog had the strenght, courage and tenacity wanted, the Great Dane was added to increase height, the British
Bulldog and Bullterrier for their courage and endurance, the Pointer because his scenting ability, Dogue de Bordeaux were added to improve the strenght of the jaw, the Great Pyrenees for his white coat and climate adaptabilities,
the Wolfhound added swiftness, the Boxer was chosen for his personality and intelligence and the spanish mastiffs, especially the Pyrenean Mastiff, was added due to its white colour, good nose and to increase the size of the dog.
The breed was carefully refined over the years and with the constant adding of new blood, until the final product, the Dogo Argentino, was perfected. Dr. Martinez wrote a breed standard in 1928, but it was still the working capabilities of the dog that counted the most.
Although Dr. Martinez primary goal was to create the ultimate big-game hunter, the Dogo is also a great guarddog, stable in temperament and sound in mind.
The Dogo is not, as many believe, over-aggressive and fierce, but is bacically people friendly and goes very well along with strangers, but will, if anything threaten their family or home, defend with no hesitation.
The Dogo goes very well along with children and will tolerate almost everything from them.
This breed is generally a sound and healty animal, however, deafness is sadly known to occur.
By loking at the body of the Dogo, you should understand that his working capabilities is of the foremost in the dogworld. The Dogo is displaying real power combined with endurance, something that
can be witnessed simply by looking at the dog.
The colour of the short coat of the Dogo is always completly white. Spots on the coat of any colour is a reason to disqualification. Spots on the skin shall not be penalized.
The minimum height for the male is 62 cm. (24,3 in) at the withers, for the female 60 cm. (23,5 in). Maximum height is 68,5 cm. (27 in).
The weight for the male is usally between 45 and 50 kg. (99-110 lbs). The female always smaller.
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