AKA: Alentejo Mastiff, Portuguese Mastiff, Mutt of Alentejo

Description: The Rafeiro do Alentejo is a large dog, with a bear-like broad head and strong robust body. Its eyes are dark and its ears are small to medium sized and folding downwards. Its neck is strong and has the regular dewlap, and its chest is broad and deep. Its legs are strong and upright, and its body ends with a long and curving tail. The Rafeiro do Alentejo’s coat is of medium length and thick and straight.

Dynamics: The Rafeiro do Alentejo is an excellent and confident guard dog. It is calm, courageous, but not aggressive. It is also an independent and intelligent dog, and very watchful. It gets suspicious of strangers, especially after dark, which makes it a very valuable guard for our homes. It is more for defense rather than for attacking, and gives out a low, deep bark.

The Rafeiro do Alentejo is affectionate with its family despite its reserved nature with strangers. It can get sensitive to reprimands and is also eager to please. Training and socializing this dog has to be done at puppyhood. It is also important that the training is consistent. This is a serious dog that does its job seriously. The Rafeiro do Alentejo is a very noble breed this way. This breed may be reserved with strangers but gets along nicely with children.

Breed Group: Guard

Weight: males 110-132 pounds (50-60 kg), females 100-121 pounds (45-55 kg)

Height: males 27-28 inches (66-75 cm), females 25-28 inches (64 – 70 cm)

Color: The Rafeiro do Alentejo has a coat of the colors black, wolf-like, tawny, or yellowish, draped in either a fair, striped, or white-spotted paterrn.

Country of Origin: The Rafeiro do Alentejo comes from Portugal, but it is often claimed that the breed was descended from huge dogs on the Tibetan highlands ages ago.

Activities: The Rafeiro do Alentejo is a serious dog made for real work. It does not usually exert energy on unnecessary tasks and instead focuses on getting serious with its real job of guarding herds and properties. This dog may not need any heavy exercise but it still needs to be walked everyday.

Grooming: The Rafeiro do Alentejo is a low-maintenance dog. Brushing its coat daily is enough. Bathe only when necessary.

Other Info: The Rafeiro do Alentejo has a life expectancy of 12 years. This dog is not made for life in an apartment. It likes having an open and large yard, and owners should take care to put a secure fence around because it is very suspicious of strangers.