KENAI
Presa Canario

The breeds · working

AKC Foundation Stock Service · UKC Guardian · FCI standard 346

Presa Canario.

FCI 346: UTILIZATION Guard dog used for protection of cattle; Group 2 Section 2.1 Molossoid, Mastiff type; without working trial. History per FCI: a molossoid catch dog from Tenerife and Gran Canaria, whose duties were essentially guard dogs and protectors of cattle. Temperament per FCI: balanced, very self-confident, obedient and docile with family members, very devoted to its master, can be suspicious of strangers. UKC: ancestors came with the Spanish conquistadors; the dogs guarded farms, helped catch and hold cattle and exterminated wild or stray dogs; wary of strangers and aggressive with other dogs. AKC page: especially suited to guarding and traditionally used for herding cattle. Wikipedia (English): traditionally a guard dog, a herding dog for sheep and cattle, and used for dog-fighting, legal in Spain until 1936. Wikipedia (English) also states that importation and sale of the dogs is prohibited in Australia and New Zealand; it is the only source read for that..

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

7.7YRMedian lifespan7 to 9.5, measured on real dogs.
0INHeightdogs null, bitches null. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
84–126LBWeight, all linesbreed dogs 84 to 126 lb; breed bitches 84 to 110 lb.

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

dogs 22 to 27 in · bitches 22 to 26 in

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club, 2025

Span covers the AKC page, UKC (with tolerance) and FCI (cm converted at 2.54). Center blank.

Weight

dogs 84 to 126 lb · bitches 84 to 110 lb

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club, 2025

Span covers the AKC page, UKC and FCI (kg converted at 2.2046). Center blank.

Coat

FCI 346: short, coarse, flat, no undercoat, rather coarse to the touch; all shades of brindle up to sand, all shades of fawn up to sand, black; white marks on chest, throat, forefeet and hind feet kept to a minimum; always a black mask not spreading above eye level; white over 20% disqualifies. UKC: short, flat single coat, harsh; any shade of fawn, black, and brindle in any combination; black mask not over the eyes; white markings over 20% disqualify.

Breed clubFCI-Standard N° 346, 2023

Shedding

Shedding 3 of 5 (AKC breed page trait score)

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Heat tolerance

5 of 5 · UKC: short, flat single coat, harsh in texture. FCI 346: coat short, coarse, flat with no undercoat (it can appear on neck and back of thighs). AKC page: shedding level 3 of 5.

DerivedUnited Kennel Club, 2025

Derived from a short single coat with no undercoat (5). No measured data.

How long they live, and what they cost

Measured on real dogs, with the sample and the spread. Never a guess.

Median lifespan

7.7 years (7 to 9.5)

MeasuredMcMillan KM, 2024

Small sample (n 144, 98 deceased); UK pet population. Indicative.

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Exercise need

AKC page bands: energy level 2 of 5, mental stimulation needs 3 of 5, playfulness 1 of 5, trainability 3 of 5, adaptability 2 of 5, barking 3 of 5. FCI 346: agile and supple on the move, covers a lot of ground.

Breed clubAKC

Registry-page ratings, not minutes; no exercise_need_min row because no source printed a duration.

Energy

2 of 5

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Grooming load

1 of 5

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Grooming

AKC page bands: coat grooming frequency 1 of 5, shedding level 3 of 5, drooling level 4 of 5. Short single coat per FCI and UKC.

Breed clubAKC

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

FCI 346: UTILIZATION Guard dog used for protection of cattle; Group 2 Section 2.1 Molossoid, Mastiff type; without working trial. History per FCI: a molossoid catch dog from Tenerife and Gran Canaria, whose duties were essentially guard dogs and protectors of cattle. Temperament per FCI: balanced, very self-confident, obedient and docile with family members, very devoted to its master, can be suspicious of strangers. UKC: ancestors came with the Spanish conquistadors; the dogs guarded farms, helped catch and hold cattle and exterminated wild or stray dogs; wary of strangers and aggressive with other dogs. AKC page: especially suited to guarding and traditionally used for herding cattle. Wikipedia (English): traditionally a guard dog, a herding dog for sheep and cattle, and used for dog-fighting, legal in Spain until 1936. Wikipedia (English) also states that importation and sale of the dogs is prohibited in Australia and New Zealand; it is the only source read for that.

Breed clubFCI-Standard N° 346, 2023

Primary game

Wikipedia (Spanish): traditional work is handling bull or semi-wild cattle and guarding stock against any predator; also used as a catch dog (perro de diente) to hold big-game species. UKC: helped catch and hold cattle. FCI 346: guard dog for cattle.

EditorialWikipedia (Spanish)

Big-game use rests on one editorial Spanish Wikipedia line; the registry standards name cattle only.

Also used on

UKC: guarded the farms, helped catch and hold cattle, exterminated wild or stray dogs. FCI 346: protection of cattle; traditionally used for herding cattle. Wikipedia (Spanish): served butchers to subdue cattle.

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club, 2025

Field trial standard

FCI 346: without working trial. No UKC or AKC working test was found.

Breed clubFCI-Standard N° 346, 2023

How common the problems are

Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.

Hip dysplasia

40.2% · 460 OFA hip evaluations, current all-data, accessed Oct 12 2026; 40.2% dysplastic (mild 24.1, moderate 13.9, severe 2.2), 57.6% normal. Hips rank 13 of the OFA table, among the highest dysplasia rates.

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

OFA's own breed statistics (listed as Perro de Presa Canario). OFA-evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock (owners who test and submit), so normal results are over-represented and the real population rate is likely higher. Rank 1 = highest dysplasia.

Elbow dysplasia

30.4% · 303 OFA elbow evaluations, current all-data, accessed Oct 12 2026; 30.4% abnormal (grade 1 21.1, grade 2 7.6, grade 3 1.7), 69.3% normal. Elbows rank 11.

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

OFA's own breed statistics (Perro de Presa Canario). OFA-evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock (owners who test and submit), so normal results are over-represented and the real population rate is likely higher.

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 2; Mental Stimulation Needs 3; Trainability Level 3; Barking Level 3; Watchdog/Protective Nature 5; Good With Young Children 1; Openness To Strangers 1; Good With Other Dogs 1; Shedding Level 3; Coat Grooming Frequency 1; Drooling Level 4; Affectionate With Family 2; Playfulness Level 1; Adaptability Level 2.

Breed clubAKC

Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 6 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
Perro de Presa Canario, Dogo Canario, Canary Mastiff, Canary Catch Dog

Every breed, read the same way.

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All published breeds

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