The breeds · working
FCI standard 340
Saint Miguel Cattle Dog.
FCI 340 utilization: cattle dog, Group 2 Section 2.1 Molossoid, Dogue type, 'without working trial'. 'A cattle dog par excellence, it is equally a good guard dog for properties and people.' Very determined towards strangers but docile with its owner, very intelligent and receptive. Originates on the island of Saint Miguel in the Azores, also known as the Cow Dog; its history is linked to the now extinct Terceira Dog and documented since the beginning of the 19th century. CPC utilization: 'Cão de condução de gado' (cattle-driving dog); 'Cão de gado por excelência, é também um bom guarda de propriedade e defesa'. Wikipedia: originally used as a herding dog for working with cattle; the FCI places it among the molossoids Hörter: bred on Terceira and São Miguel to drive cattle and guard the herd; today most are guard dogs for homes and properties and show dogs, and only a few are still cattle drivers. Portuguese Kennel Club recognition 1984, breed club founded 1991, FCI provisional 1995 and definitive 21 May 2007..
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.
The body
What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.
Height at the shoulder
Three sources agree (CPC publishes the FCI standard; Wikipedia gives the same 60 cm ceiling). No ideal printed. cm converted at 2.54. High is the inch figure Hörter prints for the same centimetre band; the standard converts to 22.8 in.
Weight
Three sources agree. kg converted at 2.2046. Hörter prints one breed-wide band (44-77 lb), which counts in both sex rows; the standard splits it by sex as shown in the text.
Coat
Heat tolerance
Derived from the coat description (short single-layer smooth coat = 5); the standard names no undercoat.
The work
What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.
Role
FCI, CPC and Wikipedia agree on cattle work; FCI and CPC add guarding.
Primary game
Also used on
Editorial; the standards name only cattle driving and guarding.
Search pattern
Field trial standard
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. 2 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.
- Also called
- Cão Fila de São Miguel, Fila de São Miguel, Cow Dog
Every breed, read the same way.
The breed index grows as entries clear the standard. Gun dogs first.
All published breedsYour saint miguel cattle dog, on the record.
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