The dog was the first animal to be domesticated. The man gave to the dog shelter and food, and the dog protected the man - a productive relation for both.
From this point, the man was seleccionando the dog for the diverse functions, ones for the hunting, others for protecção, others for the guard of flocks, that is the case of the Dog of the Mountain range of the Star.
The Dog of the Mountain range of the Star, such as the other mastiffs of the Iberian Peninsula is descending of the molossos of Central Asia, and that to leave of these dogs the different races of today existing molossos seleccionaram. Salient however the similarity between all the dogs mountain, especially in the case of the Dog of the Mountain range of the Star the Dog Shepherd of the Caucaso and the Sparlinac.
The Mountain range of the Star is highest of Portugal with 1981metros, and was, and still it it is an excellent habitat for the Iberian wolf (in that height very frequent, nowadays unhappyly much less), medium brown bears (nowadays extinct) and foxes. The shepherds of that mountain range, poor people, who if made with the flocks á higher pastures, frequent were attacked by alcateias of wolves. These shepherds needed a great dog of protecção that protected the flock and the shepherd against such predators.
This dog would have to have an imponent physicist who allowed it to fight and to win the fights but to exactly empo a body with agility enough to run freely, a bonanza intelligence, impressive a physical resistance that allowed it to face the hard time of that mountain range and an iron health (therefore it did not have available medicines in that height). This dog was subject to two types of selecção, the human being where the shepherds crossed the dogs that it seemed better, and natural therefore the dogs strongest only obtained to survive.
Two types of coat had been developed: the length and the short one. The short one was more common in the region of Butter, south side, while of for the long one it was more common of the side north in Seia and Gouveia.
The shepherds costumavam to place in these dogs coleiras with form peaks to protect the neck of the attacks, and for times, also the ears were cut to prevent future wounds, and for better income, they worked in groups of 2 up to 6 units. This dog has left morning with the shepherd and the flock directing itself for the pastures. During this passage and while the flock rested, the dog watched patrolling them the surrounding territory, and lying down in a high place where the flock could observe. For times the shepherd had that to go á village, or the house, leaving the flock in the pastures delivers to the dogs, for during days.
Dog of the Mountain
