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Ca
de Bou
Proper traditional rustic working
type Ca de Bous
 
Modern rebuilt type Ca de Bous
"What a wonderful breed we get to call our own. A breed so hard and
rustic, insensitive to pain and not ever sick, very loving with
children, yet, wary of strangers. A breed whose trajectory has used it
for almost any type of work a dog can do. The Ca de Bou descends from
the old Alans and Presa dogs brought during its early days of conquest
(12-14 century). Through crosses, these became very useful dogs for the
meat butchers who used them to hold the bull while they came to end its
life, and there the origin of the name Ca de Bou, Can-Dog de-of Bou-Bull.
The Ca de Bou became also a weapon used against and for the law, since
it was a breed with exceptional abilities and easily trained. During the
1700 to early 1900s the Ca de Bou gained the reputation it has today
fighting against both dog and Beasts. It was used as a butcher's dog, a
warrior in the fighting arenas, fighting bulls, leopards, hyenas and
other Ca de Bous. The breed was mentioned by the President of the Dogue
de Bordeaux Club in a French magazine in the 1920s, when the best of
each breed met in Madrid for a fighting match. At this time, the Ca
de Bou was used as a guard dog, a farm dog, herder, fighter, and bull
catcher. Their working abilities were unmatched. We must understand
that the Ca de Bou was not the only rustic breed in Mallorca, the Ca de
Bestiar, a great herder and guard was also a well known breed. And it is
of extreme importance to understand that both breeds had much to do in
each other, as it is well known that breeding in the old days was made
for one thing only, function. The Ca de Bou was a powerful bull worker
with a very strong constitution and the Ca de Bestiar was a swift herder
and by no means an angel. It was common for the breeds to be crossed
with each other to acquire dogs that were capable of doing almost
anything. It was THIS known fact that served as a basis for the recovery
of the breed and its genetic makeup. Although the Ca de Bestiar of today
has been bred to look somewhat smaller, it was the old Ca de Bestiar
dogs with large powerful bodies, strong necks and thick bone that had
much Ca de Bou in them, and these were the ones used." Otto
The breed WEB is an
amalgamation of several breeds and strains of Alaunt/Alano types. New Smyrna
Beach, Florida was established by Minorca and St Augustine,
Florida (The military nerve center for Spain's New World) also has
Mallorcans. So, the strains of WEBs in these areas show their
similarities with the Ca De Bou. As can clearly be seen, the modern variety has undergone
considerable changes, so much so that they are in-fact no longer the
same breed at all, but a new breed in it's own right.
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