The Rafeiro do Alentejo is a Portuguese breed of livestock guardian dog. It is named for its area of origin, the Alentejo region of southern Portugal. It is recognised by the Clube Português de Canicultura and was definitively accepted by the FCI in 1954.

History

The Rafeiro do Alentejo is believed to have originated in the Middle East. Dogs of this type were used to protect flocks during the biannual transhumance to summer pastures in the mountains, and then back to the plateau of the Alentejo for the winter. Since the late nineteenth century, they have been known as Rafeiro do Alentejo. In 1954 the breed was accepted by the FCI in Group 2, Section 2.2: Mastiffs, Mountain Type, Portugal.

The Portuguese breed club is the Associação dos Criadores do Rafeiro do Alentejo. The breed is considered “vulnerable”.

Characteristics

The Rafeiro is a large dog, slightly longer than it is tall, with a broad chest. The head is massive; the eyes are small and dark, the ears small, triangular and hanging. The coat is dense and straight, of short or medium length. It may be black, fawn, wolf grey or yellow, either brindled or not, but always with white markings; or maybe white marked with these colours. It is not as thick as the coat of other pastoral dogs such as the Polish Tatra.