| Ovelheiro gaucho | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Origin | Brazil | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Notes | CBKC standard (in portuguese) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Dog (domestic dog) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Gaucho Sheepdog (portuguese: Ovelheiro gaúcho) is a dog breed originated from the gaucho pampas in Brazil. The breed is not recognized by the FCI, but has already been recognized by CBKC, a brazilian kennel club affiliated with FCI.[3] It is a very sturdy and agile dog, which makes it an ideal dog for herding activities. The Gaucho sheepdog was and still is widely used to herding sheep and other livestock, especially in the southern region of Brazil, as traditional activities of this region of the country.
History edit
The breed originated at random in Rio Grande do Sul state, without any planning but the search for useful dogs.
There are two hypotheses for the origin of the breed, the most widespread being based on physical and behavioral characteristics of the breed, as well as having a probable historical context, and says that the gaucho sheep descended from herding dogs without specific breed of Rio Grande do Sul and also of the Border Collie and Rough Collie breeds that would have arrived with European settlers in the 19th and 20th century when the Gaucho fields were enriched with farm animals such as cattle, horses and sheep. The border collie would have arrived in Rio Grande do Sul in the 1950s along with an import from Australia of a herd of Merino sheep to the municipality of Uruguaiana and subsequently these dogs were introduced in Pelotas. And the Rough Collies first arrived at the end of the 19th century with European immigrants and later, in the early 20th century, in addition to arriving with European immigrants, this breed would also have been imported by farmers who wanted to modernize herd management techniques in their properties.
A segunda hipótese levantada, é mais recente e se baseia em um estudo histórico, morfológico e comportamental da raça. According to the study, the gaucho sheep descended from herding dogs without specific breed of the region and also descended from the Rough Collie, Estrela Mountain dog and German Shepherd.
Both hypotheses of the origin of the Gaucho conclude that these races upon arriving in this region underwent a genetic selection because the gaúchos cowboys always looked for the dogs with greater aptitude for the herding of sheep, being, thus, the most suitable ones to the herding had better conditions to procreate since their pups were more sought after by other pedestrians, and the best shepherd dogs were sought to fecundate good shepherdess females, with this selection and miscegenation of races made in the gaucho fields, in a short time a new breed emerged: the gaucho sheepdog with phenotype more adapted to the climate and geography of the region and temperament more adapted to the needs of the local cowboys, but maintaining excellent aptitude for the sheep herding.
Appearence edit
Morphologically they are similar to Border Collie dogs, but they move differently when they are shepherding. Their size and height are medium, bigger than the border collies and little smaller than the collies. The coat is not too long, with or without undercoat and can be in various colors.
Temperament edit
It is not an aggressive dog, but it is very good as watchdog since it beats altering on any strange noise although it hardly arrives to attack the intruder. It is a smart dog and fits easy, learns commands very quickly and is not aggressive with the herd. With the people with whom these dogs coexist they are docile and friendly.
Bibliography edit
- (in Portuguese) Marcos Pennacchi (diretor editorial), Revista Cães & Cia nº 293, Editora Forix, 2003 (reportagem Novas Raças Brasileiras fala entre outras, sobre o ovelheiro gaúcho).
- (in Portuguese) Andrea Calmon (jornalista responsável), Almanaque Cães & Raças 2009, Editora On Line, 2009 (reportagem Made in Brazil fala entre outras, sobre a raça ovelheiro gaúcho).
References edit
See also edit
External links edit
- Gaucho sheepdog breed standard - CBKC (in portuguese)
- Brazilian gaucho sheepdog -Molossers.com