The Standards of the Presa Canario - ElPresa.com

It is not a news that the situation about the Standard of the Presa Canario is unclear for many fanciers, also because of the several vicissitudes that lately interested the breed; I hope therefore that this page may help to make the matter clearer, besides letting the users browse the Standards.
First of all, it is necessary to leave it clear that the breed Standard to wich any fanciers sohuld make reference is the one recongized by the Real Sociedad Canina Espanola in 1989, that includes the traditional coat colours (black included and white markings allowed till 30%).

With the passing of years, however, the official Spanish breed Club , more than the genetic betterment of the breed and the introduction of compulsory working tests, got as objective the international recognition of the breed by the Federation Cinologique Internationale: in 2001, the objective was reached, but the breed was recognized, with unjustifiable reasons, as "Dogo Canario" and then were also apported a number of inacceptable modifications to the breed Standard: the discrimination of the white markings, the exclusion of the black coat, the elimination of the maximum weight. In theory, from that moment on, the Presa Canario ceased to exist for the canine officiality (being not recognized as such by the FCI) and the Dogo Canario was born. A a matter of fact, from that moment the Presa Canario and the Dogo Canario are considered two different breeds, with two different Standard. The original Presa Canario, the traditional one, is therefore selected outiside the officiality for what concerns the countries that pertains to the FCI (mainly Europe), but with a very precise point of reference, the last Standard of 1989.
From the 1st of January,2003 the Presa Canario is officially recognized in the United States of America by the United Kennel Club (U.K.C.) with the original denomination and a Standard close to the one recognized by the Real Sociedad Canina Espanola in 1989, that therefore includes also the black coat and allow the white markings till the 20%. Being confident about a fast correction (wich is on the roadmap) of some unsatisfactory points of the U.K.C. Standard, as the missing of a maximum weight, it is important to stress that this project may be of great importance for the future of the breed, as long as it will be properly supported by a strong Official Breed Club ethic ment to introduce the compulsory official certification of absence of hip dysplasia and temperament tests for the dogs used in the selection process.
To sum it all up, at the present moment we have two Standard of the Presa Canario:

STANDARD R.S.C.E: is the original one, that was recognized in the past by the Real Sociedad Canina Espanola (R.S.C.E.), and that now is not "official" anymore due to the fact that the Presa Canario is not recognized by the FCI. This Standard, being also today a solid point of reference as far as the selection of the breed is concerned, should be taken as "model" by other eventual future official Standards.

STANDARD U.K.C.: is the new Standard officially recognized by the United Kennel Club (U.K.C.) in the United States of America, drafted to resemblance of the original Standard of the RSCE.

In order to browse the Standards, you can click on the respective links.