Estrela Mountain Dog

Calm with family, quick to give warning, often at night.
An Estrela Mountain Dog
Photo: Pleple2000
Adult male
45–60 kg
99–132 lb
Adult female
35–45 kg
77–99 lb
Lifespan
10–14 yrs
Class · Watchdog
also Companion

What it's like

In temperament it is calm and loyal with its own household but reserved with strangers and quick to give warning, especially at night. It is independent, having been bred to make decisions alone on the hillside. The Portuguese police have also used it as a patrol dog.

Day to day
Activity
A good daily walk and play
Intelligence
Learns readily, likes games
Handler demand
Needs an experienced owner
With people
Affection
Affectionate on its own terms
Loyalty
Sticks close to its people
Independence
Decides for itself
Around the home
Sensitivity
Hardy, takes a busy home in its stride
Voice
Very vocal
Prey drive
Chases; needs managing
Breed explains only about 9% of how individual dogs differ in behaviour1. Meet the dog. A good breeder breeds for temperament as well as health, and matches each puppy's personality to the right home2,3.
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Living with one

Most of the shedding comes when the seasons change. The grooming it needs depends on the coat. It needs a moderate amount of exercise compared with other breeds.

Size and growth

An Estrela Mountain Dog is a giant dog, about the weight of a grown Rottweiler. Males end up clearly heavier than females. It is one of the lightest giant breeds.

It is a large, powerful dog with a broad head, dark amber eyes and a well-feathered tail carried low at rest. The coat may be long and coarse, the more common form, or short; either comes in fawn, wolf grey or brindle, often with a dark mask.

Puppy growth

Reference curve · community data appears as owners log
By about 5 months, a male Estrela Mountain Dog puppy is already as heavy as a grown Golden Retriever. They grow fastest between 4 and 5 months old. They keep growing past their first birthday, longer than a Beagle does. Most males grow into the size large-breed puppy foods are made for.
Fully grown
13 mo
Both sexes, at 99% of adult weight5
Male
Female
Shaded: expected range
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Age
Male
Female
2 months
7.8–10.5 kg 17.2–23.1 lb
6.1–7.8 kg 13.4–17.2 lb
3 months
12.6–16.8 kg 27.8–37.0 lb
9.8–12.6 kg 21.6–27.8 lb
4 months
18.7–24.9 kg 41.2–54.9 lb
14.5–18.7 kg 32.0–41.2 lb
5 months
25.3–33.8 kg 55.8–74.5 lb
19.7–25.3 kg 43.4–55.8 lb
6 months
31.4–41.9 kg 69.2–92.4 lb
24.4–31.4 kg 53.8–69.2 lb
7 months
36.2–48.2 kg 79.8–106.3 lb
28.1–36.2 kg 61.9–79.8 lb
8 months
39.5–52.7 kg 87.1–116.2 lb
30.7–39.5 kg 67.7–87.1 lb
9 months
41.7–55.6 kg 91.9–122.6 lb
32.4–41.7 kg 71.4–91.9 lb
10 months
43.0–57.4 kg 94.8–126.5 lb
33.5–43.0 kg 73.9–94.8 lb
11 months
43.8–58.4 kg 96.6–128.7 lb
34.1–43.8 kg 75.2–96.6 lb
12 months
44.3–59.1 kg 97.7–130.3 lb
34.5–44.3 kg 76.1–97.7 lb
15 months
44.8–59.8 kg 98.8–131.8 lb
34.9–44.8 kg 76.9–98.8 lb
18 months
45.0–59.9 kg 99.2–132.1 lb
35–45 kg 77–99 lb

Lifespan

No vet study has measured how long Estrela Mountain Dogs live yet. The 10–14 years shown is a general figure without a published source.

Where it comes from

The Estrela Mountain Dog guarded flocks in the Serra da Estrela of central Portugal, climbing with them to the high summer pastures when the lowlands were parched. No one knows how it began, but the FCI counts it among the oldest Iberian breeds, and the Kennel Club thinks it carries some mastiff blood. Folded-back ears and a hooked tail tip mark it out4,7.

The Estrela Mountain Dog was shaped by shepherds who valued working ability over looks, and for centuries it remained a local dog of the mountain villages. Organised interest began in the early twentieth century, when shows were held in the region to judge working flock guards, and a written standard followed. The breed reached Britain in the nineteen-seventies and is now kept there mainly as a companion and guard. Its task was to protect sheep and goats from wolves and thieves rather than to herd them, and shepherds traditionally fitted it with a spiked collar to guard its throat.

Breed standard

The Estrela Mountain Dog is judged against standard no. 173, in group 2, Pinscher and Schnauzer, Molossoid and Swiss Mountain Dogs4.

Questions people ask

General guidance for dogs rather than a measured Estrela Mountain Dog figure: most females have a first season somewhere between six and fifteen months, and cycles then settle to roughly every 180 days. Smaller breeds tend to start earlier and larger ones later, so a giant breed is most likely at the late end.

Compare with related

Great Pyrenees
Pinschers & molossoids · Giant
Cane Corso
Pinschers & molossoids · Giant
Rottweiler
Pinschers & molossoids · Giant
Tibetan Mastiff
Pinschers & molossoids · Giant
Or compare the Estrela Mountain Dog with any breed you choose
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Sources

Uncited on this page: Lifespan — no reviewed source yet, so it is a general reference figure rather than a published one.
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Parts of this page were written by AI ·