Rafeiro do Alentejo

The Rafeiro do Alentejo Portuguese pronunciation: [ʁɐˈfɐj.ɾu ðu ɐ.lẽˈtɛ.ʒu] is a Portuguese breed of livestock guardian dog. It is named for its area of origin, the Alentejo region of southern Portugal.^: 33 It is recognised by the Clube Português de Canicultura, and was definitively accepted by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale in 1954.

History

Dogs of this type were traditionally 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 definitively accepted by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale.

A breed club, the Associação dos Criadores do Rafeiro do Alentejo, was established in 1994, a successor to a previous club, the Clube Português do Rafeiro do Alentejo.

A dog of this breed named Bobi was verified by Guinness World Records to be the oldest living dog ever, with an age of 30 years and 226 days on 1 February 2023. He died at the age of 31 years and 165 days on 21 October 2023.

Some months later it was proofed, that Bobi was not a “Rafeiro Alentejano” (which is the correct spelling of this breed). Translation errors lead to that assumption because the Portuguese word “Rafeiro” just refers to dogs of an undefined breed while the “Rafeiro Alentejano” is a certified breed but Bobi was not a Rafeiro Alentejano.

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 may be white marked with these colours. It is not as thick as the coat of other pastoral dogs such as the Polish Tatra.

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