Like any other breeder, I receive all kinds of emails and I normally answer them all, because it´s my duty (or they are answered by my collaborator Valeria, or my son Manuel Curtó junior, who is doing a marvelous job in benefit of the breed and our breeding kennels). I receive emails from someone who wants information about the breed, someone who has a doubt, and someone who wants to purchase a good dog, asking for guarantees,<< wanting the best of the litter, and living so far away what is the procedure, a rustic dog with no problems, guarantees against dysplasia, do we breed dogs free from dysplasia, that if in one litter there is only one puppy that combines all the qualities for a good working dog>> this last entry is a benevolent summary of an email received from one enthusiast.

It´s difficult to please everyone. I don´t know what other breeders do. I answer the best way I can in Spanish, and usually focus on those people who trust me without neglecting the others. I ask these others to trust in me and that in the moment I choose a puppy, I will do so as if I were choosing for myself, and I remind them that the perfect dog, made to measure for each person doesn´t exist.

We all know that dogs are not produced in series. Breeding is complex, combining genes, even when you know the lineage, it is to some extent luck.
You are fully aware of the goal you are aiming for, and you know every detail of your animals, studying their genealogy thoroughly, without losing sight of the functional qualities, physical and psychic health and prototype of the breed so as not to lose the standard, or to venture too far from the standard. I am of the opinion that the standard is a guide not a hard and fast rule.

Before anything else, the physical and ethical qualities of the animal and then the standard. Another very important question that sometimes is forgotten, or ignored: what use should the Presa Canario have. It isn´t a hunting dog to hunt birds or rabbits, it isn´t a tracking dog, not a Malinois or a German Shepherd, it´s a dog basically for guarding and defense. If it fulfills these two functions, we can be satisfied. Each breed to its own functionality. We mustn´t complicate our lives, or the life of our dog. It´s obvious that a Presa Canario has other good qualities.

They are easy to train in obedience, in attack, defense, and pursuing delinquents, are exceptional for wild boar hunting etc. What´s more they adapt to any habitat, because of their calm nature, they are quite happy to live in an apartment with the added bonus of their short hair. I would dare to say that as a companion dog they are one of the best breeds that exist.

Another question we need to surmount: The Presa Canario is not a dangerous dog. When I am asked if it is dangerous, I answer that for dangerous we have the human being, very dangerous indeed in certain circumstances. We only have to look at our surroundings or maybe slightly further to be convinced of this.

The campaign against the supposedly dangerous dogs has created a false and terrible image of a great number of canine breeds, which will be very difficult to overcome. I believe that this campaign has been orchestrated, by whom? I have no idea!

Manuel Curtó Gracia
Tenerife, 25 December 2014