Ιταλικά δεν ξέρω, οπότε είπα να ψάξω για κανένα αγγλικό βιβλίο. Κι επειδή το θέμα μας είναι το πρέσα, έπεσα κατ' ευθείαν επάνω στο βιβλίο του Curto EL PERRO DE PRESA CANARIO-ITS TRUE ORIGIN, το οποίο μπορείτε να το διαβάσετε και να το κατεβάσετε ελεύθερα εδώ : https://www.iremacurto.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/EL-PERRO-DE-PRESA-CANARIO-ITS-TRUE-ORIGIN-MANUEL-CURTÓ-GRACIA.pdf @ripper2.1 φαντάζομαι οτι το ξέρεις και το έχεις διαβάσει (αν και νομίζω οτι αν το είχες διαβάσει δεν θα ήθελες πρέσα....)
Τι μας λέει ο Κούρτο ; οτι το πρέσα που ξέρουμε σήμερα είναι μια δημιουργία γύρω στο 1980 αποκλειστικά για τα χρήματα, προϊόν διασταυρώσεων ξένων φυλών, που δεν έχει απολύτως καμία σχέση με το παλιό πρέσα, το οποίο εξαφανίστηκε. Ας το δούμε με τα δικά του λόγια, μέσω των κατωτέρω αποσπασμάτων από το παραπάνω βιβλίο του :
Dogfighting was the origin of the Presa Canario. For this reason crosses and selection was made.
The English it appears brought the dog fights to the Canary Islands, and supposedly they brought their Mastiffs,(famous in the time of Julius Caesar for their fighting abilities), Bulldogs, the fierce bullterriers (at the time capable of combatting and defeating superior sized dogs), etc. Starting from these dogs and this pastime that came from the exterior, the Presa Canario began its journey.
One of the renowned was Barreto el Viejo (Old Barreto) from La Laguna. In the Caseta de Madera (wooden house) in Santa Cruz next to the municipal slaughter house, there was a dog kennels where there were specimens of different breeds and of different owners (English Bulldog, Bullterrier, Great Dane, Majorero cattle dog, Presa, Spanish Mastiff etc.) for crossbreeding with fighting in mind. The crosses with the Great Dane didn´t have a good result so were scrapped.
And although it may seem impossible, the prohibition of dog fighting was behind the death of the Presa Canario. Of course, there were still several animals here and there, in remote places in Las Palmas and Tenerife but unappreciated. ……. Perhaps this is the most obvious reason. A canine breed can disappear in twenty years if there is no interest in it. This happened to the Presa Canario.
I am, of course talking about the true Presa Canario dog that existed in the past. Let´s be honest, and stop playing around, nobody really knows when this dog disappeared. Did it disappear at the end of the nineteenth century or the beginning of the twentieth? Nobody knows!
Clearly, the Bullmastiff are tawny or brindle, and perhaps this is the reason why these gentlemen, in partnership, constituted as a Club, say: “The Presa Canario dog should be brindle or tawny”, evidently, their dogs were born brindle and tawny, and, what is more, very similar to the Bullmastiffs. I ask myself ´Wouldn´t it have been easier to import a lot of Bullmastiffs from England and present them in Tenerife, without any crossbreeding, as Presa Canarios?´ And it´s very possible that the judges of the Spanish Canine Centre would have been none the wiser or would have turned a blind eye to satisfy the enthusiasts.
Speaking about the physical and psychological attributes of the present-day Presa Canario dogs (of the last three to four years), is there any similarity with their predecessors? No!
Can we find these characteristics in today´s Presas produced by cross-breeding? In the most part, I think not. I have trained some of these modern day Presas and there is no similarity to those characteristics that distinguished the ancient dog, the ancient breed of Presa, and that is the honest truth. The majority of canine breeds that are bred today, are done so from a commercial perspective. They are presented at shows to compete for beauty, and therefore are valued for this reason. We live in a capricious society, of fleeting fashions, lack of utility, consuming just for the pleasure of consuming. Dogs are purchased just to own a dog, or as company, or for any reason, any reason apart for being useful. Of course these dogs can´t (shouldn´t) be rustic, in any case only in appearance, not in behavior. In this society, dogs should be sociable, delicate, tame, and feminine. In the exhibitions, dogs need to have manners. One of the ways, perhaps the only way that dogs are able to learn to behave in these socioeconomic events is if they lose spirit, energy, strength, temperament. The product of these dog show animals is, are in the majority of the specimens used, to re-create the Presa Canario dog. on top of this and to make matters worse, there is no interest in the quality of the temperament.
It´s true that some of the imported Presas (Bulldog, Bullmastins, Bordeaux Dogo etc.) are fearsome, but only in appearance. And these Presa Canarios (that at the moment, I prefer to call crossbreeds, because that is their reality) are presented with the full support of the Presa Canario Club in the official canine exhibitions and other events. And why do they present them?
And what has happened? What is happening? I have already mentioned that it isn´t easy to talk, today, about the Presa Canario. The people from Gran Canaria, seeing that the Presa dog was something of the past, because there really were no existing examples, decided to cross. The truth is that they had already been doing crosses for a few years, but very discreetly and without making any noise. The positive was that it was possible to do this without any great economical effort. Gustavo Rodriguez had English and Neapolitan Mastiffs, which had been imported from England and Italy. This breeder soon got tired of these molossers – he liked the Doberman – so he sold them –before Gustavo Rodriguez, Jose Castellano imported the Neapolitan Mastiffs, – and they didn´t waste any time before crossing them, thinking in the dog-fights. Juan Santana, associate to the local Judge, Jaime de Lorenzo, benefited from a purchase. On a visit I made to Gran Canaria , I visited his kennels in the lower part of Arucas, (I was accompanied by the actual secretary of the CEPPC, Manuel Martin Bethencourt, today both of us irreconcilable). I saw some different breeds, Great Dane, English Mastiff, English Bulldog, Staffordshire Bullterrier, and a female Majorero stock dog with a brindle coat. These dogs were there to be crossed focusing on the Presa Canario.
On another visit to Gran Canaria, I saw fifty per cent crosses of Neapolitan Mastiffs, and crosses of Bullterrier, Mastiff, Majorero stock dog with Neapolitan Mastiff, of Bulldog with I don’t know what and several other crosses, without forgetting the Bullmastiff crosses. It is public knowledge that these dogs fought.
I still have several photographs taken at this concentration of dogs, that if at this time have a lot of interest, in the future they will have a lot more. The animals that I saw and photographed (with the kind authorization of their owners) were product of the before mentioned crosses, and of course there was no regularity. Some were more Neapolitan Mastiff, others more Electra de Irema Curtó. 44 Bullterrier, others more Mastiff, others more Bullmastiff and so on. That day I had a private invitation to assist a “pechada” (Canary style dog-fight) in an unknown venue, invitation which I had to decline, owing to my return flight to Tenerife which coincided with the time of the fight. In that concentration of Presas they spoke to me about Berry, the dog of Tauro, fifty per cent Neapolitan Mastiff, and also the dog of Salvador, the photographer of San José whom I already knew, also fifty percent Neapolitan Mastiff. Of course the concentration wasn´t complete without Demetrio Trujillo with some of his jet black dogs, and some old enthusiasts that are too numerous to mention.
(συνεχίζεται)
Τι μας λέει ο Κούρτο ; οτι το πρέσα που ξέρουμε σήμερα είναι μια δημιουργία γύρω στο 1980 αποκλειστικά για τα χρήματα, προϊόν διασταυρώσεων ξένων φυλών, που δεν έχει απολύτως καμία σχέση με το παλιό πρέσα, το οποίο εξαφανίστηκε. Ας το δούμε με τα δικά του λόγια, μέσω των κατωτέρω αποσπασμάτων από το παραπάνω βιβλίο του :
Dogfighting was the origin of the Presa Canario. For this reason crosses and selection was made.
The English it appears brought the dog fights to the Canary Islands, and supposedly they brought their Mastiffs,(famous in the time of Julius Caesar for their fighting abilities), Bulldogs, the fierce bullterriers (at the time capable of combatting and defeating superior sized dogs), etc. Starting from these dogs and this pastime that came from the exterior, the Presa Canario began its journey.
One of the renowned was Barreto el Viejo (Old Barreto) from La Laguna. In the Caseta de Madera (wooden house) in Santa Cruz next to the municipal slaughter house, there was a dog kennels where there were specimens of different breeds and of different owners (English Bulldog, Bullterrier, Great Dane, Majorero cattle dog, Presa, Spanish Mastiff etc.) for crossbreeding with fighting in mind. The crosses with the Great Dane didn´t have a good result so were scrapped.
And although it may seem impossible, the prohibition of dog fighting was behind the death of the Presa Canario. Of course, there were still several animals here and there, in remote places in Las Palmas and Tenerife but unappreciated. ……. Perhaps this is the most obvious reason. A canine breed can disappear in twenty years if there is no interest in it. This happened to the Presa Canario.
I am, of course talking about the true Presa Canario dog that existed in the past. Let´s be honest, and stop playing around, nobody really knows when this dog disappeared. Did it disappear at the end of the nineteenth century or the beginning of the twentieth? Nobody knows!
Clearly, the Bullmastiff are tawny or brindle, and perhaps this is the reason why these gentlemen, in partnership, constituted as a Club, say: “The Presa Canario dog should be brindle or tawny”, evidently, their dogs were born brindle and tawny, and, what is more, very similar to the Bullmastiffs. I ask myself ´Wouldn´t it have been easier to import a lot of Bullmastiffs from England and present them in Tenerife, without any crossbreeding, as Presa Canarios?´ And it´s very possible that the judges of the Spanish Canine Centre would have been none the wiser or would have turned a blind eye to satisfy the enthusiasts.
Speaking about the physical and psychological attributes of the present-day Presa Canario dogs (of the last three to four years), is there any similarity with their predecessors? No!
Can we find these characteristics in today´s Presas produced by cross-breeding? In the most part, I think not. I have trained some of these modern day Presas and there is no similarity to those characteristics that distinguished the ancient dog, the ancient breed of Presa, and that is the honest truth. The majority of canine breeds that are bred today, are done so from a commercial perspective. They are presented at shows to compete for beauty, and therefore are valued for this reason. We live in a capricious society, of fleeting fashions, lack of utility, consuming just for the pleasure of consuming. Dogs are purchased just to own a dog, or as company, or for any reason, any reason apart for being useful. Of course these dogs can´t (shouldn´t) be rustic, in any case only in appearance, not in behavior. In this society, dogs should be sociable, delicate, tame, and feminine. In the exhibitions, dogs need to have manners. One of the ways, perhaps the only way that dogs are able to learn to behave in these socioeconomic events is if they lose spirit, energy, strength, temperament. The product of these dog show animals is, are in the majority of the specimens used, to re-create the Presa Canario dog. on top of this and to make matters worse, there is no interest in the quality of the temperament.
It´s true that some of the imported Presas (Bulldog, Bullmastins, Bordeaux Dogo etc.) are fearsome, but only in appearance. And these Presa Canarios (that at the moment, I prefer to call crossbreeds, because that is their reality) are presented with the full support of the Presa Canario Club in the official canine exhibitions and other events. And why do they present them?
And what has happened? What is happening? I have already mentioned that it isn´t easy to talk, today, about the Presa Canario. The people from Gran Canaria, seeing that the Presa dog was something of the past, because there really were no existing examples, decided to cross. The truth is that they had already been doing crosses for a few years, but very discreetly and without making any noise. The positive was that it was possible to do this without any great economical effort. Gustavo Rodriguez had English and Neapolitan Mastiffs, which had been imported from England and Italy. This breeder soon got tired of these molossers – he liked the Doberman – so he sold them –before Gustavo Rodriguez, Jose Castellano imported the Neapolitan Mastiffs, – and they didn´t waste any time before crossing them, thinking in the dog-fights. Juan Santana, associate to the local Judge, Jaime de Lorenzo, benefited from a purchase. On a visit I made to Gran Canaria , I visited his kennels in the lower part of Arucas, (I was accompanied by the actual secretary of the CEPPC, Manuel Martin Bethencourt, today both of us irreconcilable). I saw some different breeds, Great Dane, English Mastiff, English Bulldog, Staffordshire Bullterrier, and a female Majorero stock dog with a brindle coat. These dogs were there to be crossed focusing on the Presa Canario.
On another visit to Gran Canaria, I saw fifty per cent crosses of Neapolitan Mastiffs, and crosses of Bullterrier, Mastiff, Majorero stock dog with Neapolitan Mastiff, of Bulldog with I don’t know what and several other crosses, without forgetting the Bullmastiff crosses. It is public knowledge that these dogs fought.
I still have several photographs taken at this concentration of dogs, that if at this time have a lot of interest, in the future they will have a lot more. The animals that I saw and photographed (with the kind authorization of their owners) were product of the before mentioned crosses, and of course there was no regularity. Some were more Neapolitan Mastiff, others more Electra de Irema Curtó. 44 Bullterrier, others more Mastiff, others more Bullmastiff and so on. That day I had a private invitation to assist a “pechada” (Canary style dog-fight) in an unknown venue, invitation which I had to decline, owing to my return flight to Tenerife which coincided with the time of the fight. In that concentration of Presas they spoke to me about Berry, the dog of Tauro, fifty per cent Neapolitan Mastiff, and also the dog of Salvador, the photographer of San José whom I already knew, also fifty percent Neapolitan Mastiff. Of course the concentration wasn´t complete without Demetrio Trujillo with some of his jet black dogs, and some old enthusiasts that are too numerous to mention.
(συνεχίζεται)
