Estrela Mountain Dog: Livestock Guardian Dog Breed

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When looking at buying livestock guardian dogs for my small ranch, I took a serious interest in the Estrela Mountain Dog breed. I was immediately struck by their loyalty, bravery, and beauty, and I wondered…

Does the Estrela Mountain Dog make a good livestock guardian? Yes, the dogs can make excellent livestock guardians as they have been bred for this job for centuries and perhaps as early as ancient times. They have been particularly successful against wolves.

Does the Estrela Mountain Dog make a good pet? Yes, the dogs make excellent pets for families who are prepared to handle large, powerful animals who need lots of exercise and lots of training. People interested in these dogs as pets should also realize that they shed a lot, may bark frequently, and have a tendency to escape yards.

After a lot of research, I decided that the Estrela Mountain Dog, impressive as she is, wasn’t quite right for my needs. These dogs roam more than I would like, but the biggest reason is because so many of them have been bred as pets, I worry that a lot of them may be happier with humans to protect rather than livestock. For me, it’s important to give my animals the best lives possible, so if I bought dogs who would rather be with me than the livestock, well, I’d have to let them be with me! And believe me, I don’t need anymore animals in my house.

Regardless of my concerns, many ranchers have had a lot of success with Estrela Mountain Dogs as livestock guardians. Read on, and you may find they are the perfect breed for you!

For information on how to train livestock guardian dog breeds with positive methods, check out a review on my favorite training program here.

Other Names: Cão da Serra da Estrela, Berger da Serra da Estrela, Portuguese Sheepdog

Estrela Mountain Dog at a Glance

Estrela Mountain Dog Personality/Temperament

Estrela Mountain Dog Livestock Guardian Traits

Estrela Mountain Dogs are known for being brave, bold, and fierce toward threats. Their first warning to predators is loud and formidable barking, followed by posturing and chasing. They only attack as a last resort. The dogs have loose skin and a thick neck ruff to help protect them in fights with predators.

They are very strong and athletic animals. They don’t hesitate to climb or leap over very tall fences to chase or investigate any potential threat. They are very active as puppies, but they calm down considerably as adults.

Estrela Mountain Dogs are known to be incredibly loyal, affectionate, and loving towards their owners, but are very uncomfortable around strangers. They can be aggressive to humans they view as intruders, and they also can be aggressive with other dogs. They require socialization to overcome these tendencies, preferably as puppies.

Compared with other livestock guardian dog breeds, Estrela Mountain Dogs are considered less reactive (despite their suspicion of strangers) and more dependent on human interaction and attention.

Whereas the long-haired variety of the Estrela Mountain dog has been imported into the United States, the short-haired variety is rarely found outside of Portugal. The short-haired dogs do better in hotter and more humid climates than most livestock guardian dog breeds. They would make ideal working dogs in many regions of the U.S. if they were imported here. The short-haired dogs also do very well in winter. They tend to stay drier than the long-haired variety and they don’t get chunks of snow stuck to their fur.

In the book, Brave and Loyal: An Illustrated Celebration of Livestock Guardian Dogs (Amazon link), Cat Urbigkit wrote about her travels to Portugal and Spain to learn about the native livestock guardian dogs. She tells of conversations with locals who were worried that the Estrela Mountain Dogs were being bred to lose their working characteristics. They were concerned the dogs were instead being bred to be good pets and show dogs. Writer Carla Cruz, in her article, “The Estrela Mountain Dog – A Portuguese Icon,” similarly writes that Portuguese shepherds told her that only the short-haired variety of dog was good for guarding flocks.

As far as I can tell, the short-haired variety of dog is not available in the U.S. anywhere. However, some ranchers are successfully using the long-haired variety to guard their flocks.

If you are thinking of getting Estrela Mountain Dogs for livestock guardian purposes, you may also be interested in:

Estrela Mountain Dog Pet Traits

Estrela Mountain Dogs are commonly kept as pets, but their working dog heritage can sometimes cause problems for inexperienced dog owners in urban environments. The dogs may bark loudly and (in the urban owner’s opinion) excessively at any unknown sound or disturbance. This may especially be a problem for those living in apartment complexes or with neighbors nearby.

Estrela Mountain Dogs are often given the title of “escape artists” as they can jump and climb high fences, dig underneath them, and even run straight through many of them. Urban dwellers will need to build very tall and strong fences to contain them, and they will need to take measures to prevent the dogs from digging underneath them. For ideas on how to do this, check out my article, How to Keep Your Estrela Mountain Dog in the Yard or Pasture.

Estrela Mountain Dogs need a lot of exercise, so if they are living in an urban environment, they will need long walks or jogs with their owners. Without enough exercise, they may become anxious in the house and destructive.

The dogs also shed significantly. Owners have reported they constantly find the dogs’ hair on furniture, carpet, and, well, pretty much everything. This can be particularly difficult for anyone with allergies. Frequent brushing can help this some – see below for grooming advice.

The dogs may be aggressive toward strangers and other dogs, and so socialization is very important. This should be done when they are puppies if possible. Additionally, some of these dogs become so attached to their human families that separation anxiety becomes a serious problem. They may require some training and a lot of patience to overcome this.

Although many challenges come with owning Estrela Mountain Dogs as pets, the animals can make perfect companions for the right families. They bond very strongly to their owners and they are generally very good with children. Because, like all livestock guardian breeds, they are strong, independent thinkers, many people believe the dogs are too stubborn for training. They do require more time, work, and patience in training than many other breeds, but training is certainly possible. See the video below to see a professional trainer successfully working with an Estrela Mountain Dog:

For help with obedience training using positive methods, I highly recommend the online program, Brain Training for Dogs (affiliate link). For a thorough review of what the program includes, the things I love about it, and the things I dislike about it, see my review article here.

If you are thinking of getting an Estrela Mountain Dog as a pet, you may also be interested in:

Estrela Mountain Dog Livestock Guardian History

Place of Origin: Estrela Mountains, Central Portugal

Traditional Livestock Guarded: Sheep and goats

Traditional Predators: Iberian Wolves, bear, and lynx

Estrela Mountain Dog Livestock Guardian Lifestyle

For centuries and perhaps even millennia, Estrela Mountain Dogs guarded sheep on the rugged, high elevation pastures of the Serra de Estrela (Star Mountains) in the summer months. These mountains are the highest mountains in mainland Portugal at 1.2 miles high. They are also the southernmost mountains of the great Iberian mountain ranges.

Due to the heavy snow load and harsh weather in the Estrela Mountains during the cooler seasons, the dogs and flocks moved to lower elevation pastures for the fall through spring seasons. The lower elevation pastures provided much better shelter from the elements.

The dogs typically spent their days with the sheep and shepherds, although occasionally they were left alone with the flock without shepherds. They spent the evenings safely confined in fenced areas, often with the sheep. The dogs were used in this manner for centuries or more, but they began to lose favor as working dogs in the 1800s and their numbers dwindled.

In more recent years, the Iberian wolf conservation group, Grupo Lobo, has reintroduced the short-haired variety of the breed to livestock ranchers. These dogs have helped greatly to protect Portuguese flocks and therefore are helping in the efforts to save the Iberian wolves from extinction.

Estrela Mountain Dog Additional History

In the 1800s, Portuguese aristocrats obtained Estrela Mountain Dogs to use as guard dogs for their large country estates. In these cases, the dogs were guarding against human intruders. These dogs were much better fed and likely living in better conditions than many of the working dogs. They, therefore, slowly grew to larger sizes. The modern breed comes mainly from these larger sized estate dogs.

In Lisbon in 1908, Estrela Mountain Dogs were first entered in informal shows, called consursos. In these shows, the dogs performed working trials with their shepherds. They were judged on their behavior toward sheep and their ability to assemble strays while the shepherd relocated the flock.

By the 1930s, Estrela Mountain Dogs had gained popularity in Portugal, and their numbers increased. The first breed standard was documented in 1930 or 1933 (sources vary), although shepherds ignored the standards. Some began a practice of crossing Estrela Mountain Dogs with German Shepherds, but this practice fell out of favor.

Unfortunately, the dogs’ popularity didn’t last through the twentieth century. Estrela Mountain Dog numbers were so low in the 1970s that extinction seemed imminent. After the Portuguese revolution in 1974, however, the breed gained popularity once again. Many dogs were exported to other countries, including Great Britain and the United States.

There are many breed clubs for Estrela Mountain Dogs. The United Kingdom established a breed club in 1972 and North America established a breed club in 2001.

Other Estrela Mountain Dog Jobs

Estrela Mountain Dogs have been and are being used for many other purposes than as livestock guardians, pets, and show dogs. The dogs have been used as:

House and Property guardians
Cart dogs, typically hauling dairy products
Hunting dogs
Police dogs
Military dogs for the Portuguese armed forces

Estrela Mountain Dog Appearance

Estrela Mountain Dog Size

Height: 24-30 inches (male), 23-29 inches (female)

Weight: 80-115 lbs (males), 66-99 lbs (females); some mountain-types in Portugal weigh up to 132 pounds

For more on LGD breed sizes, check out my article, Livestock Guardian Dog Sizes.

Estrela Mountain Dog Colors

Estrela Mountain Dogs come in a variety of colors, including yellow, fawn, wolf-grey, dark mahogany, and brindle. They usually have black shadings and a dark face mask. The dogs may have white patches on their chests, underbellies, feet and tails. They may be solid-colored, but if they are solid black, white, or pinto, they are unacceptable by breed standards.

Many of the short-haired variety of Estrela Mountain dogs are brindle. This pattern is generally favored by Portuguese shepherds because it helps camouflage the dogs against the common landscape background of granite, vegetation, and dark goats. This camouflage is viewed as one of the dogs’ advantages against predators. The dogs bark fearsomely at the predator, but the predator can’t see exactly where the dogs are at. This may provide yet another deterrent to the predator for approaching the livestock.

Estrela Mountain Dog Coat

Estrela Mountain Dogs come in two coat varieties: long-haired and short-haired. Both varieties are double coated with both an outer rough fur texture that protects the dog against harsh weather, and also a soft undercoat. The long-haired variety is more common. It has a coat that is medium to long in length. The hair is straight or wavy. It is dense and coarse in texture.

The short-haired variety tend to be working dogs that live in the mountains. They are almost exclusively found in Portugal. They tend to be bred separately from the long-haired variety, and they are starting to develop differences in their looks.

Estrela Mountain Dog Head

Estrela Mountain Dogs have a broad skull, long snout, and a thick ruff around their necks. They have small ears that droop and are held close to the head. They have black noses, mouths, and eyelids. Their eyes are amber in color and oval-shaped.

Estrela Mountain Dog Body

Estrela Mountain Dogs tend to be very muscular and have broad chests. Some have dewlaps.

Estrela Mountain Dog Tail

Estrela Mountain Dogs have tails that are long and bushy. The end of the tail has a small hook shape. The dogs hold their tails at a horizontal level when they are alert. The tail is otherwise carried low.

Estrela Mountain Dog Grooming

The Estrela Mountain Dog is not as difficult to groom as some other livestock guardian dogs, but the coat does require some maintenance. Regular grooming will also help to decrease shedding for those families who keep the dogs indoors.

The short-haired variety may need to be brushed only once a week. Really, even if these dogs weren’t brushed at all, their coats would likely be fine. If you don’t brush them weekly, do make sure to at least fully examine them. Look for ticks, fleas, stickers, or anything out of the ordinary.

The long-haired variety will likely need to be brushed once a week, even if kept outdoors. This prevents tangling and matting of the fur. If your dog’s long hair doesn’t get tangled or matted, then brushing is much less important. You could get away with not brushing them at all, although your dogs will appreciate your help with removing their heavily shedding undercoats in the spring and autumn.

For everything you could ever want to know about grooming Estrela Mountain Dogs, check out my guide, Grooming Estrela Mountain Dogs: The Ultimate Guide.

Estrela Mountain Dog Diet/Eating Habits

The amount of calories Estrela Mountain Dogs need varies largely depending on the size of the dogs and the level of their activity. Males may need anywhere between 1925 and 4860 calories per day, whereas females may need fewer, ranging between 1665 and 4345 calories. The large mountain-type male (which I don’t think is available in the U.S.) may need up to 5390 calories! See the table below for more specific estimates:

Keep an eye on your Estrela Mountain Dogs’ weights and be careful not to overfeed them. These dogs were raised on marginal diets, mainly on shepherd’s leftover scraps, for at least centuries. They now are at a risk of fast weight gain and obesity.

For advice on how to properly feed your Estrela Mountain Dog, check out these resources:

Estrela Mountain Dogs Lifespan and Age to Maturity

The lifespan for Estrela Mountain Dogs is most often recorded as 10-12 years, but sources go as low as 8 years and as high as 16 years. The shorter lifespan of 8 years likely applies to dogs working in harsh conditions.

Estrela Mountain Dogs reach adult size by about 18 months, although they tend to take about two years to reach full maturity, sometimes longer. Carla Cruz writes in “The Estrela Mountain Dog – A Portuguese Icon” that shepherds in the Portuguese mountains told her “the dog is 3 years a puppy, 3 years a dog and 3 years a glutton.”

Below is a cute lifespan video from YouTube showing photos of one man’s Estrela Mountain Dog from puppy to adulthood:

For more information on livestock guardian dog lifespans, what to expect from puppies, and how to care for older dogs, see my article, What is the Lifespan of a Livestock Guardian Dog.

Estrela Mountain Dog Cost

Estrela Mountain Dogs tend to run around $1500 to $2000 in the United States. They are a somewhat rare breed in this country. Some ranchers opt to import the dogs from Portugal. Estrela Mountain crosses cost considerably less.

If you are interested in adopting an Estrela Mountain Dog from a rescue, check out my article, Rescue Livestock Guardian Dogs – Should You Get One?

Estrela Mountain Dog Health Problems

Health problems include:

Weight problems: Because the dogs were bred through the ages to survive on marginal diets, they are now prone to weight problems in our modern world. Be sure to monitor their weight and not to overfeed them.
Hip and elbow displasia: a typical problem in large dog breeds

Livestock Guardian Dog Breeds Similar to Estrela Mountain Dogs

The Estrela Mountain dog has many similarities to the the Sarplaninac. The major difference between them is that the Estrela Mountain Dog is larger. The Estrela Mountain Dog is also similar to another Portuguese working dog breed, the Rafeiro de Alentejo.

They also share similarities with Spanish Mastiffs. Both dogs have fearsome barks, a relaxed demeanor as adults, and tend to guard their herds more closely (rather than constantly out on perimeter controls). Estrela Mountain Dogs, Rafeiro de Alentejos, and Spanish Mastiffs are all thought to have come from ancient dogs that originally came to Spain from the Middle East with the Phoenicians.

For more information on the Sarplaniac and the Spanish Mastiff, see my articles, Sarplaninac: Livestock Guardian Dog Breed and Spanish Mastiff: Livestock Guardian Dog Breed.

Estrela Mountain Dog Breeding

“If you start trying when she is just… two, you may get her mated by the time she is three and a half.”

Roger F. Pye, breeder and author, quoted in The Atlas of Dog Breeds of the World

Estrela Mountain Dogs are notoriously difficult to breed. Many females simply do not want to breed and won’t accept male advances. Patience is required for those interested in breeding them.

Estrela Mountain Dog Breeders

Estrela Mountain Dog breeders are very difficult to find in the U.S., but there are at least a couple. You may want to check out the website for Misty Mountain Estrelas. This breeder is located in North Carolina. She breeds dogs both for pets and as working animals, and she uses positive training methods.

This breeder sometimes sells littermates to farms needing multiple working dogs, and she has had good outcomes with this practice. For more information on littermates and the concern of “Littermate Syndrome,” see my article, Male or Female Livestock Guardian Dogs: Which Is Better for Your Needs.

For Love of Livestock