Castle of Presa has been producing beautiful Presa Canarios for over 20 years. Their dogs have the right combination of size, strength, and athletic ability for a working Presa Canario. The Perro de Presa Canario is often referred to as the Presa Canario for short; or in the United States is known by many as the Canary Dog. In a recent interview with owner Dante, we had a chance to find out a little more about Castle of Presa. Dante, who is known in the dog world and by friends as Dee Dee, runs small Presa Canario kennel in Arizona. Castle of Presa only produces about 1-2 litters a year and is focused on producing quality Presa Canarios; for use as both family companions and protection. Dee Dee’s dogs are nothing less than impressive. It easy to see that his years of hard work and dedication have really paid off.
The Canary Islands are located in the Atlantic Ocean just off the coast of North Africa; situated only 62 miles west of Morocco. They are considered part of Spain and recognized as one of Spain’s autonomous communities. The history of the Canary Dog or Perro de Presa Canario goes back at least a few hundred years or more in the Canary Islands; when written history discusses Spanish butchers and ranchers using working dogs there to fend off wild predators and guard the estate.
Some historians believe that their history dates back to the original dogs of the Canary Islands that existed prior to the arrival of the Spaniards. This pre-Hispanic breed was given the name Majorero or Bardino Majorero by the Spanish. There are many breeds rumored to have played a part in the creation of this Perro de Presa Canario breed, most of the dogs brought by early Spanish settlers are believed to have been of mastiff or mastiff-type stock. This may have included various mastiff or mastiff-type breeds already existing in Spain; including the Alano Español (Spanish Alaunt) as well. It is said that the early working dogs brought by the Spanish were mixed with the Perro Majorero.
Many historians believe that later in the development of the Presa Canario, English breeds were introduced into their bloodlines; such as English Mastiffs, Bullmastiffs, Old English Bulldogs, and early Bull-and-Terriers. The Bull-and-Terrier was a cross between an Old English Bulldogs and an Old English Terrier and was the predecessor to breeds like: the English Bull Terrier, American Pit Bull Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, and many more. This topic is of great debate and even the experts disagree on the exact breeds used to create this Spanish powerhouse. What we do know is that, the modern Presa Canario descended mostly or entirely from the working dogs introduced to the Canary Islands by European settlers.
The Perro de Presa Canario (Canary Dog) we know today, was revived by a group of breeders that kept it from going into extinction back in the 1970s. By the early 1980s the breed had made a full blown revival thanks to their efforts. American writer and anthropologist Dr. Carl Semencic is known for popularizing this breed and other lesser known breeds through his books in the latter part of the 20th century. Like many others in the United States, I first learned about this breed in a book written by Dr. Carl Semencic.
Dante “Dee Dee” moved to the United States about 35 years ago in search of freedom; leaving behind the Soviet controlled Czech Republic of that time period. He first gained experience in professional dog training in the Czech Republic with his German Schnauzer and titled him in Schutzhund 1. Then he went on to title his girlfriend’s German Shepherd in Schutzhund 1 as well. After titling these two dogs they decided to move to Austria and shortly after to California to seek new adventure in the United States.
After moving to California he got another German Shepherd and titled that dog in Schutzhund 1 as well. During this same time period he had a second German Shepherd Dog that he was training for the police department. It was around 20 years ago that Dee Dee moved to Arizona and got involved with the Perro de Presa Canario breed (Canary Dogs). He says it all started with a Sharpei that he rescued. She was abandoned and in bad shape, but he brought her home and took her in. Using his professional experience, he quickly started her training program; which included training her for protection. He gave her the name Sharpee.
Sharpee made a great protection dog, but she was only about 45lbs. Dee Dee really liked the look of Sharpee and wondered what other breeds might have a similar look, but in a bigger frame. So he started researching. After spending some time on the internet, he came across the Perro de Presa Canario and fell in love. This breed had the look he was interested in, but also had the size he was searching for in an ideal protection dog. He says he wanted a breed large enough to easily take down a 300lb intruder.
So Dee Dee began his search for his first set of Presa Canarios (Canary Dogs). He found a breeder in mainland Spain and imported some dogs. The first set of dogs he imported suffered from a lot of health problems. So he decided to go back to the drawing board and started searching for quality breeders located in the Canary Islands to get them right from the source. He found one of the original Canary Dog breeders located in the Canary Islands and immediately purchased three quality dogs. He imported a female that was about three years old and two male puppies. Dee Dee said the adult female alone was about 20,000 dollars, but that she was worth every penny. Dee Dee says that her first litter was “the best of the best.”
Dee Dee likes to refer to himself as a “hobby” breeder and says he does not do this for the money. So he only produces about one litter a year on average and has done so for the last 20 years. He usually only has 6-10 dogs at a time. For example he says he generally has one breeding female, one stud, a couple new prospects, and one to three rescue dogs at any given time. Dee Dee rescues a lot of Presa Canarios and German Shepherd Dogs and retrains them to placed in new homes. The original owners of these dogs were not equipped to handle large breeds like this, so Dee Dee steps in to save these dogs for being euthanized. Dante does his part in helping rescue as many of these beautiful dogs as he can. This is very important to him. You can easily tell by having a simple conversation with him, that he takes a lot of pride in what he does. Castle of Presa takes great care of all of their dogs. He only feeds his dogs raw meat, fresh vegetables, and human grade supplements. Dee Dee says that his ideal male is around 125 lbs and 110 for a female. He says this is an ideal weight for a protection dog. He professionally trains his Presa Canarios for protection.
Dee Dee calls his training style “REAL” Protection. He trains all of his dogs not only to attack a sleeve or other training object on command, but also how to perform in a real world scenario where these items are not present. Through the use of special training techniques he teaches them to differentiate between biting an object like a sleeve, and biting an arm. Dante tells us that in the industry the term for this is “civil biter” and that his dogs are all trained “civil biters.” He gave us an example of a case where a police dog had been trained to attack and hold, but held onto a fugitive’s backpack while letting him get away. He said that the dog in this case was trained to bite objects like a training sleeve and it did not realize that it had to keep not only the sleeve, but the person in it as well.
Dee Dee says he employs diverse training tactics that help minimize and prevent issues like these from happening out in the field; ensuring better performance in real world situations. Dee Dee loves guard dogs and enjoys hearing about how his dogs have impacted the lives of others. He has multiple people over the years that have reached out to let him know how owning one of his dogs has really put their minds at ease. One in particular told him that for the first time in years she finally felt safe. Another one of his dogs, a dog named Arain in Finland, saved one of his owner from an intruder that broke in with a knife. His dogs have helped a lot of people in many different ways. Dee Dee says hearing things like this make it all worthwhile.
Castle of Presa produces high quality Perro de Presa Canario puppies. Dee Dee also raises German Shepherd Dogs that he is importing from the Czech Republic. Czech German Shepherds are some of the most highly regarded protection dogs on the planet. He is importing both puppies and trained Czech German Shepherd Dogs. If you are interested in learning more about them you can contact Dee Dee through his website on castleofpresa.com (for Presa Canarios), czech-k9.com (for German Shepherd Dogs), or by phone at 480-335-7150. See additional photos below.
