Terceira Cattle Dog
(Barbado da Terceira)
TRANSLATION: Carla Cruz., Kennel Aradik

ORIGIN: Teceira Island – Azores – Portugal.

UTILIZATION: Cattle conducting dog by excellence, very agile and lively, herds and gathers cattle with great ease, also being used in handling wild cattle. It is also very efficiently used as a guard dog. Due to its pleasant character and ease of train it is also a good companion dog.

CLASSIFICATION: Group 1 Sheepdogs and Cattle Dogs (except Swiss Cattle Dogs).

BRIEF HISTORICAL SUMMARY: With the beginning of settlement in the Azores islands, it was necessary to control and gather several species of introduced cattle.
Several types of dogs, some of which used in the mainland to handle cattle, shoould have arrived to the Azores by then.
The “Barbado” probably evolved from dogs used in gathering wild cattle brought by the settlers since the 15th century. It should be kept in mind that over the next centuries many people travelling with their dogs through the islands will have decisively influenced the present Barbado.

GENERAL APPEARANCE: Rustic, with a strong and well muscled body, covered with long, abundant and wavy hair.

IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS: Sub-longilinear (sub-dolicomorph), with body
length slightly superior than height at the withers. Skull length is slightly superior than muzzle length.

BEHAVIOUR / TEMPERAMENT: Loyal companion to its owner, intelligent, easy to teach, joyful, docile and wilful.

HEAD: Strong, proportional to the body. Parallel longitudinal superior cranium-facial axes. Skull length is slightly superior to muzzle length.

CRANIAL REGION:
Skull: Medium sized, slightly curved. The frontal furrow begins approximately at the posterior third of the muzzle, continuing to half the skull. Inconspicuous supraciliary arches. Pronounced occipital protuberance.
Stop: Barely defined.

FACIAL REGION:
Nose: Large, cubical, straight. Well pigmented, black, brown admissible in yellow and whitish coats.
Muzzle: Strong, cylindrical and straight at the nasal bridge. It is wide with parallel lateral faces. Well developed jaws.
Lips: Firm, thick and well pigmented. Unapparent commissure.
Teeth: Strong, solid, well developed canines. Scissors or level bite.
Cheeks: Lean with tight skin.
Eyes: Medium sized, semi-frontal position, horizontal, oval shaped, expressive and intelligent. Honey to dark brown in colour. Well pigmented lids.
Ears: Medium to high set, triangular, medium sized. Hanging, folded and hairy. They are very mobile and when attentive raise at the base and fold forward.

NECK: Medium sized, strong and well muscled. Well set into the shoulders, carrying the head with dignity.

BODY:
Top line: Straight and horizontal.
Withers: Wide, conferring a good connection between the neck line and the top line.
Back: Wide, flexible and well muscled.
Loin: Short and well set into the croup.
Croup: Robust and slightly sloping.
Chest: Wide and deep, reaching the elbows. Well sprung ribs, with good thoracic capacity.
Bottom line and belly: Uprising, with slightly tucked in belly.

TAIL: Medium to low set. Docked by the third vertebra or entire of medium size, without reaching below the hock. At rest hangs and curves at the inferior tip. Anurous is admissible.

LIMBS:
FOREQUARTERS: Vertical with broad bones, well muscled and upright.
Shoulder: Well developed and slant.
Scapula-humerus angle: Open.
Upper arm: Strong, with elbows close to the body
Forearm: Vertical.
Carpus (Pastern joint): Strong.
Metacarpus (Pastern): Slightly sloping.
Forefeet: Big and oval with well arched toes and thick and hard pads. Strong nails.

HINDQUARTERS: Robust and well muscled. Good angulations, providing good propulsion.
Thigh: Well developed and well muscled.
Legs: Long. Well developed.
Stifle joint: Closed.
Hock: Strong.
Metatarsus: Strong, almost vertical, short.
Hind feet: Oval, tight and arched toes with not very pronounced toe web, may have dewclaws.

GAIT/MOVEMENT: Agile movement with good propulsion, allowing sudden changes in direction and transition between gaits. Slightly ambling walk, swift trot with good reach and suspension. The gallop is energetic and fast.

SKIN: Thin, pigmented, tight.

COAT: Long, dense, slightly wavy, neither straight nor curled, with abundant undercoat all over the body. Work clipping is admissible, shortening the coat evenly, and should be used in conformation dog shows.
HAIR: Strong, slightly thick but not harsh. Dense in the whole head, muzzle and over the eyes, covering them. Abundant in the jaws, forming the beards that give the breed its name. In the limbs the hairs is dense, including between the toes. Abundant in the tail down to the tip.
COLOUR: Yellow, grey, black, fawn and wolf grey in the pale, common and dark shades. Can have white patches in the hands and/or feet, pectoral, throat, neck (forming a collar), chest, belly and tip of tail.

HEIGHT AND WEIGHT:
Height at the withers:         Males: 52-58 cm.
                                            Females: 48-54 cm.
Weight:                               Males: 25-30 Kg.
                                            Females: 21-26 Kg.

FAULTS: Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree.

SERIOUS FAULTS:
• Behaviour – Shyness and aggressiveness.
• Nose – Marbled.
• Muzzle – Pointed and narrow.
• Coat – Soft and without undercoat. White patches outside the limits set by thestandard.
• Height – Excessive (over 60 cm) or too low (under 48 cm).
• Movements – Without reach and propulsion.

ELIMINATING FAULTS
• Jaws – Undershot or overshot.
• Eyes – Total or partially blue.
• Coat – Brown or merle.

Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified.
N.B.: Males animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
This standard is provisional for five years after its approval.