At just 10 months old, Naila is already making an impression. She is light brown in color, she weighs 52 kilos and has a stocky, muscular demeanor. Of course, she goes from here to there wagging her tail with a nobility and kindness that do not match her size. This female Presa Canaria, a native breed of the Archipelago, vhas succeeded at the World Dog Show Madrid 2022. There, at an internationally renowned dog show, she was awarded the title of world’s best puppy promise. Completely oblivious to success, Naila only thinks of playing with whatever is put in front of her, especially with a piece of rope that she loves to nibble on and that serves as a lure so that she fixes her gaze and can be photographed.
Naila comes from one of the Canarian dam farms with more tradition of the thirty that exist in the Archipelago: Crisdoco, in the Tenerife municipality of Tegueste. Located in the rural town of Pedro Álvarez, it is run by a family that is key to the preservation of this unique breed on the planet: the Santanas. Crisdoco has achieved national and international success, before and after Naila, in the breeding of Presa Canarios with titles such as Junior World Champion at the World Dog Show 2011 or Adult World Champion in 2015 with two other specimens from his litters.
Crisdoco’s last victory is very recent, from this weekend. Benijo de Eterna Primavera, a brindle dam, won the Canary Islands championship by best adult specimen. He achieved the second best score in the exhibition held in Arrecife (Lanzarote) but was the best in the overall calculation of the 11 tests held this season of the Canary Islands Championship, with which the Canarian Association of Breeders of Presa Canario, the Royal Society Canina and the Dogo Canario Club of America. The tests were held in different municipalities of Tenerife, La Palma and Gran Canaria.
congratulations from the mayor
Naila’s award in Madrid had repercussions in Tegueste. He starred in an official statement from the mayor, Ana Rosa Mena. “On behalf of the Tegueste City Council, I congratulate Cristo Javier Santana Díaz and the entire family behind Crisdoco for thisnew title that reflects the good work they have been doing for more than 20 years», the councilor pointed out. The note is accompanied by a photo in which the mayor poses with Naila herself and those responsible for Crisdoco: the aforementioned Cristo Javier Santana, his wife Jennifer Prior López, his father Domingo Santana and his mother Conchi Díaz .
In that photo also appears Acorán, the son of Christ and Jennifer, who already as a child has become accustomed to moving among these dogs. It is the future of several generations of Santana. They have the kennel in the same family home as Pedro Álvarez, where the dogs move freely through the gardens. His life revolves around these huge dogs, so much so that even Christ and Jennifer met thanks to them. Jennifer had a farm for Presa Canarios in Barcelona, which was opened by her father, a lover of these animals. She coincided in various dog shows with Christ and quickly met him by sharing the passion for the Presa Canario breed. After initiating the relationship with Christ, Jennifer joined the Santanas and is now one more Teguestera.
a dozen copies
Right now, Crisdoco cares for a dozen canary dams, some brindle, some jet black, some light brown like Naila. Cristo and Jennifer use Canarian names of people or places, many of Guanche origin: Benijo, Anaqua, Taifa, Jarea, Guacimara… And if Naila weighs 52 kilos when she is still a puppy, adult males can exceed 75 kilos perfectly and 63 centimeters tall. “Every time we go to dog shows, a lot of people stop at our Presa Canarios. It is a highly valued breed throughout the world. And there are specimens scattered all over the planet. This is what Cristo Santana tells us, who clarifies that “they are surprised, above all, by the size of the specimens.”
The Santana’s dogs have attracted attention at shows held in the United States, Italy, England, Ireland, Sweden, all regions of Spain… And there are specimens of this and other breeders of Canary Islands all over the world. What is the most striking thing about this breed? «The bearing, the muscles, the head, the different shades of the hair… But, apart from the physical characteristics, there is the nobility of these dogs. Despite the size, they are good, very sociable. Look how they play with the child without the slightest inconvenience… », details Cristo, who answers affirmatively when asked if you can caress the specimens that run around in the Crisdoco gardens.
The origin of the Perro Presa Canario has been linked to the name of the Islands, although without certainty. These investigations point to the dogs that would inhabit the Islands when King Juba II of Mauritania arrived (52 BC-23 AD). The presence of these dogs would have caught the attention of the settlers, who decided to baptize the Atlantic islands as “Insulare Canaria”, or what is the same, “Islands of Dogs”. Another theory focuses on other animals, sea lions, as the origin of the name. This hypothesis is based on the fact that at the end of the 1st century BC, in an expedition sent by Juba II of Mauritania himself, the explorers found a large colony of sea dogs or monk seals, which led them to baptize the island as “Canary”. It would have been a mistranslation of the chronicle of that voyage that would have led to the misinterpretation of these “sea dogs” as dogs.
Whether one or the other the origin, what is known with certainty, as a result of writings by the Castilian conquerors, is that there was a presa dog in the Archipelago that It was used as a guard and driver of cattle. This breed was mixed with other comings from the Iberian Peninsula – from the Spanish Presa family – and later with the traditional English fighting dogs such as the bullterrier and the bulldog. It was when the Presa Canario began to be used in dog fights that the English brought to the Islands. There is also crossbreeding with the Presa Majorero or Bardino, also originally from the Canary Islands, from which it inherits the type and color of hair, part of the expression and the ability to care for cattle. With the prohibition of these fights in the Islands in the 60s of the last century, a point was reached where this breed almost became extinct, but from the 70s onwards its recovery began.
Breeders’ work
The fact that today the breed is out of danger and in clear progress is due to breeders like the Santana de Tegueste. And that taking care of them is not easy. A male, for example, eats at least a kilo of feed a day. In addition, they are given training to, for example, maintain their composure in exhibitions. «Thanks to the work of people like my father, today we can say that the Presa Canario breed has a guaranteed future», emphasizes Cristo Santana, who adds: «We give them a lot of care. If we are at home, we always have them loose. Right now, we only cross them with other Presa Canarios to maintain the pedigree, the seal of authenticity of the dogs, let’s say.”
The father of Christ, Domingo Santana, 65, has spent his whole life among Presa Canarios. «I have raised so many that I no longer remember how many there are. Eight litters maybe… I don’t know. The truth is that he was already among Presa Canarios since he was 3 years old. And I love them from the first moment I saw them because of their beauty, how affectionate and noble they are, their cunning… At this point I don’t consider living without these dogs around me », he explains. His wife, Conchi, who also grew up among dogs, came to feel the passion for Presa Canarios when she married Domingo. «They are spectacular dogs, very loving. They have shiny hair, they are strong but docile and faithful. They are the ones who choose their owner from among the people who care for them. Everywhere you take them, they shine with their own light and receive compliments from all over the world”, says Conchi Díaz. They have achieved so much prestige that a puppy with the presa canario pedigree certificate is highly valued on the market.
Everything “in order”
The Law of Protection, Rights and Welfare of Animals, which will come into force in the coming months in Spain, is going to bring changes that have generated unease in breeders like this saga of the Santana. The rule prohibits the commercialization of dogs, cats and ferrets in pet stores, as well as their display and exposure to the public for commercial purposes. Cristo Santana, in any case, claims to be “calm” by the fact of “having completely in order” his Crisdoco kennel. “We are registered with the Government of the Canary Islands and we have all the permits to carry out our activity. As for the breeding, we will not have any problem. But complications can arise in other matters. We will see how the entry into force of the Law goes.
One of the inconveniences that they face, aside from this new law, is the displacement of dogs to local, national and international exhibitions. Most airlines ban brachycephalic dogs and cats on their planes, that is, those with an excessively short, flat snout and a proportionally very wide head. And the Presa Canario is considered brachycephalic. There are few companies that allow them. And if they do, breeders say they put a lot of problems. On the 4th, Pedro Martín, president of the Cabildo de Tenerife, conveyed to Iberia the demand from breeders such as the Santanas and fans of Presa Canarios dogs to study the possibility of making the rules more flexible and admitting these specimens into the cellar.
