Argentine Dogo Information & Dog Breed Facts

The Dogo Argentino, as its name already suggests, can trace its origins back to Cordoba, in the Central part of Argentina. The development process of the breed is pleasingly easy to trace back, thanks to the documentation and records about the breed’s evolution.

The Argentine Dogo was created in 1928, by a doctor and breeder named Dr. Antonio Nores Martinez. The breed is a direct descendant of the now-extinct Cordoba Fighting Dog, which was developed from Bull and Mastiff-type breeds. The breeder’s work was based on the methodical cross-breeding of multiple purebreds with the long-existing Cordoba Fighting Dog. Dr. Martinez crossed the Cordoba Fighting Dog with other breeds, with the intention of developing a new breed that is as courageous and strong as the Cordoba Fighting Dog, while being superior in almost every other sense, and being less aggressive than its predecessors. He used a huge variety of breeds, as the DNA base for the Argentine Dogo, and he never failed to document each mating process. The Irish Wolfhound provided stature, the Great Dane was included to add jaw strength and height, the English Bulldog and the Bull Terrier provided the boldness and pluck, the Boxer was added to provide good nature and faithfulness, the Dogue de Bordeaux was introduced for its large head, the Great Pyrenees was added to obtain the homogenous white color, and the Spanish Mastiff was introduced because of its robust physique. After a thorough behavioural and character selection, throughout different generations, Dr. Martinez achieved the goal he set out, when the first litter of Argentine Dogo was born.

The Argentine Dogo was fully established in 1947. In the same year, Dr. Martinez entered into a fight with a boar and a cougar, in which the dog had won. For the reason that the tournament was filmed, the dogs’ notoriety ensured their popularity in their native country, Argentina, as well as in other South-American countries. Their popularity grew, even more, when people started to realize that Dr. Martinez has managed to develop a trustworthy, loyal companion with a muscular built and a strong prey drive, which is a perfect fit for all kinds of hunting in the rugged environment of Argentina. The Argentine Kennel Club recognized the breed in 1964, thus the Argentine Dogo’s international popularity began to grow. The FCI (Fédération Internationale Cynologique) registered the Argentine Dogo in 1973, as the first and only dog breed that is indigenous to Argentina. However, the AKC gave the breed recognition much later, in 2000.

The Argentine Dogo is an incredibly versatile breed, nowadays they both fulfill their initial role as a hunting companion and guarding dog, and also, they are kept as family pets. Many of the breed’s specimens are employed by the military as personal protection, search and rescue dogs, but the breed also can be seen alongside physically disabled or blind people, as therapy or helping dogs. Even though the breed has many advocates, it is banned in several countries including Norway, the UK, and Australia, because of their reputation of being aggressive towards animals and humans, thus being a potentially deadly risk for all. This was a controversial decision in every country, many critics claimed that the breed is rarely aggressive, if taught and socialized adequately from a very young age.