Dogo Cubano Information & Dog Breed Facts

The Dogo Cubano also referred to as the Cuban Mastiff, is considered to be a now-extinct Molosser-type of dog breed. There are many different stories that evolved around the breed’s true history and ancestry during the centuries.

According to some statements, the Mastiff group was the direct descendant of the Alaunt, which is thought to be originated from the Caucasus Mountains, and which lived with and were used by the Alan tribe. Other researchers claim that the breed can be traced back to the Pre-Roman times, to the Celts in British territory. It is thought that the Dogo Cubano was related to the giant war dogs, the Molossers, from Greece. Meanwhile, others simply argue that the breed is originated from the early Tibetan Mastiffs or from the English Mastiffs.

Furthermore, to add to these theories, the breed could have been the descendant of the ancient Egyptian war dogs, that spread around the Mediterranean area, with the help of Phoenician traders, after shipping got more and more frequent in the region. While most of these theories might be true, one thing is agreed upon by most of the researchers and scientists, is that the Dogo Cubano is a part of the largest dog group known as the Molossers, or Mastiffs, or Alaunts.

The Dogo Cubano was particularly well-known in the Iberian Peninsula and in Britain, where the breed was developed, and further perfected to be sport dogs for fighting, war dogs, and guard dogs. When Spanish conquistadors went on trans-Atlantic explorations with ships, they have brought their preferred dogs with them. As the Spanish travelers arrived in Cuba, they let their fighting dogs loose, ordering them to attack the indigenous people of Cuba, enabling them to have a way easier conquer over the native people of Cuba. Eventually, the Spanish people took over the island, and let their Alano and Mastiff type of dogs roam freely, and to interbred freely.

The two breeds bred together to the extent where there was no differentiation between the two large Molosser-type of dogs, and they universally became known as the Dogo Cubano. These initial Dogo Cubano specimens were then crossed with some scent-hounds, in order to increase their abilities and skills of tracking down slaves in Cuba, while Spain was still in power. This cross gave the Dogo Cubano a slightly more elongated muzzle than most Mastiffs, and longer ears too.

Later, as many British people went to Cuba, they started noticing these large guarding dogs, and they brought the Dogo Cubano home with them to England, where soon enough they became a fairly popular breed. Meanwhile, in Cuba, as slavery was abolished during the 1880s, the dogs were solely used in the fighting rings, where the opposing specimens were commanded to fight to the death. Thus eventually, in Cuba, the breed’s population numbers started to decrease dramatically, due to these deaths during the fighting.

Later as dog fighting and bull baiting became less and less popular to the point, where these cruel sports got also legally prohibited, the need for these types of dogs significantly decreased, and there was no serious incentive neither from the owners nor from the breeders to keep breeding the Dogo Cubano, and to preserve it. It is thought that this brave, strong, and courageous breed went completely extinct during the 1990s.