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Home of the first Schutzhund II Titled Presa Canario in the
USA!
CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION ABOUT AVAILABLE DOGS
AND PUPPIES
NEWS: DNA Profiles available for all Cabeza
Grande Breeding Dogs!
Mission Statement
We are a small but dedicated kennel interested
in improving the state of the Presa Canario in the US. Our dogs are bred for health, temperament, working ability, conformation and
true Spanish Presa Canario type. We strive for the "total" Presa.
All of our bitches and dogs must pass stringent criteria before being
considered for our breeding program. They will:
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Be confirmed by Spanish breed specialists or
judges as acceptable for breeding and FCI recognized.
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Be OFA'd, PennHIP'd or other x-ray evaluated
test that shows they are free from Canine Hip Displaysia. Please visit the
OFA Website or the
PennHIP Website for more information about this disease.
(View PennHIP Scores of
our dogs and their relatives.)
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Be temperament tested to assure strong and
stable temperaments.
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Last, they must be matched up with the
opposite sex that best compliments their weaknesses. No dog is perfect so
we try to evaluate our dogs weak points and match them up with dogs of
complimentary strengths.
The History of Cabeza Grande.
 Cabeza [ca-BAY-sa]
Grande [GRAHN-day] is translated into 'Great Head' in Spanish. When we
started our kennel in 1991 we thought long and hard about what we wanted to
be known for. We wanted the name of our kennel to reflect the one most
important thing we personally thought made a great dog. That's a hard thing
to come up with, then put into simple words to use as a name. We thought,
health, temperament and type, but what does this mean? A good looking dog
with a great head on its shoulders! So first and foremost, while we do want
to produce beautiful dogs with strong temperaments and sound health, we
thought that a dog with a 'great head' on its shoulders was the most
important aspect.
The Presa Canario "Type" Debate.
Unfortunately the scope of different 'types' of
dog labeled Presa Canario is so vast as to hardly resemble the same breed.
Contrary to what some breeders tell you, the Presa Canario does have a specific
breed type and yes, even a breed standard. Not four standards, not a
standard made up by US breeders to fit their dogs, but a real standard made
up by those interested in recognition and reclamation. Like many dog breeds,
the Presa Canario has been bred so indiscriminately that it is in quite sad
shape. Breeding dogs for size, rare colors or aggressiveness, with no regard
for true type, temperament or health. Below are a few links to help you
understand what a Presa Canario should and should not be. Click 'back' on
your browser to return to this page.
DNA Profiling
In the midst of all the hype and rhetoric
about what's real and what's fake, we decided to add one more tool to our
arsenal. Starting the beginning of 2009, all Cabeza Grande breeding dogs
will have DNA profiles available. This service is offered by UKC as yet
another positive breeding tool.
Rare and Exotic or Just Bad Breeding?
 Rare
colors!!! Excessive size!!! Aggressive by 8 weeks!!! Come and get em!!!
Only in America can people mess up dog breeding and get away with calling it
"rare and exotic." Think very hard about considering a breeder who
consistently produces dogs that are out of standard. Sure, once in awhile a
good breeder will produce dogs with a little too much white on them or a
little larger than standard size. But a breeder who produces 170 pound dogs,
half white dogs, blue dogs or dogs that are aggressive at an early age and
doing so so regularly as to use it as a selling point, has something going
on in their lines. The Presa Canario has a very specific standard and dogs
conforming to that standard do not produce these supposed rare colors,
excess size or nasty temperaments. Please don't fall for that gimmick..
Presa
Canario VS. Dogo Canario.
The fact is that these dogs all go
back to the same foundation dogs and their DNA is exactly the same.
But it is also a fact that too many people are breeding
for heavy, overdone dogs with no focus on proper structure or health. This
breed is a medium sized, utility dog and should not be short and fat or
built like a Great Dane. There are poorly bred dogs who cant work due to
lack of temperament or improper structure that are known as Dogo Canario and
the same in the Presa Canario community. The opposite is also true. There
are well bred, structurally correct working dogs that are known as Dogo
Canario or Presa Canario. It is much less important to know what the
breeders dogs are called than it is that the breeder him/herself is breeding
with a strong focus on health and a proper working structure.
Gossip and the Dog Community.
 One of the most malignant and harmful
issues in any dog community is gossip.
While sometimes information about dogs can only
be obtained by speaking to people whose knowledge may only be secondhand,
for the most part this way of communication is of no value. In our breeds
community, we have a lot of infighting and rivalries that are
ongoing. This side fights with that side, that side fights with this side and its almost
impossible for a new comer to sift through all of it and come out with any
better understanding of the whole situation. A good rule of thumb is to
avoid breeders who talk bad about other breeders. Unless they have empirical
evidence of the claims they make, its just gossip being told by possibly a
rival breeder or disgruntled former client. If you call us, we will not talk
about other breeders, if we have nothing good to say, we say nothing at all.
So please do not ask us to comment about other breeders. We prefer to talk
about our own program and goals, what we think is good and bad about each of
our own dogs, and leave the gossip to the used car salesmen and the
old
ladies [or young men] in show rings.
Hobby Breeder Vs. Commercial Breeder.
There is a lot of debate as to which kind of
breeder is out for the betterment of the breed and which breeder is out for
money. The hobby breeder will tell you he has only a couple of dogs so
therefore he, by definition has more time for those dogs, he must be better.
The commercial breeder will tell you he devotes his entire life to the dogs,
has no other jobs, often has staff to help him so he must be better.
 I guess I should start by giving my definition
of the two breeders. A hobby breeder is one who does not live off the
proceeds he makes from dogs. Dog breeding is a hobby for him, not his
livelihood. A commercial breeder is one who lives off of the dogs. He, by
definition often has many dogs. He will often have a staff of people to take
care of the dogs and he survives off of what he can make from his dogs.
In my opinion, neither breeder is automatically
better. It is more about how each of those breeders takes care of, houses,
socializes, trains, tests and proves their breeding dogs that makes them
better than the rest. If you have a hobby breeder who keeps his dogs in a
backyard with no socialization or interaction, even though he only has a
couple of dogs, he is not the kind of breeder you should buy from. This is
considered a Puppy Peddler. On the other hand, if a commercial breeder has
many dogs, they aren't well kept, they aren't socialized, aren't tested or
proven etc...he is also not the type of breeder you want to buy from. This
is considered a Puppy Mill.
Whatever type of breeder you decide to go with,
make sure they do hip and temperament testing. Go see the dogs, are they
groomed, well taken care of, seem to know their names and their owners? Are
they trained, are they worked, do they show? Don't judge a book by its
cover, go see for yourself. Cabeza Grande is a small hobby kennel, we do not
make our living off of dogs and you are welcome to come visit anytime.
Our Presa Canario Puppies.
 All of our puppies are raised in our home
with constant attention from the day they are born. They are kept in a
contained area that can be moved to wherever we are for maximum exposure to
sights, sounds and people. Stress stimuli is introduced as early as 3
days old and continued until 16 days old. Environmental socialization
is continued from there including different surfaces (linoleum, wood,
carpet, lattice, plastic tarps, etc), people of all ages, different sounds
(gun shots, sirens, etc) and as many different situations as we can
creatively choose for them. After 8 weeks the socialization generally
continues off property with trips to parks, large lumber stores, and
sometimes even the Wal Mart. It is important that you continue this
strenuous course of socialization for the rest of the pups development.
No puppies raised in kennels.
Worth the Wait?
At Cabeza Grande Kennel, we do not have
litters available all year long. We believe it takes time and research to
produce quality litters and our frequency of breeding reflects that. While
we do not keep a bunch of dogs at any given time, we use the resources of
outside kennels whose dogs may best compliment ours. Most of our puppies are
sold in advance but if you would like to be added to our puppy waiting list,
please feel free to call and discuss it with us.
Working Vs. Show?
At Cabeza Grande Kennel, our first goal is to
produce healthy, functional companion guardians. For all of our Presa
breeding dogs, we expect a certain level of drive, nerve and courage. They
pass a basic working temperament test before they can be used for breeding.
Those of you interested in showing, obedience, agility, weight pull or any
other non protection sport type of activity, these companion guardians are
well suited for just such tasks.
People who are looking for a Protection Sport
candidate need and expect more from their dog. These elite Presa Canarios
will come from specific pairings that have proven themselves to have not
only the ability to stand their ground when threatened and protect the
property on which they live, they have also a higher level of drive and
athleticism needed for the rigors of sport work. Be careful what you ask for
as these puppies may not always make for the normally calm family dog
the Presa usually does.
All of our dogs are guaranteed to be
capable family companions and guardians but due to the variance in training,
socialization and other environmental factors, we can not guarantee a dog
will get a title in any official protection sport.
Pet Vs. Show?
 Although we strive for 'perfect' puppies, in
all litters there are pet quality puppies. This does not mean they wont make
great pets, this just means they have a minor type or health fault that
prevents them from showing and or breeding. These puppies will be offered at
a reduced cost and guarantee on crippling diseases. The decision on whether
to pick a show quality vs. pet quality can easily be summed up by asking
yourself if you want to breed the dog somewhere in the future. If not, then
a pet quality is the way for you to go. If you may want to breed the dog
sometime, pick a show quality animal and prepare to go through a lot of work
to ascertain whether or not the dog really adds a positive thing to the gene
pool. All pups sold as show/breed quality should pass hip and
temperament evaluation prior to breeding. We are not in the business of
setting up back yard breeders or adding to a puppy millers brood stock but
we would love to help you do the right thing to become a positive force in
the Presa breeding world.
Our Guarantee.
We
offer a 3 year guarantee on any genetic health and temperament defects and a
1 year guarantee (on show quality pups) on type issues. Pet quality puppies
come with a 3 year guarantee on defects relating to their quality of life
only and no guarantees on their breed worthiness will be offered. In the
event of a problem, we will not make you give your beloved pet
back to us as a condition of the guarantee. You will be required to provide
proof of the health problem and proof of the dogs alteration. Upon
submission of this proof, we will give you a puppy of equal or greater value
when one becomes available.
We Strive to be Better in All Aspects.
 It is our goal to place our puppies with
qualified owners. We may ask you a lot of questions, some you will not be
used to being asked. We may offend you with some of these questions, be
assured it is not our intention. Its very important for you to not only find
out the right breed to fit your lifestyle but its important for us to find
the right owner to fit our puppies. We like to stay in contact with the new
owners of our puppies. If its a show quality puppy, we would like to help
you get into showing if you are not already. If the working aspects are what
you are interested in, we would like to help you find a good trainer, know
about the dogs progress, hear about that big trial win. Dogs are a big part
of our life, but they are not our livelihood. We consider the puppies we
produce extensions of our breeding program. If we produce good quality
puppies, that shows we've done things right.
Our Goal.
It is our mission to produce great
companions, great workers, great examples of the breed and to place them
with equally great owners. We are not so arrogant as to believe that we can
do it better than the creators of the breed, we believe we owe it to the
breed to improve on the condition of the breed today. We hope our goals on
type mirror those of the Canarians and that we can only improve on their
programs by adding strong temperaments and good health. They gave us the
template on which we can make our masterpiece, that "perfect dog" is our
ultimate goal. With those things in mind and a true dedication to the breed,
we think we are headed in the right direction. A well rounded dog is one
with a title at both ends with health and temperament to match! Should you
decide to buy a puppy from us, we would like to thank you and welcome you
into our
Presa Canario family.
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