The Castle of Presa is the true home of the Real Perro de Presa Canario. We selected the finest Presa Canario dogs from original Spanish bloodlines and brought them to the U.S. for our breeding program. Our commitment and dedication is to continue pure breeding of the Presa Canario according to original standards from the Canary Islands. We breed Presas with traditional appearance, stable temperament, defensive drive and outstanding working ability. We are dedicated to preserve the real Perro de Presa Canario.

What type of dog is a Presa? Presa Canario belongs to working group of dogs, and is prized as a protector and guardian. The Presa Canario is gentle and extremely loyal to his family, but distrustful to strangers, always keeping careful eye on potential danger. The Presa Canario is territorial, and has natural instinct for guarding. No special training for guarding is needed. This highly intelligent canine is generally calm and quiet, and moves slowly. But, when called for action, the Presa with his muscular body can be deceptively agile and fast.

When you are at home with your Presa lying down by your feet, while working on your computer or watching TV, you can feel safe and secure knowing that this large, muscular beauty, will give his life in order to save yours. Presas courage and genuine beauty is incomparable with any other breed. We just Love our Presas.

What is the difference between Presa Canario and Dogo Canario?
The word “presa” can be translated as a “gripper”. The Tenerife Club Espaňol del Dogo Canario (CEDC) did not feel comfortable with the name “gripper” so they changed it to “Dogo” to make it politically correct and they concentrated more on show-look, then on performance and working abilities. In 2001 the Fédération Cynologique Internationale,  (FCI is International Kennel Club with 84 member countries, mainly in Europe, based in Belgium) aided by the CEDC, officially designated and recognized the "Perro de Presa Canario breed" as the "Dogo Canario" and eliminated the black coat, traditional markings and maximum weight limitation. Changing “Presa” to “Dogo” was an assault to many traditional Presa breeders in the Canary Islands, because they felt that Presa dogs have always been a large part of their heritage, and they always referred to them as Presa.

However, there are still several Spanish breeders who breed real Presa based on the old Bardino Majorero bloodline. (Bardino Majorero is an original Canary Island dog, which played key role in creation of Presa Canario). These breeders did not accept the change and register their Presa with U.S. clubs such as UKC or UPPCC, and keep breeding the Presa with original appearance. We at the Castle of Presa are supportive of the traditional Presa bloodlines with working abilities, black coat, and traditional markings. We breed Presa (not "Dogo") and will only register our dogs with UKC or UPPCC.

Even though the Presa has a long and glorious heritage, it is relatively new breed. Since 2001 many breeders went different directions and started breeding Dogo Canario for dog shows, and forgot about Presa with traditional appearance and working abilities. We can still see a significant difference between Presa and Dogo, because Presa Canario and Dogo Canario is not a same dog. We can see the trend in how some breeders are breeding “Dogo” bloodlines that resemble more of a Great Dane appearance, when others are breeding “Presa” that resembles looks more like a Doberman. Some breeding impure offspring that resemble anything but a Presa, and they present them as a Presa. The worst of all are the peasants who added breeding of Dogo Canario to their livestock, pigs, and goats treating these dogs like a livestock, but have absolutely no clue what they are doing. They are presenting themselves as Dogo Canario breeders but they are presenting and selling their Dogo Canario offspring as Presa puppies. These breeders have absolutely no interest in improving of the breed, and know absolutely nothing about the Presa Canario.