Estrela Mountain Dog Breeders UK: Advertise Your Kennel Free

Advertise your Estrela Mountain Dog puppies, litters and stud dogs

Do you breed Estrela Mountain Dogs? Add your kennel to caninebreeder.co.uk so that buyers searching for Estrela Mountain Dog puppies for sale can find you directly. Your basic listing shows your kennel or company name, website, social media, location and categories. When a litter is planned you can advertise Estrela Mountain Dog puppies for sale, and if you own an Estrela Mountain Dog stud dog you can list him with his hip score and COI so other breeders can judge the match. Add your kennel or see our prices.

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Is it free to advertise here?

Yes. A breeder profile and your litter and stud dog adverts are free. Premium profiles, featured placement and sponsored articles are optional paid extras; see pricing.

Do I need a licence to advertise puppies?

In England you need a dog breeding licence from your council if you breed three or more litters in 12 months or breed and sell dogs as a business, and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own schemes. Licensed breeders show their licence number and issuing council on every advert. Puppies must be at least eight weeks old before they go to new homes.

Is my listing already here?

We add licensed breeders from councils' public registers. Search for your kennel name; if it is listed you can claim it and edit everything.

About the Estrela Mountain Dog

The Estrela Mountain Dog comes from the Serra da Estrela, a mountain range in central Portugal, where it was developed to guard flocks. The Royal Kennel Club (RKC) says it could work on summits some 2,000 feet up as well as on dry lowland grazing in summer, and that its ancestry is believed to include some mastiff blood. In the UK the breed is shown in the RKC Pastoral group. It is not on the Imported Breed Register or the vulnerable native breeds list.

Size and build

The breed standard describes a sturdy, well-built guard dog of mastiff type, giving an impression of strength without ever looking cumbersome. Dogs measure 65-72 cm and bitches 62-68 cm, with up to 4 cm above those figures tolerated; no weight is set. Distinctive features are small ears that fold backwards and a tail ending in a firm hook. The RKC gives a typical lifespan of under 10 years.

Coat and grooming

There are two coat types. The long coat has a thick, slightly coarse outer layer over a very dense, usually paler undercoat, with a ruff around the neck and chest, especially in males, and feathering on the legs and tail. The short coat is short, thick and slightly coarse. Accepted colours are fawn, brindle and wolf grey, and a black muzzle or mask is highly desirable. The breed sheds, and the RKC suggests grooming more than once a week. For a pet, the Estrela Mountain Dog Association (EMDA) recommends a weekly brush with a rake comb and slicker brush and a more thorough groom every couple of weeks.

Exercise, temperament and home life

The RKC suggests up to an hour of exercise a day and rates the breed best suited to the country, with a large house and garden. The standard describes the Estrela as loyal and affectionate with its owners, aloof with others, intelligent, alert, and self-willed yet trainable. The RKC notes that it guards its owner and territory as well as livestock. EMDA describes an independent, sometimes stubborn and vocal dog that may roam off the lead, advises starting training as soon as a puppy comes home, and suggests fencing of around 6 ft because the breed jumps well. Early socialisation and an owner comfortable handling a large, protective dog both matter. It is one of the breeds covered on our livestock guardian dogs page.

Estrela Mountain Dog health tests

The RKC names two Good Practice steps as the minimum it strongly recommends before breeding from an Estrela Mountain Dog: prioritising genetic diversity, and hip testing under the BVA/KC Hip Dysplasia Scheme. Hip dysplasia is an inherited condition in which the hip joint develops abnormally. Genes from the parents are only part of the picture, as other factors also play a role, so screening lowers the risk rather than removing it. A dog must be at least a year old and microchipped to be scored. Each hip is scored from 0 to 53, lower is better, and the BVA advises breeding only from dogs with scores below or close to the breed median.

Genetic diversity matters because few litters are bred in the UK. The Estrela Mountain Dog Association (EMDA) refers to the limited UK gene pool and advises breeders to look at health issues across two to five generations of a pedigree, while noting that testing cannot guarantee clear offspring. The RKC does not offer a breed-specific DNA testing package for the Estrela, although individual DNA tests are available. The breed is in Breed Watch Category 1, meaning no breed-specific points of concern have been identified for judges, and there are no additional breed-specific breeding restrictions.

Prioritising genetic diversity (RKC Good Practice): check the predicted COI with the RKC inbreeding coefficient calculator
Hip testing under the BVA/KC Hip Dysplasia Scheme (RKC Good Practice)
No RKC breed-specific DNA testing package; individual DNA tests available
Breed Watch: Category 1
Results for registered dogs: RKC Health Test Results Finder

Choosing an Estrela Mountain Dog breeder

A good Estrela breeder will show you the hip score certificates for both parents and explain why the pair was chosen, including the litter's coefficient of inbreeding (COI) and how it compares with the breed average; the RKC advises breeders to produce litters at or below that figure. Because this is a guarding breed, expect the breeder to ask detailed questions about your home, fencing, other animals, visitors and experience with large dogs, and be cautious of anyone who does not. Meet the puppies with their mother, ask how they have been introduced to new people, sights and sounds, and check the RKC registration details. In England, a breeder needs a licence from the local council if they breed three or more litters in any 12-month period and sell any of the puppies, or run a business breeding and advertising dogs for sale. The Estrela Mountain Dog Association is a useful first contact, and our buyer safety guide explains how to view a litter and handle deposits safely.

Can I see the BVA/KC hip scores for both parents, and how do they compare with the breed median?
What is the COI of this litter, and how does it compare with the breed average?
How have the puppies been introduced to visitors, children and other dogs?
What help do you give new owners with the guarding instinct and early training?
Will you take the dog back at any age if I can no longer keep it?

Estrela Mountain Dog questions

How big does an Estrela Mountain Dog get?

The RKC breed standard gives a height of 65-72 cm for dogs and 62-68 cm for bitches, with up to 4 cm above those limits allowed. The standard does not set a weight. The RKC lists the breed as large and gives a typical lifespan of under 10 years.

Is an Estrela Mountain Dog a good family dog?

The breed standard describes a dog that is loyal and affectionate with its owners but aloof with other people, intelligent and self-willed. The Estrela Mountain Dog Association says the breed is usually drawn to children and protective of its own family, but stresses that no dog should ever be left alone with a child. The RKC rates it as best suited to the country with a large house and garden, and the association notes it can be vocal, so it needs space, secure fencing and training from the day it comes home.

What health tests should Estrela Mountain Dog parents have?

The RKC's Good Practice steps are prioritising genetic diversity and hip testing under the BVA/KC Hip Dysplasia Scheme. Ask for both parents' hip scores and the litter's COI compared with the breed average. There is no RKC breed-specific DNA testing package, and the breed is in Breed Watch Category 1.

How much grooming does an Estrela Mountain Dog need?

The breed sheds, and the RKC suggests grooming more than once a week. For a pet, the Estrela Mountain Dog Association recommends a good brush each week with a rake comb and a slicker brush, plus a more thorough groom every couple of weeks.

Estrela Mountain Dog breeders