Hi guys and girls,

I have recently been looking at getting a new dog, I already have a Rottweiler but I lost my older one to cancer 6 months ago.

The house seems somewhat empty now, so after much thought I decided to get a Estrela Mountain dog. My uncle had one of these dogs when I was a kid and it was truly a great, playful and beautiful dog.

So was just looking for some more info on the dog because that was such a long time ago, I have done plenty of research but I would like to hear from people who actually own/breed these dogs at the moment.

Questions like, Are they good with other large dogs?

Are they good dogs to go hiking all day with?

How is the trainability?

How are they off lead?

And any useful information people may have and think is relevant to someone who may be taking one of these dogs home soon.

I honestly think you'd do best to contact a breeder (either from here https://www.champdogs.co.uk/breeds/estrela-mountain-dog/breeders  or via the Breed Club).   I'd suggest this is a breed that not many would have and as Breed Clubs have Codes of Ethics, I think you won't find yourself dealing with a BYB (although again I'd suggest there isn't that much call for puppies of this breed?) and good breeders should always be ready to sit with you (by appointment as breeders tend to be busy people) and answer your many questions.

Thank you for your reply.

I have noticed that, it's really hard to get hold of any first hand information. I have emailed a few breeders and still waiting for reply.

This is why I'm still undecided, I was going to get a Leonberger last month but second guessed after seeing the size.

The Leonberger breeder mentioned maybe Estrela would be a better option as it's smaller, then when I did some research on them I realized it was the dog my uncle had when I was a child.

Unfortunately I can't really ask my uncle much as he is near 80 with terrible memory.

I'm in no rush anyway... like I said thank you very much for the reply.

A friend of mine has them and they are lovely, they would be up to long days when fully mature at 2 yrs plus and are friendly although the males particularly need good socialisation, training is obviously a must as they are a large breed and do have a mind of their own as they can be used as flock guardians. Their coats are thick and silky with an undercoat so pretty massive moulting, health problems much as most large breeds but maybe a bit longer lived than more popular breeds.  Be prepared to wait for a puppy as they don't seem to be bred in quantity which is probably a good thing, if you can go to a breed show or champ show to meet breeders then I would but try to talk to the people when they have finished their classes or are on the benches.

> I have emailed a few breeders and still waiting for reply.

Why not use the phone - breeders tend to be busy people and if they don't have a puppy/litter available/planned, tend not to bother with emails ... rude not to acknowledge but it depends on how many emails they are receiving and again, they may simply be too busy!   At least with a phonecall, they normally have to pick up.

Thank you for replies.

I managed to speak to a breeder yesterday who answered all my questions, which was great.

Now I'm just going to wait for a litter, as mentioned in previous comments they're not the most popular dogs but can be a good thing, I know this especially well having owned Rottweilers and seeing some of the problems that have come from overbreeding.

So yes, excited to add a little Estrela to my Rott, thanks guys for your replies.

they are a very numerically small breed, and choosing a good breeder is more important than choosing a puppy, as after all it is the breeder who will get to know puppies characters as they start to evolve being with them 24/7 LOL

Your quite right the wait will be worth it, s generally the less popular breeds attract fewer of the 'puppy producer' type of breeder, and more likely the real breed enthusiast that is super careful with puppy placement.

I have actually spoke to EDMA now, they said much the same. They all seem very helpful and like you said they all seem very dedicated to improving the popularity of the breed and making sure they go to the right homes.

Spoken to even more breeders now, most of which have been very helpful and I hope to go visit some soon.

Thank you for the reply :)