This cache
is outside the 2 mile area and part of the Snoopy series of puzzle
and letterbox caches by meandmydogs. The actual cache is located in
Greenland. As always, please use care retrieving and return as
found. Please respect the neighbors.
Estrela Mountain
Dog
The Estrela
Mountain Dog is an ancient breed, supposedly the oldest breed of
the Iberian Peninsular. It's true history will probably never be
known but suffice it to say that they remained with their working
origins until recent years. He is a devoted friend, great protector
and a wonderful deterrent to those with bad intentions.
This is not a
massively giant dog, he should have the strong construction of any
mountain breed but still remains agile and not overdone in any way.
Remember, this breed was evolved to fight large predators so needs
strength of body but also a good brain. The dogs sit on the
mountain side watching, they look for anything out of the ordinary,
they do not need constant aggression but to be ready at any time to
protect their own. To fulfil this task the Estrela needs excellent
sight and hearing which can lead to a noisy dog if not controlled.
To me, this is the perfect guard, a dog who fits into family life
in every way but will protect his own with his life if
needed.
The Estrela
temperament should be loyal, affectionate to his owners, aloof,
intelligent and alert and inclined to be stubborn. They may be
distrusting of strangers but should never be nervous. One of the
greatest assets of the breed is his love of children. Estrela adore
children to the point of ignoring adults if there are children
around. An Estrela that does not love children is not a true
Estrela.
The most
important thing in an Estrela's life is you, he needs to be with
you, to know he is loved and to feel he is secure in this. This
breed will become your true soulmate if you treat him right, this
is an association I have found with no other breed I have known.
Treat him right and you will have a very special friend.
The Estrela
has three accepted colours:-
Fawn:- From a yellow tone through to a dark mahogany, with or
without guard hairs. Should never be so pale as to appear dirty
white.
Brindle:- This is a base colour of any acceptable fawn with the
addition of black or brown streaks or smudges over it.
Wolf Grey:- A mixture of grey and black hairs intermingled. With or
without black guard hairs.
In all the
colours a black mask is highly desirable. The ears and tail of the
Estrela are true breed features and highly prized. The ears are set
with the root being set level with the eyes. They should be carried
falling backwards against the side of the head with a small portion
of the inner ear showing.
The tail is
set moderately low and has a hook which resembles a scimitar. It is
important when breeding that we try to retain these
features.
There is one
major drawback with the Estrela Mountain Dog, it is more'ish. It is
almost impossible to stop at one. Before you know it you have more.
If he is treated right he will live happily on his own but this is
not a dominant breed so you can usually run males and females
together with no problems. He is not usually a fighter so males may
make aggressive noises but are unlikely to fight if correctly
reared
The
Puzzle
N43
RWJG RWJG HGAFL XANW ZMFVJWV SFV KAPLQ GFW
W070 XGMJLQ WAYZL HGAFL WAYZL RWJG XANW
Happy
Hunting