In the early 20th century, when the breed existed mainly in the Estrela Mountains, in Portugal, and before having attracted the interest of breeders, who would help spread it all around the country and abroad, the short-coated Estrela Mountain Dog was much more common than the long-coat variety. The continuing fall of the pastoral activity, a few decades later, the disappearance of the wolf in the Estrela Mountains, made then expendable from their original task and almost led the variety to extinction. In recent times, due to a few enthusiastic breeders and to Grupo Lobo (an association for the preservation of the Iberian Wolf that started to place cattle dogs among herds, in areas with wolf presence), the short-coated Estrela is being recovered. Even though the number of specimen registered with the Portuguese Kennel Club is much lower than that of the long-coat variety, there are many of them, unregistered, performing their original
task, for which they're more adjusted than the long-coated ones, who require regular coat care, not matching the shepherds' habits and availability. On the other hand, gradually, the short-coat Estrela has been attracting more admirers in Portugal and in other countries.
Although from the very first years of our breeding we planned to contribute to the preservation of the short-coat Estrela Mountain Dog, it was only in 2014 that we bred our first litter of that variety and since then our project for the betterment of the breed has incorporated both long and short-coat varieties. We programme, for each year, at least one litter of each and we also use the resource of inter-variety outcross as a means to improve each of them (in conformation, in health, in functionality) and the conservation of genetic diversity.