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Villano de las Encartaciones
In Ormaiztegi, Gipuzkoa
Other names	Basque: Enkarterriko billano Cantabrian: Villanu
Origin	Spain
Distribution	Basque Country
Traits Height Males 57–60 cm Females 55–57 cm
Notes	Recognised in Spanish law
Dog (domestic dog)

The Villano de Las Encartaciones is a Spanish breed of large working dog from the region of Las Encartaciones in the province of Biscay, in the Basque country; it is found also in Álava, in eastern Cantabria and in northern Burgos. The traditional use of the dogs is in management of the Monchina breed of cattle of Cantabria and the País Vasco, and particularly to assist with bringing the cattle down from the mountain pastures between October and December. In 2009 there were fewer than 200 dogs registered in the studbook.

It is one of five Basque breeds of dog, the others being the Basque Shepherd Dog, the Erbi Txakur, the Pachón Navarro and the Villanuco de Las Encartaciones.

History

The Villano is a traditional working dog of the region of Las Encartaciones in the province of Biscay, in the Basque country, and to some extent also of Álava, of eastern Cantabria and of northern Burgos. Its history is inextricably entwined with that of the Monchina breed of mountain cattle of that region; the association between the two is so close that it has been said that "one breed could not exist without the other".

It was formerly a smaller dog than it is today. The traditional method of capturing Monchina cattle in the mountains of Bizkaia involved the use of two types or breeds of dog: the Villano was used to cut out and drive the cattle chosen by the ganaderos to a point where they could be caught by larger and heavier Alano Español dogs. From the 1960s, rather than use two breeds of which neither could perform the function of the other, breeders began to cross-breed them in the hope of combining the capabilities of both in a single animal; this gave rise to the modern Villano. A breed society, the Club Nacional del Villano de Las Encartaciones, was formed in 1997.

It is one of five Basque breeds of dog, the others being the Basque Shepherd Dog, the Erbi Txakur, the Pachón de Vitoria and the Villanuco de Las Encartaciones. Of these, all but the Pachón de Vitoria are indigenous to the Basque Autonomous Community, and were recognised as traditional Basque breeds by government decree in 2001. In 2003 a breed standard was published in the Boletín Oficial del País Vasco. In 2005 the Villano was added to the list of dog breeds recognised by the national government of Spain. It was among the fourteen indigenous animal breeds included in the rural development plan for the País Vasco for 2007–2013.

With the Erbi Txakur it is one of the most seriously endangered breeds of the Basque Country: in 2009 there were fewer than 200 dogs registered in the studbook.

Characteristics

Dogs stand some 57–60 cm at the withers, bitches about 55–57 cm.

Use

The traditional use of the dogs is in management of the Monchina breed of cattle of Cantabria and the Paìs Vasco, and particularly to assist with bringing the cattle down from the mountain pastures between October and December. The association between the dog breed and the cattle breed is so close that it has been said that "one breed could not exist without the other".

The Villano is also used for boar hunting, given its qualities as a catch dog.

References

1. ^ Elena Espinosa Mangana (23 December 2005). Real Decreto 1557/2005, de 23 de diciembre, por el que se modifica el Real Decreto 558/2001, de 25 de mayo, por el que se regula el reconocimiento oficial de las organizaciones o asociaciones de criadores de perros de raza pura (in Spanish). Boletín Oficial del Estado 10: 1349–1351. Reference: BOE-A-2006-415.
2. ^ Miguel Fernández Rodríguez, Mariano Gómez Fernández, Juan Vicente Delgado Bermejo, Silvia Adán Belmonte, Miguel Jiménez Cabras (editors) (2009). Guía de campo de las razas autóctonas españolas (in Spanish). Madrid: Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Medio Rural y Marino. ISBN 9788449109461.
3. ^ Donato Matassino, J. Boyazoglu, A. Cappuccio (1997). International symposium on Mediterranean animal germplasm and future human challenges: a joint EAAP - FAO - CIHEAM International Symposium. Wageningen: Wageningen Pers. ISBN 9789074134460.
4. ^ Mariano Gómez Fernández (2002). Las razas de ganado autóctonas vascas en el pastoreo vaso (in Spanish). Annals del Centre d'Estudis Comarcals del Ripollès. 2002: 279–290.
5. ^ Mariano Gómez, I. Amezaga (2003). Conservation of livestock genetic resources in Euskadi (Basque Country). Animal Genetic Resources/Resources génétiques animales/Recursos genéticos animales 33: 41–55. ISSN 1014-2339.
6. ^ Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. ISBN 9781780647944.
7. Monchina (in Spanish). Federación Española de Asociaciones de Ganado Selecto. Archived 3 March 2011.
8. Juan José Ibarretxe Markuartu (26 December 2001). N°-429: Decreto 373/2001, de 26 de diciembre, sobre razas animales autóctonas vascas y entidades dedicadas a su fomento (in Basque and Spanish). Euskal Herriko Agintaritzaren Aldizkaria/Boletín Oficial del País Vasco 14: 1080–1087.
9. Gonzalo Sáenz de Samaniego Berganzo (9 December 2003). N°-136: Agindua, 2003ko abenduaren 9koa, Nekazaritza eta Arrantza sailburuarena, "Enkarterriko villanoa" txakur-arrazaren arauketa zehatza onesten duena = Orden de 9 de diciembre de 2003, del Consejero de Agricultura y Pesca, por la que se aprueba la reglamentación específica de la raza canina "Villano de las Encartaciones". (in Basque and Spanish). Euskal Herriko Agintaritzaren Aldizkaria/Boletín Oficial del País Vasco 7 (13 January 2004): 564–571.
10. (11 January 2010). Programa de Desarrollo Rural del País Vasco 2007–2013 (in Spanish). Eusko Jaurlaritza/Gobierno Vasco. Nekazaritza, Arrantza eta Elikagai Saila/Departamento de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación. Accessed August 2022.

• Dog breeds originating in the Basque Country (autonomous community)
• Dog breeds originating in Castile and León
• Dog breeds originating in Cantabria
• Rare dog breeds
• Dog breeds originating in Spain
• Basque domestic animal breeds