Cordoba Fighting Dog
This legendary Argentinian fighting and baiting dog is believed to had been developed by crossing various Spanish fighting mastiffs and bulldogs with imported English Bullterriers. During the heyday of fighting sports, the Cordoba Mastiff was a valued pit dog, praised for its fierce and aggressive personality, as well as its sheer size and agility. It is said that these dogs were so vicious that they would attack and even kill the females during mating, with aggression towards humans also being an issue. Famous for its prowess in matches against dogs of all sizes, as well as its ability to defeat other large animals, both domestic and wild, such as bulls and pumas, the breed was once the pride of Argentina. However, over breeding and selection for white-coated dogs led to skin problems, deafness and unstable temperaments, preventing the Perro de Presa de Cordoba to find popularity outside the fighting ring. As the years pressed on and public favour shifted away from the cruel world of dog sports, the great white gladiator of Cordoba eventually became extinct.
Although pitting dogs against one another continued to be a common pastime in rural areas, the breed was unable to be sustained on its own and numerous matings with other fighting and hunting dogs ensured the disappearance of the Viejo Perro de Pelea Cordobas in its true form. While it vanished, this impressive bulldog has not been forgotten and has been the inspiration for a few modern breeds, including the Venezuelan Fighting Dog, the Dogo Guatemalteco, the Yankee Bullterrier and of course, the great Dogo Argentino, for whose creation it provided the very foundation. Wide-chested, broad-shouldered and muscular, this powerful Molosser was a strong and agile worker. The ears were usually cropped, but unaltered examples existed as well.
Even though the most valued specimens were pure white in colour, many examples were yellow, fawn or red and there were reportedly even some multicoloured dogs to be found in the pits. The average height was around 24 inches.
