History Ca De Bou

Written by : Carlo van Brummen

Ca de Bou (brindle butcherdog of Binisalem)

    

The first written mention of the Ca de Bou.
The Ca de Bou is clearly described by Ludwig Salvator Archeduk .
Archeluduk who in 1867 went to the Balearic Islands and was enchanted by the beauty of the island of Mallorca and the friendliness of the people made him decide to settle here . The whole island with an area of 3640 km is described by him in word and image .
In 1869 he came up with a 6000 page , counting s monumental work he was awarded the gold medal at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1878 .

Ca De Bou described by Archeduk Ludwig Salvator .

Low powerful dogs dark brown with black tiger stripes and often with white on the nose . Horrible broad chest with a large head and ears cut . These butcher dogs were used for bull fighting but also for dog fighting among themselves in the circus .
Some are terrible wild and  don’t recognize their own owner in the game.Often they don’t want let the bull go . They can be trained for self-defense

Archeduk Ludwig Salvator appointed except ca de bou also the English Bulldog in Palma which were used for the same purpose as Ca de Bou.

Often heard is that the English Bulldog could not stand the heat of the island and they were crossed with the Ca de Bou and the Ca de Bestiar.
From the years 1870/1900 you also see drawings and photographs appearing Ca de Bou with strange colors that indicate interference from other races.

Origin of the ca de bou

The origin of the ca de bou is not clear. There are different opinions .

It is remarkable that at the same time in other parts of Europe such as Germany Netherlands Belgium and France that there were brindle butcher dogs like the Brabanter Bullenbeisser and the Danziger Bullenbeisse with the same description as the brindle ca de bou of Binisalem.

In 1928 the Ca de Bou was registered in the Spanish register.But probably the breed was extinct around 1940/50.

In the 1980s there was a judge (Paco Ruiz Rodriquez) in Mallorca who decided to breed back the ca de bou. Some specimens(not pure-ca de Bestiar) were crossed with a buldog. It was the beginning of the rebirth of the breed with dogs like Tito and Anastasia .The  function of the ca de bou  also changed, today  the ca de bou is known as one of the most child friendly breeds

In the early 90’s till 94 are great specimens bred which most are exported to Puerto Rico and Russia. Especially in Russia, the breed became very large. In Puerto Rico, the selection was based on the working type.

Paco Ruiz Rodriquez, the founder of ca de bou is still present on the dog shows. 2 pictures at the Bleiswijk dog show 2017 with Paco Ruiz Rodriquez with our ca de bou .

Oldest breeder of Mallorca along with his son who also became a ca de bou breeder. Gaspar Garcia Pagan of the Rompehuesos  kennel and his son Gaspar Garcia Medina kennel Reino de Sidòn