The Centre for the study, selection and breeding of the Pyrenean Mountain Dogs of La Borda D'Urtx, situated in La Cerdanya in the heart of the eastern Pyrenees, has three fundemental objectives:

1. The achievement of animals which are free of known congenital defects, and also morphological or physical defects which are penalised for the Standar of the breed.
2. Obtain animals which maintain the MORPHOSTRUCTURAL MODEL, THE TYPE and the PYRENEAN EXPRESSION, attributes which have characterised this marvellous breed of dogs since time immemorial.
3. That these animals go to people who accept them as yet another member of the family and are used for guarding, for company or for showing.

What we understand as the 'morphostructural model',is the harmony of the parts which make up the build of the animal. The level of this harmony will be determined by the higher or lower number of significant correlations found in the various zoometrics that we find. Therefore a large dog ought to have a proportionately wider head and chest and be longer in body than a dog a few centimetres smaller. This is the principal of harmony of the 'morphostructural model'.

On the other hand, we define the 'type' as the harmonic correlation of the parts which make up the structure of the animal - that is to say, the 'morphostructural model' with a defined function. In this respect the PYRENEAN MOUNTAIN DOG is an animal that the orography and the climate of the Pyrenees has molded- as much from the morphological point of view as well as physical so as to adapt with maximum efficiency to the function of guarding and protecting ,be it flocks of sheep or property.

It isn't easy to define what is the 'Pyrenean expression'. When we talk of the Mountain dog and we want to describe it, it can't be compared with any other breed however close it might be. The Pyrenean Mountain dog has an incomparable head and a beautiful, calm, serene and contemplative look - it is what we have come to call' the Pyrenean expression'. No other dog has such an expression. We exclude from the breed ,dogs which have a very marked stop, the ears too high, a high forehead or bloodshot eyes. These aren't good dogs with atypical heads.

We breed with those who present the "type" according to the standard of the breed and with this unforgettable expression, dreamy, full of sweetness and intelligent at the same time. Could it be that they had acquired this luminosity from the sky, the lakes, the meadows or the Pyrenean peaks?

M. Guy Mansencal, prestigious specialist Judge at World level, and ex-President of the 'Reúnion des Amateurs de Chiens Pyrénées' after an analysis made over 20 years, has come to the conclusion that this unique look is the result of three determining factors :

• The asian eyes with well coloured dark brown irises.
• The facial line is soft without brusqueness.
• The ears are low - in line with the eyes.

If just one of these features is missing, then the miracle of this beautiful expression wouldn't be there and the Pyrenean Mountain dog would be nothing more than an ordinary big , white dog.

For M. Alain Pecoult, - President of the 'Reúnion des Amateurs de Chiens Pyrénées', the 'Pyrenean expression' is 'a soft, dreamy expression with a kind of strong tranquility'. To achieve this, what is necessary are dark almond shaped eyes, and without doubt, a physical thing, its presence.

According to Guido Massimello, ex-President of the ' Club Amatori Cani di Pirinei', the 'Pyrenean expression' is the fundemental point of the Pyrenean Mountain dog. It is very difficut to describe it, but its the truthful essence of this breed. To express and communicate a sensation of tenderness and strength, and at the same time, indifference and happiness, thoughtfulness and security. A Pyrenean Mountain dog which doesn't have the 'Pyrenean expression' can't be considered to be an example of the breed.

Jose Luis Urcher, ex-President of the 'Club Español del Perro de Montaña' and actual Vice-President of the 'Institut Pirinenc del Gos de Muntanya dels Pirineus' states the following :
To try to define the 'Pyrenean expression' is very difficult. The best and most spontaneous way to describe it is when I heard a little girl ask her friend, who was the owner of a Pyrenean Mountain dog : 'if it's a dog, why has it got eyes like a person?' The fact is that a Pyrenean Mountain dog has got a head without edges.All its shape - head, stop, nose, softly unite, with small implanted ears in line with the eyes, and the cheeks are slightly puffed out. The arched marked eyebrows house almond shaped eyes with firm black eyelids that drown in the corner of the eyes positioning them in an almost horizontal position and giving them that beautiful, almost human, look. If, along with this we can add the warm colour of these eyes - an amberish brown, we have a serene and tranquil look which at the same time is sweet and dreamy. This expression reaches its maximum intensity when our Pyrenean Mountain dog is lying down with its head high, or resting on its front paws with a look lost on the horizon and its mind evoking, perhaps, its ancestral memories. An owner of a Pyrenean Mountain dog will never forget the beautiful image or expression of his dog. For that reason, lovers of this breed, when they 'discover' this singular expression, don't need to check angles, measurements or proportions, because they know that everything is in its place.

Joan Ferrer, ex-President of the 'Club Español del Perro de Montaña de los Pirineos' and actual President of the 'Institut Pirinenc del Gos de Muntanya dels Pirineus' and Vice-President of the 'Reial Societat Canina de Catalunya' adds to what has previously been said by saying that for the 'Pyrenean expression' to be complete apart from around the eyes, the tip of the nose and the lips should be completely black, the lips a little bit droopy, the head slightly dome-shaped , the cheeks not very developed, and full in the part just under the eyes (laterofacial angle) in a way that the union of the nose with the face is soft and without any brusqueness.

LA BORDA D'URTX has collaborated, through the SPANISH MOUNTAIN DOG CLUB and the CATALUNYAN GOVERNMENT in the LIFE PROJECT of the European Union with reference to the re-introduction of the Pyrenean Mountain dog to the flocks of sheep which graze in the Pyrenees during Summer.

LA BORDA D'URTX is a member of the following associations :

INSTITUT PIRINENC DEL GOS DE MUNTANYA DELS PIRINEUS (Catalunya)
RÉUNION DES AMATEURS DE CHIENS PYRÉNÉENS (France) (as a member of honour)
CLUB AMATORI CANI DEI PIRENEI (Italy)
REIAL SOCIETAT CANINA DE CATALUNYA (Catalunya)