The Dogo was created and perfected as purebred in Argentina during the 1920s by one Dr. Antonio Nores Martinez. The object of Martinez' breeding project was to create a fearless breed that would serve as a highly effective hunting dog, particularly for the hunting of wild boar and puma, In the case of the boar hunt, a pack of Dogos would "catch" a boar and hold it securely enough so that the human hunter involved could kill it with a long knife. Needless to say, the hunter has to have tremendous confidence in the dogs while he's doing this.

It wasn't only hunting that Martinez had in mind when he created the Dogo though. He was also interested in creating a protective dog that would not run for cover the first time it got hurt in a fight with a human intruder. He had this quality firmly in mind, along with boar and puma hunting, when he created the Dogo.