The breed is officially recognised in Uruguay and by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale with the name Cimarrón Uruguayo.

As with all large dogs, the Cimarrón Uruguayo must be well socialized when very young if it is to be safely kept as a companion.

The Cimarrón Uruguayo mainly descends from the Alano Español and other European dogs brought by early colonizers and released or abandoned.

[4] In addition, genetic studies are being done on the breed by the Universidad de la Republica Oriental del Uruguay college of Veterinary Medicine.

The Cimarrón Uruguayo was provisionally recognised by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale on February 21, 2006, and definitively on November 7, 2017, in Group 2, Section 2 Molossoid breeds-Mastiff type.