[4][5] The Villano is a traditional working dog of the region of Las Encartaciones in the province of Biscay, in the Basque country, and to some extent also of Álava, of eastern Cantabria and of northern Burgos.

From the 1960s, rather than use two breeds of which neither could perform the function of the other, breeders began to cross-breed them in the hope of combining the capabilities of both in a single animal; this gave rise to the modern Villano.

[2]: 596  A breed society, the Club Nacional del Villano de Las Encartaciones, was formed in 1997.

[1] It was among the fourteen indigenous animal breeds included in the rural development plan for the País Vasco for 2007–2013.

[10] With the Erbi Txakur it is one of the most seriously endangered breeds of the Basque Country:[2]: 534  in 2009 there were fewer than 200 dogs registered in the studbook.