This dog has a bit of a beard around the muzzle and beneath the chin. The Portuguese Podengo wirehaired breed has a rough, harsh single layer coat with a texture that is medium length and not quite so dense as with the smooth hair breed. The smooth coat breed is the oldest of all the Portuguese Podengo dogs.Ī true smooth coat Podengo dog will come from two smooth coat parents and an unbroken lineage of smooth-coated dogs. The coat on the smooth-hair breed is still coarse. The smooth Podengo coat is very dense and thick but is single layer (no undercoat). The smooth coat became so popular for a time that the Portuguese Podengo wirehaired breed line nearly vanished.īut then breeders decided to bring it back, and today both coat types are shown and well established towards the future. Some Podengo dogs also have white markings.īlack, brown, or white coats are less common but do occur. The most popular coat colors for either coat type are yellow or fawn on a spectrum from light to dark shades. One is a smooth coat and the other is a wirehaired Portuguese Podengo. There are two coat types that are recognized in the Portuguese Podengo dog breed (all three sizes).
The pint-sized Podengo Pequeno weighs in at 9 to 13 pounds and stands just 8 to 12 inches tall (paw pads to shoulder). The middleweight in the Portuguese Podengo dog breed, the Medio typically weighs between 35 and 44 pounds and stands anywhere from 16 to 22 inches tall (paw pads to shoulder). The primary method is to interbreed Grande and large Medio dogs to return to the breed purity. These flaws include a narrower head and corkscrew tail. There is currently some overlap between the Grande and Medio sizes as breeders work to breed out certain flaws caused when the Spanish hunting dog,Podenco Andaluz, interbred with the Podengo. Typical height (paw pad to shoulder) is 22 to 28 inches. The largest of the three breeds, the Grande dog can weigh anywhere from 44 to 66 pounds. Here is a brief overview of the differences between each breed. In its native Portugal, the Portuguese Podengo dog breed differs in appearance based on its size (Grande, Medio, Pequeno). The Podengo was first introduced in the United States during the 1990s and has since made its way to 45 other countries as well. In Portugal today, the Podengo dog breed is one of the 10 National Dogs and is the breed used on the Portuguese Kennel Club logo. Here, the dogs’ responsibilities included flushing the rabbits, capturing them, killing them, and retrieving them (one assumes the peasant was then at least tasked with carrying the quarry home). The Medio and Pequeno Podengo dogs, in contrast, typically hunted solo with a human counterpart to bring down rabbits. In the early days, the Grande breed was considered a “boar hunter for nobility,” and the Medio and Pequeno were called “rabbit hunters for the people.”Īs such, the Grande typically hunted in packs to bring down wild boar. History of the Portuguese Podengo Breedĭid you know that the Portuguese Podengo can trace its lineage all the way back to the ancient Romans and Phoenicians? This puts the origin of this breed back as far as 600 B.C.! In other words, the Medio and Pequeno are not the result of selectively breeding down the Grande simply to get smaller sized “pocket pet” dogs. This is an important distinction, since, unlike many other breeds, the Portuguese Podengo has always been bred in three different sizes to do three distinct types of jobs. The Podengo Medio and Pequeno were bred to hunt rabbits.
Traditionally, the Grande Podengo dogs were bred to hunt wild boar and deer. However, the Portuguese Podengo Pequeno is still considered its own separate breed. The American Kennel Club (AKC) classed the Grande and Medio Podengo dogs together when recognizing the Portuguese Podengo dog for registry in the United States in 2004. In fact, in Portugal, this isn’t just one dog breed, but three, divided by size into Grande (large), Medio (medium), and Pequeno (small). The Portuguese Podengo hails from far south of the border in the country of Portugal. Let’s dive in and find out! What is a Portuguese Podengo? Would the Podengo dog make a good family pet?ĭoes the Portuguese Podengo have any significant health issues that you should be aware of?