The Portuguese Podengo breed has three types: Pequeno, Medio, and Grande. Each have different temperaments but they all love to hunt. They are also further divided into smooth and wirehaired.
The Portuguese Podengo's Behavior
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Source: Portuguese Podengo Club of America and Wikipedia
Recommended for: pet, working dog
The Portuguese Podengo dog breed is generally lively, clever, unassuming, and robust. The Portuguese Podengos Medio is the most popular among owners because they feel that the type strikes a balance in terms of size. The Medio is friendly, hardy, and makes an excellent family pet because they are good with children. They're vigilant and are capable escape artists. Training is necessary to curb the dogs' urge for mischief sometimes.
Remember that breed only provides a general clue as to any individual dog's actual behavior. Make sure to get to know dogs well before bringing them into your home.
The Portuguese Podengo's Physical Characteristics
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Here are some of the characteristics of the Portuguese Podengo breed as determined by the Portuguese Podengo Club of America's published breed standard.
- Size: Grande(55-70cm), Medio(40-55cm), Pequeno(20-30cm)
- Coat: short and long coat; medium thickness; smooth in the short-haired variety; wiry in the long-haired variety
- Color: yellow, fawn, black, self-colored with or without white markings, white as dominant color with previously mentioned colors as markings
- Eyes: color depends on coat color, small, set obliquely
- Ears: set medium high, oblique, carried erect, triangular, tapering, thin leather
- Muzzle: rounded nasal bridge, shorter than skull
- Nose: tapering, color is always darker than coat
- Tail: set high, strong, thick, tapering
The Portuguese Podengo's Origins and History
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Source: Wikipedia.
Country/Region of Origin: Portugal
Original purpose: hunting; Pequeno hunt rats, Medio hunt rabbits, and Grande hunt boars
Name: Also known as Podengo Portugues and Portuguese Warren Hound
Historical notes: Portuguese Podengo dogs as a breed are old. They date back 5,000 years and are believed to have been bred from African sighthounds. They have been in the United States for decades but it was only recently that they have become popular because Portuguese migrant families generally kept the dogs to their homesteads.