The small Podengo adapts easily to city and country living. They are well suited to suburban family life with a fenced in yard. It does appear that this breed is very healthy. A rare breed outside of Portugal, there is almost no data available on the breed’s health. When speaking to breeders it is recommended you enquire about breed’s health and what health testing the breeder does. This breed is an average shedder that will regularly leave hair on furniture, clothes and carpets.Īll breeds have individual health issues. Other than that, this breed only needs the routine maintenance procedures required of all dogs such as nail clipping and teeth brushing. They require brushing once or twice a week and should be bathed infrequently to preserve natural body oils, ideally once every three or four months. The smooth haired coat is short and those dogs are more adapted to a rainy climate because they dry quickly, however, the wire-haired coat is a bit longer and these dogs need a drier climate so as not to accumulate water inside the hair. The two coat varieties are smooth or wire, both of medium thickness. The most common colours are yellow and fawn in all shades from light to dark, either or without white markings or white with patches of these colours.

While some are very openly affectionate, most are more reserved and those that have not been exposed to children from a young age may or may not be tolerant of them.Īll varieties are used for hunting as watch dogs and companion dogs and can be used in a number of performance events such as agility, obedience, earthdog and lure coursing. These breeds vary tremendously in terms of affection level. Some breed members have a tendency to become one-person dogs, but most will form equally strong attachments to all members of a family. They are similar to many other primitive hunting breeds in that they tend to form close attachments with their family and are known for their great loyalty. The average life span is 10 to 15 years of age.Īll Podengos are very fast, agile and extremely durable dogs. When considering a dog please realise that you are taking it on for its lifetime. The small is the only variety in Australia. The largest, or grande, is extremely rare even in Portugal, and the medium is not very numerous. This breed comes in three varieties differing in size small, medium and large and there are two coat types (Smooth and Wire) found in each size. The Portuguese Podengo is the National Breed of Portugal. There is evidence of dogs of a similar style existing very long ago around the Mediterranean, being used as hunters of small game and as companions and these may have been the forebears of the breed. The Portuguese Podengo was developed long before written records of dog breeding were kept, meaning that very little of this breed’s ancestry is known with certainty. Breed Information & Registered Breeders.FAQ - Compliance Procedure / Complaints.FAQ - Applications referred to Compliance Committee.

Portuguese podengo dogs