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> Our Dogs > All About PequenosAll About Pequenos
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My name is Schwartz and because I am absolutely the most intelligent Podengo in the world, I get to write this section of our website. I may be young but I am very wise!
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We Podengos are a happy, hardy, intelligent breed and love the active life. We are known for our erect ears, triangular head, elegant lines of body and agile movement. We look like we do because of having been hunters for many centuries in Portugal. Our dexterity and hunting skills derive from the way we are built, like little energetic well-tuned engines of endurance and speed. Some people even say we are graceful and poetry in motion. We are called pack animals because we hang out with other Podengos and humans of all kinds, ages and sizes. We make fine companions and are very good guard dogs, barking to alert inhabitants when someone approaches our home.
We are exceptionally healthy and can live, with proper loving care, into our late teens. We even have some friends who lived past twenty!
Naturally, we excel at agility and sports and prefer to live where there is land (our owners like it well fenced) to roam and run in.
Temperament
We are NOT lap dogs, we are independent thinkers who listen to our owners once they get our respect. So they have to treat us like the smart, active dogs that we are. While we do not shed much and require little grooming other than regular combing and nail clipping, we need to be active. That means places to run free and wild, but carefully fenced in, as well as interesting things to do, like agility or a good game of catch. While we enjoy watching the telly with you, it is not our passion.
Like all dogs, we need to be carefully introduced to new environments and your children, people and other animals. Most of us live happily in diverse homes, but that is because we are a small community and our breeders advise people about our temperaments and our needs.
Our History
The first small smooth coat Portuguese Podengo came to the United States in 1995 and the first small wire coat Podengo came in 2001. More than 300 of us now reside in about 40 states. We compete in AKC Companion Events and are recorded in AKC's Foundation Stock Service. We are recognized by all major canine organizations, including the American Rare Breed Association, the United Kennel Club, and NAKC/Rarities, Inc. We also participate in events sponsored by the American Sighthound Field Association, the United States Dog Agility Association and other organizations. Many of us have earned Canine Good Citizen awards, serve as therapy dogs, and do well in obedience. Some of us continue to hunt rabbits just like our ancestors, carrying on this centuries-old skill with verve and dedication.
Indeed, we are an ancient hunting breed, our origins going back thousands of years. Coming to the Iberian Peninsula with the Phoenicians from the area of Asia Minor more than 2,000 years ago, we can be seen on the bas relief of 11th century churches and were first written about in the 14th century.
Travels with Columbus
Small Podengos (that's us!) traveled aboard the caravels of Christopher Columbus and the Portuguese explorers -- Vasco da Gama, Magellan and others. Our job was to keep the ship clean of rodents, thus protecting the food stores and protecting the sailors from vermin-born disease. Some dogs who looks like us from around the world can trace their heritage to these traveling Podengos.
Breed Class
In Europe, the Portuguese Podengo is classified by the Federation Cynologique Internacionale (FCI) as Group 5: Spitz and primitive type, Section 7: Primitive type hunting dogs. The FCI breed standard governs all types of Portuguese Podengos. There are three sizes of Podengos -- Pequeno, Medio and Grande. Each size comes in two hair types -- smooth coat and wire coat.
In the United States, this FCI Podengo breed standard was revised by the Portuguese Podengo Pequeno Club of America (PPPCA) working closely with the Podengo Club or Portugal and the Kennel Club of Portugal to better reflect American terminology and AKC format.
If you have any comments or questions, contact us at podengoland@aol.com for a uniquely Podengo-centric point of view.
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