Portuguese Podengo

The Portuguese Podengo is thought to be one of the oldest dog breeds in the world. Their overall appearance has not changed much through the centuries from the dogs brought over to the Iberian Peninsula by the Romans and Phoenicians over 2,000 years ago. The larger Portuguese Podengo was originally bred to hunt boar and deer whereas the medium variety was bred to hunt rabbit and other small game. Other hounds were brought into the Iberian Peninsula from across North Africa and bred to the ancient Portuguese Podengo during the Moorish Invasion in the 8^th century. Today, this canine is listed as one of the ten National Dogs of Portugal. This includes all three sizes and both coat types. The Clube Portugues de Canicultura or the Portuguese Kennel Club has chosen this noble dog as its official symbol. The Club do Podengo Portugues was formed in the early 1900s and is the national breed club in Portugal. The CPP has closely monitored the breeding and registering of adults and puppies. The breed saw a sharp decline in numbers at the beginning of the 1900s. Many people of Portugal’s upper class contributed to the resurrection of the dog throughout the next 100 years. The first dog of this breed was imported into the United States in the 1990s. In 2004, the United Kennel Club began registering them and allowed them to compete in all UKC events. Many of these dogs living within the United States are registered with the CPP and many litters born abroad have been registered with the CPP. In 2004, the Portuguese Podengo was allowed into the American Kennel Club’s Foundation Stock Service. They are now a member of the Miscellaneous Class which is the last step before achieving full AKC status.