Portuguese Podengo History

The Portuguese Podengo, a National Dog of Portugal, is an ancient hound that came to the Iberian Peninsula with the Phoenicians from the area of Asia Minor in around 1000 BC. Beginning in the 15th century, the small Podengo traveled aboard the caravels of Christopher Columbus and the Portuguese explorers, serving to rid the ships of vermin and disease.

The Podengo comes in three sizes, small, medium and large -- called Podengo Pequeno, Podengo Medio and Podengo Grande. Each size comes in two hair types -- wirehair and smooth coat. The large Podengos hunt wild boar and the medium and small are known as one of the world’s finest rabbit hunters.

The Podengo is known for its erect ears, pyramidal head, elegant lines of body and agile movement. It is a hardy, intelligent and lively breed, making fine companions. Loyal and fearless, the Podengo is also a good watchdog. With a keen sense of fun, the Portuguese Podengo is easy to train, excelling at agility and other sports and has starred in several Hollywood films, including Three Wishes, Soccer Dog, and Zeus and Roxanne.

The first purebred Portuguese Podengos came to the United States in the 1990s. Almost 200 now reside in more than thirty states. A complete breed history is found in the book The Portuguese Podengo by Vitor Veiga, now available in English.