![]() ![]() Regardless of its size, the Medio is a wonderful companion dog and super-efficient hunter. Many Portuguese owners favor the Medio over both of its brothers, the Grande and Pequeno because they feel its size is ideal-not too big and not too small. Courageous and a good watchdog it is affectionate, making a good family companion. The Podengo Portugueso Medio is probably the fastest of three Podengos. ![]() Colors may include yellow, fawn or black with white markings. The wirehaired coat is medium-long, shaggy and coarse. The smooth coat is hard and longer than that of most sighthounds. ![]() The coat comes in two varieties: smooth and wire-coated. When the dog is calm the tail hangs down when the dog is excited or in motion the tail is horizontal. The neck is strong and muscular without dewlap. The cat-like feet have well-arched toes with hard, strong pads. The small, oblique eyes are brown to honey in color. The ears are large, naturally upright, triangular and highly mobile, turning forward to catch sound. The nose is usually brown, but may be black. The Medio Podengo Portugueso is a moderately-sized sighthound type with a well-proportioned head, flat skull and pronounced stop. There are three sizes of Podengo Portugueso: Grande (large), Medio (medium) and Pequeno (small). Podengo Portugueso Pequeno = Small Portuguese Hound.Podengo Portugueso Medio = Medium Portuguese Hound.Podengo Portugueso Grande = Large Portuguese Hound.Their intelligence and activity level make them excellent partners for dog sports, like agility or rally. But considering their history of high endurance hunting, they require mental stimulation and regular, brisk exercise, either on-leash or in a fenced-in area, due to their instinct to chase. ![]() The Pequeno is a small dog, standing 8-12 inches at the top of the shoulder and weighing between 9 and 13 pounds. In the 1980s, a few breeders of the smooth coat decided to recover the wire-coat variety, and now the gene pool has been expanded to include the wire coat once again. The smooth coat was historically more popular with hunters and breeders, so the wire-coat variety was eventually lost. Routine brushing is all that is required to keep the coat looking its best. Both varieties are shown naturally, not trimmed or sculpted. According to the breed standard, the smooth coat is short and very dense, and the wire coat is medium in length, rough and harsh with longer beard hair on the muzzle. Like the Portuguese Podengo, the Pequeno comes in two coat varieties, the smooth and wire. Once the ships reached land, the Pequenos had a new purpose, to hunt and provide fresh meat for the sailors. The dogs were valuable passengers because keeping the ship free of vermin would help protect perishable cargo from damage and reduce the risk of the sailors contracting vermin-carried diseases. In the 15 th century, it’s believed that Portuguese explorers took Pequenos on board ship with them to act as vermin killers. This somewhat rectangular shape helps it enter dense thickets and rock crevices while chasing its quarry. In addition, the Portuguese Podengo Grande is squarer in shape, while the Pequeno is longer than it is tall. For example, the grande-size Portuguese Podengo was bred to hunt deer and wild boar, and the Pequeno was bred to hunt rabbit. Traditionally, the different size dogs had different functions. The Portuguese Podengo Pequeno is not simply a Portuguese Podengo that has been bred down in size. However, in the United States, the American Kennel Club classifies the Portuguese Podengo, as having two sizes-the grande and the medio, and this is a separate breed from the Portuguese Podengo Pequeno. The Portuguese consider the Podengo to be a single breed with three sizes, the “grande” (large), the “medio” (medium) and the “pequeno” (small). When these dogs reached Portugal, the needs of the local hunter and the harsh terrain shaped the Portuguese Podengo Pequeno into a tenacious rabbit hunter. Dogs of this type are thought to have originated with Phoenician and Roman merchants who navigated the coasts of the Mediterranean basin in the time of classical antiquity. In Portugal, the word “ Podengo” is used to refer to a specific type of primitive, pack-hunting dog with erect ears, a wedge-shaped head (like a four-sided pyramid), a sickle-shaped tail, and either a smooth and wire coat. The Pequeno is a national breed of Portugal. These natural rabbit hunters are members of the Hound Group, and they will hunt alone or in a small pack. They are smart, lively dogs that make willing watchdogs while serving as your companion. The Portuguese Podengo Pequeno (Pequeno) is a small, robust, and rustic breed, originally from Portugal. ![]()
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