The Podenco Canario or Canary Islands Hound (translated from Spanish) is a primitive Greyhound originating from, as its name suggests, Canary Islands, Spain. It is a Spitz-type dog, quite similar to other Mediterranean hounds – the Podenco Ibicenco of Balearic Islands, Podengo Português of Portugal, Pharaoh Hound of Malta, and Cirneco dell Etna in Sicily. He is included in the Primitive Types – Hunting Dogs section in the class of primitive dogs. It is one of the oldest primitive breeds. This Canarian Hound descends from a very ancient Pariah-type dogs brought from Egypt and Northern Africa to the Canary Islands by Greeks, Phoenicians, Carthaginians, and the Egyptians themselves in antiquity, several thousand years ago. Here, the breed remained isolated until the recent years. This dog is actually very rare outside his home country.
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What Is A Podenco Canario
Main Podenco Canario dog characteristics are independence, intelligence, agility, speed, alertness, endurance, loyalty, stubbornness, and emotional sensitivity – when excited he blushes like Pharaoh Hound. His life expectancy is somewhere between 12 and 15 years. It is a dynamic medium-sized dog mainly used in hunting the rabbits in its native country. There the rabbits are actually vermin, which makes this dog highly valuable. Thanks to his incredible speed, determination, persistency, excellent eyesight and hearing, and subtle sense of smell, he is more than capable for this task. Unfortunately, these dogs aren’t often treated well among local people, especially after the hunting season, when many dogs end up being killed, including their pups :( However, the breed endured till this very day, so I guess they know what they’re doing.
Graceful and agile
The Podenco Canario demands a lot of exercise since he is a very energetic dog, always ready to work, so make sure you have a plan of daily activities for this buddy. I suggest you take him to walk or jogging at least two times a day, or throw him a freesbie. All of this, makes him an ideal competitor in dog racing and agility trials, but this demands a lot of training, which can be a problem with this dog. Yeah, like many other primitive breeds, the Canary Hound demands a confident and dominant leader. However, since he is very sensitive and stubborn, training sessions must be short and well-organized without any sort of bullying or yelling. Any use of inappropriate methods can have serious consequences for his mental health, resulting in shy or aggressive behavior, which is unacceptable.
The Podenco Canario gets very attached to his primary owner, but other members of the family are equally welcome company. He can be playful and generally is nice and gentle with children, but doesn’t like being abused too much. He is often suspicious and reserved with strangers, but not aggressive. The Canarian Hound is a very quiet dog that rarely bark. Generally, he prefers running around or chasing, which brings us to the not-that-nice side of his personality. This dog has a huge prey drive (even when still a puppy), and he’s super fast and merciless. This is the reason he is extremely dangerous for cats and other small animals around. The only way to prevent this is to get him used to your other pets by raising them together. Also, he can be aggressive with other dogs, especially of the same sex, so the proper socialization is necessary.
Canary Islands Hound Physical Characteristics And Traits
The Podenco Canario is very lean, athletic and graceful, quite similar in shape to other Greyhounds. Just a single look at this dog reveals that he is easily capable of all sorts of movement changes and high jumping. He has no excess fat and his slightly wrinkled skin is attached close to his light, slender and very muscular body. The coat is short and tight, and the hair is very smooth on touch. Podencos shed very little, so you won’t have to worry much about your dog’s care. On top of that, they like to take care of themselves, which makes things even easier. Just brush him once a week and that’s it. The main colors of the Canary Hound are white and red, which can come in all sorts of shades – from dark red to orange. The combination of these two colors is also acceptable.
The Podenco Canario has the elongated, wedge-shaped head with large pointy ears and small amber eyes, which are almond-shaped. The muzzle is prominent and long with scissor jaws and broad nose in fur color. The neck is long and muscular. The Canary Islands Hound is a little longer than tall at the shoulders. His back is straight and strong with the long, pointy and slightly curved tail in continuation. The tail is often hanging, but when the dog’s excited it gets raised atop his back in the shape of a sickle. The chest is thin and very deep in comparison to the abdomen, but still not lower than elbows on the front legs. Speaking of legs, they are very long – the front legs are muscular and straight, while the hind legs are strong, slightly angled and well composed. The paws are oval-shaped with hard pads.
Podenco Canario Dog Size And Weight
Male
– Height between 21,5 and 25 inches (55-64 cm)
– Weight between 44 and 55 pounds (20-25 kg)
Female
– Height between 21 and 23,5 inches (53-60 cm)
– Weight between 44 and 55 pounds (20-25 kg)
Where is that rabbit? :)
Smart And Agile Hunter
At the beginning of this article I wrote that Podenco Canario is a primitive Greyhound (even the people in its native country often call him the Rabbit Greyhound), which of course is the truth, but only to some extent. You see, like all other Greyhounds, the Canarian Hound utilizes its incredible sense of smell and his hearing to track down a game, but when he finally gets close to it, he relies on his excellent sight and speed to hunt it down. This makes him a Sighthound as much as a Greyhound, which is quite rare. No matter how cunning the rabbit really is, it will have a hard time evading this buddy. Also, when you add that these hounds often hunt in packs and that they can easily adapt to any terrain (plain, rocky, hilly or sandy), it is quite clear why this dog is such a great hunter’s companion.
Excellent Dog Racing Competitor
To put it straight away, Podenco Canario is as fast as the wind! Well, when you look at his physical attributes, it is no wonder this hound is such a fast and agile animal. His long and strong legs combined with his lean and aerodynamic body are the reasons this dog is capable of running at such high speeds. He can excel at full speed in no time, which is of great importance in racing. The reason enough people outside its native country are starting to use this dog more and more for dog racing trials with great success. Also, he can be quite a good competitor in dog agility trails as well as tracking. So, yeah, Podenco Canario is indeed a special breed with lots of qualities. Gentle and emotional, he can be a great companion for everybody with a good amount of adequate training. Just remember to warn your neighbors to keep their cats at safe distance ;)
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