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Andalusian Podenco Dog Breed, Rescue, Andaluz Andalusian, Size and Information

The Andalusian Podenco dog, also often known as the Andalusian hound or the Podenco Andaluz Andalusian, is a Spanish dog breed that, as the name suggest, originates from Andalusia.

This Iberian dog has many similarities with other Iberian dogs such as the Ibizan hound, the Moneto, and the Portuguese Podengo. Since these are the typical races of dogs from the Spanish mainland, they have been depicted in a lot of paintings as well as literature. Since the ancient times, there have been many similar races of dogs in other parts of the Mediterranean as well.

Though there are many accounts that point to the origin of the Andalusian Podenco dog in Spain, there are other accounts that indicate the introduction of the Podencos in Spain by Phoenicians. There is a widespread belief that there is a genetic relationship of the Andalusian Podenco dog with other European dogs from hunting races. There are many different varieties of the Andalusian Podenco dog.

There are three typical sizes of this do, and three different kinds of fur. The Andalusian Podenco dog breed can be found in the large size, the medium size, and the little size. These dogs have different types of hair and belong to different varieties as well. The hair too is of various different varieties. There is the hard hair variety, the long and silky hair variety, and finally, the short and straight hair variety.

Like all other hounds, the Andalusian Podenco also has a highly developed sense of sight and smell. They can hear very low sounds and are extremely fast runners. They are very useful in hunting rabbits and squirrels. In Central and Southern parts of Spain, these dogs are used for a variety of hunting expeditions. They are largely used to hunt small game, and may be used either individually or in pars with other, larger hounds. They may often be used in packs for hunting expeditions. More often than not, while hunting, the Andalusian Podencos are used along with sighthounds. The larger Andalusian Podenco dogs have also been used as scavengers for rodents and as watch dogs.

In the recent times, the number of these dogs has dwindled considerably. There are an increasing number of Andalusian Podenco rescue missions that try to rescue these dogs and rehabilitate them. Since these dogs are believed to be the direct descendants of the ancient Egyptian dogs, they are regarded with a lot of interest, especially by animal societies.

Submitted on September 5, 2011