Podenco Canario

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Wikipedia

Podenco Canario
A bitch
A dog
Other names
  • Canary Islands Warren Hound
  • Canarian Warren Hound
OriginSpain
DistributionCanary Islands
Kennel club standards
Real Sociedad Canina de España standard
Fédération Cynologique Internationale standard
Dog (domestic dog)

The Podenco Canario is a Spanish breed of warren hound from the Canary Islands. It is used principally for hunting rabbit, but may also be used to hunt other small or larger game.[1]: 582 

It is morphologically similar to other warren hounds of Iberia and the Mediterranean region, some of which area also named podenco or podengo; among these are the Podenco Andaluz, the Podenco Ibicenco or Ca Eivissenc, and the Podenco Valenciano.[2]: 50 

History

The Podenco Canario is found on all of the Canary Islands.[citation needed] The legend is that it had descended from ancient dogs brought to the islands in antiquity from North Africa by the earliest human settlers and isolated there.[citation needed] However, recent genetics studies have concluded that the Podenco is a type of dog more closely related to, and no more primitive than, the rest of the European hunting breeds.[3][page needed]

A study in 2019 of genetic distance between Mediterranean warren hound breeds found three distinct clusters: the four Spanish podenco breeds (Andaluz, Canario, Ibicenco and Valenciano); the Cirneco dell'Etna of Sicily; and the Kelb tal-Fenek of Malta.[4]: 108 

It was definitively accepted by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale in 1987,[5] and was recognised in Spanish legislation in 2001;[6]: 22  it is also recognised by the La Real Sociedad Canina de España, the national kennel club of Spain.[7]

Appearance

The Podenco Canario is a very agile, slender and lightly built but sturdy dog. There are two distinct sizes of Podenco Canarios. One is similar to the Ibizan Hound, medium in size, with height at the withers approximately 55 to 64 cm (21.7 to 25.2 ins) for males, females are slightly smaller. Sizes vary with the terrain on which the dog hunts.[8] A second smaller size Podenco Canario has been recognised within the Canary Islands, with height at the withers approximately 30 to 40 cm for males, females slightly smaller. The short, dense coat should be some shade of red, white, or a combination of red and white, depending on the island and, in some cases, the specific area on some of the islands. There should be no other colour on the coat, or indeed anywhere on the body, as even the dog's nose, nails and skin should be a shade of red, and they are even known to "blush" when excited. The neck is long, the head is longer than it is wide, and the large ears are carried fully up. The long tail is usually seen low set but can be raised. The tail is not carried too high when moving. The dog should move in an extended and agile trot. Faults, which indicate that a particular dog should not be bred, include aspects of appearance as well as structural faults that would prevent the dog's ability to move and hunt, such as cow hocks, and crossing of the fore and hind legs at a trot.[8]

It is a slightly elongated and very muscular dog with a brown (chocolate), red, or yellow coat, can be accompanied by white, brown, or tan markings, and usually have short fur. They begin to demonstrate hunting instinct in as little as 3 months but can take up to 14 months to develop. When it is pursuing prey, they emit a characteristic staccato repetitive barking, known to some local hunters as "song of the rabbit".[citation needed]

Health

A sexual-development genetic disorder was observed in one dog of this breed, s.p. testicular/ovotesticular disorder, which can result in dogs that are genetically female (XX) developing testes or ovotestes instead of ovaries. This disorder was formerly referred to as SRY-negative XX sex reversal, and is more commonly documented in American and English Cocker Spaniels.[9]

References

  1. ↑ Miguel Fernández Rodríguez, Mariano Gómez Fernández, Juan Vicente Delgado Bermejo, Silvia Adán Belmonte, Miguel Jiménez Cabras (editors) (2009). Guía de campo de las razas autóctonas españolas (in Spanish). Madrid: Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Medio Rural y Marino. ISBN 9788449109461.
  2. ↑ Carlos San José, María José Cárcel, María Teresa Tejedor, Luis Vicente Monteagudo (2017). Microsatellite DNA markers applied to the classification of the Podenco Valenciano canine breed. Italian Journal of Animal Science. 17 (1): 49–52. doi:10.1080/1828051X.2017.1350119.
  3. ↑ See dog genome studies.
  4. ↑ Emiliano Lasagna, Simone Ceccobelli, Amparo Martinez Martinez, Hovirag Lancioni, Vincenzo Landi, Mario Cosenza, Anthony Gruppetta, Francesca Maria Sarti, Vincenzo Chiofalo, Carlos San José, Luis Monteagudo Ibanez, Luigi Liotta, George Attard (2019). Genetic variability assessment in different Mediterranean canine breeds using microsatellite markers. Italian Journal of Animal Science. 18 (Supplement 1: ASPA 23rd Congress Book of Abstracts): 108. doi:10.1080/1828051X.2019.1622269.
  5. ↑ FCI breeds nomenclature: Podenco Canario (329). Thuin, Belgium: Fédération Cynologique Internationale. Accessed September 2025.
  6. ↑ Elena Espinosa Mangana (23 December 2005). Real Decreto 1557/2005, de 23 de diciembre, por el que se modifica el Real Decreto 558/2001, de 25 de mayo, por el que se regula el reconocimiento oficial de las organizaciones o asociaciones de criadores de perros de raza pura (in Spanish). Boletín Oficial del Estado 10: 1349–1351. Reference: BOE-A-2006-415.
  7. ↑ Razas Españolas (in Spanish). Madrid: Real Sociedad Canina de España. Archived 28 August 2025.
  8. 1 2 FCI-Standard N° 329: Podenco Canario (Canarian Warren Hound – Canarian Podenco). Thuin, Belgium: Fédération Cynologique Internationale. Accessed September 2025.
  9. ↑ Buijtels, J. J. C. W. M. et al. 2009. Minimal External Masculinization in a SRY-negative XX Male Podenco Dog Reproduction In Domestic Animals 44(5):751-756