Portuguese Podengo Pequeno
Temperament
Playful, Charming, Lively
[3]A small Portuguese hunting dog
The FCI standard describes the Portuguese Podengo as a primitive-type hunting dog from Portugal and says the small variety was selected from the 15th century onward to catch rats aboard Portuguese ships. It presents the proposed Phoenician and Roman origins as probable rather than certain.
[1]The Pequeno searches holes and rocks for rabbits
The Pequeno is the smallest of the three Portuguese Podengo sizes and is used to search for rabbits in holes and rocky places. The AKC standard gives a height of about 20–30 cm and weight of 4–6 kg, with a wedge-shaped head, erect ears and a sickle-shaped tail.
[2]Smooth and wire coats
The breed has two coat types: short, dense smooth hair and longer, harsh wire hair. Wire-coated dogs have longer beard-like hair on the muzzle; neither variety has an undercoat, and the Pequeno remains distinct from the medium and large sizes.
[2]