Land van herkomst: Spanje

Register: RSCE (de Podenco Andaluz wordt niet herkend door de FCI)

Geschiedenis van het ras Podenco Andaluz: Alle rassen van het Middellandse Zeegebied, de halfwindhonden lijken een gemeenschappelijke oorsprong te delen in de oude Egyptische honden, verspreid over de Middellandse Zee door handelaren uit de oudheid. De voorouders van de Podenco Andaluz waren hierop geen uitzondering, die zijn meegekomen met de Phoeniciërs op hun reizen naar de Zuid-Spaanse regio Cadiz.
Terwijl de voorouders van de meeste andere mediterrane honden, met opstaande oren die jagen op zicht en op snelheid, aantoonbaar geïsoleerd bleven en dus mogelijk de rechtstreekse afstammelingen zijn van de oude Egpytische honden, gebeurde dit bij de Podenco Andaluz niet. Spanje is in heel haar geschiedenis vaak binnengedrongen door andere culturen, die op hun beurt honden meebrachten naar Spanje. De Moren in het bijzonder zouden invloed hebben gehad op het huidige ras (Podenco Andaluz) met de toevoeging van primitieve soorten uit Afrika. Ondanks zijn lange geschiedenis, heeft de Podenco Andaluz pas onlangs de aandacht getrokken van de hondenshow wereld met de nationale erkenning door de Real Sociedad Canina de España.

Neus: De middelgrote neus is rond en honing van kleur.

Kaken en tanden: Vorm van de kaak: de kaak is goed ontwikkeld, sterke kaken, geleidelijk toelopend, robuust en krachtig. Aantal en de kenmerken van de tanden: 42 stuks en goed ontwikkeld. Positie van de snijtanden in perfecte oppositie. De beet in een schaar of pincet (bij voorkeur met een schaar).

Ogen: De kleine, afgeronde ogen gezien vanaf de voorzijde, kunnen elke teint van honing- of hazelbruine kleur hebben. Een vooraanzicht van levendig en intelligent. Iris kleur varieert tussen de verschillende nuances van honing en hazelbruin.

Oren: zijn midden ingesteld, breed aan de basis, driehoekig van vorm met stompe tips, en opstaand.

Hals: De middelgrote, rechte hals krap is en vormt een vijfenveertig graden hoek met het lichaam.

Lichaam: De borst is vrij diep en bezit iets gebogen ribben. De rug is recht, kort en heel breed.

Benen: De benen zijn lang, gespierd, recht en evenwijdig.

Voeten: De voeten zijn strak en rond, met tenen die zo weinig gebogen zijn dat ze vrijwel recht lijken. De grote, sterke nagels zijn bruin of wit van kleur.

Staart: De laag gezette, medium dikke staart dient niet tot de hakken te komen. De staart mag nooit kort zijn. In beweging wordt de staart omhoog gedragen min of meer in de vorm van een maan. In rust wordt de staart naar beneden gedragen in de richting van de hakken in de vorm van een sabel.

Spiermassa: zeer ontwikkeld.

Persoonlijkheid en gebruik: De Podenco Andaluz wordt beschouwd als een specialist in de jacht op hazen en wilde zwijnen, toe te schrijven aan zijn natuurlijke instincten, opmerkelijke reukvermogen, en overvloedige uithoudingsvermogen. Dat wil niet zeggen dat dit alles is waar dit ras tot in staat is. De Podenco Andaluz zou ook kunnen dienen als een retriever, zowel op het land, en in het geval van eenden in het water. Het is een hond geboren om te jagen, met een uitstekend reukvermogen en zeer resistent tegen vermoeidheid, is nergens bang voor, methodisch en snel in het zoeken, blaffend terwijl ze haar prooi achtervolgt.

Het is een hond met een hoge intelligentie, nobel, sociaal, en is altijd alert.

Als een metgezel is de Podenco Andaluz erg aanhankelijk, onderdanig, en loyaal naar zijn familie, maar onrechtvaardige straf zal deze band doorbreken.

RSCE Standard Podenco Andaluz in english:

Description

Podenco Andaluz is a breed that presents three different sizes and there exists also three different varieties of different hair. The sizes are:

Big size.
Medium size.
Small size.

As regards the hair, there are three types:

Cerdeño-type (wire and long).
Sedeño-type (silky and long).
Smooth type (short and thin).

Function of the Breed

Podenco Andaluz is an animal that because of his sense of smell and his developed hunting instinct is able to successfully face the search of the rabbit in the bramble patches or the hard grip of the wild boar, as well as the duck retrieving into the water. If we add to this capacity the agility and extraordinary resistance that is characteristic of the dog, we face an exceptionally gifted for hunting animal.


General Appearance

He is a harmonious, compact, very coarse and well vertical dog.


Behaviour / Temperament

Of great intelligence, nobility, sociability and always alert. Just enough reactions to stimulations that show a lively and balanced character. Very warm, submissive and loyal with his owner, but breaks the tie when unjustly punished. All this confers him with a great capacity for training.

He is a dog born for hunting, with an excellent smell and very resistant to fatigue, he is not frightened for nothing, methodical and fast while searching, with a lively gait after the prey, not only in big game but also in small game, being an excellent retriever of hair and feather, not only in water but also on rough ground.


Head

Podenco Andaluz is a dog with medium size, well proportioned and strong head. Shaped like a truncated pyramid, without presenting a strong depression between the skull and the face, not pointed, but a bit squared and the muzzle, a bit subconvex.

CRANIAL REGION :

Shape of the skull: Subconvex.

Direction of the upper longitudinal axes of the skull and muzzle: in profile, they coincide in the front part, forming an 18º angle.

Upper line: lightly subconvex.

Width of the skull: Smaller than its length with very little difference.

Shape of the superciliary ridges: little pronounced.

Protuberance of the occipital crest: softly marked.

“Stop” (degree of the nasal-frontal depression): soft and little pronounced.

FACIAL REGION :

Nose: Rounded, medium size, well opened nostrils and colour of the honey.

Muzzle: Shorter than the middle of the total measurement of the head. The depth and width are similar. Nasal-frontal profile: Straight, with a soft slope in its more distant extreme. Profile and shape of the lower jaw: Straight.

Lips: Steady, thin, right fit and of the colour of the honey.

Jaws and teeth: Shape of the jaw: Well developed jaw and progressively accompanies strong jawbone to form a coarse and powerful set. Number and characteristics of the teeth: 42 pieces and well developed. Position of the incisives: Perfectly opposite. Bite: Scissor or pincer bite (preferably scissor bite).

Cheeks. Shape and appearance: Rounded and very muscled.

Eyes: Small and rounded, seen from the front. Its position is similar from the nape of the neck and from the nose, vivacious frontal and intelligent look. Variable colour iris between the different shades of honey and hazelnut. The direction of the opening of the eyelids goes towards the ears. The pigmentation of the edges of the eyelids in agreement with the colour of the nose and coat.

Ears: The position of the ear is nearly straight, medium size, cylindrical, with wide insertion in the head and trunk, tending to form a 45º angle with the longitudinal diameter of the body. Great musculature and tight skin that never forms a dewlap.


Body

Upper or dorsal line with tendency to horizontality.

Wither: Characteristics: Little prominent wither and of wide insertion in the neck.

Back: The upper line is straight, the musculature well developed. Proportion of the length of the back and kidney: Relation back/kidneys: 2/1.

Loin: Length: Short. Width: Very wide. Musculature: Very developed.

Croup. Outline: Lightly rounded. Direction: Lightly sloped. Length: Long. Width: Similar dimensions to the length.

Chest. Length: The length and width of the chest is similar to the bicostal diameter. Depth of the thoracic cavity: deep enough. Shape of the ribs: Coarse and lightly arched ribs. Forechest: wide, deep and strongly muscled.

Abdomen Lower line: Tucked up. Shape of the abdomen: The belly is rounded and muscled. Shape of the creases of the belly: no creases on the belly.

Tail

Insertion: Low set.

Shape: Arched.

Length: it should not exceed the length of the hock joint.

Thickness: Medium thickness.

Tail hanging at rest: sabre shape towards the hock joints.

Tail hanging in movement: Shape of upwards half moon, more or less closed.

Description of the tail: Strong, abundantly covered with hair, never like a flag, gaily moved during the hunting; it is never cut. There is usually a big white spot towards the end of the tail in cinnamon dogs.


Limbs

Forequarters

General Appearance. Forelegs seen from the front: Medium thickness, well vertical and noticeable muscular development. Forelegs seen in profile: Medium proportions arms presenting a strong musculature and harmoniously articulated with the shoulder blade, the junction is not marked; wide elbows, well defined and parallel to the level of the body. Proportion with respect to the body: Well proportioned.

Shoulders: Length: Medium proportions. Slope: Scantly oblique. Musculature: Strong. Slope of the angle of the scapular-humeral joint: Scantly oblique.

Arm: Length: Medium length and noticeable muscular development. Characteristics and shape of the bone: Strong.

Elbow: Position and angle of the elbow: wide elbows, well defined and parallel to the level of the body, open angles.

Forearm: The length of the forearm is proportioned to the rest of the extremity and strongly muscled. The length of the forearm is proportioned to the rest of the extremity and strongly muscled. Characteristics and shape of the bone: Strong.

Carpus (Carpal joint): Wide: Similar thickness to the forearm.

Metacarpus (Pastern): Length: Medium length and well proportioned. Width: Similar thickness to the carpus (carpal joint). Position or slope: Nearly vertical.

Feet: Shape and curvature of the toes: Rounded foot, neither cat nor harefoot. The curvature of the toes is little pronounced. Nearly straight and strong. The nails are white or brown, wide and strong. The pads are hard and resistant, of a light colour or brown.


Hindquarters

General Appearance: Well vertical, very strong and good muscular development. Rear paws seen from behind: Strong and perfectly vertical. Proportion in relation to the body: long.

Thighs: Length: Long, wide, developed musculature and descending scantly oblique. The angle of the coxal-femoral: Approx.110 degrees.

Knees: Position: Medium-High. Femoral-tibial joint angle: Approx. 110 degrees.

Leg: Strong, with a thick calcaneus tendon that quickly separates from the shin bone to form a very developed muscular set. Length: Short in relation to the thigh. Position: Too vertical. Characteristics and shape of the bone: Strong.

Hock Joint: Well angulated, thick tendons and well defined. It is short and set high. Well proportioned with the rest of the bone diameters. Thickness: Similar to that of the metatarsus seen from behind. Tibia-tarsian joint angle: From 150 to 160 degrees.

Metatarsus: Length: Very long. Width: Seen from behind, thicker than the leg. Position: Vertical.

Feet: The rear feet are practically like the forefeet, or a bit opener or longer. Shape: Medium size, neither cat nor hare foot. Curvature of the toes: Similar to the fore toes, strong with scant curvature. The pads are hard and resistant, white or brown. The nails are wide and hard, white or brown.


Gait / Movement

The favourite movement in dog shows is the trot. In hunting, it is the fast trot as well as the gallop.


Coat

Medium thickness, strong, right tightened and very resistant, not having folds nor creases on no part of the body. Pigmentation: The coat is light or in harmony with the colour of the hair.


Hair

Length: Smooth and short hair: 2 cm. with ± 1 cm. Wire or “cerdeño”-type hair: 5 cm. with ± 1 cm. Long or “sedeño”-type hair: 8 cm. with ± 2 cm.

Texture: Smooth or short hair is hard and steady to the touch. Wire or cerdeño-type hair is sturdy to the touch. Long or sedeño-type hair is silky to the touch. ”Sedeño”-type as well as “cerdeño”-type dogs are bushy all over the body, being shorter on extremities and on the head. It is noticeable the lack of subhair.

Colour:

Basic colour: The coat is white or cinnamon, or maybe both colours. White exists in the silver, matt and ivory; and cinnamon can vary from light to bright cinnamon.

Accepted colours: Cinnamon and white.
Not accepted colours: The rest of the colours.


Size and Weight

Height at the wither.

Big Size:

Males: 54-64 cm.
Females: 53-61 cm.

Medium Size:

Males: 43-53 cm.
Females: 42-52 cm.

Small Size:

Males: 35-42 cm.
Females: 32-41 cm.

Weight:

Big Size: 27 kg. ± 6 kg.
Medium Size: 16 kg. ± 6 kg.
Small Size: 8 kg. ± 3 kg.


Faults

Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree. All the faults are shown hereunder:

I. General Eliminating Faults

Monorquidism.
Cryptorquidism.
Albinism.
Prognatism.
Enogmatism.

II. Eliminating Faults specific of the breed

II. A. Morfostructure and Faneroptic

Head

A. Teeth

Two or more missing PM.
Any incisive or canine missing.

B. Ears

Not completely upright ears.
Cropped ears.

C. Lacking Stop.

D. Eyes- Blue or green iris.

E. Shape of the head

Narrow head.
Wide head.

Limbs

Presence of claws or dewclaws.
Incorrect position of the legs.

Tail

Docked tail.
Long tail.

Pigmentation

Presence of black or any other colour which is not white or cinnamon in any of their shades.

II.B. Functionality

False gait.
Imperfect retrieving.
Lack of resistance and agility in hunting.
Fear of the shot.
Slow pace of hunting.



FUNCTIONALITY OF THE ANDALUSIAN WARREN HOUND

When evaluating the functional characteristics of the Andalusian Warren Hound, we find a dog of sober temperament, lively, with fair reactions and always alert. Affectionate, submissive and faithful with his owner, but distrustful and unfriendly with a stranger. Very developed senses: acute smell, perfect hearing and superb sight. In the field, he is tireless and tenacious in the search, agile while moving and very quick on rough grounds.

As said before, the morphology is closely related to function. Therefore, when considering the aptitudes of this breed, we must say that Podenco Andaluz has exceptionally a gift for hunting, executing all kinds of tasks, not only in small game but also in big game.

Small Game

In small game, he is brilliant in that of coat, being irreplaceable in the hunting of the rabbit where he puts all his abilities to the test; finds the prey with his great smell, follows it helped by his sight and hearing and very often he reaches it himself, carrying it to his owner. This task, characteristic of the Medium and Small sizes of this breed, although not exclusive, can be done with just one dog, in pairs or in groups, forming what is called “recova”.

It is in this task where the Podenco Andaluz is a real specialist, not being levelled by any other breed, due to his particular way of hunting where a group of dogs beat the mounts and when one of them show the prey, the rest act understanding perfectly the other and knowing instinctively his own role: surrounding the bushes, brambles or burrows, in order to block the way to the rabbit, close the natural exit, avoiding him escaping. They lie in wait for the prey and put it to the shot of the handler.

He is very good at the hunting of feather, being mainly used for partridge and quail, where he shows it perfectly in many occasions, as if he was the best pointing dog. Besides, he is also used for the hunting of thrush, turtledove and dove. He is an excellent auxiliary that always retrieves perfectly, unbeatable, no matter the ground where he is. He can also be used as retriever of all sorts of anatidae in the water, in marshes, lakes or rivers.

Another utility in small game is called “Quintaor”, in the “recovas” or going with the groups of greyhounds in the hunting of the hare. This function is usually developed by a Big size Podenco Andaluz, but without ruling out the Medium or Small size dogs, because for this task it is required a stronger dog, the most respected, the leader of the group, and if the “recova” is only formed by Medium or Small size dogs, one of them stands out for this function.

About this dog, it is said that he is “of high winds and straight to the preys”, but if on the ground where he is, there is a lot of game, he does not have enough time to follow the preys but he exclusively retrieves and snatches them from the rest of dogs in order to give them to his owner.

When we talk about the hunting of the hare, the only possible “quitaor” is the Big size Podenco Andaluz, since a dog of his size can only dominate the hounds. Usually, the preys are followed by four or five greyhounds and the presence of one of this Podencos is totally essential to avoid the hounds damaging or devouring the prey. In many occasions, the “quitaor”, just growling the other dogs from a long distance, gets that the others leave the prey in his hands. Otherwise, the Podenco Andaluz will have to impose his control, showing his power and even quarrelling.

On the other hand, if we specifically describe this work, we will say that, firstly, they find the preys, make them move and pursuit them. Immediately after, the greyhounds are unleashed to run behind the hare until seizing it. Usually, the greyhounds can run away several kilometres, the owners losing sight of them, and once more, the help of the “quitaor” is invaluable. But if the hare escapes and takes shelter somewhere, the Podenco comes again into action, making the prey move again to put it at the greyhounds’ disposal. This action is repeated once and thousand times until the greyhounds seize the hare. Then, the “quitaor” retrieves it and gives it to this owner.

Big Game

When talking about big game, we must obligatory refer to huntings with pack of hounds, understanding a group of dogs that guided by a so-called “podenquero” are capable of solving the search, movement of the prey, pursuit, hounding and retrieval of the animals on the ground.

The effort in hunting, his attention, his gait when running, his ability in dodges, his resistance to go up and down rocky outcrops and cross the vegetation of the mountain, make the Podenco Andaluz be the starring in any pack of hounds. The classical structure of a pack of hounds has the Big size Podenco Andaluz, rough and long hair, as main member in “searching” and “hounding” tasks; some Medium or Small size as “pointing dogs”, apart from mastiff or mastiff-type dogs as “retriever dogs”. It was not a long time ago, when it could be found a couple of Alanos in charge with this last function.

This breed, developed in the Andalusian orography, has acquired some qualities in hunting which are unlikely surmountable. The battle, whose aim is to hunt the wild boar or the deer, basically consists on a sequence in which it is firstly detected the prey on the part of the “pointing dogs”; followed by the pursuit and hounding until the prey is cornered, previous step to retrieving, that can be done by the warren hounds themselves thanks to his great value or this function can be delegated to the so-called hunting dogs.

Guard

It can not be forgotten the work of guard, traditional in every Andalusian country house, that the Big size dogs have historically fulfilled (Sarazá Ortiz, 1963). His liveliness, heftiness as well as his unfriendly and distrustful character in front of strangers has been used for these purposes in those moments where they did not go to hunt.

All these jobs that refer to our Podenco Andaluz are product of the prodigious ecological adaptation to difficult grounds of the Andalusian geography and the functional requirements up to date. Because of this, the breed is currently in an excellent genetic state, being our duty to preserve this cynophile richness in the group of the Spanish Native Canine Breeds.