Portuguese Warren Hound

The dog’s coat can be yellow and tawny (from lightest to darkest) with or without white marks; or white with yellow and tawny marks.

The coat is either short or long.

The coat can be either short and smooth or thicker and wired. In both cases the fur is averagely thick but denser for the short-coated variety.

Ranges between honey and hazel depending on the colour of the coat.

The Portuguese Podengo is a slender hunting dog, well-proportioned and strong. They can possess two types of coat depending on the 3 varieties of size; the small, medium and large Podengo. The head is a truncated pyramid-shape, with a broad base and pointed tip. The skull is flattened with an almost straight profile; the frontal furrow is not very pronounced and the stop is barely defined. The chamfer is rounded with a straight profile. The eyes are oblique, and small. The ears stand up and are very mobile, vertical or slightly forward sloping. The neck is straight, long, proportionate to the rest of the body. The medium-length tail, set rather high, is thick at the base and pointed at the tip. The limbs are strong and slender.

These dogs only trust their owners: to whom they will show great kindness but will become distant towards strangers.

Within the family, this dog is very jovial, excitable and playful. Their intelligence and enthusiasm make play-time with this dog great fun for the children.

The Portuguese Warren Hound is very energetic and excitable in nature. This energy must be channelled with a good education so that it does not become excessive.

It is mostly the versatility of these dogs that makes them intelligent. Regardless of their size, they can indeed be used for hunting, as guard dogs or simply as companions.

This is a truly primitive dog, expressing itself best when hunting. The medium Podengo is used for rabbit hunting; the large Podengo is used for big game hunting; the small Portuguese Podengo itself is used for rabbit hunting in burrows or rocks.

They are quite a reserved dog that attach themselves to their owners and are always timid around strangers. This shyness however, should not transform into aggression. A quality socialisation from an early age is indispensable for the Portuguese Warren Hound, especially whilst still a puppy.

Like most primitive dogs, this dog makes for a good companion but with an underlying independence. All the same, they are not the most independent of the Podengo dogs and are very attached to their master.

This dog is very devoted to their master, yet despite being primitive, they do not enjoy solitude. It is in fact advised to have the dog be raised in a litter.
 
Furthermore, the Portuguese Warren Hound puppy must be positively and progressively trained to get used to spending time alone, in order to find these moments easier in later life.

Due to the fact that this dog can sometimes prove to be disobedient, their education must begin as of the puppy’s arrival in the home, in order to avoid taking up bad habits.

This dog barks very rarely and never without good reason.

The Portuguese Warren Hound’s heightened hunting instincts accounts for a great proportion of the risk during walks or if the dog’s home environment is not secured by some sort of fencing.

Very attached to their master and wanting to avoid being alone, this dog can quickly express discomfort. Sometimes taking this out on objects that have the scent of their owners.

Absolutely not difficult to feed, this dog is not picky and is satisfied with little.

Even though it is difficult to consider the small Podengo as a good guardian, these dogs can still be used as guard dogs. It is mostly the medium and large sizes of this dog that can show to be more effective due to their suspicion towards strangers.

This lively and energetic dog will only be happy and fulfilled when in the hands of a sporty owner and or one who hunts.
Even if they can be used for company, it is important to take into account the time one must devote to this dog (in exercising them and using up their huge amounts of energy) before adopting a Podengo as a pet.

Whether in the house or in the garden: what is important, is that the dog can exercise. They  can live a life of city-dwelling in an apartment but only if their masters make themselves available enough to regularly let the dog outside into open spaces.

Physical activity must play a large part in the daily life of this hunting dog. It is very important to let the dog outside several times a day to use up energy.
 
If you do not hunt, various activities linked to tracking would be recommended.
 
Additionally, even the miniature Portuguese Podengo can accompany their master in their sporting activities like canicross for example.
 
Having great endurance, while being sporty and very lively, this dog, whatever the size, can excel in numerous activities due to their enthusiasm and intelligence.

Depending on their size, journeys and transport will be relatively easy. The miniature size, weighing only around 11 lbs cause generally no problems. However, for the large version of the dog, which can reach 66 lbs, access to public transport can sometimes be challenging, even if this dog size remains relatively average.

If these two species were raised together, cohabitation can work, but beware of the dog’s hunting instincts, which can become dangerous for the cat.

Often raised in a litter, if this dog has the possibility to develop and reinforce their canine instincts from the youngest age, getting along with their peers will be easy. In fact, it is advised against raising the dog in isolation.

If the dog learns how to spend some time with children from a young age and they in-turn, learn to communicate respectfully with the dog, the Portuguese Warren Hound can absolutely cohabitate alongside children.

Beware, these dogs are very active, it is therefore recommended against imposing isolation upon them. The dog’s masters must be sufficiently dynamic, even sporty to meet their needs.

This dog experiences moderate hair loss, which becomes more significant during molting periods. During they must be brushed more frequently.

The estimated life expectancy is 13 years.

Like all primitive types, the Portuguese Podengo is a rustic and very robust dog.

Their origins mean this dog won’t suffer in the heat; they’re used to warm climates.

Despite the thin nature of their fur, the Portuguese Warren Hound shows itself to be very robust, even in the face of poor weather conditions.

Obesity is not a concern for these active dogs, unless of course they do not get sufficient exercise.

The Portuguese Warren hound generally has very solid health, they do not suffer from any hereditary diseases specific to the species.

These are very ancient dogs but little information exists regarding their origins: however they are probably Egyptian like the other Podengos. This dog has never been very well known outside of their country of origin and even in Portugal the number of dogs is unfortunately in constant decline.