Portuguese Podengo Breed Facts & Personality

The Portuguese Podengo is a clever, lively hunter with a playful streak. As their name suggests, the breed developed in Portugal to become a podengo, or warren hound. They use their exceptional sight and sound to flush out rabbits from their warrens and to hunt down larger game like deer.

Most Portuguese Podengos live in Portugal as hunting dogs, and they are rare in the United States. If you’re looking to raise this dog, here’s what you need to know to give them a happy, healthy home.

Portuguese Podengo Appearance & Grooming

You can recognize Portuguese Podengos by their expressive, pointed ears and narrow muzzles. These dogs tend to be longer than they are tall, with lots of lean muscle to help them run and jump. Their tails often curl up in a C-shape.

Additionally, this breed comes in brown, tan, or white. Some may be fully one color, while others may have patches of a second color on their front legs and chest. 

Lastly, their coats can be smooth or wiry. Smooth coats have short, dense fur, while wiry coats are rough and give the dog a “beard” around the chin. As you might imagine, the wiry coats need more maintenance than the smooth ones, but in general, this breed needs minimal grooming, with just regular brushing, teeth cleaning, and nail trimming recommended. 

Portuguese Podengo Sizes 

This dog breed comes in the following three sizes.

• Grande (large): 22-28 inches at the shoulder
• Medio (medium): 16-22 inches at the shoulder
• Pequeno (small): 8-12 inches at the shoulder

Grandes have been bred to hunt deer and boars. They’ll chase down prey in packs, then pin the animal down until their human arrives to collect the game.

Medios’ agility makes them suited for chasing rabbits. Sometimes they’ll stalk and pounce on the rabbit, similar to how a cat hunts.

Pequenos hunt rabbits too, and they may be able to squeeze into some rock crevices that the Medios can’t. Sailors also used to take Pequenos on their ships to catch rats and mice.

Portuguese Podengo Personality

Portuguese Podengos are an intelligent breed with a lot of energy. They are happiest when they can keep both their mind and their body occupied throughout the day. 

This breed loves to play with their packmates, whether they be humans or other dogs. They especially enjoy games like tag and keep away, as chasing feeds into their hunting instincts. 

However, these dogs can be standoffish with people outside their pack. If you want to introduce your Portuguese Podengo to a new person or pet, you’ll need to do so gradually so the dog can warm up to them.

Portuguese Podengo Health

Portuguese Podengos are generally hearty, healthy dogs. However, they can be predisposed to certain health problems.

According to the American Portuguese Podengo Medio-Grande Club (APPM/GC), this breed comes from a genetic line of dogs prone to hearing issues and deafness. The club recommends giving Portuguese Podengos a Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response (BAER) test, which measures brain activity to tell if a dog is deaf.

Additionally, these dogs are prone to allergies. According to a Breed Health Survey by the Portuguese Podengo Pequenos of America (PPPA) club, 12% of registered Pequenos had allergies. The most common were seasonal allergies and dietary allergies.

Ideal Environment for a Portuguese Podengo

A Portuguese Podengo needs space to roam and play — even the Pequenos need a large open area to stretch their legs. Rural homes or houses with large yards are likely to have suitable space. If you live in the city, you’ll need to give your dog a brisk walk every day. 

Additionally, these dogs get along well with rambunctious kids or larger dogs like themselves. They are quite affectionate and love to be part of a pack.

However, they aren’t a good fit for homes with smaller pets like rodents and birds. Even if you don’t train your dog to hunt, Portuguese Podengos have a strong, instinctual prey drive. They will not see your pet hamster as a member of their family but as a toy. 

Medios and Grandes are large enough to see cats as potential prey as well. Even if you train your Portuguese Podengo perfectly, they only need to give in to their instincts once to cause a tragedy. To avoid setting them up for failure, don’t put them in a home with any creatures they might be tempted to hunt. 

Ideal Human for a Portuguese Podengo

Portuguese Podengos are pretty independent, so you can leave for a bit without sending them into a panic attack. But these dogs also need stimulation. They wouldn’t do well cooped up in an apartment all day while you’re at the office. Without anything to do, this breed may occupy themselves with rather destructive forms of entertainment.

To avoid this temptation, these dogs need someone to direct their energy toward productive activities. They thrive when given some kind of job, whether that’s watching the house for intruders or acting as your sidekick on a hunting trip. You need to show enough authority to get their respect but relax enough to have fun with them too.

Portuguese Podengo Training

Portuguese Podengos are very intelligent and can learn new tricks quickly. However, they can be willful as well, so you need to be firm and consistent in your expectations or hire an experienced dog trainer. 

Once Portuguese Podengos know what you want from them, they are often very diligent workers and easy to train. They want to impress you, so they’ll try their hardest to get the job done well.

Given their background, Portuguese Podengos make fantastic hunting dogs. Additionally, these dogs do well with agility competitions.

Famous or Notable Portuguese Podengos

This breed’s distinctive looks earned them quite a few movie roles in the 90s. The 1996 movie Homeward Bound II had Stokey, a stuttering stray with a flea problem. In 1997, Zeus and Roxanne featured the dolphin-riding Zeus. Lastly, the 1999 film Soccer Dog: The Movie starred Portuguese Podengo Lincoln, who trounced all the grade schoolers on the soccer field.

Getting a Portuguese Podengo

Portuguese Podengos are quite rare in the U.S., particularly Grandes. Because there are so few of them, American breeders are working with Portuguese breeders to increase their numbers. The more Portuguese Podengos, the easier it will be to avoid inbreeding and preserve a healthy genetic diversity. 

For now, though, this breed can be hard to find. Very few wind up in shelters or rescues. You are most likely to get one directly from a breeder. 

According to the APPM/GC, breeders often plan out litters based on how many suitable buyers have expressed interest. You may need to sign up for a waitlist to get a puppy. Depending on your state, you may have to travel quite a long way to pick up your dog.

Why A Portuguese Podengo May Not Be Right For You

Given the right training and environment, a Portuguese Podengo can be a fantastic addition to your family. However, you may not be suited to have one of these dogs if you:

• Live in a small apartment with no yard
• Have little experience in dog training
• Care for smaller pets like gerbils, hamsters, and birds
• Want a lapdog who will join you on the couch

3 Breeds Like the Portuguese Podengo

The Portuguese Podengo is just one of many warren hounds from the Mediterranean. You may see these dogs called “podengo,” “podenco,” or “hound” depending on the source. 

If you’re interested in a warren hound but aren’t sure about this breed, you may also want to check out:

• Andalusian Hound: They are Portuguese Podengo’s cousins from the Andalusian region in southern Spain. They come in combinations of white and reddish brown.
• Ibizan Hound: They have longer legs and a taller frame than the Portuguese Podengo or Andalusian Hound, but similar coloring.
• Pharaoh Hound: Despite their name, Pharaoh Hounds come from the Island of Malta in Spain, not Egypt. Their coat is often some shade of reddish brown, but sometimes you can see a hint of white.