Brando Cape Verde Labrador Podengo cross and Maria Cape Verde
Podengo .
Cape Verde dogs brought by Portuguese
How did Cape Verde dogs get there?
Cape Verde dogs closely reseemble anumber of sdog species found
throughout the world. These include the Australian Dingo. the New
Guinea Singing Dog, the Podengo in Portugal and the Podenco in Spain
and the Basenji in Africa.. All of these dogs are excellent hunters
and have been able to survive in hostile environments due to their
ability to find enough food. The Dingo and the New Guinea Singing
Dog live entirely wild and the Basenji often lives semi-wild at
the edge of African villages.
Recent research into the DNA of dogs suggests that many of these
dogs may have had a common ancestor in the Levant - the pale footed
wolf or Lupus Pallipes to give it its Latin name. This wolf , now
perhaps extinct, was smaller and less hostile to humans than the
Siberian or North American wolves.
It is known that Phoenicians and Romand brought dogs similar to
the Pharaoh dog of Ancient Egypt to the Iberian Peninsula as long
as 2,000 years ago. The Berbers, an European race that settled in
the deserts of north Africa brought a similar dog with them on their
migrations. This dog became the Podenco Canario, which can be seen
in the Canaries Islands, geographically the closest island archipelago
to Cape Verde.
The Canarian hound looks more like the original Egyptian dogs,
as seen in wall paintings of the Pharaoh`s tombs. But the Cape Verde
dogs still have some characteristics in common, such as running
and jumping ability, hearing and smell. This has stood them in good
stead, when they had to survive on hunting the rare Cape Verde mammals.
Cape Verde dogs run very fast and leap readily onto walls and rocks.
They can jump from a standing start to about 5 feet. with an amazing
ability to land safely on a narrow sill. With a run, they can reach
7 feet when chasing small prey such as a squirrel..
Many have an unusual rear leg structure whichj in a reclining position
the knee joint can be pointed out from the body in a vee, leaving
the rear paws either under the body or projecting out on the wrong
side. The front legs also spread easily to a 60 degree split. Perhaps
this accounts for their remarkable agility and ability to turn on
a sixpence.
The origin of the majority of Cape Verde dogs can be traced to
the Portuguese Podengo Medio or Podengo Pequeno. These were probably
brought to the Cape Verdes on Portuguese ships where theykept down
rats. Later , in 1905, Portuguese fishermen brought Labradors to
the Cape Verde islands, to help with nets.
As dogs breed freely in the streets the Podengo Medios soon prodiuced
puppies with Labradors. Many of the present dogs look like a mix
of these two Portuguese breeds.
This Levantine or Egyptian dog is thought to be the direct ancestor
of the Podengo.It was brought to Portugal from the eastern shores
of the Mediterranean by the Roman conquerors, who prized it for
its ability to hunt down small game.
Like the podengo the other dogs are known for their loving nature,
astonishing sense of smell and ability to hear distant prey. They
smell lizards in bushes and small crabs burrowed in sand.
Jet
Cape Verde Podengo Medio
Maria
Cape Verde Podengo Medio
Santa
Claus Podenco Canario