From Fundacion Benjamin Mehnert

Adopting doesn’t make you a better person.

This is one of those posts that is likely to create controversy. And they may rain criticism on us, we know it. But it is absolutely necessary.

The last few weeks have been especially difficult. In addition to ending the hunting season and receiving dogs and more dogs daily, the situation is complicating for a reason that creates sadness, and anger at the same time: the abandonment of dogs that had already been previously adopted.

You can’t imagine the number of calls, emails, comments and messages on networks that often come to us like this “My personal situation has changed, and I can no longer have dogs… He has an illness and we can’t assume the costs… “We moved and our landlord, doesn’t accept pets.. “We’ve had a kid and the dogs all of a sudden are behaving strangely… Can you please take care of the dogs? “

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In the UK, with more people adopting dogs during lockdown, the number of dog walkers has increased. This ‘profession’ is totally unregulated, anyone can set up as a dog walker which can have disastrous results, as happened last week (Jan 2023) in Caterham, Surrey, where a dog walker was walking 8 dogs at the same time.

Reports state that the 8 dogs included 2 daschund, a cockapoo (mongrel by any other name!) collie and a Leonberger, none of the breeds on the Dangerous Dogs list. What a contrast between the dogs, and most of them were from different households. Personally, I fail to see how one person can walk 8 dogs of such a diverse range in size and temperament. Add to this, the woman was walking them on a public common, rather than in an enclosed area or on a private field.

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Our blind podenco Bo(celli) has cloudy eyes which the vet puts down to an eye infection which wasn’t treated. Well, we can believe that of Spanish hunters, can’t we – why pay vet fees on a dog when they can just go out and get another! He is amazing in the way he finds his way around, he can see shadows, looks at us as we approach him, and just this last week he’s ventured from the kitchen along the short hallway into the lounge to spend the evening asleep on the hearth rug with Rosie.

This link takes you to an interesting article on the subject of cloudy eyes in dogs.

Follows from Part 1 and Part 2

Podencos by Region

From a number of regions the amount of registered dogs is known. Of the remaining regions it was for some reason not possible to get the figures. The figures are forming just an indication of the number of Podencos, because there are only a small amount of Podencos registered.

Andalusia

Andalusia has a population of 8.449.985, and is therefore the largest Spanish autonomous region according to the population. It is traditionally the region with the most hunters and the biggest number of hunting licenses: expedidas 252.779 + vigentes 558.285 = 811.064 licenses can be used for hunters for hunting (2013). When we take into account the comments of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, the number is somewhere between 252.779 and 811.064 hunting licenses. However in Andalusia there are more licenses still valid from previous years than were issued, namely 558.285, it is the most logical to assume this number.

It is about approximately 50% of the total number of hunting licenses in Spain. The statistics of these regions form an important indicator for the number of Podencos in Spain.

Andalusia is the region of origin of the Podenco Andaluz, Campanero, Maneto, Orito, Paternino and Malagueño.
According to statistics of the Registro Andaluz de Identificación de Animal there are 2.291.747 dogs registered in Andalusia (2016). The most registered dog breed in the region Andalusia is the Podenco.

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Imagine Every Dog Owner’s Worst Nightmare Happening to You…

Your dog is running straight towards the street. You’re calling his name, yelling “Come!”

What does he do?

We know you’re careful with your dog. He’s always leashed. He never bolts out of the door. He doesn’t like to chase squirrels. Until the moment he’s unsecured and he takes off.

Is your dog trained to reliably come when called? Most of us are working on a reliable “recall,” but our pooches haven’t entirely gotten the hang of it…yet. Well, he better…

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I’ve copied this very long and informative article from Podencoworld. Unfortunately the pictures therein did not copy so I have added some from my own extensive library. Ed Verhaegen gave me considerable help with my research for my definitive guide to the Podenco ‘From Pyramid to Perrera’.

‘Spain owed its name to the rabbit. When the Phoenicians reached the Iberian Peninsula around 11th century B.C., they found many rabbits there. Because they thought the animals looked very similar to what for them is known as a Saphan, they named the region ‘I-saphan-im’, land of the Saphan. The Romans later renamed it to ‘Hispania’. Originally the rabbit only occurs on the Iberian Peninsula. If Spain was already named Hispania by the Romans, which means ‘land of rabbits’, then it was inevitable that in this Hispania the most relevant dog breed, the Podenco appeared, a specialist in rabbit hunting. Ever since, the Podenco is the most commonly used hunting dog in Spain, for this reason we could easily rename Spain the Podenco land.

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