Even though I’ve been involved in the plight of the podencos since 2007 after my first journey into Spain with the French association L’Europe des Levriers to bring back rescued podencos and galgos for rehoming in France, I’m always learning about them.

Recently I was contacted by a reader whose Podenco has been diagnosed with glaucoma, asking if it could be hereditary. Going on my scant knowledge of glaucoma in humans as my late mother-in-law was a sufferer and her son is regularly tested for the problem, my guess is that this could be an inherited problem.

Researching information on glaucoma in dogs, I came across this website which explains the problem.

Sadly my reader’s dog was diagnosed too late to save its sight so be aware that if your dog seems to have conjunctivitis, it should also be tested for glaucoma – treatment early enough can save the dog’s sight.

If any other readers have experience of this with their podencos, please share your experience.

Our galgo Bracken has been with us for 11 years; he has always been a sensitive dog, happy in the pack of hounds and walking the meadows every day…on leash, as he has a hunter’s nose! However, since we sold the farm in January 2021 and downsized back to the UK, he has caused us concern by showing aggression to other dogs.

This link takes you to an extensive article on the causes of aggression in dogs.

In Bracken’s case, we guess there are a few causes.

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We’re lucky that over the decades most of our dogs have lived to their teens. One or two have left us due to health deterioration like cancer, but others have suffered with dementia. Mostly ours have got to the stage of losing their bearings, or staring at something vacantly, plus loss of bowel function too. My galga Carmela suffered a stroke from which she recovered 90% but my little podenca Bebe is now 18 years old and showing familiar symptoms. So far it’s not too advanced that she needs more than medication for thyroid problems, but I expect over the year her brain will let her down more.

I feel very sad seeing old dogs which have been dumped by hunters or owners who aren’t prepared to repay their dog’s loyalty with care in their twilight years.

Here’s an article on dementia in dogs.