There is little known about the Podenco Orito so the information which follows is a translation from an article in Spanish.

Maybe because there are too few of them, and only in very specific areas of Andalucia, the so-called “Podenco Orito is not recognized as an Andalusian Podenco and was almost completely eradicated.  Luckily, some hunters kept them as valued hunters of rabbit, and so now it is recognised as a ‘new Spanish breed’.

In farming jargon “Orito” is any animal including a dog which has black or brown fur with chocolate colored reflections of gold, ‘oro. ” Proponents of these dogs, which have always existed in Andalusia, see the word “Orito ‘, gold, synonymous with value, quality. When people began to officially recognize the Podenco Orito as a breed, the differences between the colours of the coats and sizes of dog –  in some places there were even completely black dogs –  the locals always called them ‘oritos’ and they were very effective to hunting rabbits.

 But for whatever reason, these dogs, the podenco coloured chocolate brown or black with reddish brown markings, were excluded from the new Andaluz Podenco standard. This exclusion, in a world dominated by the standardization imposed by the breeds and pedigrees, meant the death penalty for the Orito. The Orito “was no longer a Podenco” and many hunters began to ignore them.

However, a number of hunters and farmers were dissatisfied with this decision and continued to hunt and breed them and have thus saved the Orito from extinction.  They have la Asociación Nacional del Español Ibizan Orito Orito Podenco  andwant the breed to be officially recognised as a breed by la Real Sociedad Canina.

 Gaspar Jiminez breeds Oritos – the downside is he is also a hunter – and his passion for these dogs goes far back, long before he had a licence for a gun. He started hunting for rabbits for food, using a Podenco left behind in an abandoned farmhouse.  He says. ‘In recognizing the breed Podenco Andaluz, a serious mistake was made because it did not take into account the Podencos occurring naturally in the different regions of Spain.  The Orito was always present on the banks of the Genil (Granada) and the Guadalhorce, Malaga, because they were the best to hunt the rabbits in these extreme conditions of weeds and moisture.’

Apparently, when it came to the recognition of the Podenco Andaluz,  breed promoters were faced with an obstacle, which was the Podenco Portuguese breed, which has existed as a breed since 1954.  It can have a black pigmentation of the coat and so the Federacion Internacional Cinológica decided to exclude Podencos not all white or cinnamon-colored.

Without a doubt, by their morphology and character, there are differences between the Podencos, but between them there is a strong racial likeness.

Gaspar Jiminez is convinced the Orito is the ancestor of all existing Podenco breeds on the Iberian Peninsula. “The Orito is clearly a Podenco, perfectly proportioned, stately and brave;  the Orito can adapt to any surface, no matter how wet or how hard it is, and is strong in all conditions. What other dogs cannot reach, the Orito always will. “

The Spanish mainly use them for hunting rabbits and partridge, but  they are also good for pest control and for hunting wild boar.

The Orito has a primitive character but once they mature after about 12 months of age, there is a radical change  and then they are very docile and obedient.

What the main differences with the other Podenco types?  All podencos, the Ibicenco, the Canario, Andaluz, the Cirneco Portuguese, have upright ears, have similar proportions and morphology, but the Orito is a dog” very conditioned “for difficult terrain, with lots of weeds and moisture , and in fact he has an undercoat that protects him, his skin is harder and the morphological and craniofacial features are very harmonious.

According to measurements taken by the team of Mariano Herrera, University of Cordoba, where about 115 Podencos Orito dogs are registered, racial perfection “is great.” 94 percent of females would have an ideal morphology for the work they perform, but in males this percentage dropped to 76 percent, so he predicts a bright future for these dogs.

La Asociación Nacional del Ibizan Orito Español has already contacted the Spanish association as regards the recognition of the Podenco Orito as a breed.

In the past it was very common to see an Orito with a mainly black or chocolate brown coat with blonde eyebrows, blonde legs with socks, blonde around the mouth, blonde or even white on the chest.  Later this type of Ibizan disappeared, but now the numbers of the IPodencoOrito are reportedly increasing. This species is native to the area north of Malaga.

In 2009 the first breed meeting of the Podenco Orito was held. During that meeting, many veterinarians gathered data from the Podenco Orito present, such as blood tests, measurements, hair research, photos, etc. This was the first step to getting the Podenco Orito recognized as a breed by the Sociedad Canina Española.  This is also known as “Podenco Archidones”.

Previously, the Orito of the Podenco Andaluz was excluded by default, because examination of the Veterinary Faculty of Cordoba showed that there was no consistency with previous studies on the Podenco Andaluz. No surprise, if we assume that all the Podencoss defined in the area around the Mediterranean do not have the same origin, none of the varieties already approved (Podenco Portugues, Podenco Canaria, Ibicenco, Pharaoh Dog, Cirneco, Podenco Andaluz), have a similar coat. Therefore, it can be assumed that the Podenco Orito descended from ancient crosses with other dogs of the peninsula.

To prevent extinction of this type of Podenco and striving for recognition of the Orito as a breed, a union has been formed la Asociación Nacional del Podenco Orito Español and there are currently approximately 400 registered with the association, although it is know that there are far more unregistered.

Copied by kind permission of Podenco World