The Perdigueiro Galego is a rare Spanish breed of pointer from the autonomous community of Galicia in north-western Spain. It is one of four traditional breeds of the region, the others being the Can de Palleiro, the Guicho or Quisquelo, and the Podengo Galego.[3] It is recognised by the Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación – the Spanish ministry of agriculture – and by the Xunta de Galicia, but not by the Real Sociedad Canina de España.[1][4][5]
| Perdigueiro Galego | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Origin | Spain | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Foundation stock | Bracco Italiano | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Notes | recognised in Spanish legislation[1]: 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dog (domestic dog) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
History
editThe Perdigueiro Galego – like other regional pointer breeds such as the Old Spanish Pointer, the Portuguese Pointer, the Pachón Navarro and the Braque Français – descends from dogs of Bracco Italiano type imported into north-western Iberia and south-western France several centuries ago, all developing into distinct types according to the preferences and requirements of local sportsmen.[6][3]
The Perdigueiro Galego was formerly commonly found in the municipalities of A Mezquita, Viana do Bolo, Riós, Laza and A Veiga in the Galician Province of Ourense.[3] From the 1970s onward, foreign breeds of pointer became available to Spanish hunters and numbers of the Perdigueiro Galego went into decline; this was compounded by a decline in partridge numbers throughout the Galician Massif.[6][3] To prevent the extinction of the breed, the best surviving specimens were identified and recorded, particularly from the provinces of Ourense and Lugo, but also in A Coruña and Pontevedra.[6]: 567 [3] A stud-book for the breed was established in 2001; it is managed by the Club de Raza do Perdigueiro Galego.[6][3]
Characteristics
editThe Perdigueiro Galego is a medium-sized breed of pointer: it weighs between 20 and 30 kg and stands between 50 and 60 cm; the breed shows a considerable degree of sexual dimorphism, with recommended heights for dogs 5 cm greater than those for bitches.[2][4] The breed has a short dense coat, which may be spotted or mottled bicoloured or tricoloured with any of chestnut, orange, cinnamon and black on white; solid brown, yellow or black examples are also found.[6][4]
Use
editThe Perdigueiro Galego is a versatile pointing breed, used to hunt and point to game, and then to retrieve it once shot by the hunter.[3] It is used predominantly to hunt game birds, in particular partridge, quail and woodcock, although it is also used to hunt small ground game such as hare and rabbit.[6]: 566 [3]
References
edit- ^ a b c [Miguel Arias Cañete] (25 May 2001).Real Decreto 558/2001, de 25 de mayo, por el que se regula el reconocimiento oficial de las organizaciones o asociaciones de criadores de perros de raza pura (in Spanish). Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación. Boletín Oficial de España. (142): 14 June 2001. Reference: BOE-A-2001-11347.
- ^ a b c Perdigueiro galego: Ficha técnica (in Galician). Xunta de Galicia: Consellería do Medio Rural e do Mar. Archived 22 March 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Perdigueiro galego (in Spanish). Xunta de Galicia: Consellería do Medio Rural e do Mar. Archived 31 January 2020.
- ^ a b c Juan Miguel Diz Guedes (26 April 2001).Regulamentación específica do Libro Xenealóxico da Raza Perdigueiro Galego (in Galician). Diario Oficial de Galicia. 91: 6334–6338. Archived 22 March 2016.
- ^ Razas Españolas (in Spanish). Madrid: Real Sociedad Canina de España. Archived 11 July 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f Miguel Fernández Rodríguez, Mariano Gómez Fernández, Juan Vicente Delgado Bermejo, Silvia Adán Belmonte, Miguel Jiménez Cabras (editors) (2009). Guía de campo de las razas autóctonas españolas (in Spanish). Madrid: Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Medio Rural y Marino. ISBN 9788449109461.