The Portuguese Podengo is a natural hunter, requiring no special training other than a gradual exposure to the sound of the gun. Virtually every element of the conformation of the Portuguese Podengo comes from its rabbit hunting function (or boar hunting, in the case of the Grande), and it is essential that it continue to be used to hunt if it is to stay healthy and true to type. So, it is understandable that the Portuguese believe that nature and history have produced in the Portuguese Podengo the finest rabbit hunter in the world, or at the very least, the finest rabbit hunter for dense woods and a mix of wet and arid climates. Portuguese Podengo is the most popular hunting dog in Portugal, and the rabbit is thepredominant game species in Portugal. John Fernandes is Proprietor, Whelden Mill Kennels, Aschusnet, Massachusetts. John Fernandes hunting in Nantucket and training the next generation of hunting Medios. Thanks to Kellie Theis, editor of the Maticar, and John Fernandes for sharing this information. Tony is a phenomenal shot, as is my friend, Rowland, who was with me on the trip. Tony lent me his Winchester 101, which is reputed to be such a fine gun that it corrects for bad aim, but in my case, it didn’t. Both are triple threat hunters… hunting by scent, sight, and sound. The Medios are faster, so they can give chase to the rabbits that range further away. The Portuguese Pequenos are terrific at finding and flushing the rabbits. We could have taken more, but we follow the rabbit hunter’s axiom: “Take some, leave some, and always have some.” Shown above is the string of rabbits we got on our hunts. We went on four hunts while I was there, some with mixed packs of Medios and Pequenos. Tony knows because Tony used to have an active bullring on his dairy farm. Vasco is related to a bullfighter in California who Tony got his first Pequenos from the famous Portuguese hunter and breeder Vasco Matias. Tony is holding Garrotto, which means “boy.” I am holding Garratto’s daughter, Esplitta, which means “fuse” or “primer.” I brought Esplitta home with me and she will be my foundation bitch for a hunting pack of Portuguese Podengo Pequenos. Mostly he hunts with Portuguese Podengos Pequenos. Honoring another Portuguese tradition, Tony breeds and hunts with Portuguese Podengos. Tony and his wife, Theresa, are keeping the Portuguese traditions his grandchildren speak both Portuguese and English. He left home at 18 to seek his fortune in California.” Michael in the Azores with his parents when he was nine, and grew up in Fall River, Massachusetts. John had this to say about Tony and his dogs: “ Tony is a semi-retired dairy farmer. In a recent article in the Maticar, a newsletter of the PPPCA, longtime Portuguese Podengo owner, hunter, and breeder, John Fernandes of Massachusetts, visited fellow rabbit hunter Tony Carvalho at his dairy farm in California’s Central Valley. In this Hunt Club in Michigan, however, you find the Podengo Using both sight and scent to find its prey, you would typically find Podengos in Portugal hunting rabbits, and the Grande hunting boar. The club’s dog trainer, Steve Hardenburgh, wasn’t sure how Xana would do, but he quickly found out she was “ birdy as heck.” John and his wife grew fond of Xana and brought her home where they had her trained at the Hunters Creek Club, north of Detroit. This particular dog, Xana, was found on the streets of Portugal by Jonathan Savage, an attorney from the US. Well, it’s a Portuguese Podengo, a hunting hound. What sporting breed is this, you might ask? Two shotgun-toting hunters and a guide track the dog’s progress. The dog excitedly works a zigzag pattern through the patch of sorghum, her snout low and snuffling.
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