Spanish greyhound - History. Characteristic, care and curiosities
If there is a characteristic dog of the Iberian Peninsula, that is the Spanish greyhound, one of the oldest lines we have in Spain and that is distributed by the country, although it is concentrated mainly on the central plateau.
It has always been a hunting dog, and is still used to catch hares to the race, but little by little it is becoming an ideal company dog for those who exercise a lot of exercise.
- Size: 50 to 70 cm to the cross. It is a large breed.
- Weight: between 20 and 30 kilos.
- Hair type: Very short and smooth. Easy to take care of.
- Character: sensitive and docile with its owner, shy and suspicious with others.
- Health: iron.
- Life expectancy: Around 12 years.
Spanish greyhound history
As with all dog races, its origin is unknown. It is true that there are dogs with a similar morphology in the Egyptian paintings, but in them we find dogs that resemble the current ones, which does not mean that they come from Egypt.
What seems to have a greater base is the Celtic or Roman origin and already in the second century to. C. Nicodemia Arrian, who was consul of Bética, described hunting with Galgo, just like the one that is now practiced in his treaty called Cynegeticus.
In it, this consul said that there were greyhounds with hard and short hair (like the current ones) and that in Hispania the hunting of the hare was a custom of all the inhabitants of the area, even if they were not rich.
The tradition that already existed in Roman times is consolidated as the reconquest advances from the north, so much so that in the fueros that were given to the conquered areas (a kind of codes in which the laws that ruled there were recapitulated) the theft of these animals with death was punished.
Leaving aside the legs we saw in the Egyptian paintings, the first representation in which we see a perfectly recognizable Spanish greyhound dates back to the twelfth century, where in mural paintings of a hermitage of a town of Soria (Caltojar) we see a hunting scene with these dogs.
The race remained very present, so much that in the seventeenth century we have the mention in Quijote to the "Galgo Corredor", which means that in rural areas it was an important animal for its inhabitants to have fun and take some food to the mouth.
Despite having survived so many centuries, and without mixing with other races, At the beginning of the 20th century he was about to disappear because of the crosses that were made with Greyhound or English greyhound.
This aberration was due to the fact that the races in the canodrome were very fashionable in England and arrived in Spain, so that a larger and more fast dog was needed than the Spanish greyhound.
Luckily, the race could be recovered thanks to the hunters who retained the greyhound as it was, because although the crossing with the English made it faster, it made it a weak dog for the hunting of the hare in nature, thus eliminating the resistance that is the great trick of this animal in the field.
Spanish greyhound characteristics
The Spanish greyhounds are of such dogs with which there is no possible confusion, because when we see one, even to many meters, we know that we are facing one of our breeds with more solera.
His body is what makes it so recognizable, since it is a great -raised dog (between 50 and 70 cm), but in turn very thin, so sharp that it seems that it is going to break, although it is very strong.
In fact, when we approach we realize that its more than 20 kilos are of pure fiber and that it is very muscular, although in its fair measure to be functional, since it has selected centuries in order to run behind the hares in the open field.
Both the ability of your lungs and your heart is incredible, since There are few animals that can run at 60 km/h for long distances, which is what a greyhound does when it goes behind a hare.
As for the colors, having been an animal that has barely stepped on the exhibitions and that has been used for hunting, in its standard they all allow themselves and in any combination, although it seems that in recent years the darkest attempts are prioritized and the black color.
Character and behavior
We are facing a very sensitive dog, which we must take into account when we deal with him, and especially when training him.
With its owner it is very affectionate, as with the family, but it is not one of those animals that is always on top of us, because it needs its vital space and that is why we will see that sometimes "goes to your air."
It is not aggressive with strangers and treats them with caution, without getting too close until you don't know them as if they were afraid, perhaps the result of being one of the worst races treated in our country.
With other dogs he has no problems, since they have always lived with many of their race, so that aggressiveness has never been a desirable characteristic, neither with dogs nor with humans.
We must be careful with cats, especially at the beginning, because you can see them as a dam to hunt, which will be fatal if you have a little space to develop all your speed.
This behavior changes completely when it goes to the field, where it becomes a predator that will look for its prey, running after all the hares you see until it runs out or kills some.
The training and education that we give will not help if you see a dam, something that we must take into account if we go to the field and know that there are wild animals nearby, since we will not be able to control it.
Health
Your health is iron. Without fear of being wrong, it is possible to say that it is one of the races with the strongest health and this is the result of the selection that has been made.
For centuries they have only raised with the best greyhounds, those most strong and the ones who ran the most, eliminating the weak or those who were not able to catch the hares.
This, which seems cruel and that is, has spread to this day, since it continues to be done in the rural world, which has made this animal need the visit to a veterinarian throughout its life.
If you go to a clinic, it is almost always the result of a problem due to hunting, since in certain land the legs are destroyed and despite this they continue to run.
There are a couple of diseases that affect this race and one is bone cancer, against which you can do little at this time and the other is the Torsieithergastric n.
The torsion is known by all the owners of dogs of large breeds and giants And it can be prevented, preventing them from drinking a lot of water at once and not feeding a couple of hours before running or two hours later.
They can live around twelve years, which is a high figure if we take into account how big it is, something that indicates that it has an out of the ordinary.
Care and food of the Spanish greyhound
Both care and food are easy, although they must keep in mind that we are facing an athlete, more if we usually run with it.
What care must be given?
It is essential that you exercise a lot, which makes your life in the city complicated. It is not that it is impossible to have it on one floor and take it out several times to walk to the park, but you need to run in open spaces and that is complicated in an urban green area, full of people, dogs and obstacles.
Thus, it is best to have it in a rural area and in them it will always be more at ease in both plateaus, its natural place where it will have the possibility of running in huge plains with nothing that stops it.
Of course, you have to be careful where we carry it, avoiding areas with olive trees, vineyards, fenced, since once you run does not look at the ground that steps on and you can do a lot of damage, so that you should check your legs every time we go out with it to the field.
The hair is very easy to take care of, since you have nothing to do. Maybe pass a rubber mud over once or twice a week And the bathrooms can be very spaced over time, since it does not get dirty.
To the ears we will have to pay more attention, observing them in case it brings any spike nailed and cleaning them with some regularity with a specific product, otherwise it can contract some infection.
Feeding
Food is like any other dog. We will give you a I think of the best quality that we can afford and we will only have to look for something more if we do a lot of sports daily.
If we take it to hunt, during that time it is convenient to consume a specific food for dogs with high activity, which usually contain a greater proportion of protein in order to "give food" to the muscles.
We will do the same if we go with him daily several km, although if he does at our rhythm he can eat a normal feed, something that we will check according to fluctuate his weight.
Curiosities of the Spanish greyhound
It is often said that dogs do not go cold, but that is not the case of our greyhound. His hair, together with a very low body fat rate, makes it tremble when temperatures fall.
It is not uncommon that he does not want to leave on the worst days of winter or when it rains, so that one of the first accessories that we will buy if a greyhound arrives home will be a coat, better if it is one of those that also serves as a raincoat.
The necklace you need is special. Because of their hair type and the neck shape you have to put a collar made by thinking about greyhounds, which differs from the normal ones in which it is much wider.
We can acquire an artisanal one made of leather, how well careful it will last a lifetime of the greyhound and that gives it an aspect of the most elegant, majestic, which perhaps is one of the adjectives that best defines the race.
When hunting does not see anything other than the hare. This fixation is such that dogs that have died from heart attacks and exhaustion are not rare after being a long time after a hare that resisted. Therefore, we have to be careful with him when we go out to the field.
It is one of the most battered dogs in our country and that is most seen in the protectors to adopt them. In fact, there are already thousands of copies in countries such as Holland or Germany, where they are horrified when they know what these animals should happen.
Unfortunately, it is still customary to kill them if they have a bad season, they become older or get sick, and it is not uncommon to see them abandoned by the peoples once the closure closes, although luckily it is a custom that is lost.
They have a vision range of 270 degrees, which allows them to see the hares even when they go behind them. This gives a great advantage when hunting, although luckily for the hares most of the hunting sets end with this lagomorph escaping the dogs and with the fans enjoying a good career.
Given their exercise needs, they are usually training using a motorcycle or even tied to cars mirrors and adapting the speed to that of animals.
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