A SHORT HISTORY OF THE BREED PODENCO IBICENCO

The podenco ibicenco, similar to many other sight-hound breeds, can be traced back thousands of years to ancient Egypt.

One can find many hieroglyphics in the graves of the Pharaohs, including drawings which are extremely similar to the podenco ibicenco of our days.

It has been speculated that the Phoenicians, during the 8th and 9th centuries B.C brought these dogs to the Balearic Islands, off the coast of mainland Spain in the Mediterranean. Since then, this dog has developed into an extraordinarily good hunting dog for rabbits, hares and other small game. The dog seeks its prey and kills it (however, they can also been trained to bring their prey back alive to their owner). This sort of hunting is called “hetsjakt” (coursing) in Swedish and it is prohibited for hunting live prey here. In Spain, this sort of hunting is very common.

The Balearics are composed of four islands, Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera. It is of course the island of Ibiza that has given this breed its Spanish name (ibicenco means “from Ibiza, or “Ibizan”). In Cataluña and Valencia regions, this dog is also called Ca Eivissenc ( Ca is the Catalan word for sight-hound, and Eivissenc means Ibizan). This is also the name of the breed in the Balearic Islands. In the USA and Britain, they are known as Ibizan hounds.

This breed has many “cousins” in and around the Mediterranean – especially on the islands. And of course, being islands and quite inaccessible, these different breeds have been able to remain intact. This is something modern day breeders are very keen on preserving.

LIFE WITH A PODENCO IBICENCO

These dogs are intelligent, elegant, and despite their appearance, very healthy and robust. They do however, tend to enjoy playing clowns, and are often extremely playful all their lives.

They are very easy to teach, but prefer to do things in their own way – if you have ever owned a cat, you will know what we mean! If you want them to learn new things, a good way is to let them think that they thought of the idea themselves!! You will need some patience; however praise and positive attitude will get you far!

As most other sight-hounds, they have a mild temperament, they are sensitive and they never forget cruelty or injustices. If they are brought up with strong but loving methods, their owners will enjoy having a loving, loyal friend for life. Gentle justice and a lot of repetition will get you far with your Ibizan Hound!

As with other sight-hounds, the podenco ibicenco isn’t very interested in strangers who are not members of his or her flock. They are however, NEVER aggressive and they will NEVER behave in a threatening manner!

These dogs need a daily dose of exercise and they also enjoy more demanding activities where they have to think for themselves. They seem to have built-in springs in their legs and can, from a stand-still, jump to incredible heights! If they get the chance, they can, in the blink of an eye, throw themselves after something interesting in their vicinity, a cat, a squirrel or even a cyclist!

Translation into English is done by Marie Richaud, thank you!

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