Galgo Español


The Galgo Español or Spanish sighthound is an ancient breed of dog, specifically a member of the sighthound family.
The English greyhound is possibly a descendant of the Spanish greyhound and, for several years in the 20th century, some breeders did cross-breed Galgos and Greyhounds in order to produce faster and more powerful Galgos, specifically for track racing purposes.

Description

Appearance

Galgos are similar in appearance to Greyhounds, but are distinctly different in their conformation. Galgos are higher in the rear than in the front, and have flatter muscling than a Greyhound, which is characteristic of endurance runners. They also tend to be smaller, lighter in build, have longer tails and have a very long, streamlined head that gives the impression of larger ears. Their chests are not as deep as a Greyhound's and should not reach the point of the elbow.
Unlike Greyhounds, Galgos come in two coat types: smooth and rough. The rough coat can provide extra protection from skin injuries while running in the field. They come in a variety of colors and coat patterns. Main colors are "barcino" or "atigrado", "negro", "barquillo", "tostado", "canela", "amarillo", "rojo", "blanco", "berrendo" or "pío".

Temperament

Galgos have a very similar nature to Greyhounds. They are calm, quiet, gentle and laid back; happy to sleep their day away on their backs on a sofa. More than 90% of Galgos can be considered cat-friendly and are therefore an ideal choice for the hound lover who also owns cats. Almost all Galgos are also friendly towards other dogs and small dogs. Galgos are also very good with children, being calm in the house so there is less risk of a child being knocked over or jumped on than with a more excitable breed. They are very gentle and tolerate the often over-enthusiastic attentions of children with little risk of retaliation from the dog.
Galgos have a very reserved personality and they have a tendency towards shyness, so it is very important that they be socialized early in life so that they grow up to be comfortable around strange people, dogs and locations.

Health

Like many other sighthounds, Galgos are a fairly healthy breed although they are sensitive to anaesthesia. As such, proper care should be taken by the owner to ensure that the attending veterinarian is aware of this issue.
Although Galgos are big dogs, their history of selection as a working sighthound, their light weight, and their anatomy keep them safe from hip dysplasia.
These dogs must run regularly to keep in perfect health, combined with their characteristic tendency to sleep all the rest of the day.

History

The Galgo name is probably derived from the Latin "Canis Gallicus" or "Dog from Gaul". The Spanish word for all kinds of Greyhounds - including the Galgo - is "lebrel", which means "harrier" or "dog for chasing hares", since "liebre" is Spanish for hare. We can see the same derivative in the Italian "levriero" and the French "lévrier". The first written references to an ancient Celtic sighthound, the "vertragus", in the Cynegeticus of Flavius Arrianus, Roman proconsul of Baetica in the second century, may refer to the Galgo's antecedent.
showing a vertragus type or greyhound-like dog
The author Arrian, during his personal experience in Spain, describes hare hunting in a manner almost identical to that used with the Galgo nowadays in Spain, adding that it was a general Celtic tradition not related to social class. He indicates that there were not only smooth haired types of the vertragus but also rough coated ones.
There is little evidence for mention of the Galgo or its antecedent in the first centuries of the Middle Ages but it appeared to have survived and flourished in the second half of the period.
In the 9th and 10th centuries, coinciding with the Reconquista, great spaces in Castile were colonized resulting in Christian military repossession of the Iberian Peninsula from Muslim control. This open land introduced a new mode of hunting with dogs: while the North of Spain is mountainous, the regions progressively recovered were flat, open areas full of small animals like hares, which provided the Galgo a useful opportunity for hunting. At that time it was considered a noble dog, and was kept mainly by the aristocracy of both the Christian and the Muslim Kingdoms in which Spanish territory was still divided. It is likely that the Galgo and the Sloughi or, Saluki, were interbred during this period.
The great esteem in which the Galgo was held is evident by the many laws of the time designed to punish the killing or theft of the breed: Fuero of Salamanca ; Fuero of Cuenca; Fuero of Zorita de los Canes; Fuero of Molina de Aragón ; Fuero of Usagre.
In the Cartuario of Slonza we can read a will written in Villacantol in which, using an odd mixture of Latin and Spanish, the Mayor Gutiérrez bequeaths a Galgo to Diego Citid in the year 1081:
The fact that this dog was a significant item in a noble's will, demonstrates the great value accorded it at the time.
, province of Soria
The mural paintings at the Hermitage of San Baudelio de Berlanga, in Soria, dating from the 12th century show a hunting scene with three Galgos apparently identical to the ones that we can see today.
In the Renaissance Martínez del Espinar writes in his book "Arte de Ballestería y Montería" :
The Galgo appears to have developed first in the Castillian plains, both in the north and the south of Castilla. And, afterwards, in more southern territories: La Mancha and Andalusia.
It became the typical dog type of the Spanish interior, while the bloodhound plays the same role in the coast regions.
The Galgo appears not only in hunting books but also in common Spanish expressions, as well as in Literature. Maybe the most famous reference is the one contained in the opening sentence of "Don Quixote de La Mancha":
There are plenty of common expressions in Spain that name the Galgo. For example,
"A galgo viejo, echadle liebre, no conejo" which means " use old Galgos for chasing hares instead of rabbits" suggests that it is best to use experienced people for hard tasks and challenges.
"Galgo que va tras dos liebres, sin ninguna vuelve" meaning "if a Galgo tries to chase two hares, it will return with none" recommends focussing on a single effort, otherwise by distraction, failing.
Although the breed did not apparently experience any significant change in the 18th and 19th centuries, and was kept in its vocation as a swift hunting dog, maybe the most telling proverb which mentions the Galgo, is the one dating from the first years of the nineteenth Century:
Meaning
Which was used at first to satirize the corrupt Government of Fernando VII, considered to cheat in everything it did.
In the first years of the 20th century, large scale crossbreeding occurred between the Galgo and the English Greyhound in order to create faster dogs for professional track racing. This certainly affected the purity of the breed, the resulting dogs were just a bit faster, but did lose their long-distance-running abilities. Finally breeders came to the conclusion that it was not worth crossbreeding.
The pure bred Galgo kept its major presence in the Spanish villages as an excellent hunting type.
Despite its antiquity and importance, the Spanish Galgo has only recently been acknowledged by the cynological associations. The English Greyhound has tended to outshine the Galgo. Spain has suffered catastrophic events during the last century, such as the Spanish Civil War and the 40-year-long Francisco Franco fascist dictatorship, which allowed this breed to be kept relatively unknown both inside and outside of its native country, at least until democracy led to greater social and cultural equality and development.
The breed faces the 21st century being progressively more appreciated at home and abroad, as contemporary Spain becomes more conscious of the uniqueness and heritage of this splendid animal.

Roles

Hunting use

The Galgo was used for hunting, as well as for coursing the hare in the open field where dogs hunt prey without the intervention of man during the chase. This type of hunting, which now has a true sporting character, was in the past an act of social prestige in which hunting was a pretext to prove who had the best specimens of the breed.
Because of its specific conditions, Spain is probably the country where sighthounds are used in greater numbers for hunting and sports than any other,, and Galgos are commonly found in any of the towns and cities of the vast area of the Spanish plains.
Galgo coursing competitions in Spain generate annually in the order of sixty million euros, a calculation which refers only to those aficionados which are members of the galgueras societies. This lesser group of galgueros train annually between three thousand and four thousand Galgos for participation in the various Open Field Coursing Championships. This type of testing event, where each year the most characteristic athletic winner is rewarded, seems to show that the galgueros are retrieving the more authentic type of breed that was lost years ago.
Crossbreeding of the Galgo with Greyhounds for a faster racing type has stopped and has now been eradicated for several reasons: On the one hand, this hunting activity, coursing, is evolving by leaps and bounds and becoming a true sport where the killing of the hare is secondary to the beauty of the course. The hybrid Galgo loses much of that beauty, and what is increasingly valued is the purity of the Galgo Español.
On the other hand, the fact that the hare is protected more than ever against gun hunters, and it is increasingly hardier due to the selection of it having lost much of its natural cover due to the increase of plowed land and proliferation of roads, it promotes coursing with Galgos that have greater endurance.
The particular characteristics of landscape topography have a major effect, resulting in those Galgos that win for generations of coursing in Andalusia, not having the same characteristics as Galgos that win for generations of coursing in Castile.
In Andalusia and many parts of La Mancha vineyards and olive groves dominate the landscape offering the hare plenty of cover. The mild climate there provides the hare throughout the year abundant fodder without it having to travel long distances. Additionally it is less stressful for this prey to exist inside large farms without intersecting roads. All these issues will promote a winning type of Galgo in this landscape which is smaller, with shorter and more rounded muscling, i.e., higher power in the hindquarters. This is because it must be an agile Galgo which enters and exits the turn faster and more easily. Lighter in weight because of the softness of the ground where reach must be more rapid if less strong, although one property does not necessarily exclude the other.
In Castile, with its large open spaces, the hare must travel greater distances in search of food and its only defense being away from cover are its legs, lungs and heart. This type of land and hare promotes another type of Galgo with a hard foot, deeper chest, longer and flatter muscling, ultimately a Galgo with greater endurance. These Galgos are heavier and are more attractive, and in fact have been considered purer of race, necessary for the preservation of the breed.
Further, outside Spain, in Chile, this breed is used in competitions that take place on national holidays.

Galgos as pets

Due to their primary role as hunting dogs in the Spanish countryside, the Spanish Galgos are sometimes treated barely better than commodities. However, most people know that Galgos are mistreated and abused in their native Spain. Galgueros, as they are normally called, will often select puppies from a litter that show the most propensity for hunting or racing, while abandoning the rest in the streets. The puppies that do get selected often do not live very long lives, as the galgueros often consider the dog too old to hunt once it has achieved two or three years of age. Poor-performing dogs are often beaten, mutilated, starved to death, thrown down wells or hung from trees by their owners. Abusing the dogs that hunt poorly is a widespread practice. Yet, there are no penalties for hunters. Because greyhounds are NOT regarded as pets but as property, they are not afforded the same legal protection as pet dogs. An estimated 50,000 galgos and podencos are killed each year. For all these reasons, many associations in defense of the Galgo have appeared with the aim to save these dogs from a terrible fate, provide much needed rehabilitation, and adoptive homes, usually in the cities. Some associations will adopt them to other locations in Europe, including France, the UK, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Because they tend to be quiet and docile, Galgos make very nice house pets. In Spain they have a well earned reputation as gentle dogs, with sweet temperaments and solid health. They tend to get along well with people and other dogs, and they can be well-behaved around cats if properly socialized. Outside of sunny Spain, they require a warm coat to keep them warm in cold winter weather: like all greyhound type breeds, they have little body fat and short coats, so extra warmth is preferred for colder climates.
Galgos excel at performance activities like lure coursing and racing. They are eligible to compete in lure coursing events sanctioned by the American Sighthound Field Association, entered in the Limited class. They also make very nice show dogs and have enjoyed success in the European show ring, although they are not as well known in the American show world due to their rarity outside Europe.