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GALGO ESPANOL |
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Additonal Breeds Starting With Letter:
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The Galgo has
an ancient history. He is named for the Gauls, a Celtic tribe that inhabited
the Iberian Peninsula six centuries BC. Celts always appreciated good
dogs, and they acquired gaze-hounds from the Phoenician merchants who
plied the Spanish shores. Caesar conquered the area just before the Christian
era, and Roman writers of the first and second centuries AD describe the
sleek Galgo. Spain was overtaken by the Moors in the eighth century, and
additional sighthounds could have been introduced from Africa at that
time.
After the Middle
Ages, the Galgo maintained type for centuries, especially in Andalusia
and Castile. Farmers used him for guard work or for hunting rabbits. Spanish
nobility also favored these fleet hounds for formal coursing of live game.
Those used for coursing remained the purest in type.
In the 20th
century, the Spanish began using the Galgo on the racetrack. Although
these coursing canines could "turn on a dime" and maneuver
well following live hare through rough country, they were not as fast
on the straightaway as their English racing cousins. Imported Greyhounds
were crossed with the Galgo to obtain more speed, and large numbers
of the ancient Spanish breed were altered by this dilution. Fortunately,
fanciers maintained the cause of the old Galgo type.
Today the
professional racing dog in Spain is called Galgo Ingles-Espanol (English-Spanish
Galgo) and is not the same breed recognized by the FCI and breed
purists in Spain. Spanish and European breed clubs formed for the Galgo
Es-panol are fostering the breed as a quiet aristocratic companion and
a fine coursing dog. Specialty shows are offered for the breed. The
Galgo is smaller than the English Greyhound, with a bit more stop and
ears that hang straight down. He is a sturdier fellow, built for the
demands of coursing and practical hunting.
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