It can be challenging to keep up with the many names by which one breed may be known.  One’s “knee jerk” reaction upon coming across the “Perdiguero de Burgos” is that this is a breed unknown to most of us. Seeing that it’s also known as the “Burgos Pointer” might not help.

It pays to dig deeper.

A breed with which many of us are familiar, if only from books,  is the Spanish Pointer, that being the more common name for the Perdiguero de Burgos, the latter being the breed’s official name with the FCI and the United Kennel Club.  This large, robust all-around gundog for feather and fur dates back to the 1500s and is thought to have descended from the Pachon Navarra, the Sabueso Espanol, and the Old Spanish Pointer once prevalent in the province of Burgos, a part of Spain known as Castile. In turn, the Perdiguero is thought to have contributed to the development of other large pointing breeds, namely, the English Pointer,  German Pointer, and the Russian Pointer.

The impact of the Spanish Civil War, and WWII was entirely negative on a breed already thought to be rare. By the beginning of the 1900s, the Perdiguero was close to extinction, and it might have vanished altogether had it not been for Manuel Izquierdo and Geardo Sardonil working to revive and preserve the breed. Happily, hunting enthusiasts in Spain have rediscovered it, and all the qualities that made it once a favorite among hunters. The breed has an excellent nose, never gives up a scent, and despite its wrinkly, too-much-skin look (a product of its ancestor, the Sabueso Espanol), these dogs are fast, athletic, and are terrific in water.

Image of a Perdiguero de Burgos by Cristina Guago/iPhoto Stock Photo