The WPM's single, rough coat works as aircondition in hot weather. This type of coat is low maintenance as it naturally sheds dust and dirt and dries very quickly. The SPP(Smooth Podengo Pequeno) has a dense smooth coat with a short undercoat. The Wirehaird Podengo Pequeno(WPP) has a single rough coat that does shed but not too much. There are two coat varieties for this breed smooth coat and wire coat. White markings may be present with all colors. This breed is mostly found in different shades of fawn and cream though black is also acceptable color. This breed sports two coat varieties that come in different shades of either fawn or cream colour. The elegant and well balanced body is slightly longer than it is tall. Generally, the breed has pyramid head, mobile and erect ears, small, almond shaped eyes, always dark colour nose and sickle shaped tail.
The Grande dog stands between 22-28 inches, Medio between 16-22 inches and Pequeno between 8-12 inches and weighs 44-66 lbs, 35-44 lbs and 9-13 lbs for Grande, Medio and Pequeno respectively. The Grande is now very rare in its home country. It will exhaust and hold down the prey and await the hunter's gun. The Medio (medium) was developed for rabbit chasing, flushing, hunting and retrieval while the Grande (large) was developed for deer and wild boar hunting. Pequeno was developed as a hunter of rabbit and mouse. The three varieties were developed to hunt different size game. This is evidenced by artifacts found under the Lisbon Cathedral. The probable origin of the Portuguese Podengo is with the primitive, multipurpose hunting dogs obtained, used and distributed by Phoenician traders during the circumnavigation of Africa in 600 BC and reaching Portugal in the 700's BC. It developed through natural selection and as such, has not changed too much from old times. This ancient breed was brought to Iberia by Romans. Commonly referred to as Podengo in its country of origin, this dog comes in three different sizes (Portuguese Podengo Pequeno(small), medio (medium) and Grande(large)) and in two coat varieties, smooth coated and rough_coated. This breed is also known as Podengo Portugues and Portuguese Warren Hound. The Portuguese Hound is a breed of pack hounds originating in Portugal and has been declared National Dog of Portugal.