The Ratonero Valenciano, also known as the Gos Rater Valencià (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

for: Valencian rat hunting dog), is a breed of

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

that originates in Spain. Recognised by the

Real Sociedad Canina de España is the Spanish kennel club. It was founded in Madrid as the on 27 June 1911, and became a legal entity on 12 July 1911; on 1 December 1911 it received the royal patronage of Alfonso XIII, and the word 'Real' was added before the name. It has ...

in 2004, it has had recent success with a member of the breed winning the Spanish National Dog Show in 2011. It is a traditionally docked breed. In 2022, the FCI finally recognised the breed, naming it rather "Terrier" than "Ratter".Gos Rater Valencià
Fédération Cynologique Internationale.

History

The breed originates from

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

in Spain, where it has traditionally been used to catch rats and other rodents. The breed is thought to have existed since the sixteenth century. There are several theories around the breed's origin, including either that stock from British

Fox Terrier Fox Terriers are two different breeds of the terrier dog type: the Smooth Fox Terrier and the Wire Fox Terrier. Both of these breeds originated in the 19th century from a handful of dogs who are descended from earlier varieties of British terr ...

s may have been introduced to native dogs, or that it is simply that breeding dogs for similar purposes have led to similar results. The breed is recognized by the

, the national kennel club for Spain, since 2004. The club uses the structure set out by the

Fédération Cynologique Internationale The Fédération cynologique internationale (FCI) (English: International Canine Federation) is the largest international federation of national kennel clubs. It is based in Thuin, Belgium. History The FCI was founded in 1911 under the auspices ...

, and places the breed within Group 3:Terriers, and the subgroup, Section 1:Large and medium-sized terriers. As of 31 December 2010, there were 523 Ratonero Valencianos registered with the RSCE.

Description

According to the breed standard, the coat should be short, no longer than in length. The most common markings are tricolor, with the colors dominating the white portion of the coat. Other markings include black and tan, brown and white, and brown and tan. The standard

conformation show A dog show is an event where dogs are exhibited. A conformation show, also referred to as a ''breed show'', is a kind of dog show in which a judge, familiar with a specific dog breed, evaluates individual purebred dogs for how well the dogs ''c ...

size for these dogs are for males at the

withers The withers is the ridge between the shoulder blades of an animal, typically a quadruped. In many species, it is the tallest point of the body. In horses and dogs, it is the standard place to measure the animal's height. In contrast, cattle ar ...

, and for females. The ideal size is listed as and respectively. Both sexes weight ranges are the same, ideally . The breed standard describes them as tailless dogs, and states that any tail should be

cropped Cropping is the removal of unwanted outer areas from a photographic or illustrated image. The process usually consists of the removal of some of the peripheral areas of an image to remove extraneous trash from the picture, to improve its framin ...

either "without respecting any vertebra or just the first".

Temperament

The dogs continue to be used in hunting, specifically for rabbits.

References

External links

Spanish National Breed ClubReal Sociedad Canina de España Breed Standard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gos Rater Valencia Dog breeds originating in the Valencian Community Terriers FCI breeds

History

Description

Temperament

See also

References

External links