The Ratonero Bodeguero Andaluz (''Andalusian wine-cellar rat-hunting dog'') is a Spanish

breed A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...

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 ...

of the

terrier Terrier (from Latin ''terra'', 'earth') is a type of dog originally bred to hunt vermin. A terrier is a dog of any one of many breeds or landraces of the terrier type, which are typically small, wiry, game, and fearless. Terrier breeds vary ...

type. Its name reflects its main occupation: hunting rats and

mice A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...

hidden between barrels in the

wineries A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, b ...

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...

in Spain. It was recognised as an indigenous Spanish breed in 2000 by the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture and by the Spanish Kennel Club, 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 ...

''.Ratonero Bodeguero Andaluz from the Spanish Kennel Club in Spanish

Appearance

The Ratonero Bodeguero Andaluz is of medium size, measuring between 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 ...

, with an appearance very similar to that of the

Jack Russell Terrier The Jack Russell Terrier is a small terrier that has its origins in fox hunting in England. It is principally white-bodied and smooth, rough or broken-coated and can be any colour. Small tan and white terriers that technically belong to oth ...

, to the extent that it has on occasion been called the Spanish Jack Russell. The breed is an agile dog with a lean and athletic build; the head is triangular with a semi-flat skull. The eyes are very dark and the Ratonero has a long muzzle, and high set ears that bend over at the tip. The tail is traditionally docked to one quarter of its length, however they may also be born with a

natural bobtail A natural bobtail is an animal's tail which due to a mutated gene grows unusually short or is missing completely. The genes for the shortened tail may be dominant or recessive. Because of legislation restricting or preventing docking, natural bob ...

. The

coat A coat typically is an outer garment for the upper body as worn by either gender for warmth or fashion. Coats typically have long sleeves and are open down the front and closing by means of buttons, zippers, hook-and-loop fasteners, toggles, a ...

is short and dense, which is typically white. Its facial markings are a mixture of brown, white and black markings (known as tricolor), usually with tan-colored eyebrows, and always with a black

melanistic mask A melanistic mask (also referred to as a mask or masking) is a dog coat pattern that gives the appearance of a mask on the dog's face. The hairs on the muzzle, and sometimes entire face or ears, are colored by eumelanin instead of pheomelanin pi ...

Temperament

The breed is lively and brave with strong hunting instincts. It must also be friendly and according to the

breed club Breed clubs are Voluntary association, associations or Club (organization), clubs with activities centered on a single, specific breed of a particular species of domesticated animal. The purpose of the association will vary with the species of anima ...

this breed is good with children.

History

English wine merchants settling in the

Sherry Sherry ( es, jerez ) is a fortified wine made from white grapes that are grown near the city of Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia, Spain. Sherry is produced in a variety of styles made primarily from the Palomino grape, ranging from light versi ...

making region of Spain, Marco de Jerez, brought with them the ancestors of today's

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 ...

breeds as long as several hundred years ago, where they were crossed with local dogs and used for vermin control of rats and

in the wineries. In the 1900s, the Toy Terrier was crossed into the breed. In 1993, the first breed club, the ''Club Nacional del Perro Andaluz Ratonero Bodeguero'', was formed, and a breed standard was written. In 2000 the breed was recognised as a native Spanish breed by the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, although it is not yet recognised internationally 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 ...

. The breed is recognised by numerous minor kennel clubs - such as the Nordic Kennel Union - and dog registries, especially in North America. As some of these groups require little to no verification before registering dogs as being of a certain breed, puppy buyers should research their dog's pedigree to make sure it is from Spain and not one of the many similar breeds of dogs derived from fox terriers.

Health

No diseases specific to this breed, or claims of extraordinary health, have been documented for the Ratonero Bodeguero Andaluz, though an undescended testicle is not uncommon in male pups.

Similar breeds

Breeds similar in appearance to (but not the same as) the Ratonero Bodeguero Andaluz include the

, the

Parson Russell Terrier The Parson Russell Terrier is a breed of small white terrier that was the original Fox Terrier of the 18th century. The breed is named after the Reverend Jack Russell, credited with the creation of this type of dog. It is the recognised conforma ...

, and the

Rat Terrier The Rat Terrier is an American dog breed with a background as a farm dog and hunting companion. They share much ancestry with the small hunting dogs known as feists. Common throughout family farms in the 1920s and 1930s, they are now recognize ...

. Differences and similarities between the Terrier Brasileiro and the

Japanese Terrier The is a small terrier native to Japan. It is believed to be descended from the progeny of fox terrier types, pointers and indigenous Japanese dogs. Appearance The Japanese Terrier is a balanced dog. It most often has a black head and ...

are detailed on the breed club's website. The breed has been compared with other ratting dog breeds that originated in Spain:

Ratonero Murciano de Huerta The Ratonero Murciano is a breed of dog from the Spanish Region of Murcia. The Ratonero Murciano was traditionally kept in Murcia as a mouse and rat hunter, it is claimed they descend from dogs introduced to the region by the Romans who imported t ...

and Ratonero Valenciano. Their traits, intelligence, trainability, sociability, and behavior are all similar, but they differ only in size, color and conformation. None of these breeds is recognized by the

References