The Villanuco de Las Encartaciones ( eu, Enkarterriko Billanuko, italic=no, Cantabrian: Villanucu) 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 ...

of small dog of

ratter A rat-catcher is a person who kills or captures rats as a professional form of pest control. Keeping the rat population under control was practiced in Europe to prevent the spread of diseases, most notoriously the Black Death, and to prevent d ...

type. It originates in the

comarca A ''comarca'' (, or , or ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, ...

Enkarterri Enkarterri (Spanish: ''Las Encartaciones'') is a comarca of the province of Biscay, in the Basque Country, Spain. It is one of the seven ''eskualdeak/comarcas'' or districts that make up the province of Biscay. Its administrative centre is Balmas ...

( es, Las Encartaciones, italic=no) in the

Basque Autonomous Community The Basque Country (; eu, Euskadi ; es, País Vasco ), also called Basque Autonomous Community ( eu, Euskal Autonomia Erkidegoa, links=no, EAE; es, Comunidad Autónoma del País Vasco, links=no, CAPV), is an autonomous community of Spain. It ...

in northern Spain. It is one of five Basque breeds of dog, the others being the

Basque Shepherd Dog The Basque Shepherd Dog, eu, Euskal Artzain Txakurra, italic=no, es, Perro de Pastor Vasco, italic=no, is a traditional Spanish breed of sheepdog originating in the historic Basque Country. It is believed that they originated from Central Europ ...

, the

Erbi Txakur The is a Spanish breed of scenthound. It originates in the provinces of Álava and Bizkaia in the Basque Autonomous Community in northern Spain. It is one of five Basque breeds of dog, the others being the Basque Shepherd Dog, the Pachón ...

, the Pachón Navarro and the

Villano de Las Encartaciones The Villano de Las Encartaciones is a Spanish breed of large working dog from the region of Las Encartaciones in the province of Biscay, in the Basque country; it is found also in Álava, in eastern Cantabria and in northern Burgos. The traditio ...

, and one of fourteen animal breeds native to the País Vasco. It is critically endangered: in 2009 there were fewer than fifty examples.

History

The Villanuco originates in the

/Las Encartaciones in Bizkaia, in the

in northern Spain. It is one of five Basque breeds of dog, the others being the

or Euskal Artzain Txakurra, the

, the Pachón de Vitoria and the

or . Of these, all but the Pachón de Vitoria are indigenous to the

, and were recognised as traditional Basque breeds by government decree in 2001. It was among the fourteen indigenous animal breeds included in the rural development plan for the País Vasco for 2007–2013. The Villanuco is critically endangered: in 2009 the total number for the breed was reported to be below fifty. Almost all are in the comarca of Enkarterri/Las Encartaciones – in

Artzentales Artzentales (Artzandaritz) is a municipality in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, northern Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg ...

Balmaseda Balmaseda (in Basque and officially, in Spanish: ''Valmaseda'') is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the Basque Country. Balmaseda is the capital city of the comarca of Enkarterri, in western Biscay and serves an impo ...

Güeñes The council of Güeñes is a municipality in the county of Encartaciones (Biscay, Basque Country, Spain). It is furrowed by the waters of the river Cadagua and forms with its neighbor, the municipality of Zalla, Salcedo Valley. In the North it bor ...

Karrantza Karrantza Harana/Valle de Carranza (in Basque ''Karrantza Harana'', in Spanish ''Valle de Carranza''), is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the Basque Country. It is located in the comarca of Enkarterri and it is the ...

Sopuerta , population_note = , population_density_km2 = auto , blank_name_sec1 = Official language(s) , blank_info_sec1 = BasqueSpanish , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and

Trucios-Turtzioz Trucios-Turtzioz (Turtzioz in Basque; Trucios in Spanish; Trucíos in Cantabrian) is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the Autonomous Community of Basque Country, northern Spain, surrounded by other municipalities of Bi ...

Characteristics

The Villanuco is one of several ratting breeds in Spain. It shows some similarity to the Ca Rater Mallorquí of

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...

and to the

Gos Rater Valencià The Ratonero Valenciano, also known as the Gos Rater Valencià (English for: Valencian rat hunting dog), is a breed of dog that originates in Spain. Recognised by the Real Sociedad Canina de España in 2004, it has had recent success with a membe ...

, but is

phenotypically In genetics, the phenotype () is the set of observable characteristics or traits of an organism. The term covers the organism's morphology or physical form and structure, its developmental processes, its biochemical and physiological proper ...

less similar to them than they are to each other. It is a small breed: dogs stand 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 ...

, bitches a little less. The skin is fine and close-fitting, and the coat is short, little more than long. It is most often black and white or black and tan, less frequently black and cinnamon, white and cinnamon, or tri-coloured; the nose is usually black, but may also be chocolate-coloured. The ears are usually upright.

Use

The Villanuco was traditionally used for ratting. It is a good

watchdog Watchdog or watch dog may refer to: Animals *Guard dog, a dog that barks to alert its owners of an intruder's presence * Portuguese Watch Dog, Cão de Castro Laboreiro, a dog breed * Moscow Watchdog, a breed of dog that was bred in the Soviet U ...

, alert to the presence of strangers or intruders, and may be kept for that reason or as a

companion dog A companion dog is a dog that does not work, providing only companionship as a pet, rather than usefulness by doing specific tasks. Many of the toy dog breeds are used only for the pleasure of their company, not as workers. Any dog can be a compa ...

References

{{Terriers Dog breeds originating in the Basque Country (autonomous community) Dog breeds originating in Cantabria Rare dog breeds Dog breeds originating in Spain Basque domestic animal breeds