The Galgo Español belongs to the group of sighthounds and is recognized by the FCI as a Spanish dog breed (FCI Group 10, Section 3, Standard No. 285).
Origin and history of the Galgo Español
If you trace the history of the Galgo Español, you inevitably end up in the time of the Celts, who went hunting with this dog breed as early as the 6th century BC. It was also the Celts who brought the Galgo to the Iberian Peninsula. The naming is due to the fact that after the victory over the Celts, the Romans called the breed "Canis Gallicus", which means nothing else than Gallic dog. This expression later gave rise to the term "Galgo".
The Moors, who ruled the Iberian Peninsula from the 8th to the 15th century, also contributed to the appearance of today's Galgo Español with the breeds they brought with them, the Sloughi and the Podenco Ibicenco, by crossing the breeds with each other.
The Galgo Español is considered the ancestor of the English Greyhound. Since both breeds look very similar and were frequently interbred in the last century for the purpose of optimizing them for dog racing, it is often difficult to distinguish between them.