Also called the Ibizan Podenco, the Podenco Ibicenco, the Ivicene, the Balearic Hound or the Balearic Dog, this breed has in the past spread to the Spanish mainland in the region of Catalonia, where it is known by the Catalan name of Ca Eivissenc or Ca Eibisatc. It also reached the south of France where it was christened the Charnique, Cbarneque, Cbarneque, Cbarneque, or Chien de Baléares. In Germany it is called the Balearen-laufhund. Its main function is rabbit-hunting, but it also pursues other small game. Its hunting sequence is: detect, flush, chase at 40 mph (64 kph), kill with a neckbreak, and then retrieve to owner.
What the Pharaoh Hound is to the small island of Malta, the Ibizan Hound is to the small island of Ibiza, in the Spanish Balearics. With its tall, pricked ears and its elongated body, it is clearly a closely related breed, and its ancestors were probably brought to Ibiza by the Phoenicians at about the same time that they introduced the Pharaoh Hound to Malta, nearly 3,000 years ago.
In France, where it was used for hunting in the Provence and Roussillon regions, it became so strongly identified with poaching that it was eventually banned. Its special value to the poachers lay in the fact that it was unusually silent when engaged in hunting and therefore enabled them to work in secrecy.
In the 1950s, a famous Spanish dog judge and breeder, who lived on the island of Majorca, a short distance from Ibiza, took this breed under her wing and began a controlled breeding programme. (This is why it is sometimes referred to as the Podenco Mallorquin, or simply the Mallorquin.) From there it spread to the show-rings of Europe and later the United States. In 1958, some of these handsome dogs were imported into Egypt, the land of their ancient ancestors.
The typical Ibizan Hound is short-haired, but occasional wire-haired specimens are encountered. There is a characteristic white mark between the ears that is called the ‘axe mark’. The most common colour form is white with red patches.
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