The Portuguese Pointer originated in the IberianPeninsula. Its existence in Portugal can be traced back to the 12th century. Itwas originally bred in royal kennels to be used in falconry and is still used byfalconers in Portugal today.
In the 16th century, it became known as theperdigueiro, deriving this name from the Portuguese word “perdiz” meaning“partridge.” During the 18th century, many English families in the business of wine productionestablished a presence in the region of Oporto and came to know the Portuguese hunting breed, which were then taken to England where they played a part in the origin of theEnglish Pointer.
However, during the 19th century, when Portugal was experiencing considerable social hardships, the breed began a progressive decline. It wasn’t until the 1920s that some breeders made an effort to salvage the breed by locating some of the ancient Portuguese dogs in the inaccessible north of Portugal.The Portuguese pedigree book was then established in 1932 and the breed standard in 1938. Today, after at least a thousand years, the breed still retains many of the same conformation andfunctional traits as its ancestors.