The Cão do Barrocal Algarvio is a traditional warren hound of the Algarve region in general and of the Barrocal [pt] sub-region in particular. It was formerly numerous in that area: in the mid-twentieth century there were some 3500 of the dogs, but numbers fell sharply in the later part of the century and by the 1960s there were fewer than 50 remaining; the population was thought to be at risk of extinction.[2] A breed society, the Associação de Criadores do Cão do Barrocal Algarvio, was formed either in 2004[5]: 241 or in 2006.[6] A molecular genetic study of the dogs was begun in 2012 by the Instituto Nacional de Investigação Veterinária;[5]: 241 preliminary results found an index of genetic diversity comparable to that in other Portuguese breeds.[7]: 53
The Cão do Barrocal Algarvio is of medium size, and is roughly square in outline.[10] Height at the withers is in the range 52–58 cm for dogs and about 3 cm less for bitches, with a tolerance of ±2 cm in each case; weights are about 20–25 kg for dogs and some 5 kg less for bitches.[10]
The coat is thick and smooth, with no undercoat. It is most often brown, yellow, grey, black or fawn, either patched, solid, or patched with white; tricoloured and other varied coats also acceptable.[10]
^ ab[s.n.] (2021). Catálogo Oficial de Raças Autóctones Portuguesas (in Portuguese). Lisboa: Confederação dos Agricultores de Portugal; Direção-Geral de Alimentação e Veterinária. Archived 19 January 2024.
^Ana Elisabete Pires, Catarina Marado, Tânia Valério, Carla Borges, Diogo Mendonça, Fernanda Simões, José Ribeiro, Associação de Criadores do Cão do Barrocal Algarvio, José Matos (2012). Cão do Barrocal Algarvio: no encalço da sua identidade genética (in Portuguese). VIII Congresso Ibérico sobre Recursos Genéticos Animais, Évora, Portugal, 13–15 September 2012: Resumo das comunicações. Sociedade Portuguesa de Recursos Genéticos Animais; Sociedad Española para los Recursos Genéticos Animales.
^Monográficas 2022 (in Portuguese). Clube Português de Canicultura. Accessed August 2024.
^Monográficas 2023 (in Portuguese). Clube Português de Canicultura. Accessed August 2024.