History
The first recorded mention of a Maltese hunting dog, which could have been identical with the modern Kelb tal-Fenek, was issued by Commendatore Fra. G. Fran. Abela (Maltese historian and Vice Chancellor of the Order of St. John) in 1647 who wrote ‘There are dogs called 'Cernechi' esteemed for the hunting of rabbits, and as far as France are in demand primarily for stony, mountainous and steep locations'. The use of the word 'Cernechi' to name the breed should be no surprise as Italian was the language of scholars and the courts in Malta from at least 1091 up to WWII.
The first two specimens of the breed were brought to Britain from Malta in the 1920s, but at that time, no litter was bred. Again, some dogs were imported to the UK in the early 1960s, and the first litter was born in 1963. The breed standard was recognised by The Kennel Club in 1974. The breed was called the Pharaoh Hound although this name was already used by the FCI as an alternative name for the Ibizan Hound at that time. When the FCI abolished this name in 1977 and decided to call the Ibizan Hound exclusively by its original Spanish name Podenco Ibicenco, the term Pharaoh Hound was transferred to the Kelb tal-Fenek, whose breed standard had been recognised by the FCI at the same time.
A number of other breeds that are similar to the Pharaoh Hound exist in different regions of the Mediterranean. One is the Cirneco dell'Etna from neighbouring Sicily, which is very similar in structure and appearance, but somewhat smaller (43–51 cm/17-20in). Other similar breeds include the Ibizan Hound, Podenco Canario, Podengo Português and other local breeds from the Mediterranean—each breed is slightly different with physical characteristics that match the terrain the dogs hunt on. It is not clear whether those breeds have descended from the same ancestral lines, or whether their similarities have developed due to similar environmental conditions.
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