Villanuco de Las Encartaciones

The Villanuco de Las Encartaciones (also called Enkarterriko Billanuko in Basque and Villanucu in Cantabrian) is a small Spanish dog breed, originally used for catching rats. It comes from the Enkarterri region (Las Encartaciones in Spanish), located in the Basque Autonomous Community of northern Spain. This breed is one of five Basque dog breeds—alongside the Basque Shepherd Dog, Erbi Txakur, Pachón de Vitoria, and Villano de Las Encartaciones—and is also one of fourteen native animal breeds from the País Vasco. The Villanuco is critically endangered; in 2009, fewer than fifty individuals were known to exist.

The breed’s history is tied to the Enkarterri comarca in Bizkaia. All five Basque dog breeds, except the Pachón de Vitoria, are indigenous to the Basque Autonomous Community and were officially recognized as traditional Basque breeds by a government decree in 2001. The Villanuco was also included in the rural development plan for the País Vasco covering 2007–2013, which listed fourteen native animal breeds. As of 2009, almost all remaining Villanucos lived within Enkarterri—specifically in the towns of Artzentales, Balmaseda, Güeñes, Karrantza, Sopuerta, and Trucios-Turtzioz.

In appearance, the Villanuco is a small dog, standing 30–40 cm at the shoulder for males, with females slightly smaller. Its skin is thin and tight, and its short coat is barely over 1 cm long. The most common colors are black and white or black and tan; less frequent are black and cinnamon, white and cinnamon, or tri-colored. The nose is usually black but can also be chocolate-colored. The ears typically stand upright. The breed shares some traits with the Ca Rater Mallorquí of Mallorca and the Gos Rater Valencià, though it is less similar to them than those two breeds are to each other.

Traditionally, the Villanuco was used for ratting. It also makes a good watchdog, alert to strangers or intruders, and can be kept for that purpose or as a companion dog.