Portuguese Water Dog Breed Info
Portuguese Water Dogs are playful, energetic, and fun-loving, but also extremely loyal and protective. They love to swim, hike through mountain trails, play in the dog park and participate in family activities with kids of all ages. Highly intelligent, easy to train, and eager to please, this breed makes for a fantastic companion pet.
BREED TYPE / MIX
Purebred
ENERGY
Moderate
SHEDDING
Minimum
TRAINING
Responsive
TEMPERAMENT
Sweet, Loyal, Joyful, Outgoing
ADULT WEIGHT
30-60 lbs
ADULT HEIGHT
15-20 in
LIFE SPAN
12-14 yrs
Characteristics
- The Portuguese Water Dog is playful, affectionate, and extremely loyal
- They are often compared to children in their love for human company, and their love of adventure
- The PWD is bold and brave, but adaptable enough to fit into any household situation
- The breed is known for its intelligence, loyalty, and good temperament
- The Portuguese Water Dog is a medium-sized dog that loves the water and excels at retrieving
- They have webbed feet with thick pads on their paws that make it easier for them to swim through rough waters without getting hurt by sharp rocks or debris on the bottom of lakes or rivers
- Their short coat needs little grooming because it does not shed much. This breed also has a hypoallergenic coat, making them perfect for allergy sufferers
- The Portuguese Water Dog is a good watchdog because it will bark at anything unusual, but it's not aggressive with people or other dogs
Appearance
The Portuguese Water Dog is a medium-sized dog with a strong body, intelligent eyes, and a thick, curly coat. It has a unique coat that protects it from cold and wet weather. The coat is coarse and straight, soft, dense, and woolly. This fur makes the Portuguese Water Dog exceptionally water-resistant.
The Portuguese Water Dog has a short muzzle with an upturned nose. Its ears are triangular in shape and hang close to its head. Its tail is carried high with a slight curve toward the front. The breed comes in several colors including black and white, brown and white, or red and white. It stands between 15-20 inches tall at the shoulder and weighs 30-60 pounds on average.
Photos
Temperament
The Portuguese Water Dog is a very intelligent, brave, and docile dog. It is also obedient and eager to please its owner. This breed makes an excellent family companion, as it gets along well with children.
The Portuguese Water Dog is generally calm indoors but needs regular exercise to stay healthy and happy.
They love long walks and being outdoors but should be brought back inside before it starts to get dark since they are known to wander off if left outside too long.
Care
Grooming
The PWD is a working dog, so you will want to make sure that his coat stays in good condition. You should brush him at least once a week to keep dirt out of his hair and prevent matting. Portuguese Water Dogs shed very little and do not require extensive grooming. However, there are some areas that need special attention:
If your dog's teeth are not cleaned regularly by a professional, they can become stained or discolored. The Portuguese Water Dog has teeth that are prone to tartar build-up and plaque formation. To help prevent this problem, brush your dog's teeth with a toothbrush designed for dogs twice a week and have them professionally cleaned every six months.
If you allow your dog to run loose on rough surfaces such as gravel or dirt, he will probably get cuts on his paws from sharp rocks or thorns. You can protect your dog's paws by trimming their nails regularly so that they don't get too long and leave them vulnerable to injury. Trimming should be done every two weeks or so depending on how fast your dog grows his nails naturally. You may need to use clippers specially designed for dogs instead of human ones because human clippers may hurt your dog if he moves while you try to trim them.
Exercise Needs
Portuguese Water Dogs need at least one hour of exercise daily. This should include both physical activity (like jogging or swimming) and mental stimulation (like obedience training).
They need to be taken for walks regularly, but they don't need long walks on hot days since they tend to overheat quickly when working hard in warm weather.
They are very active dogs who will benefit from having some off-leash time every day. A fenced-in yard would be ideal, so they can run around freely without worrying about cars or other dangers lurking outside the fence line.
Health
The Portuguese Water Dog is healthy, but like all breeds, it may be prone to certain health conditions such as allergies to food, skin irritation, ear infections, dental issues, and obesity. It's important to research how common these conditions are in Portuguese Water Dogs, how they affect your dog, and the signs to watch for.
Lifespan
Portuguese Water Dogs are generally healthy dogs that live long lives. In general, they are active dogs with an average lifespan of 12 to 14 years.
Training
While the Portuguese Water Dog is a very intelligent, energetic, and active dog, it is also easy to train. The PWD is eager to please, which makes training an enjoyable experience for both the dog and owner.
The Portuguese Water Dog is often compared with the Golden Retriever because of their similar appearance and temperament. The PWD is one of the smartest breeds around and has a reputation for being easy to train.
This breed responds well to positive reinforcement, so treat training will be a success.
The Portuguese Water Dog was originally bred to herd fishnets in Portugal's fishing ports. The strong-willed nature of this breed made it difficult to train them into obedience but they are now known as one of the most obedient dogs around.
Portuguese Water Dogs can be trained using positive reinforcement methods like clicker training or reward-based training. Positive reinforcement is a great way to train any dog because it doesn't use punishment or force and it makes learning fun!
The Portuguese Water Dog is an eager-to-please breed that responds well to praise and treats, so positive reinforcement training works well with this breed.
History
The Portuguese Water Dog is a breed of dog that originated in Portugal. The breed's name comes from its ability to herd fish into fishermen's nets and retrieve lost tackle or broken nets.
The origin of the Portuguese Water Dog is unclear because there are several theories about its development. One theory is that the dogs were brought to Portugal by Phoenicians, who then bred them with local dogs. Another is that they were developed from dogs brought from Spain during the Moorish rule in Spain.
The Portuguese Water Dogs were recognized as a distinct breed by the American Kennel Club (AKC) in 1984 but were already well known in Europe for many years before then.
The Portuguese water dog has been around since the 1400s and was used as a water rescue dog. It was also used as a guard dog and hunter. Today, it is still considered an excellent hunting companion as well as a great family pet.
