As their name suggests, the Portuguese Water Dogs are from Portugal, a Southern European country that shares its border with Spain. This breed is considered a rarity in India and their demand is also not that high in the country and the main reason behind that might be the hefty price tag that comes along with these canines. This breed is extremely expensive as their price generally starts at around ₹65,000 in India and it can easily go way higher than that. But, this canine can be a decent fit for a country like India because of its awesome adaptability in various climatic conditions (hot, cold etc.), its obedient and docile character and its all around friendly and amiable personality. Hence, if someone is fine with their enormous price tag, then this breed can be a pretty good option for them.
The Portuguese Water Dogs are highly well-built and structurally sound canines that possess a great level of spirit and strength inside their body. The official standards for the PWDs are given as follows:
The average height of the Portuguese Water Dogs is somewhere around 17-23 inches (at the shoulders). The male PWDs are usually bigger than their female counterparts in terms of size and stature. The average weight of the PWDs is anywhere between 16 to 27 kg.
|
GENDER |
WEIGHT |
HEIGHT |
|
MALE |
19-27 kg |
20-23 inch |
|
FEMALE |
16-22 kg |
17-21 inch |
The Portuguese Water Dogs possess a thick, profuse and evenly spread coat which can be found in two varieties: Curly and Wavy. The curly coat is made up of lusterless cylindrical curls but the wavy coat, on the other hand, possesses a slight sheen and the strands of hair fall gently in a wave pattern.
The PWDs have a ruggedly built well-knit body in which the neck is strongly muscled, slightly short, straight and is held high above the shoulders. Their chest area is broad and deep in which the ribs are long and well-sprung. The Back region is broad and well-muscled and the tail is thickly based, powerful, heavily feathered and is slightly tapering in nature. The forelegs and hind legs are reasonably well muscled, powerful and are in balance with each other.
They possess a distinctively large head but still, it is fairly well-proportioned and is in accordance with the rest of the body. Their eyes are round, medium in size, black or brown in color and are set well apart from each other. The ears are heart-shaped and thin but are covered with a heavy layer of fur and are set well above the eye line.
They have a sturdy jaw region with strongly developed canines. Their mouth closes in a Scissors or level bite. Their overall muzzle is quite substantial and is fairly wider at the base than at the nose.
The Portuguese Water Dogs are immensely energetic and lively canines. They love to perform any activity or task that challenges them mentally or physically. They have fairly high exercising needs and are happy to spend their energy on some kind of work. But, that doesn’t mean the Porties don’t like to sit quietly beside their owners and close ones. They enjoy spending time with their family members and feel contented staying close to the people they love. These dogs are also known for their obedient and faithful character. They sincerely listen to their owners’ commands and are always ready to please them. They make awesome family pets because of their all-around affable and jovial personality and their easy-going nature. The inner qualities of the Portuguese Water Dogs are listed below:
Also known as the Cao de Agua which means “dog of the waterâ€, the Portuguese Water Dogs are quite famous all around the world as a water-loving breed. These canines possess webbed feet which along with their thick tail helps them while swimming and diving.
They were bred for working purposes and hence they love to perform various kinds of tasks and activities. They excel at various dog sports such as agility, tracking, obedience, and water work. Their exercising needs should be fulfilled on a daily basis as it is both good for their body and their mind. Without the proper amount of physical work, these canines can become destructive and frustrated which is certainly not good for their mental health.
They are considered to be an awesome house pet mainly because of their obedient and compliant character. They are happy to get trained and learn new things from their owners. They get along pretty well with other animals like cats and other canines. They are careful and kind to small kids and they are fairly warm and affectionate with the strangers. Also, these canines can be really good guard dogs as well and they can efficiently alert their owners in case of any intruders. And thus, all these qualities surely make these pooches a pretty great option for the people who are looking to raise a lively and faithful canine.
The PWDs are divided into two types which are based on the different kinds of coat that these canines can be found in. These types are given below:
Also, the Porties are available in several different colors which are given as follows:
|
Adaptability |
***** |
Sensitivity Level |
**** |
|
Affection Level |
***** |
Potential for mouthiness |
***** |
|
Apartment-Friendly |
**** |
Drooling Potential |
* |
|
Barking Tendencies |
*** |
Energy Level |
***** |
|
Friendly towards dogs |
**** |
Health Issues |
*** |
|
Friendly towards other animals |
**** |
Intelligence |
**** |
|
Child Friendly |
**** |
Playfulness |
**** |
|
Exercise Needs |
**** |
Shedding Level |
* |
|
Grooming Needs |
**** |
Social Needs |
**** |
|
Good for novice owners |
*** |
Stranger Friendly |
*** |
|
Trainability |
**** |
Watchdog Ability |
**** |
|
Tolerates Heat |
*** |
Tolerates Cold |
**** |
The Porties do quite well on a high-quality dog food which should be given to them according to their age. The puppies can be fed 3-4 meals in a day but the quantity should not be very high. And, contrary to that, the adult PWDs should be given 2 meals per day but in their case, the quantity of the meal should be increased.
These canines require a lot of physical work and exercise on a regular basis to remain healthy and fit. They enjoy long walks and running sessions with their owners, are excited to play numerous games with their family members in a park or inside the house and are eager to get trained. And, all these things, when provided to them on a daily basis, can certainly help in keeping these canines both physically and mentally healthy.
Training these responsive and obedient canines is quite fun and easy for the owners/trainers. The PWDs are happy to learn new skills and commands from their owners. They show great interest while getting trained and are always eager to please their trainers. They are fairly intelligent as well and this combined with their compliant character surely make the training sessions a lot smoother and effortless for the ones who are training these amenable canines.
Their thick and heavy coat requires an extensive amount of grooming on a regular basis. Brushing of the coat should be done at least 2-3 times a week. Occasional bathing and trimming of nails are also necessary to keep them neat and tidy. Most owners seek the help of a professional groomer for these canines. Their coat is usually clipped in two ways: lion clip or the retriever clip. In Lion clip, only the coat on the muzzle and hindquarters is clipped to skin but in the Retriever clip, the entire coat is clipped to one inch in length.
Coming to their shedding potential, these dogs only shed on a seasonal basis and that too in a very limited fashion.
Health-related problems which are commonly seen in the Portuguese Water Dogs are as follows:
Frequent and regular visits to a vet’s clinic are not required in the case of the Portuguese Water Dogs. But still, it is recommended to take these canines to a skilled veterinarian’s clinic at least once every 45-60 days for normal check-ups and consultation.
Several centuries ago, the Portuguese fishermen used medium-sized curly coated canines to drive fish into their nets, deliver messages from one boat to another and retrieve their gear from the water. These dogs were highly athletic and obedient and above all, they were excellent swimmers and could dive fairly deep into the water.
These canines are believed to be the descendants of the modern-day Portuguese Water Dogs. Many people speculate that these dogs also influenced the development of various other breeds like the Newfoundlands, the Poodles, and the Chesapeake Bay Retrievers.
 The Porties helped a large number of fishermen in their day-to-day tasks. They were even given the title of Cao de Agua (dog of the water) because of the majority of their work taking place in or around the water bodies.
But, in the early 20th century, when fishing became modernized, these hard-working canines became irrelevant to many people and thus their numbers took a dive. But, due to the efforts of Vasco Bensuade, a Portuguese dog admirer, this breed saw a revival. He continued the breeding of the PWDs and gradually their numbers and their popularity rose to greater heights. And, in the year 1983, this breed was eventually recognized by the AKC as a distinct breed.
