The Portuguese Water Dog
The Portuguese Water Dog is a robust dog of medium stature with a muscled physique. They come in two "correct" coat types: wavy and curly, which lack an undercoat, so shedding in minimal. However, their coats are hair, not fur, and thus grow continuously like our head hair grows. These dogs require regular grooming, often needing to be cut down every 6-8 weeks and requiring brushing several times a week to avoid matting. There is a coat type called "improper" which means that the dog lacks "furnishings" -- the long hair on the muzzle, head, and legs. These dogs can be either of the wavy or curly form but will usually have an undercoat and may or may not shed.
While many people like to think of PWDs as "hypoallergenic", no dog truly is, as they, like us, shed dead skin cells that create dander. About 30% of the general public is allergic to animal dander, but people can also be allergic to animal saliva. This can be problematic as the PWD is known for frequent licking! Nevertheless, because shedding is minimal, they seem to drop less dander than other breeds and therefore are often more tolerable for people with allergies. This feature has made them a popular breed. Because of their athletic nature and bouts of intense activity, the PWD is best suited to live with an active owner who will exercise the dog daily. Since these dogs are also highly intelligent, they also need exercise for their mind or they will devise their own games that generally involve destruction ("gutting") of toys and chewing of anything made of wood. Many are also clever counter-surfers that happily climb on tables and counter-tops to search for anything they consider consumable and some really really enjoy eating tissues and toilet paper (this behavior seems to have a genetic basis). The breed has excellent retriever qualities that, when properly channeled, can result in the dog fetching you nearly anything you want, but can also lead to unintentional mouthiness. They love to work and are easily trained as a result. Training at an early age and throughout the first year of life is absolutely necessary so if you are not invested in taking your pup to multiple classes its first year, you should reconsider getting this breed. A well-trained dog is a pleasure to live with; a poorly-trained dog is a nuisance and a burden. For more information on the breed, visit the PWDCA website and read The New Complete Portuguese Water Dog book, by Kathryn Braund and The Portuguese Water Dog by Carla Molinari. Or see our recent podcast on the breed at The Quirky Dog Podcast. To understand the genetics involved in the health issues listed below, visit the PWD Foundation website with their genetic info-graphic. To see videos of these dogs doing what they were bred to do, via PWDCA Water Trials, click HERE. |
The Breed Standard
General Appearance: Known for centuries along Portugal's coast, this seafaring breed was prized by fishermen for a spirited, yet obedient nature, and a robust, medium build that allowed for a full day's work in and out of the water. The Portuguese Water Dog is a swimmer and diver of exceptional ability and stamina, who aided his master at sea by retrieving broken nets, herding schools of fish, and carrying messages between boats and to shore. He is a loyal companion and alert guard. This highly intelligent utilitarian breed is distinguished by two coat types, either curly or wavy; an impressive head of considerable breadth and well proportioned mass; a ruggedly built, well-knit body; and a powerful, thickly based tail, carried gallantly or used purposefully as a rudder. The Portuguese Water Dog provides an indelible impression of strength, spirit, and soundness.
Size, Proportion, Substance: Size--Height at the withers--Males, 20 to 23 inches. The ideal is 22 inches. Females, 17 to 21 inches. The ideal is 19 inches. Weight--For males, 42 to 60 pounds; for females, 35 to 50 pounds. Proportion--Off square; slightly longer than tall when measured from prosternum to rearmost point of the buttocks, and from withers to ground. Substance--Strong, substantial bone; well developed, neither refined nor coarse, and a solidly built, muscular body.
For the specifics of the standard, please go to the description on the PWDCA website or visit the Illustrated Breed Standard.
When breeders breed to the standard, they are attempting to create dogs that have body characteristics that are conducive to the roles for which a particular breed was created. Much of the body proportions have to do with how the dog will move, and movement ultimately affects the dog's ability to do its historical job. The show ring -- conformation -- is the place where the dog's movement, and thus structure, is evaluated. The pattern of movement away from and then towards the judge, moving in a circle around the ring at a trot, and how the dog stands all help in determining what the underlying structure of a dog is. To understand more about how the front assembly, the hindquarters, the topline, etc. affect the dog's movement, read this four part series from The Canine Chronicle.
Coat Types: There are two "proper" coats in PWDs. One is a curly coat that can either be quite tight like a Standard Poodle's coat, or looser but still quite curly. The other is a wavy coat that can be in the form of soft ringlets or longer waves and ripples. The two coat types may be presented in either a retriever clip or a lion clip. To view these two clips, click on the particular coat clip below.
There is a third coat type in some PWD lines, known as "improper coat" (see images below for examples of ICs). "Improper" is a bit of a misnomer as there is nothing wrong with the coat per se -- it is thick and lush as in the properly coated PWDs. However, improperly coated PWDs will lack the furnishings on the head, muzzle, and legs and thus are often referred to as "smooth-faced" PWDs. It turns out that the gene coding for this "smooth-faced" and "smooth-legged" condition is not a bad mutation, but instead is a reinsertion of a "wild type" gene from ancestral dogs (i.e., it is a reversion back to the original form of the gene). It is a recessive condition, meaning that PWDs with one copy of the gene will be properly coated. Only PWDs with two copies of the gene (one from their dam and one from their sire) will display the "improper" coat. This coat type is NOT a disqualifying fault in the breed standard, but is a major fault. We now have a gene test for the recessive form of the gene and can breed away from it by breeding carriers to non-carriers. "Improper coat" is not the same condition as follicular dysplasia; in the latter, the coat is not lush and the hair falls out, leaving bald patches on the dog's torso.
Size, Proportion, Substance: Size--Height at the withers--Males, 20 to 23 inches. The ideal is 22 inches. Females, 17 to 21 inches. The ideal is 19 inches. Weight--For males, 42 to 60 pounds; for females, 35 to 50 pounds. Proportion--Off square; slightly longer than tall when measured from prosternum to rearmost point of the buttocks, and from withers to ground. Substance--Strong, substantial bone; well developed, neither refined nor coarse, and a solidly built, muscular body.
For the specifics of the standard, please go to the description on the PWDCA website or visit the Illustrated Breed Standard.
When breeders breed to the standard, they are attempting to create dogs that have body characteristics that are conducive to the roles for which a particular breed was created. Much of the body proportions have to do with how the dog will move, and movement ultimately affects the dog's ability to do its historical job. The show ring -- conformation -- is the place where the dog's movement, and thus structure, is evaluated. The pattern of movement away from and then towards the judge, moving in a circle around the ring at a trot, and how the dog stands all help in determining what the underlying structure of a dog is. To understand more about how the front assembly, the hindquarters, the topline, etc. affect the dog's movement, read this four part series from The Canine Chronicle.
Coat Types: There are two "proper" coats in PWDs. One is a curly coat that can either be quite tight like a Standard Poodle's coat, or looser but still quite curly. The other is a wavy coat that can be in the form of soft ringlets or longer waves and ripples. The two coat types may be presented in either a retriever clip or a lion clip. To view these two clips, click on the particular coat clip below.
There is a third coat type in some PWD lines, known as "improper coat" (see images below for examples of ICs). "Improper" is a bit of a misnomer as there is nothing wrong with the coat per se -- it is thick and lush as in the properly coated PWDs. However, improperly coated PWDs will lack the furnishings on the head, muzzle, and legs and thus are often referred to as "smooth-faced" PWDs. It turns out that the gene coding for this "smooth-faced" and "smooth-legged" condition is not a bad mutation, but instead is a reinsertion of a "wild type" gene from ancestral dogs (i.e., it is a reversion back to the original form of the gene). It is a recessive condition, meaning that PWDs with one copy of the gene will be properly coated. Only PWDs with two copies of the gene (one from their dam and one from their sire) will display the "improper" coat. This coat type is NOT a disqualifying fault in the breed standard, but is a major fault. We now have a gene test for the recessive form of the gene and can breed away from it by breeding carriers to non-carriers. "Improper coat" is not the same condition as follicular dysplasia; in the latter, the coat is not lush and the hair falls out, leaving bald patches on the dog's torso.
Temperament
The character description for the Portuguese Water Dog has changed several times, but generally speaking, is described as "an animal with a fiery disposition and self-willed, brave and very resistant to fatigue." This wording was later softened to "spirited disposition" and "independent". The breed has also been described as "absolutely docile and obedient with those who look after it and with whom it works" and "highly intelligent". Not generally quarrelsome, the dog was bred to guard the fishermen's catch and thus can be independent to the point of preferring to be in charge. All of these descriptions are generally apt -- most specimens are incredibly clever and learn quickly. This is both a blessing and a curse! You will find that your puppy is attentive and welcoming of training sessions, but they bore easily with endless repetition and will start to offer you modifications to the behavior you have been teaching them. Nevertheless, they enjoy -- and often demand --short sessions of training of multiple behaviors and will find ways to amuse themselves if you do not pay attention to them. The breed also is a "people" breed -- the dogs crave being with their owners, are extremely affectionate, and generally follow their owner wherever he or she goes.
Some generally annoying habits of the breed are: a hard mouth that can, if the dog is not trained properly, become nippy and highly destructive of furniture; rough play that involves pawing and jumping on people and other dogs; a tendency to lick visitors incessantly; and barking at anyone who might approach your property (house, car, boat, yard). Some PWDs are obsessed with paper and will destroy toilet paper rolls (often eating the paper) and/or eat tissues (used or fresh). Out in the yard, these dogs like to dig, chew on bushes and trees often stripping the bark off, tear around with the zoomies and create racetracks, and eat grass and any vegetables you might have planted. Because the dog is a working animal with an active personality, it can often be described as "too much" for some people.
If you are not prepared to deal with and train these dogs intensely until they are mature (~3 yrs of age), this may not be the breed for you!! On the other hand, if you have done your homework, understand the breed's characteristics, and commit to a sound training program, you will be blessed with a fabulous dog that will thoroughly enrich your life.
Behavioral attributes from: Braund & Miller, The Complete Portuguese Water Dog, Howell Book House, Inc.
Some generally annoying habits of the breed are: a hard mouth that can, if the dog is not trained properly, become nippy and highly destructive of furniture; rough play that involves pawing and jumping on people and other dogs; a tendency to lick visitors incessantly; and barking at anyone who might approach your property (house, car, boat, yard). Some PWDs are obsessed with paper and will destroy toilet paper rolls (often eating the paper) and/or eat tissues (used or fresh). Out in the yard, these dogs like to dig, chew on bushes and trees often stripping the bark off, tear around with the zoomies and create racetracks, and eat grass and any vegetables you might have planted. Because the dog is a working animal with an active personality, it can often be described as "too much" for some people.
If you are not prepared to deal with and train these dogs intensely until they are mature (~3 yrs of age), this may not be the breed for you!! On the other hand, if you have done your homework, understand the breed's characteristics, and commit to a sound training program, you will be blessed with a fabulous dog that will thoroughly enrich your life.
Behavioral attributes from: Braund & Miller, The Complete Portuguese Water Dog, Howell Book House, Inc.