Portuguese Water Dog

Portuguese Water Dog

Portuguese Water Dog
Other names	Cão de Água Português, Cão de Água Algarvio
Common nicknames	Portie, PWD, Water Dog
Origin	Portugal
Traits Weight Male 19–27 kg (42–60 lb) Female 16–23 kg (35–50 lb) Height Male 50–57 cm (20–22 in) Female 43–52 cm (17–20 in) Coat curly or wavy Life span 10–14 years
Classification / standards FCI Group 8, Section 3 Water Dogs #37 standard AKC Working standard ANKC Group 6 (Utility) standard CKC Group 3 - Working dogs standard KC (UK) Working standard NZKC Utility standard UKC Gun Dogs standard
Domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris)

The Portuguese Water Dog is a breed of working dog as classified by the American Kennel Club. Portuguese Water Dogs are originally from the Portuguese region of the Algarve, from where the breed expanded to all around Portugal's coast, where they were taught to herd fish into fishermen's nets, to retrieve lost tackle or broken nets, and to act as couriers from ship to ship, or ship to shore. Portuguese Water Dogs rode in fishing trawlers as they worked their way from the Atlantic waters of Portugal to the waters off the coast of Iceland where the fleets caught cod.

In Portugal, the breed is called Cão de Água (IPA: [ˈkɐ̃w dɨ ˈaɡwɐ]; literally "dog of water"). In Portugal, the dog is also known as the Algarvian Water Dog (Cão de Água Algarvio), or Portuguese Fishing Dog (Cão Pescador Português). Cão de Água de Pêlo Ondulado is the name given to the wavy-haired variety, and Cão de Água de Pêlo Encaracolado is the name for the curly-coated variety.

The Portuguese Water Dog is a fairly rare breed; only 36 Portuguese Water Dogs were entered for Britain's Crufts competition in 2013. Though some breeders claim they are a hypoallergenic dog breed, there is no scientific evidence to support the claim that hypoallergenic dog breeds exist. Their non-shedding qualities have made them more popular in recent years. The Portuguese Water Dog has recently gained more fame by being the chosen breed of U.S. president Barack Obama, who has two of them, Bo and Sunny. The Obama family chose the breed partly due to its hypoallergenic status. Bo was given to the Obama family as a personal gift from Senator Ted Kennedy.

The closest relatives of the PWD are widely thought to be the Standard Poodle. Like Poodles and several other water dog breeds, PWDs are intelligent, can have curly coats, have webbed toes for swimming, and do not shed. However, Portuguese Water Dogs are more robustly built, with stout legs, and can have a wavy coat instead of tightly curled. If comparing the structure to that of a Poodle, there are significant differences between the two breeds. The Portuguese Water Dog is built of strong substantial bone; well developed, neither refined nor coarse, and a solidly built, muscular body. The Portuguese Water Dog is off-square, slightly longer than tall when measured from prosternum to rearmost point of the buttocks, and from withers to ground. Portuguese Water Dog eyes are black or various tones of brown, and their coats can be black, brown, black and white or brown and white.