Portuguese Water Dog

The breed is associated above all with the Algarve, the southern coastal province of Portugal, though working water dogs of this type were once found along much of the Portuguese seaboard. Crews took them on long voyages, some as far north as the cod grounds off Iceland and Newfoundland. The dogs herded fish into the nets, retrieved nets and broken gear from the water, and swam between boats or between boat and shore with lines and messages, effectively earning a share of the catch.

Mechanised fishing removed the need for a dog on deck, and by the early twentieth century the breed was close to disappearing. Its survival is largely credited to Vasco Bensaude, a wealthy Lisbon shipping businessman who began collecting working dogs in the 1930s, established the Algarbiorum kennel and pushed for a written standard. His dog Leao, a strong-swimming male taken from a fishing crew, appears behind a very large share of the modern population.

A second phase of recovery came through Portuguese veterinarian Antonio Cabral and his Avalade kennel, and from there the breed reached Britain and the United States. American enthusiasts founded the Portuguese Water Dog Club of America in 1972, and the American Kennel Club admitted the breed to the Working Group in 1983. Public interest rose sharply after 2009, when a Portuguese Water Dog named Bo went to live at the White House with the Obama family.

This is a robust, squarely built dog of medium size, deeper through the chest than its height might suggest, with a broad head and a steady, attentive expression. Males usually stand about 20 to 22 inches at the shoulder and weigh roughly 42 to 55 pounds; females run about 17 to 20 inches and 35 to 49 pounds. The feet are round and flat with webbing between the toes, and the strong tail is carried in a ring when the dog is alert and is used as a rudder in water.

The coat is single, with no undercoat, and comes in two equally correct textures: curly, with compact cylindrical curls and a duller finish, and wavy, which falls in gentle waves with a slight sheen. Accepted colours are black, brown, and white, and combinations of black or brown with white. Two traditional trims are seen: the lion clip, with the hindquarters and muzzle clipped and the forequarters left long, which comes straight from the fishing boats, and the retriever clip, in which the whole coat is left at an even length.

Portuguese Water Dogs are outgoing, funny and intensely people-oriented. They form very close attachments and prefer to be in the same room as their family rather than left in a yard. With friends and visitors they are usually cheerful and confident, and with children they are typically boisterous but good-natured, though a young one has enough bounce to knock over a toddler without meaning to.

They are genuinely clever and learn quickly, which cuts both ways. A bored Portuguese Water Dog is inventive: counter-surfing, chewing, digging and enthusiastic barking are all classic symptoms of a dog with unspent energy. Many are mouthy as youngsters and like to carry things around, a habit that is easier to redirect toward toys than to eliminate.

The breed has a natural alert bark and will announce arrivals, but it is not a guarding breed and is rarely suspicious for long. Most get on well with other dogs, particularly if socialised early. They mature slowly, and it is normal for a Portuguese Water Dog to behave like an adolescent well into its third year.

The breed's original work has almost vanished, but the aptitudes behind it are very much intact. Portuguese Water Dogs do well in obedience and rally, are strong agility competitors for their size, and are naturals at dock diving, water rescue exercises and the breed's own water trials, which test swimming, retrieving and underwater work in a graded series of tasks.

Their sociability and trainability also make them successful as therapy dogs and, less often, as service dogs. For an ordinary owner the practical point is simply that this dog needs structured activity. A daily walk is not enough on its own; swimming, retrieving games, scent work or a training class several times a week will give you a far calmer dog at home.