Portuguese Water Dogs, Puppies, Breeding, Breeder. Wauwatosa, Wisconsin

History of Portuguese Water Dogs
The Portuguese Water Dog developed in Portugal and is known as Cao De Agua (pronounced Kown-d'ahgwa), "dog of the water".

Curly- and wavy-haired working water dogs have been documented throughout Europe for centuries and are believed to have influenced the development of several breeds of dogs, including the Newfoundland and Chesapeake Bay Retriever. The Portuguese Water Dog has a long history of use in its homeland, where it was, and still is, a vital part of the fishing industry. Prized by their owners, the dogs are primarily used to herd fish into nets. Other duties include taking messages from boat to boat and retrieving escaping fish and lost objects. (U.K.C.)

PWD as a Pet
The Portuguese Water Dog is a lively, non-agressive dog who excels in a family atmosphere. They are not the dog to sit by and watch the world go by, but would rather jump in and help. Whatever you are doing becomes what they want to do. Working at the computer? They sit by your feet. Get up and go water the garden they immediately jump in and get involved--always ready for the next activity.

They are brave, highly intelligent and trainable; keen to work and quick to learn. Generally willing to please, this is an obedient dog. Spirited, with great stamina, yet calm. Portuguese Water Dogs have a super sense of humor and love to be in the spotlight of attention.

Keely is the best playmate for my children and has exercised them regularly. They make good watchdogs because they have to inspect whoever comes to your house and sound the alarm when a visitor arrives.

They are very intellegent, and need early training in order to be happy. They are happier doing Agility or Working Trial type of obedience rather than competitive obedience. They enjoy activity. This breed LOVES to win!

The PWD has a single, non-moulting coat which is similar to human hair. They can very successfully live in a family where a member is allergic to dog if everyone is sensible - the dog should be kept clean, clipped short, and only allowed into certain rooms. Normally the dog will just be banned from the bedrooms. This allows the whole family to have the enjoyment of a special dog despite an allergy.(Rysalka)

Standard

Size - Height at the withers

Males, 20 to 23 inches. The ideal is 22 inches.
Females, 17 - 21 inches. The ideal is 19 inches.
Weight - For males, 42 to 60 pounds; for females, 35 - 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.

Head

An essential characteristic; distinctively large, well proportioned and with exceptional breadth of topskull.
Expression - Steady, penetrating, and attentive.
Eyes - Medium in size, set well apart, and a bit obliquely. Roundish and neither prominent nor sunken. Black or various tones of brown in color. Darker eyes are preferred. Eye rims fully pigmented with black edges in black, black and white, or white dogs; brown edges in brown dogs. Haws are dark and not apparent.
Ears - Set well above the line of the eye. Leather is heart shaped and thin. Except for a small opening at the back, ears are held nicely against the head. Tips should not reach below the lower jaw.
Skull - In profile, it is slightly longer that the muzzle, its curvature more accentuated at the back than in the front. When viewed head-on, the top of the skull is very broad and appears domed, with a slight depression in the middle. The forehead is prominent, and has a central furrow, extending two-thirds of the distance from stop to occiput. The occiput is well defined.
Stop - Well defined.
Muzzle - Substantial; wider at the base than at the nose.
Jaws - Strong and neither over nor undershot.
Nose - Broad, well flared nostrils. Fully pigmented; black in dogs with black, black and white, or white coats; various tones of brown in dogs with brown coats.
Lips - Thick, especially in front; no flew. Lips and mucous membranes of the roof of the mouth, under tongue, and gums are quite black, or well ticked with black in dogs with black, black and white, or white coats; various tones of brown in dogs with brown coats.
Bite - Scissors or level.
Teeth - Not visible when the mouth is closed. Canines strongly developed.

Neck, Topline, Body

Neck - Straight, short, round, and held high. Strongly muscled. No dewlap.
Topline - Level and firm.
Body - Chest is broad and deep, reaching down to the elbow. Ribs are long and well-sprung to provide optimum lung capacity. Abdomen well held up in a graceful line. Back is broad and well muscled. Loin is short and meets the croup smoothly. Croup is well formed and only slightly inclined with hip bones hardly apparent.
Tail - Not docked; thick at the base and tapering; set on slightly below the line of the back; should not reach below the hock. When the dog is attentive the tail is held in a ring, the front of which should not reach forward of the loin. The tail is of great help when swimming and diving.

Forequarters

Shoulders are well inclined and very strongly muscled. Upper arms are strong. Forelegs are strong and straight with long, well muscled forearms. Carpus is heavy-boned, wider in front than at the side. Pasterns are long and strong. Dewclaws may be removed. Feet are round and rather flat. Toes neither knuckled up nor too long. Webbing between the toes is of soft skin, well covered with hair, and reaches the toe tips. Central pad is very thick, others normal. Nails held up slightly off the ground. Black, brown, white and striped nails are allowed.

Hindquarters

Powerful; well balanced with front assembly. Legs, viewed from the rear, are parallel to each other, straight and very strongly muscled in upper and lower thighs. Buttocks are well developed. Tendons and hocks are strong. Metatarsus long, no dewclaws. Feet similar in all respects to forefeet.

Coat

A profuse, thickly planted coat of strong, healthy hair, covering the whole body, evenly, except where the forearm meets the brisket and in the groin area, where it is thinner. No undercoat , mane or ruff. There are two varieties of coat:

Curly - compact, cylindrical curls, somewhat lusterless. The hair on the ears is sometimes wavy.
Wavy - Falling gently in waves, not curls, and with a slight sheen.

No preference will be given to coat type, either curly or wavy.

Clip

Two clips are acceptable:

Lion Clip (wavy coat) - As soon as the coat grows long, the middle part and hindquarters, as well as the muzzle are clipped. The hair at the end of the tail is left at full length.
Retriever Clip (curly coat)- In order to give a natural appearance and a smooth unbroken line, the entire coat is scissored or clipped to follow the outline of the dog, leaving a short blanket of coat no longer than one inch in length. The hair at the end of the tail is left at full length.

No discrimination will be made against the correct presentation of a dog in either Lion clip or Retriever Clip.

Color

Black, white, and various tones of brown; also combinations of black or brown with white. A white coat does not imply albinism provided nose, mouth, and eyelids are black. in animals with black, white, or black and white coats, the skin is decidedly bluish.