Portuguese Water Dog Food and Nutrition Guide

For complete dog food & nutrition guide Click Here!

Portuguese Water Dog Chewing Issues

Ever wonder what to do when your Portuguese Water Dog develops chewing issues? If you are currently bogged down by this issue don't fret because here is a useful things you might consider.

As with any process, the first thing to do is to identify what exactly is the concern. If your dog is a newly acquired puppy, then the chewing is a natural response to teething, and is simply part and parcel of the dog's age. But if your dog is way beyond puppyhood and still not acting mature, this calls for a more serious response.

Portuguese water dogs, or all dogs for that matter, can be divided under aggressive or non-aggressive chewers; what falls under the two categories are not the breeds but actually the dogs' personalities. Now, the aggressive chewers will actually chew and also swallow the bits and pieces of what they were busy with. The passive chewers on the other hand will gnaw, play and mouth objects without ripping through them.

So under which category will your portie fall under? Check the dog's personality. Aggressive chewers will need chewy and rubbery toys from you, and these toys also need to be extremely tough and durable. What you are looking for are products made of tough rubber and rawhide. They also need to be kept away from toys that the passive chewers would enjoy more.

Gung-ho chewers will enjoy Kongs and also those jumbo retriever rolls. The latter consists of several feet of rawhide compacted to make a giant and very intriguing roll. Pressed rawhide bone-looking toys are also good options.

But what if your Portie is way past the teething and chewing age for Portuguese water dogs? Then its possible that the chewing is the symptom of a displaced anxiety. Its now time for you to play the dog shrink to root out what is troubling the dog. Is the dog less of a chewer if you are around? Is he deprived of exercise? Is there some disturbance to the usual household routine which the pet is reacting to by chewing?

Believe it or not, your pet's mind can be likened to a stress detector; something must definitely be going on to make the dog resort to chewing if he is already too old for teething. Adults pets are like children in a way; they will want to literally turn your world upside down to get your attention. But do not be slow when it comes to enlisting the aid of an expert when tackling chronic chewing problems. A fresh and educated viewpoint may save you from so much frustration.

Personality of Portuguese Water Dog

What are the first important things to know about the temperament of the Portuguese Water Dog, or the Portie? First of all, they are independent although still loyal and very much attached to family members, aside from being intelligent and possessing a very strong drive. Proper socialization and supervision will help them to be relaxed with well-mannered children. Their relations with other dogs and animals can also vary according to how well they socialized with these.

It is clear that the Portuguese water dog is not the average mid-sized dog that can get by without simulation. And this is more obvious if the discussion is about the idea of the dog's ideal home and what are his training requirements. First of all, the dog needs to be among people that acknowledges and provides the venue for high energy and love for work.

What other things need to be known about the Portuguese water dog's temperament? Let's try to discuss what the dog is like from the point of view of other dog breeds.

Let's look at some of their characteristics:

1. Intelligence - brains and wits at par with that of a poodle, if not better
2. Activity - similar to the a golden retriever, totally in his element while going after toys, or simply lazing on your couch, or just being where you are
3. Cuddly - they will try and convince you that they are a lap dog.
4. Alertness - snaps to attention when he detects strangers, and will sound off to let you know.
5. Companionship - much like a Labrador, will want to follow you all over the house (and is prone to separation anxiety, if not trained). Like those proverbial dogs, will even obediently lie by your feet while you do some pencil-pushing
6. Loyalty - as loyal as the best rough collie "Lassie" out there
7. Sensitive - very much the color cover of your handheld- will adjust mood according to your own mood!
8. With kids - Love snuggling up with the kids on the couch. Will tolerate the usual contact game, but only up to a point! Similar in this way to the golden retriever
9. Hypo-allergenic? - Those who cannot tolerate shedding dogs will find a huge difference in porties. Any prospective dog owner interested in a portie will do well to spend time with the dog just to check. The breed is actually more consistent and reliable than the labradoodle.
10. Trainability - Will learn when taught, and will still learn just by watching his family members. The dog makes huge progress through positive training techniques. Starts picking up from an early age up to its twilight years.

A high-level Portuguese water dog breeder will take time to walk you through some of the bigger issues known in taking care of this breed: its tendency to counter surfing, or its love to be on couches and furniture; how to deal with teething Porties, or how to remedy a pet that is currently destructive; housetraining, and protecting their hips especially while they are young and active... Socializing (and to what extent) will have such a deep impact in those first few years!

How Hypoallergenic Are Portuguese Water Dogs

A sad truth for many near-dog owners is that they are allergic to dogs. True, we're still years away from being able to decisively deal with our allergies so that our dog gets to stay in the house all the time. But these owners need to give a chance to a possible solution, if only the dog hair allergy is the only thing that is getting in the way. The answer is the Portuguese Water Dog.

Portuguese water dogs has a special coat fully adjusted to going under water. This is one dog that sheds hair at very minimal amounts. Shedding is something that is not in the dog's system since if it does so, the hair would thin out, lessening the dog's protection from the cold of the ocean waters that it frequently visits. It loses hair nevertheless when the hair follicle dies, which is the situation of human hair. But the idea is that the PWD has no spontaneous shedding during summer, compared to other dog breeds.

So how many hair layers do Porties have? The PWD is indeed a believer in simplicity, for there is only one layer. This means there is no undercoat to lose in the first place once the warmer period of the year settles in. The single coat also acts as some sort of temperature controller.

However, one thing that potential PWD owners and fans need to be aware of is the dog's need for consistent and regular grooming; the more consistent and orderly, the lesser the chances of problems developing (painful mats, among other concerns). Grooming the Portuguese Water Dog in a specific way significantly reduces the hair much more. PWD owners will need to choose from two hair styles, and it is a matter of preference instead of some benefit to the dog. The lion has long hair on the dog's tail, front legs and most of the head. The retriever cut, on the other hand, is said to be the more efficient for keeping at bay any threat of dog hair allergies; in this case, the length of the dog's coat is an even one inch all over throughout the dog's body. With the cut the Portuguese Water Dog will lose less hair and will be even more human allergy friendly.

To end, it must be clear that while Portuguese water dogs sheds to a negligible extent, he is at the same time not really hypoallergenic. A sufficient way of putting it is to simply say that his lack of shedding greatly reduces allergic reactions.

Portuguese Water Dogs - A General Description

Portuguese water dogs are so known because they were used for assisting in fishing. It is a rare breed, and difficult to find. You will really have to make an extensive search for these dogs, if you are bent upon one. Try newspaper ads, the Kennel Club, or breeders, or in surrounding communities. And if you are really that choosy, well, you can even put in an ad in the newspaper.

They have wavy or curly hair, and live between 12 to 14 years. And come in white or black, or a mixture of the two colors.

Typically, PWDs or Portuguese Water Dogs are working dogs, and are characterised by having short hair, and is generally considered to be free generally from creating allergies to people. Hence they are called Hypoallergenic. It is lively, loves companionship, and is hyper active. It tends to get bored, if just left hanging around. You need to keep it busy.

Keeping it busy is easier said than done. If you or your children are not playing around with it, because of your preoccupation with your work, and the children are off to school, this PWD needs to be given lots of toys in a large box with which it can play. If you are going out, and the PWD is to kept back in the house, you might as well put it in the box in a manner it can't get out, and provide a variety of playthings for it inside the pen. If you don't, when you return, you may not recognise your house!

It loves company of both adults and children. And be prepared to take it for long walks every day, or have someone from the family take it. It is quite harmless, but still if your local regs require it, you would have to have it on a leash. It likes to pounce around and play all the time, and you better indulge it! That exercise would be good for your body also!

Of course you have to train this dog in much the same manner as you would for a different breed.The training should begin as soon as you get one, and special attention needs to be put on crate training, and leash training. Crate training and leash training needs to be done, so that it will quickly understand that it is going to left alone, and will get used to it. If it requires disciplining do not use the crate; choose some other method, like tying it to a short leash, and take away its playthings or place it near it, but unable to reach it. Then as you gently chide it, and it starts reacting better, you reintroduce its toys to it. That should help.

In grooming, the PWD should receive a hair cut about once in 2 months. Giving it a bath would help remove some allergens, although as said earlier, this dog has a low propensity of producing allergens. Still, it does need a wash. The hair cut can be done by yourself, by giving an even cut all over the body, or you can shape it in any way you want. The first time you can take to the vet barber who will show you how the hair can be trimmed and shaped, for it to look different. Later, you can do it yourself.

Portuguese Water Dog Overview

The Portuguese Water dog has recently become a very much talked about dog, thanks to the First Family choosing to adopt one and naming it Bo. But the Portuguese Water dog has been around for a long time and has a long history of a being a hard working dog.

This breed is native to Portugal and was used by fishermen to help them retrieve lines and nets. Thanks to its webbed feet it is a very good swimmer. Also, thanks to its thick waterproof coat it can swim in cold waters, also this unique coat makes them non-shedding and hypoallergenic. These coat properties are very similar to the Poodle, which is a close relative.

These dogs are very intelligent and athletic, requiring daily exercise. They belong to the American Kennel Club (AKC) Working group and first officially recognized by them in 1983. The AKC considers only two cuts to be acceptable, the Lion clip which is a shorn rear and the Working clip where all the hair is left intact and trimmed evenly.

These dogs can be quite large and can weight up to 60 pounds and be up to 23 inches tall at the shoulder. This is not a recommended breed is you have a small condo or apartment, because these dogs need a lot of exercise.

If you are considering buying one of these dogs, they are expensive because they are a rare breed, so availability is often limited. But thanks to Bo, this breed might be increasing quickly in numbers.

Privacy Policy

If you require any more information or have any questions about our privacy policy, please feel free to leave a comment in this post.

At waterdogportuguese.blogspot.com, the privacy of our visitors is of extreme importance to us. This privacy policy document outlines the types of personal information is received and collected by waterdogportuguese.blogspot.com and how it is used.

Log Files
Like many other Web sites, waterdogportuguese.blogspot.com makes use of log files. The information inside the log files includes internet protocol ( IP ) addresses, type of browser, Internet Service Provider ( ISP ), date/time stamp, referring/exit pages, and number of clicks to analyze trends, administer the site, track user’s movement around the site, and gather demographic information. IP addresses, and other such information are not linked to any information that is personally identifiable.

Cookies and Web Beacons
waterdogportuguese.blogspot.com does not use cookies.

DoubleClick DART Cookie
.:: Google, as a third party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads on waterdogportuguese.blogspot.com.
.:: Google's use of the DART cookie enables it to serve ads to users based on their visit to waterdogportuguese.blogspot.com and other sites on the Internet.
.:: Users may opt out of the use of the DART cookie by visiting the Google ad and content network privacy policy at the following URL - http://www.google.com/privacy_ads.html

Some of our advertising partners may use cookies and web beacons on our site. Our advertising partners include ....
Google Adsense


These third-party ad servers or ad networks use technology to the advertisements and links that appear on waterdogportuguese.blogspot.com send directly to your browsers. They automatically receive your IP address when this occurs. Other technologies ( such as cookies, JavaScript, or Web Beacons ) may also be used by the third-party ad networks to measure the effectiveness of their advertisements and / or to personalize the advertising content that you see.

waterdogportuguese.blogspot.com has no access to or control over these cookies that are used by third-party advertisers.

You should consult the respective privacy policies of these third-party ad servers for more detailed information on their practices as well as for instructions about how to opt-out of certain practices. waterdogportuguese.blogspot.com's privacy policy does not apply to, and we cannot control the activities of, such other advertisers or web sites.

If you wish to disable cookies, you may do so through your individual browser options. More detailed information about cookie management with specific web browsers can be found at the browsers' respective websites.