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.

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Portuguese Water Dog

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 bobbing fishing trawlers as they worked their way from the warm Atlantic waters of Portugal to the frigid fishing waters off the coast of Iceland where the fleets caught cod to bring home. Portuguese Water Dogs were often taken with sailors during the Portuguese discoveries.

In Portugal, the breed is called Cão de Água, literally "water dog". In its native land, the dog is also known as the Algarvian Water Dog or Portuguese Fishing Dog (Cão Pescador Português). Cão de Água de Pêlo Ondulado is the name given 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 15 entrants for Portuguese Water Dogs were made to England's Crufts competition in 2002. Though some breeders claim they are a hypoallergenic dog breed, there is no scientific evidence to support the claim that hypoallergenic dog breeds exist. However, their non-shedding qualities have made them more popular in recent years.