STANDARDS
The following data are an excerpt from the FCI standard, Group 8, Section 3. Complete data are available from the link to the FCI standard, at the end of this page.
Country of origin: Portugal
| Size: |
male 50 - 57 cm, female 43 - 54 cm |
| Weight: |
male 19 - 25 kg, female 16 - 22 kg |
| Tail: |
dense at base, finer toward up |
| Ears: |
heart-shaped, lie flat on head |
| Fur: |
two variations: wavy or shaggy, colors, black, white and brown, also with spots. No undercoat. |
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GENERAL APPEARANCE : dog of moderate proportions and of a hunting dog type with slightly convex to straight profile lines. Its proportions are well balanced, it is strong and well muscled. The musculature is remarkably developed owing to frequent swimming exercise.
BEHAVIOR AND CHARACTER (NATURE): it has a strong temperament, is headstrong, proud, occasionally pugnacious toward other dogs, easily satisfied and untiring. Its expression is calm, its look piercing and attentive. It has very keen eyesight and its sense of smell is remarkable. It is unusually intelligent, and understands and happily obeys all of its master's commands.
Even though the Water Dog is in no way an aggressive dog, he has a marked guard-dog sense and sounds off when strange people enter the own "territory". The PWD is especially good with children, small children in particular, and is not known for "continuous yelping".
TIPS ON CARE AND GROOMING: normally, an occasional bath (not very often) is sufficient, insofar as it is not already clean from swimming. More important is combing and brushing to remove shedding hair and to prevent matting. As a rule, once a week is sufficient, or as needed when the fur has just begun to get matted. You can find the appropriate combs (one with blades and one with swivel pins) at pet shops. If you do not attend shows, at which the "lion clip" is obligatory, you should have the fur cut to a uniform length now and then. This facilitates care and grooming, and the dog will also feel better, especially in the summertime.
TIPS ON UPBRINGING AND TRAINING: the Water Dog is full of energy
and therefore needs to be "kept busy". Training should begin early,
at a training school for puppies, for instance, if you do not have
the necessary experience yourself. It is particularly important to
start retrieving exercises early on, and then gradually extend them
to include exercises in the water. Ample motivation and praise
often overcome its occasionally strong will better than "treats"
and in the end make training into lots of fun and a great success
for both dog and human.
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