So you have decided you want a Portuguese Water Dog. Are you Sure the PWD is the RIGHT breed for you?

The PWD is an active, energetic, extremely bright, and creative breed. They are not a dog to just lay by the fireplace and doze. This does not mean they are constantly active in the home or "hyper". A properly exercised PWD certainly can understand "that's ENOUGH, now go lie down!" when need be. They seem to do well in homes with another, active dog, well-behaved children over the age of 5 to 7, or, if a petless, childless home, people who are willing to go on walks, take them for a swim, play Frisbee, etc. Obedience training for the first year or so is practically mandatory. Continuing education is recommended. PWDs are remarkably well suited to the sports of dog agility, obedience, and, of course, the PWDCA's water trials.

What IS a Portuguese Water Dog, really?

Notorious as a brawler for centuries along Portugal's coast, this seafaring breed was prized by fishermen for a pushy nature and a robust, medium build that needed the mental and physical demands of a full day's work in and out of the water to reduce its energy level to one that allowed it to hear and obey it's master's commands. The Portuguese Water Dog seeks and loves to splash and wallow in mud, water bowls, toilets with open lids, and any liquid—water, paint, etc. It does this with great finesse and stamina, unendingly, while aiding its master by retrieving any item that it sees and wants to carry, regardless of size, delicacy, or ownership. Its incessant retrieving instinct leads to a dog that must have something in its mouth to carry, chew on, or swallow, whether that item is edible or decorative, such as furniture.

He is a clinging companion and an incessant alarm barker. This highly manipulative breed is distinguished by two coat types, either curly or wavy, which require extensive grooming—bathing, brushing, combing, detangling, etc.—far in excess of the time that would be spent vacuuming up dog hair. If not groomed regularly, small amounts of dirt, twigs, dust, mats, and other yard matter Velcro themselves to the unruly coat until being redistributed in the home, a common PWD owner decorating trend referred to as "bringing the outside in."

It has an impressive head of considerable breadth and well-proportioned mass, which it uses for head and body rams; a ruggedly built, well-knit body which enables it to counter-surf and jump onto tables and over fences; and a powerful, thickly based tail, carried gallantly or used purposefully as a rudder or to clear items off coffee tables and destroy Lego constructions built by children on floors.