We have been asked many times ” Do Portuguese Water Dogs Need Big Spaces?”

I would have to answer yes. I’ll give you some examples of the kind of life they need.

Between his usual 2 2-hour walks/swims he would stalk thru the bushes and brush of our half acre on the Richardson Bay.  Sometimes he  wandered onto the beach, it goes for a few miles. Many pictures of San Francisco Bay are on this site and from our outings. Anything less and he would be very restless inside the house; he would go in circles on ourBig deck, and go up and down the stairs to the guest house to fetch a ball or chase something, often with Cocoa.

Now those days are over, and we’re at a really nice place in Terra Linda California, and we adjoin thousands of acres of open space. He really wants to trek thru there, and it’s pretty steep. So I get actuallysuperior exercise dithering through the hills.  There are many walkways here also, so the trek can be an occasional thing. The dog misses the water, and Cocoa who migrated to Singapore, but he cares about the place, but he can’t go in circles on the deck or go up and down to the guest house.

These are not apartment dogs, and probably not condo dogs either. If he can’t get outside often he’ll burn up. That heavy coat takes its toll on indoor living. Preferably he can take a swift dip hither and dither. I think the breeders prefer a fenced yard that is large, with grass and brush.