The first Portuguese water dog I ever met was owned by a friend of my mother’s, who cut our hair. Every time I would come over for a hair cut I’d play with the dog, and he was very sweet to me even when I was little. At the time, it didn’t mean much to me that he did not shed. Now, seeing as I have a lab and frequently have to vacuum, I appreciate Portuguese water dogs even more. In the future I would definitelyThink about getting one of my own, as I’ve enjoyed the company ofEach one of these dogs that I have encountered.

These dogs, however, are not just good pets because they don’t shed. They are also incredibly good with children. The woman who owned Tucker (the Portuguese water dog) had two young children, and though Portuguese water dogs areHuge dogs, they are usually very good with young children.

The reason they are called Portuguese water dogs is because they were originally found along Portugal’s coast, and were used by fishermen to herd in nets and perform other water based tasks. As you can infer from that, Portuguese water dogs are also very good swimmers, and are also obedient and train quickly.

These dogs make wonderful pets for almost any family. They’re also good pets if you or a family member have an allergy to dogs, since they don’t shed. In addition to that, they are very intelligent dogs and they learn quickly. They also tend to be quiet dogs, though they will bark if they feel threatened and will also bark if they see someone approaching the house. They can also be trained to bark when the phone rings, which helps if you are hard of hearing, as they can bark very loudly. Portuguese water dogs are often trained as dogs for the blind or deaf.

Portuguese water dogs require some grooming as their coat grows somewhat quickly. They are friendly with strangers and not incredibly aggressive. They will jump sometimes to greet, but can be trained not to.

Though very friendly and affectionate, this dog is not for everyone. Portuguese water dogs require a lot of attention as they’re a very active dog, and enjoy having their master spend time with them. If you do not have time to walk or play with your dog, this is not the dog for you. If you do have time to train and play with your dog, a having a Portuguese water dog will be very rewarding. These dogs love to play fetch and enjoy activity within sight of a human companion, so they will rarely wander off.

Cocoa spent four days at my place a few months later.  We housesat the dog to help the other family. They were going to Tahoe, and dogs weren’t permitted at the place where they were going to be staying. Those four days were a lot of fun, and I bonded with this dog very well.

It can be beneficial conditioning for him. I took mine towards the Marin Humane Society. In fact the class is finest for exercise the owner. I needed some catching up inside latest education techniques for dogs. Nowadays you don’t punish the doggie if he does one thing bad, but only reward him for doing something good. That reward is really a handle. That’s what the class taught me. Socialization is what the class taught Goji, though he was well socialized at his breeder, Toraq. I learned to unlearn the exercise tactics I did with my black labrador retriever in an earlier incarnation. I was told not to negatively discipline my pet. It was difficult for me to instruct my pals to not discipline him when the mouthy puppy jumped on them and nipped their skin. I asked my household and close friends to become assertive and to knee the pet if he would jump up. It can be significant that the doggie know who is in charge correct from the start.

A month or so later he went into the Family members K9 I class inside the same also on the Humane Culture. This taught him some commands and obedience, and that continued with the Family K9 II class. I don’t imagine he genuinely learned as well several commands there, but we did discover to obtain along superior together, which was great.

The Portuguese Water Dog is actually much more inclinedto care about praise more than a handle, as an adult. My doggie is pretty picky about treats now; when we go into a pet store and also the shopkeepers provide him a treat, he regularly refuses it. Porties are incredibly specific about their food, unlike other breeds. Here’s what he like today:

• Dried liver for instance liver biscuit
• Dried salmon sticks
• Charlie Bear treats
• Bil-jack biscuits
• Fois Grois and Caviar
• Red Barn rolled beef hide with chicken inside
• Dried Kangaroo meat
• Dried salmon tenders

Females train these dogs far better than males, in my opinion. The porties are more responsive to their high pitched voices than men’s. I also think Portie’s prefer the smell of females above adult males. But this doesn’t mean that they don’t highly respect male masters; they do. They will need the master to own a total life. In fact, they’ve to obtain a functioning “captain of the ship” and also you discover that really fast when you might have a single of these dogs living with you.

1 thing that the Portuguese Drinking water Doggy doesn’t seem to own to learn is devotion towards master. We swiftly realized that it’s as if he thinks he is residing with a fisherman, and he’s on a boat with the fisherman and becomes incredibly devoted to him. Goji despises boats, so the devotion isn’t truly to a functioning fisherman, but to some master. This has been built into Goji because he came to our house at age 9 weeks. This unlearned trait seems getting only growing more than the years. If you can’t handle this extreme devotion do not bring a PWD home.

Image via Wikipedia

• You should be consistent in your approach towards your dog
• Keep intonations, gestures and words for expressing dissatisfaction and praise consistent; then you will be help him understand commands by associating wtih the way it can be said.
• If you issue conflicting commands your doggy will be confused compared to 1 who has learned the same command over and above. Just one example of getting consistent is to let him out the same door every time he has to do his business. In this way he associates that door with needing to go out and will let you know by going to that door instead of somewhere inside the house.
• Remember of course that after every command that he successfully does, shower him with love and affection. Handle him once in a while when he does suitable because like a child it needs to be appreciated and given praise.
• There are numerous technques to dog training from positive reinforcement, understanding when to reward and when to punish, the effective way of punishing, howTo ceaseexcessive barking and chewing and aggression to name a few.
• K9 education is an on-going process but one that is certainly full of rewards. You will create a bond with your pet that is unbreakable. You will possess a loyal companion for life and a friend forever.
• There are numerous dog training ebooks, cd`s, dvd`s, seminars, groups and tips on training your dog that you can find online. Find one unique that you are comfortable with and provides all the necessary tools to help you in k9 coaching.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5w7OPwyWw4&feature=player_embedded

They have a docked tail (PWD’s never dock the tail). Their boatbuilder-owner is breeding them now. This video is from January 2007.

Portuguese Water Dogs have short hair that does not shed and is considered a working dog, meaning that it is a breed that needs to stay busy. This breed is considered a hypoallergenic dog. Traditionally used to aid in fishing expeditions, the Portuguese Water Dog is now kept as a house pet. While this breed isn’t as common as other breeds, if you want to dog that’s hypoallergenic, lively, and enjoys companionship, then this breed may be the one for you.

Since the Portuguese Water Dog isn’t bred as often as other breeds of hypoallergenic dog, you’ll have to search for a breeder online, in the newspaper, or by calling breeders in your area until you find one. Generally happy dogs, the PWD needs to stay busy or it will get bored. You should have plenty of toys for it to play with and you may want to considercrate training when you are not at home. This means that the dog will stay in a crate when you go out so it does not destroy your home. When the PWD gets bored or lonely, it will chew on anything it finds.

Crate training shouldstart right after you bring the dog home. By placing a blanket, toys and water into the crate, you will make the dog comfortable while you are away. You should not use the crate when punishing the dog or it won’t want to go in it when you leave for the day. After training the dog, you’ll have to keep up the routine. This will give the dog structure and will also salvage your possessions. Keeping the dog in a crate when you’re not at home will also reduce allergens.

Portuguese Water Dogs need to be groomed every two months or so. There are two patterns that most groomers follow, the retriever cut and the lion cut. The retriever cut means that the hair is cut evenly on the body. The lion cut leaves that front half of the dog’s body covered with hair, while hair on the hind legs is cut short. You should take the dog to have his hair groomed if you’re not comfortable slicing it yourself.

If you are considering buying a PWD, you should be prepared to have constant companionship. These breeds need to be walked and they need to be entertained throughout the day. If you need to travel on vacation or for work, you should board the dog so it won’t be lonely. Portuguese Water Dogs typically live between twelve and fifteen years.

Portuguese Water Dogs are easy going and get along with kids and most adults. If you’re looking for a breed that does not shed and will fit in with your family, then the PWD is the breed for you. While most Portuguese Water Dogs are black, some are white or a mix of both. Their hair is curly or wavy and similar to that of the standard poodle.

Show quality dogs should be $5000 to $14000.  If it is a “champion” the price could be over $25,000.

The sustentation of this breed is a considerable cost. They need to be groomed as puppies every 4 weeks, and as adults every 7 weeks.  This costs $89 up per visit.

They require high protein food such as frozen raw meat patties. My dog does not respond to treatstrained with treats], in fact I haven’t met any PWD’s that are food crazy. But that just means you need betterfood. I recently gave Goji a can of Evanger’s dog food. It is high quality, human grade meat, and it’s even Kosher? Yet Goji rejected it, I don’t know what he was thinking. Yes he cares about dried Kangaroo meat. Now that’s expensive food, about $35/pound. He also likes chicken covered pig ears.

A trip to PetSmart can easily cost $100. I listed a typical shopping trip for Portugese Water Dog in another post. They don’t like normal tennis balls much, they like fancy multi colored PetSmart tennis balls (recommended). They like high quality treats like dried liver wrapped in bacon, “blue” biscuits, and anything liver. If you give them too much protein they get very high energywild|hyperactive], if too Littlethey get obviously too sleepy, 20% protein content is best.

Since this breed is designed to be a part of the crew of a fishing boat, he needs constant human companionship. As such, it isn’t good to leave him for more than 3 or 4 hours. And that doesn’t mean somebody can show up for ten minutes and leave, it means they must be around humans pretty much all the time. Also, they want to be around other dogs, and preferably other PWD’s. So what does this mean about cost? It means  play-dates with other Portugus Water Dogs, and lacking that constant trips to dog parks, walks, runs, outings, adventures, play, swimming, fetching, fighting, and mouthing. The cost part comes in Doggie Day Care. They play so hard at Day Care that the bonus is he is tired at night, and slower the next day. Figure $20 to $28/day.

Goji has been very healthy, but the vet maintenance should cost at least $300/year.

Here’s an update. We have recently learnged that a trained portuguese water dog, chocolate brown, sold for $7000. This was not a puppy but an adult male. 12-10-2009