Breed Priorities – The Portuguese Water Dog

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274 – June, 2023

By Nikki Riggsbee

The Portuguese Water Dog is called Cão de Agua in Portugual, translated as dog of water. It was used by fisherman in Portugal to herd fish into nets, retrieve lost articles (including diving to get them), as a courier, and as a guard and companion.

The first description of the breed came in 1297 where a monk noted that a dying sailor had been saved by a dog with “black coat of rough hair, cut to the first rib and with a tuft on the tip of his tail.” This describes one of the two clips still in use–the lion clip. It is also presented in the shorter, all-over retriever trim. The breed comes in two coat types as well: wavy and curly. There is no preference on coat type or trim.

The breed was near extinction in the 1930s when Vasco Bensaude began breeding them in Portugual. More than thirty years passed before Portuguese Water Dogs came to the United States, imported by Deyanne and Herbert Miller. The breed was admitted to AKC’s Miscellaneous class in 1981 and to the Working group in 1984. They have grown in popularity since then and were ranked 46th in AKC’s 2022 registration statistics.

We found forty-eight Portuguese Water Dog experts to take a survey on their breed’s priorities when evaluating an individual dog’s conformation. Thirty-four responded that they would participate. By the deadline, eighteen completed (or mostly) surveys were received. Those who contributed have been in the breed for up to forty-one years, averaging thirty-two years. Those who judge have been doing so for twenty-one years on average.

PORTUGUESE WATER DOG VIRTUES

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274 – June, 2023

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