The History of the Portuguese Water Dog
Ancient Mariner
The Portuguese Water Dog can be traced back as far as
Working for a living
The Portuguese fishermen would use the dogs as a crew member,
The Fall & Rise of the modern breed
With the advent of modern technology the fishermen had very little use of dogs on board the ships and as a breed they reduced greatly in numbers with only a few small fishing boats along the Algarve keeping the dogs as a working curiosity rather than as a valued member of the crew, it was in 1936 that the breed took the curiosity of shipping magnet Vasco Bensaude.
Recent History
The Portuguese Water Dog,
Modern uses
The Portuguese Water Dog is still highly prized and make great conformation dogs, Agility, Obedience, dock diving, water trials, assistance dogs and search and rescue, if you want a job doing The PWD is your dog.
Dedicated Breeders
There are many breeders of PWD around the world, it has unfortunately fallen in to the hands of ill informed, poorly educated and money orientated breeders. a good breeder puts the health and temperament first but also has an equal measure of breeding to type. just because it has a pedigree doesn't mean it should be included in the gene pool.