- The coat is black or brown of various shades, or solid white.
- In black or brown coats, white in the following locations: muzzle, topknot, neck, forechest, belly, tip of tail and lower extremities of the limbs, below the elbows and hocks
- The white coat must not be albino, consequently the nose, eyelids and inside of the mouth should be pigmented in black, and brown in brown dogs.
- In this breed partial clipping of the coat, when it is too long, is typical.
- The hindquarters, the muzzle and part of the tail are clipped, leaving a plume of full-length hair at the tip of the tail
About the Portuguese Water Dog
Origin: Portugal
- Typical life span
- 11-13 years
- Size
- Medium — from its typical weight
- Weight
- Male
- 19-27 kg
- Female
- 16-23 kg
- Height
- Male
- 51-58 cm
- Female
- 43-53 cm
- FCI status
- Recognised by FCI
- FCI groupFCI divides this breed into varieties, and our sources don’t record which one a breeder works. Ask them which variety their line is.
- Retrievers - Flushing Dogs - Water Dogs
- Origin
- Portugal
- Also called
- Perro de Agua Portugues
- Known hereditary risks
- Not researched yet
About
What is a Portuguese Water Dog?
Athletic, medium-sized working dog with a robust build and webbed feet, known for its single coat of curly or wavy waterproof hair. Originally bred as an all-around fisherman's helper.
Portuguese Water Dog history and origins
Ancient breed from Portuguese coast, developed as fisherman's helper for herding fish into nets, retrieving tackle, and carrying messages between ships and shore. Nearly extinct in 20th century but saved through dedicated breeding efforts.
Portuguese Water Dog appearance and size
Males typically weigh 19-27 kg and stand 51-58 cm at the shoulder; females 16-23 kg and 43-53 cm.
What the breed standard says
- Bred for
- Assistance with fishing and retrieving as well as companion dog
- Behaviour and temperament
“Exceptionally it understands and obeys easily and happily any order given by its owner. An animal with impetuous disposition, wilful, courageous, sober and resistant to fatigue. It has a severe, penetrating and attentive expression, as well as remarkable visual and scent faculties. An excellent and resistant swimmer and diver, it is the inseparable companion of the fisherman for whom it performs a multitude of tasks, both in fishing and in guarding and protecting its boat and property. While fishing, it will willingly jump to sea to retrieve escaped fish, diving if necessary and likewise if a net breaks or a cable becomes loose. It is also used as a liaison between boats and shore or vice-versa, even at great distances”
Quoted from FCI standard n°37. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
Breed reference from The Dog API.
Characteristics
- Size
- Medium
- Exercise needs
- —
- Easy to train
- —
- Amount of shedding
- 1 of 5
- Grooming needs
- 4 of 5
- Good with children
- —
- Cost to keep
- —
- Tolerates being alone
- —
- Intelligence
- —
- Health of breed
- Not researched yet
Pros & cons
Pros & cons for the Portuguese Water Dog
What you get with the Portuguese Water Dog
- Purpose stated in the standard: “Assistance with fishing and retrieving as well as companion dog”
- The standard describes the breed as: “Exceptionally it understands and obeys easily and happily any order given by its owner”
What you are taking on
- High grooming needs — the standard’s own description is “There are two varieties: one long and wavy and the other shorter and curly.”
Drawn from sources rather than written as an opinion — cited health research, the registry’s own standard, and peer-reviewed longevity. FCI breed standard. One breeder’s animals can differ from any of it, and an empty column means we hold nothing for that side rather than that there is nothing to say.
Characteristics
FCI standard · Portuguese Water Dog
Coat and colour
As the FCI standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording.
Coat
The whole body is abundantly covered with strong hair, with no undercoat.
There are two varieties: one long and wavy and the other shorter and curly.
The first is slightly shiny and woolly
the latter is dense, lustreless and forms compact cylindrical curls.
Except for the underarms and groin the coat is even all over the skin.
On the head it forms a topknot of wavy hair in the long and wavy variety and of curly hair in the curly variety.
The hair in the ears is longer in the long and wavy variety
Colour
- Preferred
- Permissible
- Undesirable
- Disqualifying
Preferred, permissible, undesirable and disqualifying are FCI’s own words about the breed. They describe what the standard asks for — not an assessment of any individual dog, and not ours.
Shortened from FCI standard n°37 — each label is the standard’s own wording with the verdict lifted into the tag beside it. Read the full clause at source.
What the standard penalises
What a judge marks the Portuguese Water Dog down for, and what puts one out of the ring, in the registry’s own words. This describes the breed standard — it is not a checklist for the animal in front of you, and a pet with a disqualifying fault is an unshowable dog rather than an unhealthy one.
Severe faults
Marked heavily against a specimen in the ring.
- Head: Too long, narrow, flat or pointed.
- Muzzle: Too tapered or pointed.
- Eyes: Light, too protruding or too sunken.
- Ears: Incorrect set, too big, too short or folded.
- Tail: Heavy, dropped in action or raised perpendicularly
Disqualifying faults
Puts an animal out of the ring altogether.
- Size: Over-sized or under-sized
- Jaws: Undershot or overshot.
- Eyes: Wall eye, uneven in shape or size.
- Deafness: Congential or acquired.
- Tail: Docked, rudimentary or non-existent.
- Feet: Presence of dewclaws.
- Coat: Hair different from the described types.
- Colour: Albinism, marbled nostrils in whole or in part. Any other colour than the described type
FCI varieties
FCI divides the Portuguese Water Dog into these varieties, listed in the registry's own words. Depending on the breed they separate colour, coat, size or line — they are not a full list of colours, which no registry we hold publishes. Ask a breeder which variety their line is.
- LONG AND WAVY
- SHORTER AND CURLY
Breed-level information from The Dog API. It describes the Portuguese Water Dog in general; any individual animal can differ.
Health guide
What to ask for in a Portuguese Water Dog
No breed-specific health panel has been written up for the Portuguese Water Dog on this platform yet. That is a gap in our records, not a clean bill of health — ask the breeder which hereditary conditions their lines are tested for, and ask to see the results for both parents, dated and from a named laboratory.
Gallery
No photographs yet
This is where Portuguese Water Dog owners’ own photographs will go, from the pet profiles they keep here. Nobody has added one to a public page yet.
A photograph in a pet profile stays private to its owner. We will not put one here unless they ask us to.
Puppies
No puppies listed right now
No Portuguese Water Dog breeder has a record on this platform yet, so there is nothing to list. That is a gap in our coverage, not a fact about the breed.