Directory of Portuguese Water Dog Resources

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Excerpt from the Portuguese Water Dog Club of America website:

In Portugal the Water Dog is known as Cao de Agua. Historical theory finds our Water Dog on the development road from the central Asiatic steppes as early as 700 B.C. to the Iberian Peninsula in the 8th Century; and on to the British coastline as working crew of the ships on the Spanish Armada in 1588.

These seafaring working dogs carried messages between ships and ship to shore, and stood watch in the bow, barking warning of danger in the surrounding fog. In his homeland the working Water Dog thrived as courier between fishing boats. He dove fearlessly into the sea to retrieve broken nets and tackle gone overboard, and was a loyal friend to the fisherman and his family.

Modern marine technology - radar, radio communications and equipment - caused he near extinction of the Portuguese Water Dog. The sturdy, medium-sized, highly intelligent canine was displaced by modern fishing methods.

The breed has been preserved in America through the combined efforts of the 16 people who formed the Portuguese Water Dog Club of America, Inc. In August, 1972. At that time there were less than 25 known Water Dogs throughout the world. The founders and members of the PWDCA united to revive the breed and secure strong, healthy foundation stock.

On June 5, 1981, when the Water Dog was admitted to the American Kennel Club Miscellaneous Class, more than 500 dogs lived in the United States. On January 1, 1984, the Water Dog became eligible to compete in the AKC Working Group.

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Resources in This Category

• AKC: Portuguese Water Dog

  http://www.akc.org/breeds/portuguese_water_dog/
  Standard set by the American Kennel Club.

• anoTHEr Portuguese Water Dog Home Page

  http://www.octante.net/
  Includes information on and pictures of this breed.

• Dummy Guide to Accessing PWD IRC

  http://www.octante.net/caodeagua/en/html/dummyguide.html
  Explains how to access the #PWDOGS IRC channel.

• Los Angeles Times: Portuguese water dogs play key role in genetics research

  http://articles.latimes.com/2009/apr/14/nation/na-obama-dog-genetics14
  Article states that PWDs are "the most genetically studied breed in the world." Discusses various research studies on genetic traits and hereditary diseases in the breed.

• Portuguese Water Dog Foundation, Inc.

  http://www.pwdfoundation.org/
  Organization funds research for genetic and other canine diseases with the goal of improving the quality of life for Portuguese Water Dogs.

• Portuguese Water Dog Web Ring

  http://www.webring.org/hub?ring=portie
  Contains sites about this breed.

• PWD Mailing List

  http://www.lsoft.com/scripts/wl.exe?SL1=PWD-L&H=APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM
  Discussion of all topics directly related to PWDs. Open to general public. Searchable email list archives from December 1996 through present.

• PWD Search and Rescue at Ground Zero

  http://www.webstrats.com/pwdwtc/
  Photographs of Connie Millard and her Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) certified Type I canine, Dutch, searching the rubble at the World Trade Center.

• The Georgie Project

  http://www.georgieproject.com/
  Lark Lab's study of genetic characteristics in PWDs.

• Wikipedia: Portuguese Water Dog

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_Water_Dog
  Summary of breed history, appearance, coat types and temperament.

Other Languages

• German
• Swedish

 

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