Португальская Водяная Собака: История, Характеристики и Особенности Породы.

The Portuguese Water Dog originated from the Algarve region of Portugal. From there the breed expanded to all around Portugal's coast, where they were taught to herd fish into fishermen's nets, retrieve lost tackle or broken nets, and act as couriers from ship to ship, or ship to shore. Portuguese Water Dogs rode in fishing trawlers as they worked their way from the Atlantic waters of Portugal to the waters off the coast of Iceland fishing for cod. In Portuguese, the breed is called cão de água (ˈkɐ̃w dɨ ˈaɣwɐ; literally 'dog of water'). In Portugal, the dog is also known as the Algarvian Water Dog (cão de água algarvio), or Portuguese Fishing Dog (cão pescador português). Cão de água de pêlo ondulado is the name given to the wavy haired variety, and cão de água de pêlo encaracolado is the name for the curly coated variety. Though some breeders claim they are a hypoallergenic dog breed, there is no scientific evidence to support the claim that hypoallergenic dog breeds exist. Their non shedding qualities have made them more popular in recent years. The Portuguese Water Dog was the chosen breed of US President Barack Obama, who had two of them, Bo and Sunny. The Obama family chose Sunny for the breed's comparatively hypoallergenic nature, while Bo was given to them by Senator Ted Kennedy.

Portuguese and Spanish water dogs are clearly related and probably have a common ancestor. The closest relatives of the PWD and Spanish Water dog are widely thought to be the Standard Poodle. Like Poodles and several other water dog breeds, PWDs are intelligent, can have curly coats, have webbed toes for swimming, and do not shed. However, Portuguese Water Dogs are more robustly built, with stout legs, and can have a wavy coat instead of tightly curled. If comparing the structure to that of a Poodle, there are significant differences between the two breeds. The Portuguese Water Dog is built of strong substantial bone; well developed, neither refined nor coarse, and a solidly built, muscular body. The Portuguese Water Dog is off square, slightly longer than tall when measured from prosternum to rearmost point of the buttocks, and from withers to ground. Portuguese Water Dog eyes are black or various tones of brown, and their coats can be black, brown, black and white or brown and white. Male Portuguese Water Dogs usually grow to be about tall, and they weigh between , while the females usually grow to be about tall, and they weigh between .

In the lion cut, the hindquarters, muzzle, and the base of the tail are shaved, with approximately 1/3 of the tail hair left long, also known as a flag, and the rest of the body is left full length. This traditional cut originated with the fishing dogs of Portugal. The lion cut diminished the initial shock of cold water when jumping from boats, as well as providing warmth to the vitals. The hindquarters were left shaved to allow easier movement of the back legs and the powerful, rudder like tail.

The retriever cut is one inch (2.5 cm) long, evenly over the body (although some owners prefer the muzzle or the base of the tail shorter, again, with approximately 1/3 of the tail hair left long, also known as a flag,). This cut is a more recent style and originated because breeders wanted to make the breed more appealing to buyers. Sometimes owners will clip the hair of their dogs very short, especially in the summer months, in modified retriever cut.

The PWD was a breed on the verge of extinction when, during the 1930s, Vasco Bensaude, a wealthy Portuguese shipping magnate, began to seek out fishermen's dogs for use in a breeding program to re establish the breed. Bensaude's kennel was named Algarbiorum, and his most famous dog was Leão (1931–1942), a very "type y" (that is, standard conformant) fisherman's stud dog, who was bred to so many different females that about half of the pedigreed Portuguese Water Dogs in existence can trace their lineage back to him. Bensaude was aided by two Portuguese veterinarians, Frederico Pinto Soares and Manuel Fernandes Marques. His work was carried on by Conchita Cintron de Castelo Branco, to whom he gave his last 14 PWDs and all his archives. António Cabral was the founder of the Alvalade kennels in Portugal. Ch. Charlie de Alvalade (Charlie), a brown coated dog, and C. B. Baluarte de Alvalade (Balu) were two of his many famous PWDs. He registered his first PWD in 1954 after Bensaude had pioneered the re establishment of the breed in Portugal. Cabral worked with Carla Molinari, Deyanne Miller, Sonja Santos and others to establish PWDs in the US. The "Mark of Cabral" is a triangular shape of different color/textured hair, usually from the base of the tail. Deyanne Miller is the person most responsible for the rise of the PWD in America. In 1972, the Millers, along with 14 others, formed the Portuguese Water Dog Club of America, Inc. (PWDCA). She worked with dogs from both the Cintron and Cabral lineages to establish a stable genetic pool of PWDs in the US at her Farmion kennels. Another early US breeder of PWDs was the actor Raymond Burr. However, the risk of a PWD developing hip dysplasia can be greatly reduced by thoroughly checking the pedigrees and health clearances in both the sire and dam of the dog.

Cataracts and progressive retinal atrophy are two eye diseases found in PWDs. Progressive retinal atrophy, which causes "night blindness", may lead to complete blindness. This is a simple recessive gene. DNA testing, known as "Optigen Testing", can identify dogs carrying the gene for progressive retinal atrophy. "Normal" or "A" dogs do not carry the gene. "Carriers" or "B" dogs carry one copy of the gene and will not express the disease, but pass the gene to 50% of their offspring. "Affected" or "C" dogs have two copies of the progressive retinal atrophy gene and will probably express the disease as late onset progressive retinal atrophy. "B" or "C" dogs should be bred only to "A" dogs to ensure that any offspring will not express the disease. Ingrown eyelashes (distichiasis) occur in some curly coated breeds, but they are not particularly common in PWDs. Ingrown eyelashes will rub the eye, causing extensive corneal ulcerations. All breeding stock should be tested for GM 1 storage disease or GM1 gangliosidoses, which is a fatal nerve disease that typically appears when a puppy is approximately six months of age. The affected puppy will show clinical signs of cerebellar dysfunction including ataxia, tremors, paresis, and seizures. The pet may also exhibit a change in temperament. Lesions of the retina and clouding of the cornea may occur. Breeders now have a DNA gene based test, based on a cheek swab or a blood sample, which will determine if a dog is a carrier of the gene for juvenile dilated cardiomyopathy. All breeding animals can be tested to determine their status, thus avoiding the breeding of two carriers. A puppy from a sire or dam without the gene will not be affected with this fatal disease.