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Portuguese Water Dog

The Portuguese Water Dog was developed along the Algarve coast as a fisherman's aid, retrieving gear, carrying messages between boats, and herding fish into nets.

Calculate Portuguese Water Dog age
Lifespan13 yrrange 11–15
SizeLargeWorking Group
Weight35–60 lb15.9–27.2 kg
Senior at6 yrgeriatric at 10

Gallery (3)

About

About the Portuguese Water Dog

The Portuguese Water Dog was developed along the Algarve coast as a fisherman's aid, retrieving gear, carrying messages between boats, and herding fish into nets. The breed dropped below 50 dogs in the 1960s; current stock descends from a single restoration kennel.

Aging

How Portuguese Water Dogs age

RVC VetCompass gives a median 13.0 years (n=215, small sample). GM1 storage disease is the defining inherited concern — now near-eliminated by mandatory breed-club testing — with juvenile dilated cardiomyopathy and PRA secondary.

Lifespan deep-diveAvg 13 yr · range 11–15Senior careSenior at 6 · geriatric at 10Common health issues8 tracked conditions
Physical

Physical characteristics

Weight
35–60 lb(15.9–27.2 kg)
Height
17–23 in(43.2–58.4 cm)
Coat type
Curly
Colors
BlackBrownWhite
Temperament

Temperament

How Portuguese Water Dogs tend to show up around their people, other dogs, and the world.

affectionateadventurousathleticbright
  • Energy
  • Trainability
  • Good with kids
  • Good with other dogs
  • Shedding
Health

Common health issues

Full health profile
  • Low prevalencetypical onset ~7 yr

    Cataracts

    Description and veterinary guidance for Cataracts land in Phase 4. Prevalence and onset-age figures above are drawn from https://ofa.org/diseases/disease-statistics/.

  • Low prevalencetypical onset ~2 yr

    Elbow Dysplasia

    Description and veterinary guidance for Elbow Dysplasia land in Phase 4. Prevalence and onset-age figures above are drawn from https://ofa.org/diseases/disease-statistics/.

  • Low prevalencetypical onset ~6 yr

    Progressive Retinal Atrophy

    Description and veterinary guidance for Progressive Retinal Atrophy land in Phase 4. Prevalence and onset-age figures above are drawn from https://ofa.org/diseases/disease-statistics/.

Exercise
90min
per day

Portuguese Water Dogs are high-output dogs — plan for 90 minutes of daily activity across a mix of walks, off-leash play, and purposeful work.

Related

Related breeds

Breeds with a similar size and group profile, for readers comparing options.

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References

Sources

Lifespan and health figures on this page are drawn from the peer-reviewed and organizational sources below.

  1. AKC breed standardAmerican Kennel Club breed page

    Breed size, weight range, height, AKC group, origin, coat type, and temperament baseline.

  2. RVC VetCompassRoyal Veterinary College VetCompass life-table research (McMillan et al. 2024)

    UK primary-care records; source for the median-lifespan and mortality figures.