Anciently known as Algarve Water Dogs (for the region in Portugal where they have been raised in peaceful seclusion for centuries), there is some dispute as to how and when their ancestors came to Portugal.

What is known is that they are descended from the legendary terrier & herding dogs of the Asian Steppes (brought from there by a variety of marauders). But whether this is a true direct descent or through other herding dog descendants that branched off from from the Asian dogs is not completely known (in fact it may be a mix of both theories – both true direct descent and then mixed with sister descendants in later times).

The first descriptions of similar Water Dogs in the Roman areas began appearing around 2300 - 2500 years ago, and references & drawings of the famed PWD “lion cut” appeared around the same time.

Following ancient Roman traditions, the original dogs of the Algarve region were trained to herd fish into nets. As true working dogs they also retrieved lost tackle & broken nets, and served as courier from boat to boat, and boat to shore. The tribes of the Algarve area were fishers and hunters, and appropriately adapted & selected the Algarve dogs for fishing & hunting. This method of semi-natural selection is what created the distinct Algarve Water Dog breed.

The dogs remained immensely valuable and loved for centuries, with fishing dogs known to have the same rights to food rations and to a share of the fish caught, as any man on board ship – and each dog was entitled to 1/4 of the pay of a normal working man.

THE MODERN BREED

It was in this century that technology began to replace the Algarve dogs’ duties, and the dogs simply became too expensive to keep if they could not earn their own way. By the 1930s the dogs were facing extinction. Their saviour came in the form of Vasco Bensaude, who’s dedicated, careful breeding was the foundation of the modern breed we know today.

After Bensaude, came Conchita Cintron who kept the breed alive after Bensaude’s death, and whose courageous and prophetic decision to bring the dogs to America, ensured the true survival and success of the Portuguese Water Dog.

In the 1970’s, after Cintron was forced to flee the revolution in Portugal and closed her Al-Gharb Kennels, Dr. Antonio Cabral, Carla Molinari, and Deyanne & Herbert Miller were the succeeding groups that were able to deepen the foundation to the point where PWDs could be bred on a larger scale in North America.

Finally on January 1st, 1984, the Portuguese Water Dog received full AKC breed privileges, and the standards for the modern breed would finally be set.

Portuguese Water Dog Breed Standard