The first Water Dogs of the Algarve region of Portugal were trained, in the ancient Roman tradition, to herd fish into nets. The tribes of the Algarve soon found these lively, intelligent dogs to be an indispensible component in their working lives.

These dogs had a true working spirit combined with intelligence, strength, and superb swimming skills. They helped their masters lay out their nets, retrieved lost tackle & broken nets, and would dive into deep water to retrieve fallen objects.

Those same tireless swimming skills and intelligence also made them an ideal communication system, serving as courier from boat to boat, and boat to shore.

They also had the unique task of acting as a warning beacon, or foghorn of sorts, barking in the bow of the ship during deep fog to signal other ships of their master’s whereabouts and preventing potential collisions. And even at the end of the day, their usefulness didn’t end, as they also guarded their master’s catch & boat.

As fishers and hunters, the tribes of the Algarve region appropriately adapted & selected their dogs for fishing & hunting. Over the centuries this method of semi-natural selection is what helped create the distinct Algarve Water Dog breed, and formed the foundation for the modern Portuguese Water Dog we know today.

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 at least 1/4 of the pay of a normal working man (and on some ships even full pay).

So valuable and so loved were the dogs that the Algarve peoples were known to never sell their dogs and were loathe to part with them in any way. Some dogs were gifted to others, but even that event was rare.

Unfortunately, this isolation of the breed combined with the advent of modern technology in the early 20th century, led to the near extinction of the breed.

• PWD History Main Page
• What Can be Agreed Upon
• How the PWD Came to Portugal

• PWD as a Traditional Fishing Dog
• How PWD was Saved from Extinction
• The Modern PWD