Portuguese Water Dog occupies Whitehouse

Well the long awaited Portuguese Water Dog has now moved into the Whitehouse with the Obama’s. Bo, a 6 month old Portuguese Water Dog has been adopted by the Obama’s and is now the President’s dog. I never understood why all president’s must have a dog. Why can’t they have a presidential cat or better yet a presidential mongoose. Now that would be a great pet and the mongoose could help identify the snakes that come in and out of the Whitehouse all the time.

Personally I had never heard of a Portuguese Water Dog before all the news about Bo, so I decided to look around and see what I could find about these puppies.

Portuguese Water Dog

The Portuguese Water Dog, colloquially known as a Portie, is a water spaniel breed of gun dog. Portuguese Water Dogs once existed all along Portugal’s coast, where they were taught to herd fish into fishermen’s nets, to retrieve lost tackle or broken nets, and to act as couriers from ship to ship, or ship to shore. Portuguese Water Dogs rode in bobbing fishing trawlers as they worked their way from the cold Atlantic waters of Portugal to the frigid fishing waters off the coast of Iceland where the fleets caught cod to bring home.

In Portugal, the breed is called Cão d’Água (pronounced Kown-d’Ahgwa; literally "water dog"). In its native land, the dog is also known as the Portuguese Fishing Dog (Cão Pescador Português). Cão de Água de Pêlo Ondulado is the name given the wavy-haired variety, and Cão de Água de Pêlo Encaracolado is the name for the curly-coated variety.

The Portuguese Water Dog is a fairly rare breed; only 15 entrants for Portuguese Water Dogs were made to England’s Crufts competition in 2002. Though some breeders claim they are a hypoallergenic dog breed, there is no scientific evidence to support this claim. However, their non-shedding qualities have made them more popular in recent years; most notably, the family of United States President Barack Obama selected a PWD for a First Pet to accommodate daughter Malia Obama’s allergies.

So the Portuguese Water dog is a type of spaniel. I have owned several Cocker Spaniels in my life and they where all great dogs. Hopefully this Portuguese Water Dog will be a good dog and not try to bite people like the last dog that occupied the Whitehouse.

 

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