Spanish Water Dog
History of the Spanish Water Dog breed
The Spanish Water Dog was bred in Spain. It is a very old breed, but wasn't finally recognized as a separate breed until 1999. We can find a Portuguese Water Dog and barbet among its ancestors. It has never been too professionally bred, therefore, there are almost no genetic defects. It has always been a multi-purpose dog. Its use is versatile from helping fishermen to herding sheep and goats. If necessary, these dogs also help with hunting and guarding. They are included in the VIII group of FCI (flushing, water dogs and retrievers), but their character is most like herding dogs.
The nature of the breed
The Spanish Water Dog is an active, cheerful, lively and friendly breed. It has a very balanced character. It is also vigilant and attentive, but it does not bark unnecessarily. It is not a biter or otherwise aggressive. It has a very well developed sense of smell. The Spanish Water Dog usually gets on well with other dogs. If it is taught as a puppy to be with other pets, it has no problems with them later. It loves its family and wants to be constantly close to it. If it has no contact with you over a long period of time, it will suffer. Some individuals may be suspicious or indifferent towards strangers and newcomers, but they have a much friendlier relationship with their family. Good socialization of puppies is necessary, but even then some of these dogs stay aloof towards strangers for rest of their life. Spanish Water Dogs love spending time together with their family and they do depend on it. They are suited to sport-based families and families who provide these dogs with lots of common experience on walks and trips. They have no problem to nestle in your lap and idly enjoy the closeness of their masters.On walks they constantly happily run around you and they don´t tend to run away. You just need to take their great love for water into account and wear appropriate clothing during joint trips to the countryside. They really love water and they do not distinguish whether it is a pond, puddle or just a hole with mud :-) They run and jump happily around and have a tendency to jump on the master as well :-) Some of them love water from an early age, others discover their love for water a little later. They like to play and learn new things. They achieve excellent results in competitions concerning flexibility and obedience. It is also a good companion for smaller children, with whom they can play, make mischief and run around the garden for hours. They love joint swimming, so you might as well forget an easy and relaxed time in the garden pool :-)
Basic care of the dog
Their coat is not difficult to maintain. It doesn't need to be brushed, it has a structure that consists of curls or strings. This dog is is protected against bad weather with its hair. If necessary, we can unravel its hair with our fingers. The Spanish Water Dog does not moult twice a year as other breeds, this breed is suitable for people with allergies. The coat needs to be cut or shaved once or twice a year at the same length. Minimum cutting length is recommended to be around 1 cm to avoid getting sunburn in the summer months. According to the standards the coat of exhibition individuals should not be aesthetically modified (such as with Poodles). The minimum length of hair for assessing at an exhibition is set at 3 cm, in order to assess the quality of the hair-curls. The maximum allowable length of hair for assessing at an exhibition is 12 cm (15 cm when the hair is stretched). For the first time a puppy should be shaved or have a haircut at age 4-8 months to lose its puppy fur. It occurs in a variety of colours - black, brown, white, beige, various combinations of brown with white and black combined with white. It should never be a tri-colour. The tail is docked or left naturally long. Some individuals are born with a short tail. It is necessary to regularly check their ears in order to prevent them to be overgrown with hair and to be clean.
Blanca before shaving and after shaving :-)
