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It’s a Portuguese Water Dog’s World in Wetaskiwin

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It’s a Portuguese Water Dog’s world and we’re just living in it.

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Brenda Brown has been a fan of working dogs her whole life. She had previously owned and bred German Shepherds, but when it was discovered that one of her daughters was allergic to dog hair, Brown had to find a new labour of love to invest in.

Enter the Portuguese Water Dog (PWD), a hypoallergenic, non-shedding working dog that ticked all the boxes for Brown.

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In the 1950s, the PWD was dwindling in numbers—less that 100 in the world were known—when a group of American breeders decided to bring some of the dogs over from Portugal and save the breed.

“We can trace our dogs back to those original dogs,” said Brown.

By the late 1980s, when Brown was looking for an allergy-friendly breed, the PWD was not a yet a recognized breed by the Canadian Kennel Club and was still a rare breed. She wanted a show breeding quality dog and was on a waiting list for two years before she got a pair of dogs.

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Since then, she has gone on to breed and train champion dogs—Portuguese Water Dogs and Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers— at Baywood Dogs, at her home west of Wetaskiwin.

“I just wanted a working dog that would be able to do some work because I like doing obedience and agility,” she said.

Energetic and clever, the PWD was a fisherman’s helper, spending its time laying at the bottom of boats before jumping into the water to carry items to and from shore or other boats. They would help to set nets in the water and even guarded the boats at night, though the guarding traits have mostly been bred out. In the winters, they would help to herd sheep.

Nowadays, those traits are put to good use in obedience and agility training and special water sport trials.

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Brown serves as the Director of the Alberta Portuguese Water Dog Club and agility representative, is a Past President, Portuguese Water Dog Club of Canada, and is a member of the Portuguese Water Dog Club of America. She actively teaches agility and puppy obedience classes in Edmonton and Wetaskiwin and continually competes and shows at confirmation shows, agility, rally, or water trials.

The breeding and showing keep her busy, but the popularity of a U.S. President has boosted the profile of the PWD, keeping Brown busier than ever with requests for dogs.

“President Obama got a PWD, named Bo, and then got another one named Sunny,” she said. “Just like with 101 Dalmations, popularity exploded. As a group of breeders, we thought we would be able to weather it, but they just became so popular. Sometimes, popularity can be the kiss of death for the breed because you have people just breeding for the money.”

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For her part, Brown is very particular about the people who get puppies from Baywood and tries hard to match the personalities of the dogs with potential owners.

“Just like if your parents had 10 kids, none of them have the same personality. It’s the same with a litter of puppies,” said Brown. “(PWDs) are smart dogs and they’re willing to work. They’re always the star of puppy obedience, but they’re equally able to manipulate you.

She is very insistent on puppy education with her breeding program, following strict regimes and instructions on puppy rearing.

“I say to my puppy people: ‘you don’t have to compete like I do, but you need to keep their mind and body occupied’,” said Brown.

The intense methods have brought outstanding results. One of Brown’s dogs, a nine-year-old male named Mission, is a star among his breed.

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“I can teach Mission almost anything and he has possibly more titles than any other Portie in Canada, though I can’t say for sure,” she said.

Brown recently injured her knee and required surgery for it. Being laid up while recovering, she took the opportunity to teach her dogs how to put away their toys.”

“Mission caught on in just three days,” said Brown. “I’ve been working on him to pick up me keys and other things…you get out of these dogs what you put into them, the same as any breed.”

Mission is the number one agility PWD in Canada in 2018.

“Mission has had a good few years,” said Brown. “And I expect him to have just as good 2019.”

For more information on Brenda Brown and her Portuguese Water Dogs, visit www.baywooddogs.com.

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