Do you want to find out about grooming Portuguese water dogs? Learn important details about Portuguese water dog hygienic care. Read our guide for more facts & information…
Owning a Portuguese water dog entails responsibilities. Since Portuguese water dogs or porties as they are called by others, are the sporty types. You would have to feed, continuously train, and play with this pooch making sure it gets the sufficient amount of exercise it needs. Aside from these, attending to its hygienic needs is another important task that you simply cannot take for granted. Otherwise you will be putting your pet at risk. Without proper grooming, your pet becomes vulnerable to infections or discomforts that may eventually lead to serious illnesses.
Portie Appearance
Porties have a ruggedly built, well proportioned, well-knit muscular body and a thickly based tail that they carry nobly. The average height of porties is 19 inches for females or 22 inches for males. They weigh around 50 pounds and are slightly longer than they are tall. They do not shed and are said to be hypoallergenic. Portuguese water dogs have two coat types although many dogs have a mixed pattern. Some have compact, circular locks while others have slightly shiny hair that fall gently in waves. If regular hygiene care isn’t given to porties, their hair may keep growing and later on cause discomfort to them. Thus, regular brushing of the hair to remove knots and prevent mats is necessary. Trimming of the hair and nails must be done constantly.
Portie Hygiene
Owners of a portie would need to have the following hygiene tools: a brush, steel comb, nail clippers, scissors, dog shampoo, soft tooth brush and dog tooth paste. Remember to brush the dog’s teeth daily or at least every other day. Trimming of nails should be done monthly while plucking of the hair within the ears should be done every two weeks or so to prevent ear infections. Use a clean damp cloth to clean any discharge from the eyes.
A portie’s coat requires regular brushing and trimming. Brush from the base of the neck to the tail and clip out mats or tangles that cannot be removed. To keep the coat clean, bathe the pooch every month or two and be careful not to do so more frequently or the skin may dry out. Remember to bring your portie to the groomer every 6 weeks or so.
Portie Hair Styling
Whether a portie has a curly, wavy, or mixed coat, there are two standard cuts that owners can choose from: the Lion cut or the Retriever cut. In the lion cut, the rest of the body is left unshaved while the muzzle, hindquarters, and the tail base are shaved. This is the original cut of the fishing dogs in Portugal as porties were originally companions of fishermen doing various tasks in the water. This cut minimizes the initial impact of cold water, and provides the dogs additional warmth to their vital organs.
The retriever cut is more recent. This cut gives the dog a more natural appearance since the entire coat is trimmed no longer than 1 inch in length following the dog’s original body outline. In the retriever cut, the hair at the end of the tail is left uncut.
