When it was announced that the First Dog was going to be a Portuguese Water Dog, not a few were totally in the dark about the breed and its quirky and outstanding qualities. But its home country Portugal has known the breed for centuries. Even then, these dogs were a true-blue working breed with the energy drive. It is said that the Portie share ancestors with the Poodle, the Kerry Blue Terrier, and the Irish Water Spaniel.

Indeed, a water rescue incident as the first recorded reference to a Portuguese Water Dog or their immediate ancestors is proof that life at sea is all in a day's work for the breed. The dog's intelligence and energy enabled it to accomplish tasks like driving fish into nets, saving lost equipment like damaged nets pr last tackles, and sending correspondence to another boat. The breed's invaluable role as an all-purpose fishing assistant made the Portuguese Water Dog part and parcel of the fishing culture along the coasts of Portugal.
That the dog has only one coat, and yet is able to achieve so much, is perhaps no small contribution to their popularity. The breed is classified by dog breeders as "hypoallergenic," just like Poodles and Bichon Frises, mainly due to the observation that their minimal shedding allows many allergy suffers to interact with them. As expected, the level of tolerance depends on the health condition of the individual. But allergen production can be reduced some more if the dog is fed the sort of diet that helps prevent dry or flaky skin.
The Portuguese Water Dog is kept in top shape, and is comfortable in his element, when given things to be busy with. They will deteriorate if not in the company of humans, e.g. kept in a kennel. The Portuguese Water Dog needs enough exercise daily, some portuguese water dog puppy training if still young, and a "job," whether it is about formal obedience, agility work, or something to do with your occupation. They will also prefer being relatively more close to one or two family members. They generally do well with children if socialized with them early-on, and in fact need to be brought outdoors to busy places so that they can be familiar with various situations as puppies so that they develop into stable and responsible pets later on.
Lastly, a final and important ingredient in order to live well with a Portie is to have a sense of humor that does not take things too seriously. This is needed since the dog already has plenty of it. As with many intelligent working breeds, the Portuguese Water Dog needs you to invest a major amount of your time and money into helping it mature, but give back to their owners that investment many times over with charming and magnetic personalities. And perhaps the best investment is in some portuguese water dog puppy training.