The Portuguese water dog was originally bred in Portugal to help fisherman in the water; it is called Cão de Agua in Portuguese (in Portuguese, cão means "dog," de means "of" and agua means "water"). A Portie was chosen as the first pet of President Obama's family; the puppy was named Bo by the President's daughters Sasha and Malia.

Anatomy: The Portuguese water dog is a solidly-built dog of medium build. There are two types of coats, wavy and curly; the single-layered, waterproof coat is black, black and white, brown, or silver-tipped. The chest is wide and the shoulders are powerful. The feet are rounded, and there is webbing between the toes. Males are about 20 to 23 inches (51 cm to 58 cm) tall at the shoulders and weigh about 40 to 60 pounds (18 kg to 27 kg); females are from 17 to 21 inches (43 cm to 53 cm) tall at the shoulders and weigh about 35 to 50 pounds (16.5-22.5 kg). The tail is powerful and acts as a rudder in the water.

Related Information and Worksheets to Print

Portuguese Water Dog: Printable Read-and-Answer Worksheet A printable worksheet on the Portuguese Water Dog, with a short text to read, a picture to label, and questions to answer. Or go to the answers.

Portuguese Theme Page Learn some words in Portuguese and learn the geography of Portugal.

Barack Obama Learn about President Barack Obama and print worksheets about him.