There is no doubt about it, selecting your Portuguese Water Dog can be a difficult decision. However, there are some important considerations you should think about before you make your choice. Your decisions on these issues will ultimately help you select the right dog for you.
These are the questions that you need to think about
Do I want a show dog or not. And if I want a show dog, why?
Do I want to breed my dog? (For lots of reasons not to breed click here)
What kind of coat type do I want?
What kind of breeder restrictions will I be happy with, or do I want a puppy that I can do whatever I like with
What sex puppy do I want and why
Do I understand the health issues that go along with this breed
What temperament dog will be suit me and my lifestyle
Am I prepared to do the necessary health testing for my pup and pass these results back to the breeder
How much exercise am I prepared to give this puppy
Will this puppy be an outside or an inside dog
How often am I prepared to groom the coat, and get the coat trimmed? Do I understand that grooming can take time.
What do I intend to feed the puppy?
If you are seeking a puppy from Bluegrace Portuguese Water Dogs, these are some of the things that you need to know.
All puppies come with contracts of sale wrt looking after the pup, grooming, feeding, health, and spay/neuter conditions, amongst other things.
Only the best show potential pups will go into the show ring. Only a dog that performs well in the show ring will be considered for the Bluegrace breeding program. Only a dog that has passed its health testing will be considered to breed from. And only when we have a waiting list of 5-6 firm puppy buyers will we even consider breeding. This means that if you want a puppy from us, in most instances you may have a wait of several months. However, in the future we may have some young adults to place if we don't think they are right for the breeding program, or who have not succeeded in the show ring.
Pups may be available to show homes if we have puppies that demonstrate enough early potential.
If you want a pup with no sale conditions that you can do with what you want, then you need to see other breeders, as we will not sell you a pup.
If you want a pup not to breed from, without getting it spayed or neutered, then we will not sell you a pup. All pups that don't meet the requirements, needs or standards of the Bluegrace breeding program will only be sold with spay/neuter conditions. That is a firm condition of sale.
We feed our dogs a raw meaty diet consisting of such things as raw whole fish, raw meaty bones (lamb, chicken, beef, etc), with yogurt, vegetables, offal, etc. This is the diet we recommend to all our puppy buyers. For more information on this, click here. We do not feed our dogs any commercial dog food.
Finding the right home for our pups is very important to us, and we will help you make the right decision on whether you get a pup from us or not. Sometimes while people want a pup now, their circumstances mean that right now it is not possible. In such a case, you may be able to go on our waiting list.
If, for any reason, you cannot keep your Bluegrace PWD, then the dog is to return to us for placement. Your dog is not available to sell or give to anyone else. It must come back to us. We will try and place it for you, and if we cannot find the right home, then it will stay with us. You will then receive any proceeds from the sale, minus our expenses.
Please keep in mind that Bluegrace Portuguese Water Dogs is based in Australia. If you wish to find out more information about our dogs, puppies, etc, please email us.
If you're interesting in hearing more about our dogs, or getting a puppy from us, we recommend you join our email list where we have created a great little community of like minded people who share stories and key learnings about PWD's.
Hah - you thought you just wanted a puppy! We consider buying a puppy from us a serious event. This breed is very special to us, and we want to make sure that in 4-5 years time we don't have to turn around and create the Australian PWD rescue society, because the breed has been mis-managed.
Bluegrace Tips to Choosing a Puppy
- useful for most breeds
Choosing a pup is not an easy thing. After all, this little creature is going to be with you for many years, and will also grow much bigger and less cuter than what it is now.
When looking for a pup, make sure you talk a lot to the breeder. Don't be afraid to ask any and all sorts of questions. Sometimes breeders are very busy, so you may need to book at time with him/her for a long discussion.
Talk to many breeders. You are not just choosing a pup, you are choosing a breeder. I recently sold a pup to a family who had been looking for a dog for two years. They said the reason they chose me, before even looking at the pups, was because I was so "straight" with them about the good points and bad points of the breed.
So don't be afraid to ask about the negative aspects of the breed - like people, all breeds have them.
Let the breeder help choose the right dog for you. While it can be advantageous to spend a lot of time with the puppies, a good breeder will know intimately the personalities of the puppies. Then the breeder can help find you the right pup for your home. Some puppies are more boisterous than others and will fit in really well at a noisy house, for example. While others who are perhaps less outgoing, would be better suited to a house where they can get lots of individual attention.
I've heard many a nice story about people who sit on the ground with the pups and let the pup chose them. However, the reality of life is that you are relying a lot on randomness. If you pick a time after all the pups have fed and it is time for their sleep, the pup that "chooses" you may just be the one who happens to be awake.
As a breeder I certainly help puppy buyers choose the right pup for them. I also enlist the help of another independent breeder who does temperament testing at 7 weeks. This invariably confirms my position on individual temperament and personality, and at the same time gives the much needed independent view.
I'm more than happy to answer any questions you have. Please feel free to email us.
There is no doubt about it, selecting your Portuguese Water Dog can be a difficult decision. However, there are some important considerations you should think about before you make your choice. Your decisions on these issues will ultimately help you select the right dog for you. 
Choosing a pup is not an easy thing. After all, this little creature is going to be with you for many years, and will also grow much bigger and less cuter than what it is now. 
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