History

Fishermen along the Algarve coast of Portugual relied on this remarkable dog to help them in their difficult trade. These seafaring dogs carried messages between ships and ship-to-shore. As indispensable crewmen, they retrieved lost tackle, herded fish into nets, grabbed those fish that leaped out, and in bad weather acted as living foghorns. The Portuguese Water Dog is also a fine hunting retriever. Needless to say, these dogs were closely guarded. They were little known outside of Portugual until the 20th century, although the breed is more than seven hundred years old. 

Body Type

Bears resemblance to the poodle. The medium-length, natural tail loops over the back when the dog is at attention. It is not altered because it is used as a rudder when the dog is swimming. The long ears hang close to the head and not altered. Feet are webbed to aid in swimming.

Coat

Two coats accepted in the breed standard: curly and wavy. An undercoat is not present in either variety. Wavy coats are fairly long with a slight sheen. The hair on curly coats forms compact, cylindrical curls that are somewhat lusterless. The hair on the ears has less curl than elsewhere on the body. Permissible colors are solid black, white or brown; also accepted are combinations of black or brown with white.

Grooming

There are two grooming styles; the lion clip - where the face, niddle andhindquarters are shaved. The tail is also shaved at the base end, and alion-like tassel is left at the tip end. The retriever clip has the hair scissored to one-inch in length following the outline of the body. Hair on the end of the tail is left long to emulate a lion's tassel, and used as a flag while working.

Size

The ideal height for males is 21.5 inches; for females, 18 inches. Adult males weigh between 42-60 lbs while females will weigh 35-50 lbs.

RiverWaves Kennel is proud to be an Avidog Associate Breeder!

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News

Our sweet girl Chuva has had her beautiful puppies!

Please see the PUPPIES page for more information.

Updated March 10, 2020.

Boomer, Riverwaves Sounds of Thundering, has had a very exciting summer! He has been working hard toward his Rally and Agility titles! Way to go Boomer!

Boomer is out of our 2017 Litter; BIS Can/Am GCh Seabury's Final Voyage, AOMx3 AOE "Pedro" and Can Ch RiverWaves Alcancando Estrelas, RI "Céu" 

Updated August 28, 2019.

It has been a busy and exciting summer/autumn!

Atlas, Ch Riverwaves Carry the Skies, has had a very exciting first year! He finished his Canadian Championship on his first birthday, September 30th 2018, having lots of fun and earning some big wins along the way. At the 2018 Portuguese Water Dog Club of Canada National Specialty, Atlas was awarded best puppy in Specialty and Reserve Dog in Specialty at only 8 months old. At 10 months old, he won his first group placement, going 4th in group at the Kars Dog Club. Most recently, Atlas placed first in his class in Sweeps at the Portuguese Water Dog Club Of America National Specialty in Frankenmuth, Michigan. Thank you to all the judges who have recognized our special boy.Atlas will be spending the next few months preparing for his first Rally trial and continuing to work on his obedience skills; our working boy has big plans to take the obedience world by storm too!

Gracie, Ch Riverwaves Born Ready For You, started training for conformation before she was 6 months old, and completed 10 shows to earn her Canadian Championship before her first birthday.  She is now working towards her Grand Championship and hopes to start training in Agility and Water Work this summer.

Updated October 29, 2018.

After a successful weekend in Arnprior, we are so pleased to share that RiverWaves Galo Da Boa Vida "Galo", from our most recent litter, has acheived his CKC Championship (pending CKC approval) at 7 months old! Congratulations to this youngster!

Updated May 18, 2018.

We would like to take a moment to celebrate our puppies! Over the last two weeks we have had some wonderful moments, and we have some new photos to add to the family album!

At the Champlain KC Dog Show, two of our boys from Céu’s last litter earned their first points toward their CKC Championship - Galo going Winners Dog Friday and Sunday including a Group 4 placement, and Atlas going Winners Dog on Saturday!

This past weekend at the Victoria County KC Dog Show, their sister, Gracie, followed suit earning her first Championship points going Best of Winners and earning a Best Puppy In Group in the Group 3 Limited Breed Show!

Congratulations to Meagan Graham and Marilyn Jones who pointed their puppies as novice owner/handlers! I could not be more proud of you for taking on this new adventure like the superstars you are!

And I happened to join in on the fun... owner/handling myself for the first time ever!

Congratulations to our RiverWaves gang for making a “splash” in the Conformation rings!

Céu's puppies are growing up nicely in their forever families' homes. We are planning a litter for Spring 2019. Please complete a puppy questionnaire if you have any interest in this breeding or would like information on the breed. 

Céu is a new mom to 14 happy and healthy puppies born on September 30, 2017. Visit our Puppies page for more info!

Nash and Molly earn Rally Obedience titles March 26, 2017, in Belleville!

Nash earned his last leg toward his Rally Advanced title, and earned 2 qualifying legs of Rally Excellent!

Molly earned all 3 legs (2 placing HIC) toward her Rally Novice title!

We are so proud of our RiverWaves puppies and their great work in the performance ring!

Céu has had her puppies! Check out the puppies page and photos!

Céu earns her Rally Intermediate title!

Céu and Nash trial at Georgina Kennel and Obedience Club on November 12-13, 2016.

Molly, and her mom Meagan completed the Canine Good Neighbour evaluation successfully, and obtained her CGN title! (left photo)

On August 20, 2016, we had our first puppy paw-rty to celebrate the birthdays of our first 2 litters at Riverwaves! (photo below)

Atlas, Ch Riverwaves Carry the Skies, has had a very exciting first year! He finished his Canadian Championship on his first birthday, September 30^th 2018, having lots of fun and earning some big wins along the way. At the 2018 Portuguese Water Dog Club of Canada National Specialty, Atlas was awarded best puppy in Specialty and Reserve Dog in Specialty at only 8 months old. At 10 months old, he won his first group placement, going 4^th in group at the Kars Dog Club. Most recently, Atlas placed first in his class in Sweeps at the Portuguese Water Dog Club Of America National Specialty in Frankenmuth, Michigan. Thank you to all the judges who have recognized our special boy.

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