Obamas Buy Portuguese Water Dog
Apparently the Obamas have purchase a dog for their 2 daughters, Sasha and Malia. I don’t know why they decided to pick such an ugly dog but below is some info on the dog.
The closest relative of the PWD is widely thought to be the Standard Poodle. Like Poodles and several other water dog breeds, PWDs are highly intelligent, can have curly coats, have webbed toes for swimming, and do not shed. However, Portuguese Water Dogs are more robustly built, with stout legs, and can have a wavy coat instead of tightly curled. Also, fanciers generally do not dock their tails, whereas Poodle tails are customarily docked. Portuguese Water Dog eyes are consistently brown, and their coats can be black, reddish brown, white, or black and white.Male Portuguese Water Dogs usually grow to be about 20 to 23 inches (51 cm to 58 cm) tall, and they weigh between 40 and 60 pounds (18 kg to 27 kg), while the females usually grow to be about 17 to 21 inches (43 cm to 53 cm) tall, and they weigh between 35 and 50 pounds.
Portuguese Water Dogs have a single-layered coat that does not shed (see Moult), and therefore their presence is tolerated extremely well among many people who suffer from dog allergies. Some call Portuguese Water Dogs hypoallergenic dogs, but any person with dog allergies who seeks a dog with these qualities should actually spend time with the animals before purchasing, to test whether the dog is truly non-allergenic to them.
Most PWDs, especially those shown in conformation shows, are entirely black, black and white, brown, or silver-tipped; it is common to see white chest spots and white paws or legs on black or brown coated dogs. “Parti” or “Irish-marked” coats, with irregular white and black spots, are rare but visually striking. “Parti” dogs are becoming more common in the United States. However, in Portugal the breed standard does not allow more than 30% white markings. Overall, white is the least common Portuguese Water Dog color, while black with white markings on the chin (“milk chin”) and chest is the most common color combination.
Information taken from Wikipedia.org.
