Everything You Needed To Know About Portuguese Water Dogs

Thankfully, we weren't afraid to ask the resident dog breeder extraordinaire, Peggy Gero DaValt. Here is her delightful reply, full of insight and tips, as usual. I just hope President Obama and family read it one day!

"The Portugese Water Dog is an excellent choice.

Here are my reasons:

(1) It is a purebred dog. It's not a designer dog.

As a purebred dog owner and breeder, so much time and effort goes into genetic research/pedigree preparation/public education. It is pure.

Most purebreds are registered by the American Kennel Club or the United Kennel Club.

Naysayers will say, but there are so many dogs that need homes.

This is true and I applaud anyone that rescues a homeless dog...but a shelter dog got there because people did not spay or neuter dogs that were not intended to be bred.

A designer dog, such as the GoldenDoodle is a Mixed Breed dog. It's a very expensive Mixed Breed dog. I will bet you that people pay more for a GoldenDoodle than they would for one of my purebred Gordons.

A GoldenDoodle has a parent that is a Golden Retriever and a Poodle (most likely a Standard Poodle). So, when you combine those two breeds you have a Mixed Breed dog. You also have a dog that has the potential for health issues associated with the Goldens and/or Poodles or a combination of both. So rather than having just one set of health issues for one breed to contend with, you've opened up Pandora's genetic box by combining two different breeds.

(2) The Obamas made it clear that they need a dog that sheds little if any due to child allergies. I think this dog is a wise choice.

When I suggest to people a type or breed of dog to purchase, you need to take into account: trainability/life style/commitment to the dog.

Any dog in the sporting/working/herding groups produce dogs that are meant to work with man.

As a member of the Working Group, the Portugese Water Dog is no exception. It is a moderate sized dog and with the lifestyle of the President and his family, I think this is a great selection.

They are good with kids and they will be content playing with the Obama girls and who knows may even accompany the President on a jog or two as the puppy matures and his growth plates have closed.

(3) I had some very good breeder/handler friends who raised "Porties" and I loved them and their dogs. Judy died last February and Bruce died about 7 months later. When I see a "Portie" I will always think of them. There are also some great breeders in the Chicago area that I know, too.

For more information I would suggest these web sites:

American Kennel Club - Portguese Water Dog Standard

Portugese Water Dog Club of America Website

Quiz - How Much Do You Know about a PWD? This is from the Portugese Water Dog Club's web site. Have fun!!

Each breed of dog in the AKC has a standard that the parent club has put together with what they see as the "perfect" dog for that breed. Each breed has a standard to which it is judged/evaluated. As a breeder, we know there is no such thing as a "perfect" dog, but it's the standard to which we strive to improve our lines upon generation after generation.

Thanks, Victoria, for asking for my opinion. I hope that I haven't offended anyone and have offered valuable educational information about this breed and dogs in general.

Peggy :)"

...no, Peggy. Thank you. You are a hidden ace up the Sundries sleeve, and I am very grateful to you for taking the time to compose this for the readership!

Obamas Choose First Pooch

Thankfully, I have lighter news to relay to the readership today. The First Family have chosen that highly anticipated puppy dog.

It's a Portuguese Water Dog. Behold.



Cute. But he looks like a shedder. Peggy Gero DaValt will weigh in about this, hopefully.

70 Year-Old Is Top Dog

Stump just proved a 70-year old can be Top Dog in 2009. Hear that, John McCain?



And proving I'm not the only one who injects politics into everything, Blogs.com (which linked to Peggy's Westminster cheatsheet) references last year's superstar doggie:

"'Last year's Best in Show was a beagle, Uno. Gothamist reports, "Uno's owner Caroline Dowell donated $20,000 in promotional proceeds for canine health research; she told Bloomberg News, 'Uno and I decided what to do with the money. He agreed with my recommendation that the money should benefit dogs.' She also implied perhaps why she didn't visit the White House last May: 'There is a sign at my ranch that says, 'Uno supports Obama-Biden.'"

Arf. I mean, barf.

This reminds me of Mary Carillo and her tight-waisted co-host constantly mentioning Obama and family, using this event to bring his name up about their future dog choice.

Meanwhile, not even a mention about the most famous Scottie to occupy the Oval Office since Fala -- Barney (and Mrs. Beazley). They had a perfect opportunity tonight, given that a Scottie was in contention. Meh. You can't win with these people.

Related

Westminster Dog Show Cheatsheet Via Peggy

Bedsheets And Purebreds

I think PETA have finally lost it. They staged a protest outside the Westminister Dog Show wearing white KKK robes, likening dog breeders to "master race" conscious racists...

Their goal, according to a post on the PETA website, was to draw a parallel between the KKK and the American Kennel Club. "Obviously it's an uncomfortable comparison," PETA spokesman Michael McGraw told the Associated Press.

But the AKC is trying to create a "master race" when it comes to pure-bred dogs, he added. "It's a very apt comparison."

The group passed out brochures implying the Klan and AKC have the goal of "pure bloodlines" in common.

I almost feel like letting this bit of insanity speak for itself, and close the blogpost with it. But let me delve into the topic a bit.

Not everyone who is a PETA supporter leans left politically, but they share a similar mindset with many progressives -- specifically, they take an idea which could at face-value be estimable in intent, and stretch it out to it's most ridiculous conclusion.

It's a plug-and-play logic that is so ridiculous, that it ends up alienating more people than garnering supporters.

E.G.:

They take a notion, such as animal breeders are going for a "master race" (which they are, that's the whole point of the animal kingdom, raw survival by the the fittest exemplars), and then look around for an human equivalent action.

Since they wish to suggest that animals should be given the same legal protections as humans, such as protection from race superiority, they chose the Ku Klux Klan as their imagery -- perhaps a little voice reminding them of Godwin's Law said that's more acceptable than the more "rational" allegory, Nazis. They were the ones who had a Lebensborn programme, not the Klan, morons.

Look, I realise they are doing this for effect to draw attention to their cause, and perhaps they don't really believe Peggy Gero DaValt is the new David Duke. But come on, give me a break.

Like Code Pink, they have a collective screw loose.

Westminster Dog Show Cheatsheet Via Peggy

I had casually asked Peggy Gero DaValt, a noted dog show handler and breeder herself, to give Sundries readers a few tips ahead of tonight's 2009 Westminster Dog Show.

My word, but she outdid herself, and so by her leave (I hope!) here is her very impressive reply.

"Greetings, Victoria and Westminster KC fans!!

As an avid dog show exhibitor myself (and now for my shameless brag...a dog I co-own and handle...earned his 7th and 8th Best in Show awards in UKC competition this weekend!!....not bad for a 3+ year old male, Gordon Setter). [edit: Congrats!]

Okay...now for the nuts and bolts...

The Westminster KC is held annually in NYC the 2nd Monday/Tuesday of February. The show is open ONLY to champions of record. They limit the number of dogs that can enter to 2500 I believe.

In each breed, during the course of the year, statistics are kept at two levels - all-breed and breed. All-breed refers to the number of dogs you beat outside your breed. Breed competition refers to how many dogs you beat of your own breed. If your dog is ranked in the Top 5 of the breed, you will gain an automatic invite to Westminster, where you don't have to jump through hoops to get to make their lottery deadline.

With that said, today's competition featured breed judging of: Hound, Terrier, Non-Sporting and Herding and you can easily see all of the individual breed competition and results on this web site: Westminster Kennel Club. They stream video for each breed competition.

Tomorrow night will feature: Sporting, Working, Toy and Best in Show competition. I will be watching and cheering for the Gordon Setter winner in the Sporting Group. The #1 Gordon Setter, Nike, retired after the Gordon Setter National Specialty. Nike was not only the #1 Gordon Setter, but he was the #4 Sporting Breed dog.

For more information on the Top Dogs of 2008, you can check out the Canine Chronicle.

There are a lot of top dogs out there and a lot of my armchair quarterbacking will come after I see all the winners of the groups. There are often upsets in the Garden and a dog that may be a favorite may not even get out of breed. Even in hobby sports, politics abounds. And....as we all know, that little "extra" that a dog has pushes him/her to win that coveted Best in Show ribbon.

I have had the pleasure of attending Westminster in 1999 with Judy Browne who owned Kirby, the great Gordon Setter, Ch. Bit o' Gold Titan Treasure. Kirby repeated as the Group 1 winner of the Sporting Group in 1997, 1998 and 1999. This was only done previously by a Smooth Fox Terrier in 1906, 1907 and 1908.

One of my goals is to be able to show at the Garden. I am hopeful that next year or the year after, that River will get that automatic invite and then we will get him there...as it is very expensive endeavor....but one of those opportunities that can't be passed up!

The atmosphere at the Garden is exciting....and one that dog lovers everywhere should witness at least once in their lifetime. The first thing that I noticed was the green astroturf and how small the rings truly are.

I hope that you all enjoy the show tonight and tomorrow. I will be at my mom's house watching on cable with two Gordon Setter friends as we cheer everyone on in the Sporting Group!!

The list of esteemed judges are:

Sporting - Mr. Robert Ennis of Angola, NY
Hound - Mrs. Patricia V. Trotter of Carmel, CA
Working - Mrs. Paula Nykiel of Washington, MO
Terrier - Mr. Peter Green of Bowmansville, PA
Toy - Mr. Fred Bassett of Broken Arrow, OK
Non-Sporting - Mrs. Charlotte Patterson of Destin, FL
Herding - Mr. Robert Slay of Cary, NC

The Best in Show judge for 2009 is Sari Brewster Tietjen of Rhinebeck, NY.

This is a huge honor for judges to judge anything at this show. I believe that at some point in time I have shown to all but two of these judges.

Good luck everyone and enjoy!!

Hug your pooches -

Peggy :-)"

Wow, thanks Miss Peggy! I know I'll be using this info tonight. I used never to miss a Cruft's dog show back in the day.

ADDED 10 February: Peggy kindly writes up another doozy of a followup.

Tonight the Sporting Group (my favorite) will take center stage at the Garden.

The setters will be well-represented. The English Setter is breeder-owner-handled and is a multiple Best in Show winning dog.

The Gordon Setter is a DUAL champion. That means that he has won his field trial championship as well as his show championship. He is birdy and pretty. He has a Best in Show title to his name. The handler of the English Setter put the Best in Show title on E.T.

In the setter world, we like to say that a well-balanced dog has a title on both ends.....

Champion goes on the front end and companion dog, junior, senior, master hunter goes at the end of the name....I think you get the picture.

The new setter breed making its debut is the Irish Red and White Setter. I personally know the first Irish R & W to finish its AKC championship belongs to a friend in Wisconsin!!

The Irish Setter winner is not one that I personally know, but huge congratulations to "her." The Best of Opposite belongs to a good friend of mine from MN who I do her website for. Dante graces the home page along with his grandfather, Hunter, who is the father of my Irish Setter.

I digress....there are pointers, retrievers and spaniels in the group as well. I love the Flat-Coated Retriever breed which is my "wish" breed.

Watch for those overall balanced dogs; the ones who can do what they were bred to do and that is to hunt and move.

I'm not 100% sure who will take the group, but watch for the English Setter to make a "cut" as well as the Irish Red & White since it's new to the group...

The Golden is always a crowd favorite......

On a more somber note, a long-time dog show handler and gentleman, Andrew Doyle, died from injuries he sustained at his home after returning home from a specialty. Mr. Doyle was a well-respected handler of sporting dogs and other dogs as well. He had shown Irish Setters and even made a video of how to groom an Irish for those of us who need help in that area. Mr. Doyle was not even 50.(9/30/61-02/09/09). May the shamrocks and heather fall softly for this man.

Enjoy the show tonight and may the best dog win!!

CORRECTED PORTION: Peggy adds a correction, plus she actually mentions the eventual winner. What talent!

The Irish Red & Whites cannot be shown this Westminster because, *duh* they weren't allowed to compete for championships until January 1, 2009....so everyone...consider that a glimpse into next year's Westminster sporting group.

And....that Sussex that won has lots of "power" behind him....having won the group 5 years ago and now comes back as a 10-year old veteran!! Amazing!!

ADDED: Meet this year's youngest Westminster dog show handler, 10-year-old Rachel Glenn. Amazing.

Because Every Monday 3

Should start out with a laugh.



Okay. One more.



And one more plus 2!



Ahh, kitties. I can haz Monday giggles?

ADDED: Ooh. Lolsaints! I can haz a halo?