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Boat Forum / Cruising / July 2006Portuguese Water dog
I wonder if the Portuguese Water dog can be trained and used to untangle lobbers pots rope and fishing net wrapped around your propeller? Background: From Wikipedia encyclopaedia: Originating back to the 1500s in Portugal these dogs were used to send messages between boats, to retrieve fish and articles from the water, and to guard the fishing boats. (They often received a portion of the catch after a job well done, too!) They helped to bring in nets and to save fishermen when they fell in the water. May be some of the cruisers already have a Portuguese Water dog and want to share their experience with that breed of dog for cruising. There is little chance you could train a Porty (or any other dog) to untangle a truly fouled line. However, there was one case where we hired a diver before we tried ourselves, and the line was only slightly wrapped - we could have nudged it off our saildrive with a boathook. Rather than use our dog, we have purchased (as yet untried) this implement of destruction: http://www.captnhooksolutions.com/ A Porty makes a great boat dog. The first thing you need to know is that they are very high energy; don't consider getting a puppy unless you can give it several hours of exercise a day. Ours gets a one hour walk most mornings, plus an hour in the puppy play group. When we're traveling, she'll get at least an hour most days running on the beach or some other exercise. Molly took to boat life even easier than house life - she immediately figured out that the trampoline on the bow of our catamaran is the perfect place to do her business. She's never had an accident on board, the house hasn't been quite so lucky. Molly has no trouble in the dinghy or kayak; in fact she insists on joining us for every trip and gets rather upset when she isn't included. She has to be tied up if the pumpout or harbormaster boat comes alongside or she'll jump ship. On one short but very rough trip across Vineyard Sound (a two knot current against 25 knot wind can turn the Sound into a Mix-Master) Molly sat in the cockpit munching her kibble and chasing down bits when they went flying. Although Molly has no fear of the water she doesn't like to swim. At first we thought it was just because she was a puppy and she would grow out of it (and she may yet) but we've met lots of others that don't hesitate to swim or even dive 5 feet with only a bit of coaching. Other than that she's very intelligent and responds to training quite well. Porty's are known as "courier dogs" because they will not just retrieve, they will deliver packages to other boats. This skill usually takes several years of training, and is often the highlite of the Porty Association Water Trials. http://www.sv-loki.com/Molly_Doodle/molly_doodle.html > I wonder if the Portuguese Water dog can be trained and used to untangle > lobbers pots rope and fishing net wrapped around your propeller? [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > May be some of the cruisers already have a Portuguese Water dog and want to > share their experience with that breed of dog for cruising. > There is little chance you could train a Porty (or any other dog) to > untangle a truly fouled line. However, there was one case where we hired [quoted text clipped - 48 lines] >> May be some of the cruisers already have a Portuguese Water dog and want >> to share their experience with that breed of dog for cruising. Do they shed much?  Signature"j" ganz @@ www.sailnow.com > Do they shed much? Portys are sort of industrial strength poodles. They don't shed much at all but you do have to keep them trimmed. SignatureGlenn Ashmore I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com > Do they shed much? No shedding at all. We let Molly's hair grow out in the winter, but trim it close in the summer. She gets a modified "Lion Cut" where below the waist its very close, above its left at about an inch. (The proper working cut leaves the top somewhat fuller.) Although it looks like an "affected" show cut, its actually the traditional small boat cut which gives freedom of movement and allows them to climb aboard without having to pull in a few gallons of sea water in their hindquarters. http://www.bluegrace.com/groomer.html Although Porty's look a bit like a poodle, there is no recent connection in their lineage - the Porty's go back at least 1500 years. I think they both share a common ancestor, probably a Russian water dog. BTW, they have webbed feet - part of drying them off is to squeeze their feet to release about a pint of water! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_Water_Dog Jeff, I have been considering a PWD for some time. I think they would make the perfect boat dog but I worry about one thing. My daughter had one for 11 years but at about 8 years he developed a problem with his hip which I understand is a common problem with some lines. He was still game for anything up until he died but you could tell he was in pain. You know of any test to tell if a particular litter is prone to dysplasia? SignatureGlenn Ashmore I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com >> Do they shed much? > [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_Water_Dog > Jeff, > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > You know of any test to tell if a particular litter is prone to dysplasia? The breed stock for Porty's was rather small about 80 years ago, under 100 dogs, I think. Thus they were prone to several genetic problems before these issues were well understood. The Porty breeders volunteered for special studies so the genetics are now well understood. Nowadays, you should get a medical report from the breeder that explains exactly the genes of the litter. Certain genes are acceptable in a non-breeding dog that would be unacceptable for a breeder. As for hip dysplasia, I don't know if there is a genetic test, but the breeding dogs should certainly be examined carefully by a professional for any signs. X-ray's are pretty definitive after the dog is two years old. Any reputable breeder should be able to provide enough details to determine that the line has not had any such tendencies for several generations. This is a good reason to go with a small breeder who is doing it out of a love of the breed rather than a puppy mill. refer to: http://www.pwdca.org/Puppy_Pkt/Puppy_Pkt.html My daughter's dog is only eight weeks old. She lives right on the water where the tide is approx. 2 to 3 feet and the current runs up and down the river. The dog will probably attend some aqua class if the proper school can be found? Not to mention that I may be in more need for water training. Unwrapping a lobster pot, mooring and fishing net line can be a nightmare. When the line or rope is tightly wrapped around the shaft in the space between the propeller and the strut it becomes almost impossible to un - wrap the line. In this situation, I do not know if the captnhook can do the job? The first thing we do is to get a hold on the line/rope and run the engine slowly in reverse. Sometime it does free the line/rope? When this did not work, we try to cut the rope/line. Cutting a 5/8 to 1" nylon or poly rope under water with a knife does not work well. A fisherman serrated bone knives or a quality long bread's knife will give some results. When all of the aforementioned failed to work as a last resort, I use a bi-metal hacksaw blade and hope for the best. The coast of Maine is beautiful and full of lobster pots. When sailing in pea soup fog with a vision of about 10 to 30 feet even if you are very careful you may get hook on some lines. Even in bright day light my rudder got tangled up in an abandon fishing net floating loose below the water line. > There is little chance you could train a Porty (or any other dog) to > untangle a truly fouled line. However, there was one case where we hired [quoted text clipped - 48 lines] >> May be some of the cruisers already have a Portuguese Water dog and want >> to share their experience with that breed of dog for cruising. > My daughter's dog is only eight weeks old. She lives right on the water > where the tide is approx. 2 to 3 feet and the current runs up and down the > river. > > The dog will probably attend some aqua class if the proper school can be > found? They are scattered around the country - CT is very active with training. There is a strong owners group, with a glossy magazine (paid by breeder ads) and several mailing lists. Because they are so active and overly friendly, obedience training is recommended. Its actually more important for the owner than for the dog. > Not to mention that I may be in more need for water training. > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > In this situation, I do not know if the captnhook can do the job? Well, if it can't, the next step would be to pull the shaft! Its got sharp edges in so many places I'm afraid to take it out of its box! The real advantage is that it can be firmly attached to a pole. > The first thing we do is to get a hold on the line/rope and run the engine > slowly in reverse. Sometime it does free the line/rope? [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > got tangled up in an abandon fishing net floating loose below the water > line. Usually we've avoided a tight tangle and can coax the line off. Once, we needed some cutting. After the worst episode, a few hours of help from friends was needed to get loose. A week later we heard someone else from the same anchorage fouled so badly the coupling broke and pulled the shaft into the rudder. They needed to get hauled at Billings. When powering downeast, I always keep a hand on the gearshift! |
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