Spanish Water Dog

Diligent and loyal, with a strong drive to work.
A Spanish Water Dog
Photo: Natalia Ricci
Adult male
18–22 kg
40–49 lb
Adult female
14–18 kg
31–40 lb
Lifespan
13.7 yrs
Class · Sport
also Working, Companion

What it's like

The breed is loyal, diligent and attentive, with a strong drive to work and a herding instinct. It tends to be reserved and watchful with strangers, and it is closely attached to its own family.

Day to day
Activity
Needs lots of exercise
Intelligence
Needs daily brain work
Handler demand
Needs an experienced owner
With people
Affection
Affectionate on its own terms
Loyalty
Sticks close to its people
Independence
Keen to work with you
Around the home
Sensitivity
Needs a calm, predictable home
Voice
Barks to alert, then settles
Prey drive
Chases; needs managing
Breed explains only about 9% of how individual dogs differ in behaviour1. Meet the dog. A good breeder breeds for temperament as well as health, and matches each puppy's personality to the right home2,3.
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Living with one

It has a curly coat. Loose hair stays caught in the coat until it is brushed, stripped or clipped out. Plan on brushing a few times a week, plus clipping every 6–8 weeks. It needs plenty of exercise compared with other breeds.

Size and growth

A Spanish Water Dog is a medium dog, about the weight of a grown Border Collie. Males end up clearly heavier than females.

It is a sturdy, athletic dog, a little longer than it is tall, with a woolly, curly single coat that forms cords as it grows. The coat comes in solid black, brown or white, or in white combined with black or brown. Unusually, owners do not brush the coat. Instead they clip it evenly all over, much as a sheep is shorn, and the breed standard says it should never be trimmed into a shape for looks. Some puppies are born with a naturally short tail.

Puppy growth

Reference curve · community data appears as owners log
By about 3 months, a male Spanish Water Dog puppy is already as heavy as a grown Jack Russell. They grow fastest between 3 and 4 months old.
Fully grown
11 mo
Both sexes, at 99% of adult weight6
Male
Female
Shaded: expected range
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Age
Male
Female
2 months
3.9–4.8 kg 8.6–10.6 lb
3.4–4.3 kg 7.5–9.5 lb
3 months
5.8–7.1 kg 12.8–15.7 lb
4.8–6.1 kg 10.6–13.4 lb
4 months
8.4–10.2 kg 18.5–22.5 lb
6.8–8.8 kg 15.0–19.4 lb
5 months
10.8–13.2 kg 23.8–29.1 lb
8.6–11.1 kg 19.0–24.5 lb
6 months
12.9–15.7 kg 28.4–34.6 lb
10.1–13.0 kg 22.3–28.7 lb
7 months
14.4–17.6 kg 31.7–38.8 lb
11.2–14.4 kg 24.7–31.7 lb
8 months
15.5–19.0 kg 34.2–41.9 lb
12.0–15.4 kg 26.5–34.0 lb
9 months
16.3–19.9 kg 35.9–43.9 lb
12.5–16.1 kg 27.6–35.5 lb
10 months
16.8–20.5 kg 37.0–45.2 lb
12.9–16.6 kg 28.4–36.6 lb
11 months
17.2–21.0 kg 37.9–46.3 lb
13.2–17.0 kg 29.1–37.5 lb
12 months
17.4–21.3 kg 38.4–47.0 lb
13.4–17.2 kg 29.5–37.9 lb
15 months
17.9–21.9 kg 39.5–48.3 lb
13.8–17.8 kg 30.4–39.2 lb

Lifespan

In UK vet records, the typical Spanish Water Dog lived to about 13 and a half years, longer than the typical medium breed. Too few had died yet to pin the figure down, so it may turn out higher.

Where it comes from

The Spanish Water Dog is commonest in Andalusia, where shepherds use it and it has long been called the 'Turkish dog', and it shares its origins with the old Barbet. It has traditionally worked on land and in water, driving flocks between pastures and fetching waterfowl, and its corded coat suits both the wet marshes and the dry months4,8.

The Spanish Water Dog lasted into the late twentieth century as a working dog rather than a show breed. Goatherds in Andalusia kept it, and so did fishermen on the northern coast, who used it to fetch ropes and objects from the water. In the nineteen-seventies, enthusiasts began collecting dogs from the Andalusian countryside to preserve the type. The Spanish kennel club recognised the breed in the following decade, and it later spread to other countries.

Breed standard

The Spanish Water Dog is judged against standard no. 336, in group 8, Retrievers, Flushing Dogs and Water Dogs4.

Questions people ask

General guidance for dogs rather than a measured Spanish Water Dog figure: most females have a first season somewhere between six and fifteen months, and cycles then settle to roughly every 180 days. Smaller breeds tend to start earlier and larger ones later, so a medium-sized breed is most likely somewhere in the middle.

Compare with related

Lagotto Romagnolo
Retrievers & water dogs · Medium
Sussex Spaniel
Retrievers & water dogs · Medium
Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever
Retrievers & water dogs · Medium
American Water Spaniel
Retrievers & water dogs · Medium
Or compare the Spanish Water Dog with any breed you choose
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Sources

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Parts of this page were written by AI ·