Spanish Water Dog

Retrievers & water dogs

Medium

Median 13.7 y

FCI group 8 · Retrievers, Flushing Dogs and Water Dogs · Derived from the adult weight midpoint (18 kg)

Median survival across 302 UK dogs (VetCompass, McMillan 2024) · half live 10–16 y

The Spanish Water Dog or Perro de Agua Español is a Spanish breed of water dog. It was traditionally used for a variety of tasks: as a herding dog for sheep or cattle; as a gundog to find and retrieve game in marshlands; and as an aid to inshore fishermen on the Cantabrian coast. In the twenty-first century it is kept principally as a companion dog.

Loyal

Diligent

Attentive

Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA) · reference ranges from the Kintail breed dataset

Adult weight

Reference

Male

18–22 kg

Female

14–18 kg

The breed standard (FCI 336)

Weight for age

Stock data

Male

Female

Expected range

Expected range from the breed's own adult weight, kilograms. Growth reference: Salt et al. 2017, WALTHAM (15–30 kg band).

Heat cycles · females

Stock data

First heat

8–12 mo

typical

Interval

180 d

typical

Bleeding

~9 d

typical

Proestrus 9d

Estrus 9d

Diestrus 52d

Anestrus 110d

General figures for dogs, not for this breed — individual cycles vary widely.

Questions people ask

Adult males usually weigh 18–22 kg and females 14–18 kg. Most are close to their full size by around 15 months, though the last little bit of filling out takes longer. Growth reference: Salt et al. 2017, WALTHAM (15–30 kg band).

No Spanish Water Dog cycle figures are published here yet, so this is general guidance rather than a breed number: 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.

The median is 13.7 y. Median survival across 302 UK dogs (VetCompass, McMillan 2024) · half live 10–16 y. How the later years go comes down to weight, teeth, exercise and regular check-ups far more than to the breed.