Spanish Water Dog

Spanish Water Dog
Other namesPerro de Agua Español
OriginSpain
Traits
Height Males 45–50 cm (18–20 in)[1]
Females 41–46 cm (16–18 in)[1]
Weight Males 18–22 kg (40–49 lb)[1]
Females 14–18 kg (31–40 lb)[1]
Kennel club standards
Real Sociedad Canina de España standard
Fédération Cynologique Internationale standard
Dog (domestic dog)

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.[2]: 571  In the twenty-first century it is kept principally as a companion dog.[2]: 571 

Three sub-populations of the breed were identified in the late twentieth century: the Marismeño ('marsh dog') of the Marismas del Guadalquivir at the mouth of the river of the same name; the Serrano ('sierra dog') of southern Andalucia; and the Norteño ('northern dog') of Cantabria and Asturias.[2]: 573  This last was recognised in Spanish law in 2012 as a separate breed, the Cantabrian Water Dog.[3]

History

The Perro de Agua is a traditional dog population of Spain. It was always a minority breed, present in smaller numbers than some other Spanish dogs.[2]: 571  The population is thought to have remained fairly stable until the 1970s and 1980s, when – as a consequence of changes to methods of both agriculture and fishery – numbers fell sharply, to the point that the dogs were considered to be at risk of extinction.[2]: 571  Until this time there had been no scientific study of the breed; in the 1980s a study of the dogs in the province of Malaga was carried out, and further work was done by researchers at the Universidad de Córdoba in the 1990s.[2]: 572 

Three sub-populations of the breed were identified, on the basis both of observed differences in physical size and of differences in the distribution of coat colours; the characteristics of the head were found to be similar in all of the dogs.[2]: 572  The sub-groups were: the Marismeño ('marsh dog') of the Marismas del Guadalquivir, at the mouth of the river of the same name in western Andalucia; the Serrano ('sierra dog') of southern Andalucia; and the smaller Norteño ('northern dog') of Cantabria and Asturias.[2]: 573 

The Perro de Agua Español was recognised by the Real Sociedad Canina de España, the Spanish kennel club, in 1975;[2]: 571  it was definitively accepted by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale in 1999;[4] and was recognised in Spanish law by Royal Decree in 2001.[2]: 571 [5]: 21173  The Norteño sub-population of Cantabria and Asturias was recognised in Spanish law in 2012 as a separate breed, the Cantabrian Water Dog.[2]: 573 [3]

Characteristics

The Perro de Agua is a medium-sized, athletic, robust dog that is slightly longer than tall. Approximately half are born with natural bobbed (short) tails.

The head is strong and carried with elegance. The skull is flat and the top is parallel with the top of the muzzle. The nose, eye-rims and paw pads are the same colour as the darkest part of the coat or darker. The eyes are set fairly wide apart, and are hazel, chestnut or dark brown in colour, depending on the coat colour. The ears are set at medium height on the skull, and are triangular.

It has a distinctive curly coat which is woolly in texture and may form cords when long.

It may be solid black, beige, brown, or white; bicolour where the second colour is white; or particolour. Tri-coloured dogs are strictly prohibited by the international standards for the breed, as are black-and-tan or brown-and-tan colour combinations.

It is a medium-sized dog. The approximate measurements are:

  • Males
    • Height (at the withers): 44–50 cm (17–20 in)
    • Weight: 18–22 kg (40–49 lb)
  • Females
    • Height (at the withers): 40–45 cm (16–18 in)
    • Weight: 14–18 kg (31–40 lb)[6]

Health

The life expectancy is thought to be about 14 years. Recent health testing has uncovered the following issues:

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Perro de Agua Español.
  1. ^ a b c d FCI-Standard N° 336: Perro de Agua Español (Spanish Water Dog). Thuin, Belgium: Fédération Cynologique Internationale. Accessed October 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Miguel Fernández Rodríguez, Mariano Gómez Fernández, Juan Vicente Delgado Bermejo, Silvia Adán Belmonte, Miguel Jiménez Cabras (editors) (2009). Guía de campo de las razas autóctonas españolas (in Spanish). Madrid: Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Medio Rural y Marino. ISBN 9788449109461.
  3. ^ a b Miguel Arias Cañete (9 February 2012). Orden AAA/251/2012, de 9 de febrero, por la que se modifican el Anexo I del Real Decreto 2129/2008, de 26 de diciembre, por el que se establece el Programa nacional de conservación, mejora y fomento de las razas ganaderas, el Anexo del Real Decreto 558/2001, de 25 de mayo, por el que se regula el reconocimiento oficial de las organizaciones o asociaciones de criadores de perros de raza pura y el Anexo III del Real Decreto 841/2011, de 17 de junio, por el que se establecen las condiciones básicas de recogida, almacenamiento, distribución y comercialización de material genético de las especies bovina, ovina, caprina y porcina y de los équidos (in Spanish). Boletín Oficial del Estado. 39 (15 February 2012): 13452–13455. Reference: BOE-A-2012-2254. European Legislation Identifier: permalink.
  4. ^ FCI breeds nomenclature: Perro de Agua Español (336). Thuin, Belgium: Fédération Cynologique Internationale. Accessed October 2025.
  5. ^ Miguel Arias Cañete (25 May 2001). Real Decreto 558/2001, de 25 de mayo, por el que se regula el reconocimiento oficial de las organizaciones o asociaciones de criadores de perros de raza pura (in Spanish). Boletín Oficial del Estado. 142 (14 June 2001): 21156–21182. Reference: BOE-A-2001-11347. European Legislation Identifier: permalink.
  6. ^ "Spanish Water Dog - Dog Breed Information". American Kennel Club. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
  7. ^ "Spanish Water Dog Club, Inc.: Health". Archived from the original on 2018-01-11. Retrieved 2012-05-17.
  8. ^ Kerstin Hahn, Cecilia Rohdin, Vidhya Jagannathan, Peter Wohlsein, Wolfgang Baumgärtner, Frauke Seehusen, Ingo Spitzbarth, Rodrigo Grandon, Cord Drögemüller , Karin Hultin Jäderlund (2015). TECPR2 Associated Neuroaxonal Dystrophy in Spanish Water Dogs. PLoS ONE. 10 (11): e0141824. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0141824.
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