August 30, 2001
Sensational swimming
Portuguese water dogs lap up trials
By GARRET LEIVA
Herald editor
While most of us would second-guess jumping into a lake on a rainy Saturday morning, for the Portuguese water dog it's second nature.
However, the 34 dogs gathered at Camp Greilick on Rennie Lake were not playing around this weekend - they were working. Sponsored by the Portuguese Water Dog Club of Greater Chicagoland, the two day water trials featured retrieving and swimming skills honed over the centuries.
"These are working dogs. They used to go out with Portuguese fishermen and set nets, buoys and dive underwater. They were just like part of the crew and worked for their share of fish," noted Fred Brauning, a member of the Chicago-based Portuguese water dog chapter.
Brauning and other handlers from around the United States put those skills to work in a series of task oriented water trials. Held for the first time in the Traverse City area, the water trials featured five levels: Junior Water Dog Certificate, Apprentice Water Dog title, Working Water Dog title, Courier Water Dog title and Courier Water Dog Excellent. A dog must successfully complete each task in the allotted time limit to earn a passing mark from an on shore judge.
These water exercises reflect the historical working background of the breed. The exercises consist of two aspects: the dog's ability to perform a task and its willingness to do so on command. Tasks include everything from riding on a boat and underwater retrieval to setting a fishing net and buoy ball placement.
The top title, Courier Water Dog Excellent, requires three successful trials at three different venues with three different judges. No easy task; even after years of training.
"The hardest thing is the time factor. There is no stopwatch on the boat and you just know you're going to run out of time," said Barb Aimes of Traverse City, whose five-year-old female Keeper earned her Courier Water Dog Excellent title with a few seconds to spare.
Perhaps the most arduous task is the buoy ball placement. After swimming out with the ball past a channel marker, the dog must drop the buoy and swim back to the boat. It is a command that goes against every instinct.
"You've been teaching the dog for years to retrieve, now try to get a dog to take something out and leave it," Brauning said. The Chesterfield Township, Mich. resident speaks from experience: his dog Cali wasn't willing to leave the buoy behind.
While the Portuguese water dog seems genetically predisposed to retrieve, owners still spend countless hours training. Although their middle name is water, even these canines must learn the doggie paddle. Other training regimen include jumping off a boat and obeying verbal commands.
Each of these skills can be traced back to centuries-old heritage as a seafaring working dog. Some water dog duties included carrying messages between boats, setting fishing nets, barking in the fog to report location and standing guard over the day's catch while docked at port. In turn, these dogs were regarded as one of the crew and received their own ration of fish.
The Portuguese water dog first came to the United States in the late 1960s. In the 1970s, the breed faced near extinction with only 25 known dogs in the world. Dedicated breeders brought that number to 500 dogs by 1981. Today, it is estimated there are more than 9,000 Portuguese water dogs in the United States alone.
Preserving the past while insuring the future of this breed, water trials are a chance for these dogs to do what they do best: work. Even though their human counterparts call it a vacation.
"[Summer vacation] is four weeks of nothing but dogs and water," said Mike Ihrig of Denver, Colo. Ihrig, along with his wife, Sue Zgol also will attend water trials in Texas and California with their dogs, Abby and Yeager.
For Paula Stevens of Byron, Mich., water trial work is great play for her three and half year old Portuguese water dog.
"This is a stress reliever for Gertie after obedience and agility training. It is a chance to jump in the water."