Portuguese water dog

American  

noun

1. one of a breed of medium-sized dogs originally developed to assist Portuguese fishermen and having a profuse black or brown coat with or without white markings and webbed feet.

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Portuguese water dog British  

noun

1. a robust dog of a Portuguese breed that has a wavy coat, often with the hindquarters and tail clipped, and is an excellent swimmer and diver

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Example Sentences

Sonny, the star Portuguese water dog, went nosing around for a girlfriend when he was supposed to be attending to press obligations in the Long Island living room of his professional dog-show handler, Kimberly Calvacca.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 31, 2026

Then, if we don’t have an early game, I usually like taking the boys and the dogs — I have two dogs, a standard poodle and a Portuguese water dog — for a hike.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 16, 2023

A few weeks ago, Grace Townsend, who lives in Jersey City, New Jersey, with her boyfriend and their 7-month-old Portuguese water dog, Cheerio, went to a friend’s birthday party in Hoboken.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 31, 2021

Barack Obama had Bo, the Portuguese water dog who made good on the promise Obama made to his daughters after the 2008 election and was emblematic of a young family’s arrival in the White House.

From Washington Post • Mar. 9, 2021

He and his family had taken their three-year-old Portuguese water dog Ponyo for a walk in Cold Spring, by the Hudson River.

From The Guardian • Feb. 5, 2019