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Yes — Voyager PWDs is based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Every dog we breed has current OFA health clearances and CHIC certification. We publish the OFA certificates, CHIC documents, and pedigrees for our sires and dams on our homepage so you can verify them yourself.

Our latest litter, Voyager's Buoy Bunch, arrived August 13, 2026. See our Puppies/Litters page for current availability, complete the Puppy Questionnaire or send us a message through the Contact page. We are members of Alberta Portuguese Water Dog Club. Please visit APWDC site to learn more.

Start with our Puppy Questionnaire. Every application is reviewed personally — completing it doesn't guarantee placement, since we match each puppy to the right home.

At (8) eight weeks after the final veterinarian exam.

We believe early socialization is crucial for developing well-adjusted dogs. Our puppies are exposed to various environments, sounds, and experiences from a young age. They interact with different people, including children, and other animals to build confidence and adaptability.

Yes, Portuguese Water Dogs (PWDs) are considered hypoallergenic, which makes them an excellent choice for individuals or families with mild to moderate allergies. Being hypoallergenic means that PWDs produce fewer allergens compared to other breeds, primarily because they have hair instead of fur and do not shed excessively. This reduces the amount of dander in your home—the primary culprit for most pet allergies. At Voyager PWDs, we understand the importance of having a pet that can minimize allergic reactions while providing companionship and loyalty. Though no dog is completely allergen-free, Portuguese Water Dogs are a suitable option for those seeking a lower-allergen pet. Regular grooming and maintenance of their curly, water-resistant coats are essential to further mitigate allergens, ensuring a happier and healthier living environment for your family and your new four-legged friend.

Start with health testing you can verify. A responsible breeder health-tests both parents before breeding — OFA hips, elbows, eyes, and cardiac, CHIC certification, and DNA testing for PRA, GM1 gangliosidosis, and JDCM — and will show you the actual certificates, not just say the testing was done. The puppies should be raised in the home, not a kennel building, with early socialization to household sounds, people, and other animals. You should be able to meet the mother, see where the puppies live, and ask how the breeder matches puppies to homes. At Voyager PWDs in Calgary, we publish the OFA certificates, CHIC documents, and pedigrees for our sires and dams on our homepage so you can check them yourself, and every family starts with our Puppy Questionnaire so we can match each puppy to the right home.

Portuguese Water Dogs are highly intelligent working dogs — they learn fast, but they bore easily, so keep training sessions short, fun, and reward-based. Start the day your puppy comes home: name recognition, sit, recall, and crate comfort, plus calm exposure to new people, places, and sounds. Give your Portie a job — retrieving, swimming, water work, or trick training — and exercise them every day. An under-exercised Portuguese Water Dog will invent its own entertainment, and you probably won't like its ideas. Consistency matters more than intensity: everyone in the household should use the same cues and the same rules.

The breed's known health concerns include hip dysplasia, eye conditions such as progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) and cataracts, and two serious inherited conditions that can be DNA-tested for: GM1 gangliosidosis and juvenile dilated cardiomyopathy (JDCM). Addison's disease also occurs in the breed. These risks are greatly reduced when breeders DNA-test and OFA-screen both parents before breeding — which is why every dog we breed at Voyager PWDs has current OFA clearances and CHIC certification, published on our homepage. Ask any breeder for the actual test results on both parents; a breeder who can't produce them is a breeder to walk away from.

Daily exercise and mental stimulation are non-negotiable for a Portie puppy — swimming, retrieving, training games, and long walks suit them best. Brush the curly or wavy coat several times a week and keep up with regular professional grooming so the coat doesn't mat. Feed a quality puppy diet, keep up with your vet's vaccination and checkup schedule, and continue socialization well past the first months: puppy classes, new environments, and calm introductions to people and dogs. Our puppies go home at eight weeks after their final veterinarian exam, raised with early socialization from a young age so they're ready to keep learning with you.

Portuguese Water Dogs are medium-sized, athletic water dogs — typically 35 to 60 pounds — with a curly or wavy coat that sheds very little. They're highly intelligent, loyal, and energetic: enthusiastic family companions that thrive on activity and close human company. Bred to work alongside Portuguese fishermen, they love water, learn quickly, and do best with a job to do, whether that's swimming, retrieving, or dog sports. They're best suited to active homes that can give them daily exercise and mental stimulation — a bored Portie is a creative Portie.