Water Dogs: How to Take Care of a Water Dog

The arrival of a puppy at home is something difficult, we have to know everything about them, and we inform them about their breed, to better adapt their needs depending on what they are like, their coat, their teeth, their size, etc.

Next I will explain the characteristics of these beautiful water dogs, so that you know  how to take care of a water dog and here I leave you this link with more information about how the water dog is.

How to take care of a water dog:

Water dogs are a breed of canine that is generally characterized as having a medium size with woolly and curly hair.

These animals are usually used to collect birds in marshy and marine areas, hence their name.

We can classify these dogs into different species, which are the American Water Dog, the Barbet, the Poodle, the Spanish Water Dog, the Friesian Water Dog, the Portuguese water dog and the Legato Romagnolo.

The differences between them are the color of their fur, but we can see their characteristic curly hair in all of them. This coat allows them to withstand low temperatures and also they do not usually change their hair, therefore they do not lose much hair around the house.

They are very intelligent dogs, which facilitates their training and are therefore usually very obedient dogs.

A water dog at home

If you have chosen to take a water dog to increase your family, you have chosen well since, as we have said, they are ideal for small apartments, not only because of their medium size, but also because they shed very little hair, are very obedient and are capable of to adapt to any home, whether small or with a garden.

We must remember that once we start walking our dog, it will begin a very important socialization process. Little by little, our water dog will get to know others like them, at first with less confidence, since he is used to a home environment. This socialization will be more effective if we have another animal at home, since he will be used to having contact with others of his species or other animals.

Instructions for how to care for a Water Dog

This is what you should know when having your dog at home:

1. The water dog is not separated from its mother until six or seven weeks after birth.  When he arrives, he may be somewhat sad due to the absence of his brothers and his mother, so the ideal is to save him a warm place where he is quiet, until he gradually gets used to the house where he will now find himself, everything a change for him.
2. By the time he arrives, even so apart from this, we will already have to have prepared a series of things for him. To start we have to have a bed for him, as we have already said in a warm corner. This bed will have to be comfortable and clean, since it will be where you will rest. We recommend buying a bed that is the size of when the puppy will be an adult, so it will not have to be changed as it grows.
3. Then they will have to have a feeder and drinker. It is recommended that they be made of aluminum, since they are easier to clean. We will have to prepare the food for your dog as well.
4. The most common thing is that his breeder gives you a bag of food with the food he has been taking until now, since it is bad for the puppy to change his food immediately.
5. Later if you want to change the food you will have to do it little by little, mixing the two so that it gets used to the taste of the new one. Keep in mind that it has to be specific for the age you have, so that it gives you the necessary nutrients and vitamins. At first you should feed him three times a day, every 6 or 8 hours.
6. Once you get older we can reduce the number of meals, depending on the physical exercise you do. When he eats it is not recommended to take it out, because if not, we will not let him digest.
7. We will also have to keep him water all day so that he can hydrate when he needs it, and we will take it away at night so that he does not urinate.
8. We must also have a series of toys prepared for him, since in this way, when he has discomfort in his teeth, he will not bite furniture, but the toys that we have for him. His favorite toy is the collection, apart from balls, tethers and ropes.
9. Before starting to walk our dog, it must be vaccinated and dewormed. Normally, once the puppy comes home, he already has his first two deworming’s, one that is done 15 days after birth, and the next at four or five weeks.
10. Once you get home, it is also recommended to deworm, and so every month. Once the first two vaccines have been given, which will be followed by another two, and the rabies one if you are going to travel, it will be vaccinated once a year to reinforce the animal.
11. The first few months it is recommended that the dog wear a harness, in this way if it pulls us it will not hurt itself and we can teach it to go by our side.
12. When we take him out, we will also have to teach him to relieve himself in the street. As long as he does not know, at home we will have to have some newspapers or some underpass, and little by little we will have to teach him that he must do his things there, and every time he does it well we can reward him with a candy or cookie, in this way relates that what he just did is fine, and he will continue doing his things there so that you give him something in return. The same process must be followed on the street, every time he does something right, reward him. The ideal is to take him out for a walk three times a day, once as soon as he wakes up, another something after eating, and the last one before going to bed.
13. We must remember that once we start walking our dog, it will begin a very important socialization process. Little by little, our water dog will get to know others like them, at first with less confidence, since he is used to a home environment. This socialization will be more effective if we have another animal at home, since he will be used to having contact with others of his species or other animals.

How to brush our dog:

If we need to brush our dog, we would have to use a comb with thick and separate metal bristles, which we know as a racket, which will help us both to remove any knots and to remove traces of sand, mud, etc.

We must also shear our canines. The best date for that is around May and October, just like the shearing of the sheep. For this, the best thing to do is go to the hairdresser. There are different types of hairstyles that we can do to our water dog and they are:

1. The uniform cut. With this cut we shear them completely, without doing any specific and aesthetic hairstyle. It is the most practical for dogs that live at home, and also easier for the owners since it is easier to clean and comb it, it is easier to maintain odor-free. But never leave it completely bare, it must keep at least one centimeter of hair, to avoid burns.
2. The work cut. This cut is usually worn by shepherds and sailors water dogs, since this way, by having an area of ​​their long hair; they can protect themselves from the low temperatures that exist in the mountains and in the sea. It consists of shearing the face and legs below the hocks. These areas are sheared so that leaves do not get caught or to facilitate swimming.
3. Long hair if we choose to leave our water dog long hair, we will have to look at several factors. To begin with, they must have a good diet and make sure they do not have external parasites, because if they do, our dog will scratch and therefore knots will form.

Another very important aspect is to always keep the ears, genitals and anus clean of hair, as this will prevent otitis, bad smell and wax plugs.

Tips for how to care for a Water Dog

Here are a few tips that will help you know how to care for a water dog:

• One of the sports that our animal likes the most is water sports. But if water has never come into contact with it, we have to be careful. We can’t throw it away, because otherwise it would be afraid of it, both to do these sports and to bathe it when it needs it.
• Once he gets used to it, we can let him swim freely or throw balls or sticks at him, not far from the shore, so he can go look for them and bring them back.
• Our water dog will also need some general care. As we have already said, he is characterized by curly and woolly hair. How should we take care of it? Next I will give you a series of guidelines to maintain those curls and silkiness. To begin with, we cannot comb it, since that way, we will open the curl. We can only comb it with our fingers. We must also bathe him with cold water, since hot water will open his curl.
• It should be air dried. If it is winter, due to the humidity it takes a long time to dry, and in these cases we can use a dryer that expels cold air. We must also use shampoos and texturizers suitable for her hair, for example, Formula 2 or Formula 3 Crown Royale shampoo, which will moisturize her curls, in addition to taking care of her skin.