TagAlong PWD Questionnaire for New Owners

Thank you for your interest.  Presently no litters are planned and no puppies are available.  Please find the Puppy Owner Questionnaire above listing questions that many breeders may ask to make sure your home is the best fit for a new dog/puppy.

Quite often when potential puppy buyers contact a breeder the first thing they say is I only want a pet. Most responsible breeders only want a committed and loving home for all of their puppies.  TagAlong PWD defines a committed home as one that provides all health testing and care, training, exercise, socialization and grooming  that is outlined in our contract and guidance for raising your new PWD puppy.  People often say the PWD is a good family dog and I say it depends on your family and their priorities, activities, household makeup and age of children, etc.  PWDs are fabulous dogs, but they require training, socialization and leadership and management throughout their life.  

As a working breed the Portuguese Water Dog definitely requires a lot of attention.  Do not get a PWD because you saw one and they were cute or you heard they do not shed and are hypoallergenic. Get a PWD because you  desire a working dog and have the energy and commitment to take care of their every need and train them.  Each dog is an individual and they thrive in homes that provide socialization, training and leadership and lots of love.  They love performance activities including rally, obedience, agility and water work.  They also like learning tricks, long walks, hiking and swimming with their favorite people.  They are quite often barkers when a guest arrives and have a heritage as as an alert guard working with fisherman. 

Please do not consider bringing a new puppy into your home if you do not have the time to train and socialize your new family member.  Portuguese Water Dogs are ideal for experienced dog owners and homes that provide leadership, structure, training and have tolerance for their lively jumping and demanding Portuguese Water Dog personalities.  I will ask you about training.  Simply hiring a personnel traniner to come to your home to work with you is not enough, and can not replace a good training class and lots of early socialization away from home. You should research and find a puppy class.  Puppy Kindergarten should be available for puppies starting at ten weeks of age.  This offers new puppy owners an opportunity to socialize their puppies to “friendly strangers” (instructors, other owners, and other puppies) and to build the puppy’s confidence in various situations. Puppy Kindergarten will instruct students how to begin teaching the basic commands of dog obedience to their puppies in a safe, structured environment. Topics covered  may include: name recognition, sit, down, loose lead walking, handling and grooming exercises, fun recalls, and confidence building exercises.

Each new puppy owner will recieve a copy of The Portuguese Water Dog A Guide for The New  Owner  to read prior to getting your new puppy.  In addition a favorite resource book I highly recommend is My Smart Puppy .

I look forward to talking with you about your interest in our planned litter.     

Thanks so much for your interest in TagAlong.  These are fabulous, intelligent and loyal dogs to those that look after them.  You may send questions /questionnaire  to:

• info@tagalongpwd.com
• tagalongpwd@gmail.com.

Happy Tails,

Benita

202-486-0321