The White Ones: A Rare Shade in the Legacy of Portuguese Water Dogs

Very few people know that Portuguese Water Dogs can also be white, since in everyday life—and online—black and brown dogs dominate. The history of every breed is fascinating, as it reveals details that shed light on why a breed is the way it is. The same is true for water dogs. Their history is >> described in this article <<, but I was especially curious about how and from where the white color emerged.

Alongside black and brown, white is also part of the standard, although it’s much rarer. This isn’t albinism—genetics play their own role here. To understand where the white color comes from, I had to navigate the labyrinth of coat color genetics. You can find the article on the basic colors of Portuguese Water Dogs here >>>

In the world of color genetics, we know two types of pigment: eumelanin and pheomelanin. Eumelanin is responsible for black and brown coat color, as well as pigmentation of the nose, paw pads, and mucous membranes. Pheomelanin, on the other hand, contributes to yellow, reddish, and orange shades in the coat and is produced only in the hair—not on the nose, around the eyes, on the pads, or in the skin.

Because of eumelanin, Portuguese Water Dogs come in black and various shades of brown. Black (B) is dominant over brown. Brown (b) is inherited as a separate recessive trait.

When two dominant black (B/-) are carriers of e puppies will be white with black skin pigment and when parents have b/b and are carriers of e puppies will be white with brown skin pigment.

The production of pheomelanin is determined by the E locus and the recessive gene e. Dogs with the genotype ee do not produce black/brown pigment in their coat but instead display various shades of cream, yellow, and/or red. The pheomelanin spectrum ranges from the deep red of Irish Setters to the golden shades of Golden Retrievers and Labradors—all the way to the almost-white Portuguese Water Dogs.

So, the white color is the result of the recessive gene e, which means both parents must carry it for white puppies to be born. Because it is genetic—and because one or even both parents may simply be carriers—two black carriers can produce white puppies.

White Portuguese Water Dogs have the ee genotype and can range from almost white to creamier or even caramel tones. There are also white dogs resulting from the extreme piebald pattern, but this is not considered acceptable as “white,” because their white coat contains no pigment at all. Extreme piebald can also lead to deafness.

Other color variations that appear, though not listed in the standards, include grey, black with brown markings, and a type of spotting that creates tiny dark speckles visible only on the white areas of the coat, as well as piebald, which is about the distribution of white patches—sometimes to extremes. These white patches are not color genes but the result of pattern genes. And then there is the interesting play of modifying factors, which add even more complexity. But more on that another time.

Further research—through pedigrees, online sources, Facebook profiles, conversations with breeders, and books—led me to some fascinating findings related to the white color in Portuguese Water Dogs.

My attention was first caught by the information that in the first litter of Leao and Dina, a white puppy was born. This means that both Leao and Dina carried the recessive gene. Vasco Bensaúde decided to eliminate most colors from breeding except black and some browns. Over time, his kennel was dominated mostly by black dogs with a few white markings on their chest and paws.

In the first litter, Bensuade recorded a diverse palette of puppy colors.

Leao and Dina had another litter in which three black-and-white puppies were born, but he did not repeat this pairing again. We know nothing about Dina’s origin. In another litter, where Leao was paired with Venesa, a white female was born, whom Bensaúde gave to a friend. From this information I concluded that Leao was most probably carrier for e gene.

Picture is form Carla Molinari's book: The Portuguese water dog, 1998

In the 1950s and 60s, Bensuade and Cabral were not the only ones breeding the dogs. Quite a bit of breeding began with dogs Bensuade gifted to friends. Fishermen and farmers also didn’t suddenly stop using the dogs for work, and in the 1970s they could still be found on boats and ships. Farmers and fishermen were not interested in “registering” their dogs, so most were never entered into the studbook. Dr. Cabral, president of the Portuguese Kennel Club, registered some dogs he recognized as typical representatives of the breed so that established breeders could use them.

In the south, in the town of Faro, Ana Vitoria Ruivo had always bred white water dogs, but she did not register them until 1992. In that year, Mercedes Geraldes, owner of the Monte do Catula kennel, bought a white male from Ana Vitoria—a descendant of Bianca and Rolfo—who was registered under the name Boogie. He sired at least two litters in Portugal and was then exported to Scandinavia, where he sired some more litters.

Picture from Carla Molinari's book: Portuguese Water Dog, Historical review 1938 - 1998

In 1993, a white female, Elise—also from Ana Vitoria and the same parents, Bianca and Rolfo—arrived at the Monte do Catula kennel (and thus into the official registry). Bianca and Rolfo are the ancestors of all contemporary white Portuguese Water Dogs.

One lineage of the white gene spread from Scandinavia. The white gene traveled from Finland (Parisade kennel) to Germany (Cadamostos kennel), over the ocean to USA (Turnabout kennel), then again across the ocean to Norway (Isostar's kennel). The other lineage was kept in Portugal for a while until it found its way to the world as well. Today there are breeders worldwide that are keeping white genes alive and I am happy and proud to have one "specimen", too. Perla Preciosa Da Estrela Do Mar - Pupa is imported from Portugal and she is the first white pwd in Slovenia!

My white championesse Pupa at 18 months of age >>> more about her