Portuguese Water Dog Foundation, Inc.

11/23/2025

The PWD Foundation congratulates Dr. Poellmann. We are proud to have Drs. Poellmann and Aicher as our partners in our study to determine the prevalence of Heterobilharzia americana in the PWD. This freshwater parasite can cause serious illness in dogs. PWDs range wide across the U.S. freshwaters.

Sharing a story that tugged at the heartstrings and sparked research that will save the lives of pets, Lea Poellmann delivered the top presentation in Texas A&M University Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) final. Poellmann’s “Mapping the Hidden Threat to Man’s Best Friend: Heterobilharzia americana ...

11/20/2025

Here’s another look at what we’re learning from the Foundation’s PWD Health Survey! This snapshot shows cancer diagnoses reported by owners for more than 3,100 Portuguese Water Dogs — plus a word cloud of the most common “Other” responses.

📅 Don’t forget — the Health Survey closes December 1, 2025! If you haven’t participated yet, there’s still time to add your dog’s story and help shape a healthier future for PWDs.

https://www.pwdfoundation.org/2025-health-survey/

11/18/2025

Science confirms it: dogs love peanut butter — and we love science that helps keep them healthy! 🧬🐶🥜

The reason dogs beg, sit, stay, and shake for peanut butter could be both evolutionarily wired and learned behavior.

11/16/2025

Working on your gift list? Share the joy of life with a PWD by giving the 2026 Nutmeg Portuguese Water Dog monthly calendar. Chock full of award winning photos of PWDs living their best lives. Nutmeg generously donates calendar proceeds to the Foundation to protect the future health of all PWDs.

11/12/2025

Learn more about veterinary clinical trials underway across the country. You can also find a link to the clinical trial registry under Resources on our PWDFoundation.org website.

More than a dozen veterinary clinical studies have been added to the AVMA Veterinary Clinical Trials Registry, formerly the AVMA Animal Health Studies Database.

11/11/2025

November is National Pet Cancer Awareness month and includes National Lymphoma Awareness Day. Make a plan to conduct a 30-second lymph node check on your PWD—gently feel under your dog’s jaw, in front of their shoulders, and behind their back legs for any unusual swelling. Normal lymph nodes are small and barely detectable, while enlarged ones feel like grapes under the skin.

Approximately 1 in 4 dogs will develop cancer at some point during their life, and this risk increases to 1 in 2 for dogs 10 years or older. Learn more in the article linked below.
or

Pets today have a better chance of being successfully treated for cancer than ever before, thanks to major advances in early recognition, diagnosis, and treatment. Understanding what cancer is—and what signs to look for—can help you act quickly and make informed choices.

11/09/2025

Together, we can give every Portuguese Water Dog the healthy, joyful life they deserve. Please consider making a gift today.

11/06/2025

Canine oncology drug featured in Emmy-nominated documentary | dvm360

dvm360 connects veterinarians to essential medical news, veterinary expertise, and insights on pet care products and regulations.

11/04/2025

Learn more about the effort to improve diagnosis of Bartonella, a bacteria that can mask itself with many clinical appearances in our dogs. It also has the potential to crossover to human infections.

Original Project Description: Bartonella species, a genus of gram-negative bacteria with zoonotic potential, are associated with a wide spectrum of life-threatening diseases in dogs. More than 10 Bartonella species have been implicated in association with serious diseases in dogs, including endocard...

11/02/2025

Learn more about the progress in the effort to find curative outcomes for hemangiosarcoma.

Original Project Description: Canine hemangiosarcoma is the most aggressive cancer seen in all dogs, but disproportionately affects older, large breed dogs. Despite aggressive treatment with surgery and chemotherapy, more than 50% of dogs die due to metastatic spread of their cancer within 6 months....

10/30/2025

Wishing our generous donors a Happy and Safe Halloween! (AI-generated image for fun!) 🎃 #

10/28/2025

Support PWD health! Donate to the Foundation today.

Get involved, your donation helps us fund health research to improve the quality of life and health of Portuguese Water Dogs.