Google ★★★★★ 5.0 from 67 reviews (Sep 2026)
1028+ dogs trained in the Macedon Ranges Read success stories →

Portuguese Water Dog Training

Do you have a Portuguese Water Dog that needs some training help? Natalie from Crazy Kind Calm dog training can help!

With over 900 dogs trained across the Macedon Ranges, Natalie understands the unique personality and needs that come with this wonderful breed.

Portuguese Water Dogs are athletic, intelligent dogs bred to assist fishermen. They're energetic, water-loving, and eager to work — with a curly coat and an enthusiasm that needs proper channelling.

Common Portuguese Water Dog traits and training needs

  • High energy — bred for all-day physical work and needs significant daily exercise
  • Mouthy breed — uses their mouth to carry things and communicate
  • Can be exuberant and jumpy during greetings and when excited
  • Intelligent and needs mental stimulation — boredom leads to destructive behaviour
  • Pulls on lead, especially near water or when excited about activities
  • Can develop separation anxiety if too dependent on their family

Portie owners have an athletic, clever dog who approaches everything with enthusiasm. If yours mouths your hands, drags you towards every body of water, or can't settle without a good run first — that's the working heritage coming through. Their intelligence and eagerness to work with their handler makes them excellent training partners. They just need enough outlets for all that energy.

Mango - Portuguese Water Dog dog training

Portuguese Water Dog Training Options

Whether your Portuguese Water Dog is a new puppy or an older dog with some habits to work on, we've got options to suit.

One-on-one dog training
🏠

One-on-One Training

Personalised sessions in your home, where the challenges actually happen. We work together on your specific goals — whether it's pulling on lead, barking, poor recall, jumping up, or something else entirely.

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Puppy school class
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Puppy School

Group classes in Kyneton for puppies aged 8-16 weeks. Build confidence, learn essential skills, and socialise with other pups in a safe, supportive environment.

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Portuguese Water Dog (and others) Success Stories

Raffa
Wolfhound x Staffy • Kyneton
★★★★★ Google
"Nat is super generous with her knowledge and her enthusiasm is infectious. She genuinely cares about every dog (and their owners) she teaches. Her training style encourages a trusting bons between dog and human. Highly recommend her puppy school as well as the one to ones."

Greer Allen

Wolfhound x Staffy dog training in Kyneton
Daisy
Papillon X Jack Russell • Malmsbury
★★★★★ Google
"Natalie has helped us with our rescue puppy Daisy, who was extremely anxious and scared of people and dogs, and acting out in other ways. We called Natalie when we were at the end of our tethers, after two months with Daisy, and after the first session we felt both empowered and reassured. Natalie's extensive notes after our session were also very helpful, to refer to as we were working through the recommendations. During her second visit, a month later, Natalie addressed specific issues that we are still having, and she also noted significant improvements in Daisy's confidence. It is wonderful to be supported by someone with such extensive knowledge and love for dogs. I highly recommend her services."

Teresa Martin

Ollie
Border Collie • Kyneton
★★★★★ Google
"We just had a family/dog training session with our dog Ollie. Not only is Nat most excellent in imparting heaps of very useful and ace knowledge about our dog, I am most stocked about how she managed to teach (or shall I say train) our kids to train the dog :) - Now that we all got taught how to best train our doggo, we can tackle it together and it's not just a "parent's" job. Thanks heaps Nat x"

Isabel Mettler

Border Collie dog training in Kyneton
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Some of the Portuguese Water Dogs (and others) We've Trained

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Ludo Trentham
Bella Australian Cattle Dog dog training
Bella Castlemaine
Milly American Bulldog dog training
Milly Trentham
Gordon Pharaoh Hound dog training
Gordon Kyneton
Jack Toy Poodle dog training
Jack Lancefield
Mocha German Pinscher dog training
Mocha Lancefield
Nova German Shorthaired Pointer dog training
Nova Sunbury
Mayo Labradoodle dog training
Mayo Sunbury

Ready to train your Portuguese Water Dog?

Let's talk about your goals and how we can help your Portuguese Water Dog become the best dog they can be.

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