Welcome to ROBENGER PWD
Rosie and Gerry Walmsley own the ROBENGER Kennel and both have had experience with dogs since they were children.
This web site has been developed to let people know what the history has been in the development of the ROBENGER KENNEL and share as much information about us and the PWD breed as possible.
ROBENGER is the Kennel Club affix and name of our breeding kennel. We have been set up since 1996. We started showing Border Collies and we were successful. We showed dogs on most weekends of the year. In 2005, we went to Ireland to show our dogs and met a breeder of Portuguese Water Dogs who was also showing her dogs at the same shows that we were. We absolutely fell in love with the PWD breed and arranged to buy a bitch PWD. This we did and in early 2006 we took our first PWD home. Her name is Holly and you can see her in the gallery.
We have developed our kennel by buying in other dogs that we have thought would be good for us. We went to the USA in September 2008 to attend the PWD National which is the annual national show for PWDs in the US. Almost all breeds in the USA have a National show each year. We found the approach to the breed there so encouraging and impressive. We talked to many breeders and exhibiters there and we found a breeder that had a dog that she would like us to bring to the UK. We agreed to bring him and the following year, we brought him back from Chicago, Illinois. He is Alex and we have based the kennel on him and Holly.
We now have 8 dogs in our kennel. We exchange breeding with breeders in several countries around the world as well as with breeders in the UK. We continue with our relationships with breeders in the US and have exchange arrangements with several breeders there.
The Portuguese Water Dog
The Portuguese Water Dog is an active breed which enjoys work and play. It uses its agility, stamina, sense of smell and intelligence to perform amazing tasks. The PWD becomes very attached/devoted to its owners and makes an excellent companion, and will want to be wherever you are in the house. Being an intelligent dog, the PWD enjoys being stimulated although this also means it becomes bored if left for long periods on its own.
As with any intelligent breed a significant amount of training and discipline is essential but the effort is well rewarded.
If strong leadership is not provided, the PWD will subtly and quietly take over before you know it, and so is less suitable for inexperienced first-time dog owners. The PWD is an even-tempered dog and is not aggressive or shy with other people or dogs. It will bark to warn of the approach of strangers but do not expect any further action. It is very good with children and makes an excellent family pet although adolescent dogs can be too boisterous for very small children or toddlers.
SAFETY – But, with all dogs there are basic rules to follow when owning a dog. Never leave an infant or toddler alone in the company of any dog.
If a dog gets annoyed with a child that is performing an activity that is unwanted by the dog, then it is always considered the dogs fault if the child is injured. Do ensure that your children are fully aware of this guidance and that you re-enforce this knowledge regularly. NEVER LEAVE YOUR CHILD ALONE WITH A DOG.
Our Name
The affix ROBENGER is made up of three elements. When we were setting up an affix for our show kennel we wanted to incorporate ourselves in to the identity and at that time Rosie owned a dog that meant the world to her. His name was Ben and he was a gentle giant.
So, the affix is made up of - RO is a shortening of Rosemary. BEN is the incomparable dog that we felt had to be involved with the founding of the kennel. GER is the shortened version of Gerry.
Big old Ben played a major part in Rosie's life and was the inspiration for much of Rosies activities with dogs. Rosie also had Murphy, a blue merle rough collie who she had from Brian House. He was a lovely dog to and so many people enjoyed him on nightingale park, Cambridge, where we walked him and Ben.
In one way or another, dogs have been an important aspect to both Rosemary and Gerry’s life. Throughout Rosemary's life she has always loved dogs. When growing up she always had dogs around her. The dogs that have been important in Rosies life are Ben and Murphy. Each of these had tremendous characters and were loved by everyone.
Ben was a gentle giant. Towards the end of his life, like so many dogs, he suffered arthritis. We decided to try and make this arthritis less painful for him. He needed exercise but he was a big dog and it was painful for him to move and exercise. So, we fitted a dog swimming pool in the garden. It was a canine hydrotherapy pool. It was great for him and he enjoyed the experience three times a week.
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