By Adriana Cascio
Leading News Reporter
The United Sunshine States Portuguese Water Dog Club (USSPWD), led by trainers Tom and Judy Leather, will host its sanctioned water trials at Lake Hartwell for the first time this weekend.
Based across Southeast Georgia, the club’s trials will feature dozens of trained Portuguese Water Dogs demonstrating skills they were bred for like pulling nets, retrieving items and swimming.
The trials are scheduled for Saturday, June 21, and Sunday, June 22, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Hartwell Lakeside Park located at 330 Hart State Park Road. There will be a food truck at the event to provide lunch.
“We would welcome anyone who wants to come out and watch,” Judy said.
This event serves as a testing period for the dogs, in which judges Mary-Kay Shroeder from Indiana and Sue Lefevbre from New Hampshire, sanctioned judges by the Portuguese Water Dog Club of America, will evaluate the dogs’ performances.
The judges will either pass or fail each dog upon their performance. With a passing score, the dog is able to graduate to the next level of expertise.
Club members and other PWD trainers will bring approximately 50 Portuguese Water Dogs, ranging from five levels of expertise from junior to master. Each level will demonstrate a variety of tasks, such as retrieving dummies from the shore, timed swimming, jumping and pulling nets.
The trials highlight the breed’s adaptability to water and natural instincts. Tom said Portuguese water dogs were originally bred and trained to assist Portuguese fisherman by pulling fish nets, retrieving items and more.
Saturday’s event will be USSPWD’s debut to Hartwell, with plans to return for another trial in October.
While the USSPWD typically hosts their training and trials at Lake Russell in Elberton, several club members offered Lake Hartwell as an opportunity for the dogs to experience new terrain and a broader audience.
Judy said she is excited to introduce USSPWD to the Hartwell community.
Although the trials mark the first time the club comes to Lake Hartwell, artwork for the event was created by Maddie Waters, a local artist recommended to the Leathers by The Hartwell Art Center.
Waters created a Japanese-style artwork depicting a PWD diving into the water from a sailboat. Although the Leathers did not provide Waters with many restrictions, Judy said she asked for sailboats in particular due to their presence in Hartwell.
The artwork will be displayed on USSPWD shirts worn during the event.
Although they are not local, the Leathers have grown familiar with the Hartwell area after moving to Colbert several years ago.
They spent a majority of their lives living in Canada, but moved to Florida in 2003 where they adopted their first dog, Miss Blueberry Muffin, from a breeder in Athens. She began her training at a facility in Colorado, “away from all the alligators.”
The Leathers were inspired by Muffin’s skills and decided to join the USSPWD after returning from Colorado. Judy said her and her husband have been training water dogs ever since, hosting training camps in the summer and organizing club events.
Now, the couple still has a dog of their own named the Amazing James, who travels with them for training and trials with USSPWD.
This weekend’s event is free and open to the public. Other dogs are welcome at the trials, but must be on a leash and are not able to participate in the trials.