THE WORLD OF

WORKING GUNDOGS

"One of the pleasures of shooting is the company of a well trained gundog.  The choice of the breed of gundog is a matter of both personal taste and the type of shooting one is engaged in.  Different terrain and differing quarry dictate the choice of gundog.  Some will prefer the busy spaniel quartering the scrubland for pheasants or rabbits, others the questing of setters or pointers on the moorland, whilst others enjoy the retrieving breeds when wildfowling or at the driven game shoot." Bill Beckett Irish writer and broadcaster
Gundogs Home Retrievers Home Labrador Golden Retriever Flat Coated Retriever Curly Coated Retriever Irish Water Spaniel Chesapeake Bay Retriever Duck Toller

Irish Water Spaniel

Despite its name, the Kennel Club has designated the Irish water spaniel as a retrieving breed and not a spaniel.  In Ireland they are regularly seen competing at retriever working tests and field trials at the very highest level.  Hunting cover is not a trait in the breed but they are excellent water retrievers even if their pace is much slower than many of the more traditional retrieving breeds.

The majority of the best Irish water spaniels can still be found in Ireland, although there are significant numbers working in the USA.  As a rule, the breed possesses a keen nose and natural retrieving instinct, especially from water.  The latter attribute makes them a favourite of inland duck shooters in particular.

Over 100 years ago in Ireland there are contemporary reports of a large breed called the ‘water dog.’  Jet-black in appearance, this monster of a dog bears a strong resemblance to today’s Irish water spaniel.  Like the modern version of the breed the water dog was leggy, had a shaggy coat, a rat-like tail and a topknot of hair on its head.