Irish water spanials

[wood smoke 0]

Just would be interested to hear the views of anybody who has owned/worked

this breed or seen work, the reason for there lack of popularity, there trainability,

are they mainly for wild fowling ? Is there coat due to poodle blood ?

 

any info greatly accepted.

[Guest Macnas]

Seen them work, and nearly got one last year.

 

They are not popular, not sure why, but they are hard to train compared to labs and springers, but the guy I saw working them said they need a bit of time and patience, as they are puppyish for quite some time.

 

They're a biggish dog, a bit tidier than a lab and bigger than a springer. They need a rake of exercise, you should see them go, lots and lots of energy. They are water dogs, and I think, but I'm not sure, their paws are slightly webbed.

 

I'm not sure about the curly coat and its origins. There's more of a chance that it was one of the english curly coat retreivers than the poodle.

 

If I had more space and the right circumstances, I'd be very keen to give one a try. Mind you, It's all I can do to train one cocker at the moment, so I'm probably talking through my hat.

 

(I know a crossed lab/IWS, very handsome dog, looks like a chocolate chesapeake.)

[pointer28 1]

Maybe I'm completetly wrong here, but I think I heard somewhere that the poodle originated from a spanish water spaniel of some sort.

 

Plus, the poodle was originally a retriever in the beginning but without the perm and the pink rinse.

[Guest k9wpg]

Just would be interested to hear the views of anybody who has owned/worked

this breed or seen work, the reason for there lack of popularity, there trainability,

are they mainly for wild fowling ? Is there coat due to poodle blood ?

 

any info greatly accepted.

 

http://www.siwsc.org.uk/ Irish water Spaniel seen one work on Frodsham mud flats ..seemed to do the job ..Cant I liked it as it had a tendency to piss on your leg if you were standing to close to it,but hey ho maybe the dogs owner didnt like me and it was trained to do it..

[wood smoke 0]

Seen them work, and nearly got one last year.

 

They are not popular, not sure why, but they are hard to train compared to labs and springers, but the guy I saw working them said they need a bit of time and patience, as they are puppyish for quite some time.

 

They're a biggish dog, a bit tidier than a lab and bigger than a springer. They need a rake of exercise, you should see them go, lots and lots of energy. They are water dogs, and I think, but I'm not sure, their paws are slightly webbed.

 

I'm not sure about the curly coat and its origins. There's more of a chance that it was one of the english curly coat retreivers than the poodle.

 

If I had more space and the right circumstances, I'd be very keen to give one a try. Mind you, It's all I can do to train one cocker at the moment, so I'm probably talking through my hat.

 

(I know a crossed lab/IWS, very handsome dog, looks like a chocolate chesapeake.)

 

Well i guess the jury is still out on these particular dogs at the momment , thanks for the info guys

i think you should definately get one now macnas and keep us informed of further pros and cons.

I also heard about the webbed feet, fascinating.

[Guest Macnas]

As soon as I buy my big country pile and 400 acres, I'll be right on it mate.

[whiptail 0]

The Irish Water Spaniel was originally bred to hunt, flush and retrieve wildfowl in its native Ireland and all modern dogs are descended from a single dog called Boatswain, born in 1834 in Dublin and bred by a man called Justin McCarthy. He was not forthcoming about how he developed the breed and so its true origins are a mystery. However, it is generally thought that a breed or type of dog from Southern Europe was involved.

 

Today, the IWS is a multi purpose gun dog, used for wildfowling, rough shooting, picking up, beating and even deer stalking. The West Midlands Police also have one as a drugs dog.

In the UK, Ireland and the US, where they are most numerous the Kennel Club's classify them as retrievers. Elsewhere they are classified as water dogs, but in France they are allowed to run as Spaniels and recently one became a Field Trial Champion.

Several IWS Field Trial Champions were made up in Ireland in the 1980s and a number qualified for the Irish Retriever Championship.

 

The IWS hunts better than a Labrador and retrieves better than a Springer and is blessed with an exceptional sense of smell.

Contrary to an earlier post young IWS are extremely biddable and basic training is accomplished easily. However, the IWS is extremely intelligent and they have a wilful, headstrong and even stubborn side to their nature which means training an IWS has to be done a bit differently from training a Lab. They need patient, firm but kind handling to get the best out of them and they definitely do not respond well to old fashioned methods of training.

They also need a lot of socialisation when they are puppies and youngsters.

 

A well trained IWS makes a wonderful shooting companion and they are extremely loyal and affectionate.

Why they are not more popular is a mystery, perhaps people are worried about the coat (which they needn't be) or perhaps they think they are difficult to train. Interestingly, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries they were the most popular retriever breed in the US.

 

If you want to find out more about working Irish water spaniels try the following web sites:

www.siwsc.org.uk (The Sporting Irish Water Spaniel Club)

www.fendrake.co.uk

www.kirkmarsh.co.uk

 

There are also some wonderful photos on Nick Ridley's web site of a team of IWS picking up on a shoot in Shropshire, in preparation for a forthcoming article in Sporting Shooter magazine. Go to www.nickridley.com then go to view your event, choose 2007 and look for Irish Water Spaniels 151007.

 

By the way, I have 4 IWS which between them are used for picking up, wildfowling, beating & rough shooting.

[wood smoke 0]

That is a massive help whiptail, the information you gave on first hand WORKING experiance

is what i was after,your comments and those of the people on the sites you listed are all pretty

much the same, they seem to be great dogs in the more experianced hands. Also just found out that

a killountain kennals is about six miles down the road !!!

[Geoff.C 0]

Nice write up on the IWS whiptail, I particularly like the bit about the patient and firm handling,the willful and stubborn bits too. You are more or less describing the FCR (flatcoated retriever) too!! We find the old fashioned methods don't get the best out of a FCR, and avoid any gundog clubs who can't move on.

I think with a IWS, you need a good sense of humour,just like with a flatcoat. You have to not worry too much if the dog which wiped the floor,at last weeks gundog test, decides to act the prat this week.

[Bedly 1]

Very interesting topic. I've been fascinated by IWS for a while, but imagined they'd be mainly show dogs and not used for work.

Are they any good on rabbits, or are they a wildfowl specialist? Would they flush and retrieve in a Springer sort of way?

[whiptail 0]

Very interesting topic. I've been fascinated by IWS for a while, but imagined they'd be mainly show dogs and not used for work.

Are they any good on rabbits, or are they a wildfowl specialist? Would they flush and retrieve in a Springer sort of way?

 

If choosing an IWS you do need to be a bit careful as there are some show lines that have completely given up as far as work is concerned, but equally, there are breeders who's prime concern is the shooting field and produce dogs with loads of natural ability.

To answer Bedly's question about flushing & retrieving like a springer, yes they will up to a point. They are not as busy as Springers but they will work cover very well, although being much larger than a Springer they may not be able to get into the thickest of cover like Springers, but every dog is different. Many of them have a pointing ability (Setter blood was introduced in the late 19th and early 20th centuries) and will quite often (as happens with one of my bitches) hold a point, often at some thick bramble bush and can either be commanded to flush or a wack of the bush with a stick normally puts a bird into the air.

 

Whilst they were bred for wildfowling they shouldn't be considered a wildfowl specialist. Their nose and retrieving ability means they will turn their hand (paws) to a lot of different tasks and if trained well make excellent all round gundogs and definitely an alternative to a Lab or Springer.

This all round ability has caused the Kennel Club (who like to pigeon hole dogs into neat categories) all sorts ofproblems in the past. Prior to the 1950s the KC allowed them to run in either Spaniel or Retriever trials, from the 50s until 1984, they could only run as Spaniels and from 1984 they have been classified as retrievers.

 

If you want to find out more contact the Sporting Irish Water Spaniel Club (they don't do dog shows) Sporting Irish Water Spaniel Club. They can put you in touch with breeders who specialise in working IWS.

[Bedly 1]

Thanks, Whiptail, that's most informative. I'll read through the club's site. Alas, its breeders page isn't up yet.

I don't suppose there are any good working IWS in Australia. There are only about 8 breeders on the main dog site here, and they all boast about show wins and imported champions, so they'll be useless in the field. One lot mention working trial awards, so a few of the show dogs may have some ability.