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FCI Breed Standard No. 124 / 23.3.1990 for ORIGIN: Ireland UTILIZATION: The Irish Water Spaniel can be easily adapted to suit most forms of shooting; he will hunt, often point and retrieve readily from heavy cover. The construction and nature of the breed has traditionally made it the choice of the wildfowler. At home, good family dog, enjoying children and their games with a sense of humour. Discerning with strangers. BRIEF HISTORICAL SUMMARY: The exact origins of the breed remain obscure. Generally it is thought that Water Spaniels evolved from dogs that originated in Persia and came to Ireland via Spain. The first Irish reference to "water dogs that pursue water fowl" dates from 1600. So we know that dogs with waterproof coats were used in Ireland even before the advent of the fowling piece. There is no real evidence of the ancestry of the Irish Water Spaniel except in its most peculiar feature- the rat tail. This feature appears in no similar dog and makes it very likely that the modern breed had an indigenous Irish ancestor, The tail has given rise to the breed's names "Whip Tail" and "Rat Tail". In any event, the descendants of these dogs were accepted and achieved great success on show benches in the second half of the 19th century. By 1890 a club was formed to promote the Irish Water Spaniel's interests. GENERAL APPEARANCE: smart, upstanding, strongly built, but not leggy, but compact and cobby. BEHAVIOUR-TEMPERAMENT: proud, combining great intelligence and endurance with a bold and dashing eagerness of temperament, immense stamina and loyalty. HEAD: skull and muzzle should be of good size. SKULL: skull high in dome, good length and fairly wide, showing large brain capacity. Top-knot should consist of long, loose curls growing down into a well-defined peak between the eyes and should not be in the form of a wig, i.e. growing straight across. STOP: gradual. FACIAL REGION: face perfectly smooth. NOSE: large and well developed, and of dark liver colour. MUZZLE: long, strong and somewhat square in appearance. TEETH: strong and regular with scissors bite. EYES: comparatively small, dark amber or dark hazel and very intelligent looking. EARS: very long and lobe-shaped in the leather, set low, hanging quite close to the cheeks and covered with long, twisted curls of live hair. NECK: fairly long, strong and arching (carrying the head well above the level of the back) and strongly set into the shoulders. BODY: should be of good size, being as a whole so proportionate as to give a barrel-shaped appearance accentuated by the springing of the ribs. SHOULDERS: very powerful and sloping. BACK: short, broad and level, strongly coupled to the hind quarters. LOINS: deep and wide. CHEST: deep, but not too wide or round between the forelegs, though large girth, with ribs well sprung behind the shoulders. Ribs carried well back. TAIL: short and smooth; strong and thick at root (where it is covered for 3in or 4in with short curls), and gradually tapering, ending in a fine point. It should not be long enough to reach the hock joint, and should be carried nearly level with the back in a straight line. LIMBS FORELEGS: well boned and straight, with arms well let down and carrying the forearm at elbow and knee in a straight line with point of shoulders. HINDQUARTERS: very powerful, with long, well bent stifles, and hocks set low. FEET: large, somewhat round and spreading, well clothed with hair, both over and between the toes, but free from any superfluous feather. GAIT/MOVEMENT: the gait has a characteristic peculiar to the breed. It is rolling motion produced by the barrel-shaped ribcage, particularly noticeable at the walk. COAT HAIR: dense, tight, crisp ringlets, entirely free from wooliness, but with a natural oiliness. The back and sides of the neck should be covered with curls similar to those on the body. The throat should be smooth, the smooth hair forming a V-shaped patch from the back of the lower jaw to the breast bone. The forelegs covered with feather, which should be abundant all round, though shorter in front, so as only to give a rough appearance. Below the hocks, the hindlegs must be smooth in front, but feathered behind down to the feet. COLOUR: a very rich puce liver; white on chest objectionable. SIZE: dogs 21-23 inches (53-59 cm), bitches 20-22 inches (51-56 cm). NOTE: male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
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