From JakeIWS.
This dog’s name is “Jake,” and his is searching for a toy in the River Spey.
He has lots of drive and naturally quarters and casts in search of his beloved toy.
It is a shame that this is last of the water spaniels from the British Isles. (Its origins are within the Republic of Ireland.)
At one time, the IWS was the top trial retriever in the US. It dominated the Field Dog Studbook, and it was very common.
Today, it’s not very common at all. In the US, I would not call them rare, but they aren’t easy to find.
In Britain, the breed is considered highly endangered. There is another retriever on that list that is also considered endanged, the curly-coat. I know that breed is endangered because I’ve never seen one.
I have seen IWS. They are really interesting dogs.
They remind me of Rowlf from the Muppet Show. However, I’ve never seen one with such a penchant for playing classical music on the piano.
In fact, I’m not the only person who has made this connection.
This is a video of an IWS named Rowlf.
From auswomble
And here’s the piano-playing Rowlf. See the resemblance?
From aarnis.
I am developing a bit of soft-spot for these dogs. They are one of the the original retrievers. Before the St. John’s water dog and the retrieving collies and setters, there were water spaniels.
And not only that, they remind me of one of my favorite television from my childhood.
I’ve seen curlies here in the states. Did not know they were “endangered.” Not very common, yes. But endangered?
At a genetic level almost all dogs are endangered.
I have developed a major soft spot for my IWS. I’m devoting a whole blog to mine: http://patricedodd.wordpress.com/
I haven’t yet gotten any video of my IWS playing in the water — you’ve given me a wonderful idea.
I love them. They are last of the water spaniels of the British Isles. The others didn’t necessarily go extinct. They just got absorbed into various strains of retriever.
Nice blog. I’ll add it to the blog roll.