Lough Neagh is a lake or “loch” in the middle of Northern Ireland.
Wildfowling is English for “duck hunting.”
The pochard is a close relative of the North American redhead duck, and it looks very much a redhead.
And the “good retriever” on the lough is “just a mongrel.”
However, the dog looks very much like I imagine a Tweed water spaniel looked like– a yellow retriever with a thick, slightly wavy coat, and brown skin pigment.
Of course, the dog is likely a Labrador cross, and the other dog is almost like a retriever-derived lurcher.
But its similarities to my understanding of what a Tweed water spaniel or Tweed water dog was are awfully beguiling to my imagination.
The water spaniel or water dog of Northern Ireland was also very similar to the Tweed– and they were likely close relatives. It was also very much like a retriever, but it was always either solid liver or liver with some white markings on the chest and feet. Yellows didn’t exist in that breed.
Yes. It also resembles a deadgrass Chesapeake Bay retriever.
I guess in this part of Northern Ireland, retrievers are still bred in the old way. If it retrieves, it gets bred to another dog that retrieves. Pedigree doesn’t matter.
There is no pretense in this hunting expedition. It is just a couple of guys getting together with the dogs to shoot some wild ducks for supper.
One must keep in mind, that early references to “liver” could refer to anything from pale yellow to sandy to red to dark brown coat color. So it is quite possible that yellow-coated brown-skinned dogs could have been called “liver”.
Yes, it’s confusing!