Painting by Richard Ansdell:
Before retrievers began to be categorized into breeds, there were dogs like this one.
This dog shows characteristics of St. John’s water dogs and water spaniels.
It’s a sort of rougher version of the curly-coated retriever, though this dog may have been bred into strains that gave rise to either the standardized wavy-coated retriever or curly-coated retriever.
It’s rougher sort of dog because in those days there were no purebred retrievers. Retriever was just a job description, and lots of different dogs did the job.
It was just that shooting sportsman of the middle part of the nineteenth century began to desire dogs of Newfoundland (St. John’s water dog) extraction.
My reading of what the “Tweed water spaniel” that is mentioned in the golden retriever pedigrees is that this dog was very much like the dog in this painting.
The only difference was that it was yellow or liver in color.
Tweeds were often mistaken for curly-coated retrievers, and perhaps the best way to understand what they were was that were a sort of rough form of curly-coated retriever that just happened to occasionally come in yellow.
For this reason, I’m some what leery of calling this dog a water spaniel.
It was more of what we’d think of as a retriever than a water spaniel.
Whatever it may be called, the dog depicted is of a sort well suited to working in the terrain Ansdell has painted.(and in which the forebears of the Golden Retriever worked). Rough and rugged country, requiring a dog both strong and supple, with leg length enabling easy transit through harsh cover. And a weather-resistant protective coat without exaggerated featherings.
Which is what I like…
I’m struck by the non-level top line (slight sway back) and tail-set. According to GR and Labrador breed standards, these are terrible. I wonder how was sacrificed in modern retriever breeds in breeding for the straight and level look favored in pointers and setters. and not accepting the more rounded look you often see in the older pre closed-registry named breed dogs of related lineage.
The observer should keep in mind that the dog is depicted in a slightly awkward pose, with front a bit downhill and head turned, which can shift the slant of the body. Also, curly/wavy coated dogs often have heavy coat on the top of the rump that goes a bit wild, especially if t hey’ve been wet, giving an unlevel appearance to the top line. And a dog can be a bit high in rear without being sway backed,if the spine is strong.
I thought the same thing M.R.S… Also, I like the longer leg. Some of that due to the fact that the coat isn’t over the top long. Refreshing to see.
One of the descriptions of the Tweed Water Spaniel is the conical head which you can see a lot in today’s Flat Coat. I always think about that when I see a Golden without much stop.