Irish Water Spaniel

Lively, playful clown, devoted to its own people.
An Irish Water Spaniel
Photo: Roete002
Adult male
25–31 kg
55–68 lb
Adult female
20–26 kg
45–58 lb
Lifespan
10.8 yrs
Class · Field
also Sport, Companion

What it's like

In temperament it is lively, playful and brave, and it is often called the clown of the spaniel family. It is intelligent and energetic, usually devoted to its own people and often reserved with strangers.

Day to day
Activity
Needs lots of exercise
Intelligence
Needs daily brain work
Handler demand
Needs steady training
With people
Affection
Affectionate on its own terms
Loyalty
Sticks close to its people
Independence
Cooperative, with its own ideas
Around the home
Sensitivity
Average
Voice
Barks to alert, then settles
Prey drive
Chases; needs managing
Breed explains only about 9% of how individual dogs differ in behaviour1. Meet the dog. A good breeder breeds for temperament as well as health, and matches each puppy's personality to the right home2,3.
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Living with one

It has a curly coat. Loose hair stays caught in the coat until it is brushed, stripped or clipped out. Plan on brushing a few times a week, plus clipping every 6–8 weeks. It needs plenty of exercise compared with other breeds.

Size and growth

An Irish Water Spaniel is a medium dog, heavier than a Border Collie and lighter than a Golden Retriever. Males end up clearly heavier than females. It is one of the heaviest medium breeds.

Its coat suits this work: a dense covering of tight, crisp ringlets with a natural oiliness that helps it shed water. The colour is a rich liver, sometimes with a purplish sheen known as puce. A topknot of long, loose curls falls over the eyes, while the face is smooth, and the tail is covered in short curls only near the root before becoming smooth and tapering to a fine point.

Puppy growth

Reference curve · community data appears as owners log
By about 5 months, a male Irish Water Spaniel puppy is already as heavy as a grown Staffordshire Bull Terrier. They grow fastest between 3 and 4 months old.
Fully grown
11 mo
Both sexes, at 99% of adult weight7
Male
Female
Shaded: expected range
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Age
Male
Female
2 months
5.4–6.7 kg 11.9–14.8 lb
4.9–6.3 kg 10.8–13.9 lb
3 months
8.0–9.9 kg 17.6–21.8 lb
7.0–9.0 kg 15.4–19.8 lb
4 months
11.6–14.3 kg 25.6–31.5 lb
9.9–12.8 kg 21.8–28.2 lb
5 months
14.9–18.4 kg 32.8–40.6 lb
12.6–16.2 kg 27.8–35.7 lb
6 months
17.8–22.0 kg 39.2–48.5 lb
14.7–19.0 kg 32.4–41.9 lb
7 months
19.9–24.7 kg 43.9–54.5 lb
16.3–21.0 kg 35.9–46.3 lb
8 months
21.5–26.6 kg 47.4–58.6 lb
17.4–22.5 kg 38.4–49.6 lb
9 months
22.6–27.9 kg 49.8–61.5 lb
18.3–23.5 kg 40.3–51.8 lb
10 months
23.3–28.8 kg 51.4–63.5 lb
18.8–24.3 kg 41.4–53.6 lb
11 months
23.8–29.4 kg 52.5–64.8 lb
19.2–24.8 kg 42.3–54.7 lb
12 months
24.1–29.8 kg 53.1–65.7 lb
19.5–25.2 kg 43.0–55.6 lb
15 months
24.7–30.6 kg 54.5–67.5 lb
20.1–26.0 kg 44.3–57.3 lb

Lifespan

In UK vet records, the typical Irish Water Spaniel lived to about 11 years, shorter than the typical medium breed. The group was small, so treat the figure as rough.

Where it comes from

Irish records mention water dogs pursuing wildfowl from 1600, and one of the breed's most influential dogs was Boatswain, born in 1834 and bred by Justin McCarthy; his bloodline is now found worldwide. The FCI reads its rat tail, which no comparable breed shares, as a sign of a native Irish ancestor; though called a spaniel, it is trialled as a retriever in the UK4,9.

The Irish Water Spaniel took its modern form in the nineteenth century. At that time several regional types of water dog were found in Ireland, often described as a northern and a southern strain. The southern type, associated with Justin McCarthy's dogs, became the model for the breed, and it was among the breeds shown at the early British dog shows. It remains uncommon and appears on the Kennel Club's list of vulnerable native breeds. It was bred to work for wildfowlers, retrieving ducks and other game from cold rivers, marshes and estuaries.

Breed standard

The Irish Water Spaniel is judged against standard no. 124, in group 8, Retrievers, Flushing Dogs and Water Dogs4.

Questions people ask

General guidance for dogs rather than a measured Irish Water Spaniel figure: most females have a first season somewhere between six and fifteen months, and cycles then settle to roughly every 180 days. Smaller breeds tend to start earlier and larger ones later, so a medium-sized breed is most likely somewhere in the middle.

Compare with related

Poodle (Standard)
Companion & toy · Medium
American Water Spaniel
Retrievers & water dogs · Medium
Portuguese Water Dog
Retrievers & water dogs · Medium
English Springer Spaniel
Retrievers & water dogs · Medium
Or compare the Irish Water Spaniel with any breed you choose
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Sources

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Parts of this page were written by AI ·