Irish Water Spaniel

Retrievers & water dogs

Medium

Median 10.8 y

FCI group 8 · Retrievers, Flushing Dogs and Water Dogs · Derived from the adult weight midpoint (25.6 kg)

Median survival across 242 UK dogs (VetCompass, McMillan 2024) · half live 8–13 y

The Irish Water Spaniel is a breed of dog that is the tallest of the spaniels. It is one of Ireland's nine native dog breeds, also known as a "bog-dog". As a common hunting dog, they were often kept by historic landowning classes along with minor gentry, who commonly hunted and shot game.

Hardworking

Playful

Brave

Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA) · reference ranges from the Kintail breed dataset

Adult weight

Reference

Male

24.9–30.8 kg

Female

20.4–26.3 kg

Breed club figure (the American Kennel Club)

Weight for age

Stock data

Male

Female

Expected range

Expected range from the breed's own adult weight, kilograms. Growth reference: Salt et al. 2017, WALTHAM (15–30 kg band).

Heat cycles · females

Stock data

First heat

8–12 mo

typical

Interval

180 d

typical

Bleeding

~9 d

typical

Proestrus 9d

Estrus 9d

Diestrus 52d

Anestrus 110d

General figures for dogs, not for this breed — individual cycles vary widely.

Questions people ask

Adult males usually weigh 24.9–30.8 kg and females 20.4–26.3 kg. Most are close to their full size by around 15 months, though the last little bit of filling out takes longer. Growth reference: Salt et al. 2017, WALTHAM (15–30 kg band).

No Irish Water Spaniel cycle figures are published here yet, so this is general guidance rather than a breed number: 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.

The median is 10.8 y. Median survival across 242 UK dogs (VetCompass, McMillan 2024) · half live 8–13 y. How the later years go comes down to weight, teeth, exercise and regular check-ups far more than to the breed.