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Dogs and All about Them
·
Robert Leighton
187
It
was
not
until
1862
that
the
breed
seems
to
have
attracted
much
notice
in
England,
but
in
that
year
the
Birmingham
Committee
gave
two
classes
for
them,
in
which,
however,
several
of
the
prizes
were
withheld
for
want
of
merit;
the
next
few
years
saw
these
dogs
making
great
strides
in
popularity
and,
classes
being
provided
at
most
of
the
important
shows,
many
good
specimens
were
exhibited.
During
the
last
few
years,
however,
the
breed
seems
to
have
been
progressing
the
wrong
way,
and
classes
at
shows
have
not
been
nearly
so
strong,
either
in
numbers
or
in
quality,
as
they
used
to
be.
Yet
there
have
been,
and
are
still,
quite
a
large
number
of
good
dogs
and
bitches
to
be
seen,
and
it
only
needs
enthusiasm
and
co-operation
among
breeders
to
bring
back
the
palmiest
days
of
the
Irish
Water
Spaniel.
There
is
no
member
of
the
whole
canine
family
which
has
a
more
distinctive
personal
appearance
than
the
Irish
Water
Spaniel.
With
him
it
is
a
case
of
once
seen
never
forgotten,
and
no
one
who
has
ever
seen
one
could
possibly
mistake
him
for
anything
else
than
what
he
is.
His
best
friends
probably
would
not
claim
beauty,
in
the
aesthetic
sense,
for
him;
but
he
is
attractive
in
a
quaint
way
peculiarly
his
own,
and
intelligent-looking.
In
this
particular
his
looks
do
not
bewray
him;
he
is,
in
fact,
one
of
the
most
intelligent
of
all
the
dogs
used
in
aid
of
the
gun,
and
in
his
own
sphere
one
of
the
most
useful.
That
sphere,
there
is
no
doubt,
is
that
indicated
by
his
name,
and
it
is
in
a
country
of
bogs
and
marshes,
like
the
south
and
west
of
Ireland,
of
which
he
was
originally
a
native,
where
snipe
and
wildfowl
provide
the
staple
sport
of
the
gunner,
that
he
is
in
his
element
and
seen
at
his
best,
though,
no
doubt,
he
can
do
excellent
work
as
an
ordinary
retriever,
and
is
often
used
as
such.
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