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Dogs and All about Them
·
Robert Leighton
190
III.
THE
ENGLISH
WATER
SPANIEL.--In
the
Kennel
Club's
Register
of
Breeds
no
place
is
allotted
to
this
variety,
all
Water
Spaniels
other
than
Irish
being
classed
together.
Despite
this
absence
of
official
recognition
there
is
abundant
evidence
that
a
breed
of
Spaniels
legitimately
entitled
to
the
designation
of
English
Water
Spaniels
has
been
in
existence
for
many
years,
in
all
probability
a
descendant
of
the
old
"Water-Dogge,"
an
animal
closely
resembling
the
French
"Barbet,"
the
ancestor
of
the
modern
Poodle.
They
were
even
trimmed
at
times
much
in
the
same
way
as
a
Poodle
is
nowadays,
as
Markham
gives
precise
directions
for
"the
cutting
or
shearing
him
from
the
nauill
downeward
or
backeward."
The
opinion
expressed
by
the
writer
of
The
Sportsman's
Cabinet,
1803,
is
that
the
breed
originated
from
a
cross
between
the
large
water
dog
and
the
Springing
Spaniel,
and
this
is
probably
correct,
though
Youatt,
a
notable
authority,
thinks
that
the
cross
was
with
an
English
Setter.
Possibly
some
strains
may
have
been
established
in
this
way,
and
not
differ
very
much
in
make
and
shape
from
those
obtained
from
the
cross
with
the
Spaniel,
as
it
is
well
known
that
Setters
and
Spaniels
have
a
common
origin.
In
general
appearance
the
dog
resembles
somewhat
closely
the
Springer,
except
that
he
may
be
somewhat
higher
on
the
leg,
and
that
his
coat
should
consist
of
crisp,
tight
curls,
almost
like
Astrakhan
fur,
everywhere
except
on
his
face,
where
it
should
be
short.
There
should
be
no
topknot
like
that
of
the
Irish
Water
Spaniel.
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