Irish Water Spaniel
Learn about the temperament and personality of the Irish Water Spaniel. Discover what he's like to live with, his traits and characteristics and how he generally behaves. And look at lots of Irish Water Spaniel photos.
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Irish Water Spaniel Temperament
The Irish Water Spaniel has been bred to be a companion hunting dog. They are talented retrievers and good family dogs. Sometimes called "the clown of the spaniel family," they have a definite sense of humor and take pride in amusing people. They are intelligent, inquisitive, and creative. They are born with a desire to please, but they must respect their owner before they will obey him. This breed is slow to mature and can be a bit headstrong. The Irish Water Spaniel really needs a fair, firm, patient, and consistent trainer. With this type of owner, they are very easy to train and discipline. They have active bodies and active minds, and both need to be stimulated. An Irish Water Spaniel can be destructive if he gets bored. This active breed is athletic, agile, and fast. They love to spend time outdoors having a good run around. Families who don't hunt with their Irish (and even some who do) compete with their dogs in obedience, rally, and agility. He needs regular exercise and has incredible stamina. He will protect his owners if necessary, but the Irish Water Spaniel has been bred not to bark excessively. They can be reserved with strangers. They are not a "one person dog" but are devoted and loyal to the entire family. They can coexist with small children if they are socialized around them from a young age. They love to be a part of the family, as they truly love human company. They drool and slobber quite a bit!
Irish Water Spaniel Training
The Irish Water Spaniel is very intelligent and easy to train. He learns new commands very fast.
Irish Water Spaniel Shedding
The Irish Water Spaniel sheds practically no hair at all. You'll virtually never find a hair in your home!
Irish Water Spaniel Grooming
Pet coat (less work): Cut his coat short every few months and then it only needs to be brushed every so often.
Show coat (more work): Professionally groom his coat to the breed standard. Brush it daily.
Adopt an Irish Water Spaniel
Irish Water Spaniel Photos
Rating: Ease of training
Tells you how easy or difficult a breed is to train.
A higher rating means the breed is easier to train, a lower rating means the breed is harder to train.
An easy to train breed require less time and patience to train.
Rating: Intelligence
Tells you how intelligent a breed is in terms of how quickly it can learn commands from humans. A higher rating means the breed will learn your commands faster (and is therefore generally considered to be more intelligent), while a lower rating means the breed will learn your commands more slowly (and is therefore generally considered to be less intelligent).
Keep in mind that this is only one way to measure a dog's intelligence and a low rating might still mean the breed is highly intelligent in other ways.
Rating: Shedding
Tells you how much hair the breed sheds. The higher the rating the more hair the breed sheds.
Rating: Watchdog
Tells you how good the breed is at being a watchdog and raising the alarm when a stranger approaches. A higher rating means the breed will bark vigorously to warn you of a stranger's presence on your property. A low rating means the breed probably won't bark much if a stranger enters your property.
Rating: Guard dog
Tells you how good the breed is at being a guard dog due to the appearance, size, and strength of the breed. A breed with a high guard dog rating will make an intruder think twice before stepping foot on your property.
Rating: Popularity
Tells you how popular the breed is in terms of ownership. A higher rating means that more people own the breed. The more popular a breed is the easier it is to find and purchase one because there are more breeders breeding it.
Rating: Size
Tells you how large or small the breed is. A lower rating means the breed is smaller and a higher rating means the breed is larger. It gives you a quick idea of how physically large or small the breed is compared with all the other breeds.
Rating: Agility
Tells you how agile the breed is. A higher rating means the breed is fast and nimble on its feet while a lower rating means the breed is heavier and slower on its feet.
Rating: Good with kids
Tells you how good the breed is with children. A higher rating means the breed is good with children. Note: all breeds are generally good with kids when they're raised with them.
