328 BRITISH DOGS 



" Training Dogs," depicts the Irish Water Spaniel with a tail as 

 bushy or well fringed as a Setter. 



Mr. Skidmore is also emphatic about the necessity of the eye 

 being "a deep, rich brown," and he expresses his horror of a 

 " gooseberry " eye ; and yet an eminent modern authority is found 

 to advocate this yellow tint under the title of a " sparrow-hawk " 

 eye certainly an unfortunate simile, as the hawk is the exemplar 

 of wildness and ferocity. The writer is surprised that no mention 

 is made, either by Mr. Skidmore or by any of the other authorities, 

 of the characteristic gait of the Irish Water Spaniel, a sort of 

 lounging swing or slight roll, which he shares not only with other 

 aquatic dogs, but also with the men claimed by the same element. 



Here is the description of the Irish Water Spaniel published by 

 the Sporting Spaniel Society : 



Skull. Rather capacious, forehead prominent. 



Jaws. Of medium length, and square, with a fair lip. 



Eyes. Medium sized, by no means prominent, of a clear brown shade. 



Ears. Set low, long, and well feathered, measuring from 24in. to 26in. 

 from tip to tip. 



Neck. Of good length and muscular. 



Shoulders. Strong, but lengthy and sloping. 



Fore Legs. Rather long, big boned, and straight, covered with little ringlets. 



Body. Strong and well ribbed, chest deep and moderately broad. 



Loin. Rather long, strong, and slightly arched. 



Hindquarters. Long and muscular, the stifle moderately bent. 



Feet. Large, round, and hairy. 



Stern. Thick at the root and tapering to a fine point, shortish, carried quite 

 stiff and straight. It should be covered with short smooth hair, for while no 

 approach to feather underneath is tolerable, it must not owe its whip-like appear- 

 ance to congenital eczema. 



Coat. Oily, and on the body composed of small, crisp curls. On the head a 

 well-marked topknot of long ringlets, commencing at the occiput and coming 

 down in a peak on the forehead, leaving the face smooth. 



Colour. A pure deep liver without any white. 



Fig. 71 shows Mr. J. W. Jelly Dudley's Shamus O'Flynn, a 

 beautiful specimen that looks capable of undertaking all the duties 

 of his race. 



THE ENGLISH WATER SPANIEL 



In the Kennel Club Stud Book will be found some meagre lists 

 of Spaniels classed as "Water Spaniels other than Irish." 



What strange varieties this classification was meant to include, 

 and why the Irish Water Spaniel should be distinguished by 

 a class to itself, whilst a much older breed, the English Water 

 Spaniel, is ignored, seem questions unanswerable. It will not 

 be denied that the English Water Spaniel is at least historically older 



