Lloyd3:
Be very wary with the Irish Water Spaniel. Great breed, super, super smart. Loves to please. Problem is, almost no one hunts with them anymore. The IWS was my first choice. I love the history behind the breed. They are the clown prince of the marsh, and I thought it would be fun to have and train one.
Believe it or not, there was a time in this country when they were number one. But, the easy care and early trainability of the Lab and other breeds pushed them off the map.
Today, the breed has pretty much been taken over by the show and fluff crowd. Field stock is out there, but you have to look really hard and examine the pedigree carefully. Don't be fooled by the Junior Hunter title and "my dogs hunt." Look for Master Hunters on both sides. Do the breeders actually duck hunt, or just go to hunt tests? Big difference. I have never seen an IWS at a NAHRA or HRC event. I even searched in the UK, with most breeders telling me that they import dogs from the US.
This is why I went with the American Water Spaniel. Almost every breeder of the AWS is a duck, upland hunter or both.
Good luck.
