Water dog

File:Barbet from 1915.JPG

The Barbet, one of the oldest breeds of water dogs.

A water dog is a type of gundog bred to flush and retrieve game from water. Water dogs are considered the progenitors of most modern retriever dog breeds.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Description

File:Cão de agua Português 2.jpg

A Portuguese Water Dog with its coat clipped in the classic water dog clip.

Water dogs are usually medium-sized, active dogs; their most distinctive feature are their tight waterproof coats and their strong desire to swim. Traditionally many long haired water dogs breeds have their coats clipped with a bare midriff and hindquarters to assist in swimming by reducing drag, whilst retaining a long coat around their torso to prevent thermal shock when jumping into freezing water. This classic clip is seen to this day in dog shows with some breeds such as Poodles retaining a variation of this clip. Paintings by artists like Francisco Goya and Albrecht Durer in the 15th century depict early Standard Poodles, which were used for retrieving bird games from water.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=Fogle/><ref name=Hancock/>

History

Water dogs are an ancient type of dog, used by ancient mariners to retrieve objects lost overboard as well as to pass messages between boats, they were known to the Romans who called them "lion dogs" after the distinctive clipping of their coats. Water dogs continued to be seen aboard ships until modern times. They were known to be prevalent in the Spanish Armada and could still be seen through to the 20th century aboard fishing vessels, particularly in the waters around Spain and Portugal.<ref name=Fogle/><ref name=Hancock/>

In addition to their roles as ships' dogs, in Medieval Europe water dogs were used quite widely by hunters to retrieve ducks from water that had been shot with a bow and arrows, as well as the arrows and bolts that had missed their mark.<ref name=Fogle/><ref name=Hancock/>

With the invention of modern firearms the need for dogs to retrieve arrows disappeared and many of the European water dogs breeds became predominantly ornamental, such as the poodle, whilst others adapted into modern gundogs, like the Wetterhoun. It is believed that water dogs were used, along with other types, in the breeding of most modern retriever breeds.<ref name=Hancock/>

List of breeds

This is a list of dog breeds usually considered water dogs.<ref name=Fogle/><ref name=Hancock/>

Breed	Alternate name(s)	Country of origin	Image
American Water Spaniel	American Brown Spaniel & American Brown Water Spaniel	Template:Flagcountry	File:American Water Spaniel 001.jpg
Barbet	French Water Dog	Template:Flagcountry	File:BIBICHE di Barbochos Reiau de Prouvenco.jpg
Cantabrian Water Dog	Perro de agua cantábrico, Perro de lanas & Merlucero	Template:Flagcountry	File:Kantauriar ur-txakurra1.jpg
English Water Spaniel †	Water Dog & Water Rug	Template:Flagcountry	File:English Water Spaniel.jpg
Irish Water Spaniel	Whiptail, Shannon Spaniel, Rat Tail Spaniel & Bog Dog	Template:Flagcountry	File:Irish Water Spaniel from 1915.JPG
Lagotto Romagnolo	Romagna Water Dog & Water Dog of Romagna	Template:Flagcountry	File:Lagotto Romagnolo.jpg
Poodle	Pudelhund & Caniche	Template:Flagcountry, Template:Flagcountry	File:Bo the poodle retrieving a duck.jpg
Portuguese Water Dog	Cão de Água Português & Cão de Água Algarvio	Template:Flagcountry	File:Portekiz su kopegi.jpg
Pudelpointer ‡		Template:Flagcountry	File:Pudelpointer on point.jpg
Spanish Water Dog	Perro de agua Español	Template:Flagcountry	File:Emma spanish waterdog 4.jpg
Tweed Water Spaniel †	Tweed Spaniel & Ladykirk Spaniel	Template:Flagcountry	File:Tweed Water Spaniel.jpg
Wetterhoun	Otterhoun & Dutch Spaniel	Template:Flagcountry	File:Fryzyjski pies wodny u68.jpg

† Extinct breed
‡ Often considered a versatile gundog