The American Water Spaniel

The American Water Spaniel – Facts You Must Know Before Adopting The American Water Spaniel

The American Water Spaniel has a hardy, muscular build. They have long, broad skull features with a square-cut muzzle. They weigh 25-45 pounds, and 15-18 inches tall.

The American Water Spaniel

Coat

The coat of an American Water spaniel is double with an oily, harsh feeling outer coat that is curled to a tight curl, and a thick, soft, oily inner coat that is more than 3-4 inches long. The hair on the chest, legs, ears, and tail are a little lengthy and more fringed, yet still wavy and curly. May not be uniformly curly, the coat across the back is straighter than the hair on the rump or chest area.

The coat of the American Water Spaniel is chocolate or liver in color may or may not have white patches on the chest area, extending all the way down to the elbows, on the back, and on the legs.

Activity

Requiring a lot of exercise, the American Water Spaniel is not choosy on what type of activity they are doing, as long as they spend their pent up energy. They love playing with their families, and are happiest when they are allowed to run freely in a securely fenced area.

Temperament

The American Water Spaniel is very loyal, vigilant, committed, and intelligent. Although usually reserved for strangers, they are not known to display any signs of aggression, spite, timid, frightened, or nervous. They are very eager to please, and although they are cautious of strangers, they are still kind to children and other animals.

Overview

The American Water Spaniel is a highly devoted family pet; energetic, alert, and balanced. Although they are obedient and easy to train, this breed is a little different from other retrievers, and they love playing with toys.

Care

Recognized to have an oily coat, the American Water Spaniel requires a thorough brushing twice a week. They are a medium shedder, and consider brushing a part of their lifestyle. Brushing should be done excessively, and regularly, or else new hairs may appear in untangling.

During summer, American Water Spaniels need to be given plenty of water, and more often than not, a lot of exercise. They will do best with either an active family, or if very active, a securely fenced area, or else a lot of dog toys.

Training

The American Water Spaniel is a highly intelligent breed, and will be willing to respond to training. They are excellent with positive reinforcement, gentle, without discouraging or harsh methods.

Early socialization for American Water Spaniels is advised, as this will help them to be more tolerant of other animals and children they may encounter.

Character

The American Water Spaniel is a very loyal, obedient, easy-going, and placid dog. They are reputed to be constantly full of energy, and are always ready to play. Although they are usually used as working and hunting dogs, they will also happily become the companion. This breed is exceptional in its ability to learn, and exceptional in its willingness to please, making themaming, and very responsive to training. They are very placid, and will happily play with children and pets, oftenratting them over the fence. Aside from swimming, they love nothing more than to swim. This versatile breed has exceptional stamina, and has the ability to hunt or swim in cold waters or ice.