Website of the Sporting Irish Water Spaniel Club

Updated 2010 vaccination guidelines

Posted: Fri 16 July 2010 - 03:05 PM

The World Small Animal Veterinary Association has updated its guidelines on the vaccination of dogs.
These supplement, rather than change the guidelines first published in 2007 and detail a new vaccination regime to ensure a primary immune response, and details the requirements for booster vaccinations only needing to be given every 3 yeasrs for core vaccines. More information

Health and management of working dogs

Posted: Wed 19 May 2010 - 11:23 AM

A one day symposium providing practical information for owners of working gundog breeds.
Sunday 6th June 2010

Dick White Referrals, Six Mile Bottom, between Cambridge and Newmarket.

Dick White referrals is one of the Country's leading specialist veterinary referral practices and will be presenting a programme of practical talks, discussion sessions and demonstrations aimed at providing useful veterinary information to owners of working dogs.
Subjects include: Lameness in working dogs, hip dysplasia, common neurological problems, itchy scratchy dogs and vaccinations.

One of the speakers, Rosario Cerundolo, produced a scientific paper in the 1990s on skin problems in the IWS.

Places are limited and cost £20.
For more information click on the link below:
http://www.siwsc.co.uk/data/Image//DickWhiteworking dogs flier.pdf

To go to the Dick White Referrals' web site click on the link below:
http://www.dickwhitereferrals.com/site/

Spring Newsletter deadline

Posted: Thu 25 March 2010 - 04:30 PM

The deadline for items for the Spring Newsletter is Sunday 8th May 2010.
Please could you send to our new newsletter editor, Sue Hempstead.

( 07764154401
* arnsuecuvana@hotmail.com

Results of AGM Committee elections

Posted: Mon 22 March 2010 - 03:41 PM

Honorary Secretary:
Louise Bailey

Committee:

Sue Hempstead

Denise Hurst

Melvyn Hurst
Eddie Jones
John Lewis

Pauline Probert

Jill Taft

David Wilcox

Existing officers not up for re-election:

Honorary Chairman
John Rolfe

Honorary Treasurer
Pat Farrington

Brother and sister IWS win gamekeeper classes at Crufts

Posted: Mon 22 March 2010 - 03:34 PM

Cuvana Irish Water Spaniels
Judy and Sue Hempstead were entitled to enter the Gamekeeper classes at Crufts as their dogs had worked on shoots in 2009 / 2010.
Zac (Cuvana Loutre de Mer) was placed 1st and Best Dog in AV Sporting Spaniel and was awarded the Sportsman Game Feeds Trophy .
Brise (Cuvana Brise de Mer) was placed 1st and Best Bitch in AV Sporting Spaniel and awarded the Marsh Trophy.
In the breed classes Zac was 3rd in Limit and 1st in Working and Caz was 3rd in Postgraduate and 1st in working.

Congratulations to Judy and Sue and of course, Brise and Zac.

SIWSC Field Trial featured in Sporting Shooter Magazine

Posted: Mon 22 March 2010 - 03:25 PM

The Club's historic Field Trial in December was the subject of an article by Nick Ridley in the March 2010 issue of Sporting Shooter magazine, which is in good newsagents now. As Nick is the UK's foremost canine photographer, as well as the Sporting Shooter's gundog editor there is no surprise that the article was accompanied by some great photos. This is the second time in just over two years that Nick has published articles relating to the SIWSC and Irish Water Spaniels. In the January 2008 issue he published a nice article on a team of four IWS on picking up duty at Chillington Hall, near Wolverhampton.
See Nick Ridley's Field Trial Photographs

2009 Registration Statistics

Posted: Mon 22 March 2010 - 03:24 PM

The new registrations' statistics for 2009 have been compiled by the Kennel Club and for the Irish Water Spaniel, new registrations are up 30% on the 2008 registrations. In 2009, 131 new registrations were recorded against 101 in 2008. This is the 14th highest set of figures since records began in 1880 and bucks the trend for pedigree dog registrations in 2009.
Overall, total registrations were 244,461, down 10% on 2008's 271,719.
The gundog group suffered falls of 9.4%, down from 104,757 registrations in 2008 to 94,894 in 2009

SIWSC Field Trial

Posted: Mon 22 March 2010 - 12:15 PM

For the first time in 99 years a Club called The Sporting Irish Water Spaniel Club has held a Field Trial. The Club is very proud to announce that after more than 6 years of hard work, first to obtain recognition by the Kennel Club as a Breed Club and then almost without precedent, obtaining permission to hold a Field Trial within 5 years of gaining KC recognition, an 11 dog novice retriever stake was held on Friday 18^th December 2009 at Chillington Hall near Wolverhampton.

The trial, held with the very generous permission of IWS owners John and Crescent Giffard, included two Irish Water Spaniels, father and son Paddy (Radicott Waterbug) and Doyle (Kirkmarsh Mr Doyle of Hiberna) handled by Dave Gresty and Ian Probert respectively. Paddy, at nine and a half years and in his first ever Field Trial, was by far the oldest competitor, but certainly didn’t let his age show.

Two of the Judges, Terry Dukes and Ged Leeson had, along with a number of other Kennel Club panel Judges, provided considerable support for The Club in its application to hold Field Trials after seeing the organisation of The Club at close quarters. Consequently the Club was delighted that they accepted an invitation to judge the trial.

Up for grabs was the brand new “My Way” bronze trophy, presented by Committee member Jill Taft in memory of her late husband and Kennel Club A panel Judge, Pat. It was he who spotted something that he really liked in the IWS and set about helping the Club to improve the performance of its members’ dogs, something which he certainly managed to do, leading by example with his own IWS, Ross.
Unfortunately tho’ there was no winner in the trial with the only awards being given were certificates of merit to Bill Williams, in his first trial, with his very unusual black and tan labrador and Mrs J Lunt’s Golden Retriever bitch.

Our thanks go to the following Club members for making the whole trial run smoothly: Chief Steward, Melvyn Hurst; Dog Stewards, Louise Bailey, Pauline Probert and Kim Lancaster (nee Bailey) and spotters, Eddie Jones and Wayne Lancaster.
The Club would also like to thank Mr John Giffard and his team of guns together with the Steward of the beat, Geoff Powell and his team of beaters.
Finally, we wish to say a big thank you to the competitors and Judges, who braved freezing conditions to ensure the success of the first Field Trial held by the modern Sporting Irish Water Spaniel Club.

For the history buffs among you the original SIWSC held three successive trials in each of the years 1908-1910 on land owned by Mr Percy St Gerrans, a London Lawyer, near Mildenhall in Suffolk. These trials were recorded as working trials rather than Field Trials in the respective stud books.
The winner of the first trial (with only 4 entries) was The Club’s President, Lady Dunleath, with her IWS dog, Ballywalter Avic. Lady Dunleath’s great grandson, the current Lord Dunleath, Brian Mulholland and Patron of the modern SIWSC sent his best wishes to the Club for the success of the Field Trial.

Bill Williams receiving his COM from John Giffard, left, and the award winners with the Judges.
Photo courtesy Nick Ridley©
Top: IWS Doyle returning with a pheasant.
See Nick Ridley's Field Trial Photographs

The trial was very generously sponsored by Skinners dog foods

Coventry & District Gundog Society Cold Game test

Posted: Mon 14 September 2009 - 08:37 AM

Today in Coventry & District Gundog Society's any variety, all aged open cold game working test, IWS Kirkmarsh Mr Doyle of Hiberna (Doyle) came second out of a field of 26 dogs.
Owned, trained & handled by Ian Probert, Doyle beat a field of 3 Flat Coats, 1 Goldie and 20 of the 21 Labradors for his second place.
A few years ago Doyle won a novice any variety working test by beating a field of 20 Labradors and is currently the only IWS competing regularly in UK field trials against Labradors.
Doyle's pedigree is full of competent working Irish water spaniels including a number that qualified for the Irish retriever championship back in the 1980s, including Eddie Lennon's Irish Field Trial Champion Cruiscin of Lisnabrogue.
Congratulations to Ian and Doyle.

Ian Probert and Doyle on picking up duty at Chillington Hall, Wolverhampton in 2007.
Photo: copyright Nick Ridley

August Bank Holiday Training weekend

Posted: Tue 08 September 2009 - 08:11 AM

A lovely weekend was had by the more than 30 people who attended the Club's training weekend on 29 and 30 August. This was generously arranged by John and Di Rolfe.
There were a number of new faces who were made to feel extremely welcome and it was good to see a lot of young IWS in attendance. In addition, a number of old faces turned out which helped to make for a thoroughly enjoyable weekend. Training consisted of dummy work, including water work and also an introduction to cold game.
Apart from the training itself, highlight of the weekend had to be the spread put on by Di on the Saturday evening - absolutely nobody went hungry.

John and Di's back garden on the Saturday evening.