American Water Spaniel. Paul R. Morrison
loyal following of enthusiasts keeping it propped up and safe from extinction.
These AWS loyalists were a mixture of people with varying interests who often worked independent of one another but who occasionally shared resources. By the end of the 1940s some of the earlier breeders had grown old and were lost forever or simply could not continue to breed. Beginning in the 1950s and into the 1960s these breeders were replaced with the likes of Tom and Constance Rutherford, Paul Bovee and John and Marilyn Barth. Most of these breeders produced dogs not for the show ring but for what they had always been, a working man’s hunting dog. Others did pursue the sport of show dogs and exhibited their American Water Spaniels on a fairly regular basis at AKC dog shows.
Another AWS hamming it up for the camera with a sibling in the early days of the breed.
Ch. Choco Lot Morrison CDX and Ch. Little Brownie’s Gunner Boy CD with owner and author Paul Morrison following a Michigan pheasant hunt.
While the AWS has never set the world of dog shows on fire, many have competed and represented the breed well. From the period of the 1950s and 1960s the most popular American Water Spaniel kennels in the dog-show world were Ty-Grim, owned by Thomas Tyler, and Americana, owned by Tom and Constance Rutherford of southeast Michigan. From the late 1960s until the mid 1980s only a handful of individuals campaigned their American Water Spaniels on a regular basis, one of the most noted being Barbara Spisak of Dayton, Ohio under the kennel name of Countrysides. Then in 1975 a group of individuals formed the American Water Spaniel Breeders Association, which only existed for a few years but laid the groundwork for another club that would eventually become today’s AKC parent club for the American Water Spaniel, which encourages greater participation in the AKC world of dog shows.
The American Water Spaniel Club, Inc. was resurrected in 1985 by individuals from across the country and a number of longtime breeders like Paul Bovee, John and Marilyn Barth and Mick and Dorthea Robinson. The new AWSC, headquartered in the breed’s home state of Wisconsin, quickly moved to establish itself as the voice of the American Water Spaniel in the AKC world and soon began to hold an annual dog show, obedience trials and specialized brand of hunt tests for the breed. While many contributed to the success of the AWSC, none did more than Father Vaughn Brockman of Menominee, Wisconsin. Father Brockman was known as a bit of a breed historian, a successful breeder (Wildemoor kennels) and a promoter of sound breeding practices through judicious use of health screening coupled with a strict breeding regimen. A number of individuals in the new AWSC were very interested in and excited by the dog-show world and successfully campaigned American Water Spaniels throughout the Midwest and other parts of the country. Most of these individuals were associated with Father Brockman and campaigned the type of AWS that he had developed from the start of his breeding program in the early 1970s. At the time of Father Brockman’s death, 20 years later, his breeding program had been so successful and so extensive that he was credited with having created his own line of American Water Spaniels; 1 of only 3 lines generally recognized at that time and the one line most often seen in the show ring then and now.
Not just a hunter, Windy shows why the AWS is so valued as a companion as well.
AKC/UKC Ch. Little Brownies Cinnamon Teal CDX, U-CDX, owned by the author Paul Morrison.
In 1993 another club formed that was devoted to the working qualities of the American Water Spaniel. This club, the American Water Spaniel Field Association (AWSFA), was developed in an attempt to bring more focus on the working qualities of the breed and to assist owners of American Water Spaniels with the development of their dogs as all-around field dogs. The AWSFA has focused on field training, breed rescue, the sharing of health information, training and historical aspects of the AWS, and it led the battle for field classification of the AWS with the American Kennel Club. The AWSFA is largely a regional club centered in the Great Lakes area and offering training opportunities for its members. It hopes to one day be licensed to hold AKC Spaniel Hunt Tests and AWSC Retrieving Certification Tests.
Today it is not unusual to find American Water Spaniels at dog shows around the country, but some areas are more likely to have them than others. If you are looking for a glimpse of an American Water Spaniel in the show ring, you will have the greatest luck in the upper Midwest, the Northwest and mountain states, California and certain parts of the East Coast. Today about ten or more American Water Spaniels receive AKC show championship titles in most years, a testament to the ongoing interest in the sport and the desire of AWS breeders and owners to showcase their favorite breed.
The AWS is more than a pretty face, though, and it enjoys and does well in performance events. When the sport of dog obedience came to be in the late 1950s, AWS owners were there to showcase their little brown dogs’ working abilities. Throughout most of the years since the sport became recognized by the AKC, it is possible to find the AWS participating and, in some cases, excelling at obedience. A number of American Water Spaniels have earned the Utility Dog title, one of the highest titles that can be achieved in the world of dog obedience.
With the emergence of new events like agility, flyball and rally obedience, the AWS stands poised to show its versatility to the world. Already, AWS fans have established their dogs as true competitors in the sports and made all of their fellow enthusiasts proud of their accomplishments. American Water Spaniels are successful at these sports because they possess a seemingly insatiable appetite to work in partnership with their owners. The bond that can form between an AWS and its owner is sometimes described as unbreakable, and American Water Spaniels that would otherwise excel at jobs conducted under the direction of an owner will often times flounder or absolutely refuse to perform under the direction of another person.
Of all the activities that the AWS enjoys, perhaps none is more important to it than field work. Whether you are a hunter of waterfowl or upland game, you will rarely be disappointed with the performance of the AWS. Unfortunately for the first-time buyer of an American Water Spaniel, there are few dogs that hold nationally recognized titles from any major registry, so pursuit of a pup from proven field dogs is difficult at best. Buyers must rely on the word of the breeder to assure them of the hunting ability in the parents of a puppy rather than pedigrees indicating a long lineage of ancestors who had earned numerous field titles.
The reason for this is that for decades there were only two organizations that offered nationally recognized hunt-test title programs for the American Water Spaniel. These organizations, the Hunting Retriever Club (HRC) and the North American Hunting Retriever Association (NAHRA), provide testing programs most suitable for the common retriever and less suited to a spaniel. This is not to say that the AWS or any other spaniel is incapable of performing the requirements of these testing programs but instead that the programs may not be as conducive to the work of the AWS and as such you may not see as many American Water Spaniels, as a percentage of the breed’s population, participating in these tests as you would other breeds.
With ardent support from breeders and owners alike, American Water Spaniels can look forward to a bright future in the show ring and in the field.
Another reason for low participation in these testing programs might be the fact that many hunters who own a hunting AWS look upon them not as specialized retrievers but as all-around field dogs and as such do not feel comfortable training them for one specific task. Whatever the reason for the relatively low number of American Water Spaniels participating in the retriever hunt tests, there have still been slightly more than 20 retriever titles awarded to American Water Spaniels by these 2 organizations over the last 20 or so years. This is a good indication that with a dedicated owner and a solid training program the AWS can succeed in these