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ESPANJANVESIKOIRA HISTORIASTA: Espanjanvesikoira on vanha rotu ja alkuperästä ollaan monta eri mieltä mutta tarkkaa tietoa rodun alkuperästä ei ole. Yhden teorian mukaan turkkilaiset toivat rodun mukanaan Iberian niemimaalle lammas- ja vuohilaumojen mukana ja toisen teorian mukana vesikoira tuli Iberian niemimaalle Pohjois-Afrikasta mutta ensimmäiset merkinnät vesikoirasta ovat jo 1110 –luvulta. Yleisen mielipiteen mukaan nykypäivän espanjanvesikoira polveutuu näistä vesikoirista. Espanjanvesikoiralla on samat esivanhemmat kuin ranskalaisella ”kollegallaan”, barbetilla. Monen mielestä myös portugalinvesikoira ja lagotto periytyvät samoista esivanhemmista kuin espanjanvesikoira. Espanjassa vuoristoalueella rotua käytettiin lampaiden ja vuohien paimentamiseen ja rannikkoseudulla espanjanvesikoira toimi kalastajan apurina vetäen veneet vedeltä rannalle. Myöhemmin rotua käytettiin kalastajan apurina verkkokalastuksessa. Metsästäjät käyttivät sitä vedestä noutavana lintukoirana ja se sukeltaakin melko syvälle noutaakseen karkuun pyrkivän vesilinnun. Espanjanvesikoiran käyttötarkoitus ei ole paljoa muuttunut vuosien saatossa, päinvastoin voisi sanoa että käyttötarkoituksia on keksitty enemmän. Espanjassa espanjanvesikoira tuli tunnetuksi 1980 –luvulla, jolloin rotu nähtiin ensimmäisen kerran koiranäyttelyssä. Rotu ei silloin ollut vielä hyväksytty roduksi vaan Espanjan kennelliitto hyväksyi espanjan vesikoiran rotuna vasta vuonna 1985, FCI hyväksyi rodun vasta 1999 ja ensimmäiset espanjanvesikoirat rekisteröitiin Suomessa 1994. LUONTEESTA: Espanjanvesikoira
on kuuliainen työntekoa rakastava voimakasrakenteinen koira, joka on myös
iloisuutensa johdosta mainio seuralainen. Erinomaisen oppimis- ja
sopeutumiskykynsä vuoksi vain mielikuvitus on rajana siihen mitä kaikkea
espanjanvesikoiralta voi pyytää. Myös espanjanvesikoiran rohkeus ja luonteen
tasapainoisuus edesauttavat uusiin tilainteisiin ja paikkoihin sopeutumista.
History
of the Spanish Water Dog The
Spanish
Water Dog is an ancient breed. There are several theories regarding its
origins, however, the exact origin is not known. One theory suggests that
the Turkish merchants brought the dog to the South Iberian Peninsula along with
the flocks of livestock as they moved throughout the Mediterranean. Another
theory suggests North African origin. Regardless of its exact origin, there is
documentation of a wooly coated Water Dog on the Iberian Peninsula in 1110 AD.
It is generally accepted that these wooly coated dogs were the ancestors to the
common trunk of water dogs. The
breed has been known by many different names, including, Perro de Agua, Perro
Turco, Laneto, Perro de Lanas, Perro Patero, Perro Rizado, Churro, Barbeta and
most recently Perro de Agua Espanol. In
Spain, the Water Dog was primarily used for herding sheep and goats. In
the eighteenth century, a large company called “La Mesta” was responsible
for moving livestock, including the Water Dogs, from south to north of Spain and
back again searching for fertile grazing areas. This route was known as
“Canada Real”. The movement of animals was known as “Trashumancia”
Because of this, there were dogs working throughout Spain. When the French
Napoleonic forces occupied Spain, the “Trashumancia” began to diminish.
Spain’s Queen Elizabeth II’s minister Espartero, gave plots of land to
farmers, including livestock and dogs to guard and herd the livestock. The
French Aristocracy admired the Water Dog and brought them back to Paris.
There are paintings depicting French and Spanish Royalty with Water Dogs which
can be seen in “La Palacio de Granja” in Segovia. While
the Industrial Revolution affected the North of Spain and Madrid, it
“forgot” the Andalucians. While shepherds in other parts of Spain replaced
their herding dogs with German Shepherd Dogs and Belgian Shepherds, the Water
Dog remained in the Southern part of Spain, especially Cadiz and the mountains
of Malaga in Andalucia due to its ability to work in the mountains. At the
same time, in the ports of Seville, Algecieras and Malaga, the Water Dog was
used to tow boats to shore. Later, when this task was no longer necessary,
they were used in the Northern part of the country to assist the fisherman with
their nets. The
Water Dog was also used for hunting water fowl and upland game. The
fishermen in the Northern part of Spain, preferred the lighter colored dogs
because they were easier to see in the water, so they primarily used white,
beige and bi-colored dogs. The farmers preferred the darker colored dogs because
they were easier to see in the pastures, so most of those dogs were brown or
black. The
recent history of the breed began around 1980 when at a dog show in San Pedro,
Malaga, a woman named Mrs. Mesdag brought a Spanish Water Dog to be shown as an
Andalucian Breed. This show was organized by Santiago Montesinos Rubio and
judged by RSCE judge David Salamanca Ortega. At the show, Antonio Garcia
Perez, who was showing German Shepherd Dogs, saw the dog and told Mr Montesinos
and Salamanca that he has seen many of these dogs in Ubrique and surrounding
areas (Andalucia) and always wondered why he could never find the breed in any
dog book, as they were with his family as long as anyone could remember.
Santiago Montesinos, who was from Estepa (Seville) also remembered the dogs from
his youth. Antonio Garcia asked Mr Salamanca and Mr. Montessinos to help him get
the breed recognized, and they agreed. The first thing they did is request
photographs and any records that might be available. Santiago Montessinos
Rubio then formed Club de Perro de Agua and designed the logo. He came to
Ubrique and surrounding areas, using his own money to take photographs and study
the breed. He sent many letters to the RSCE (Central Kennel Club of
Spain), but got no response. In
the summer of 1983, Antonio Garcia Perez met with the Ministry of Agriculture,
bringing many photographs and Super 8 film, to discuss the Standard for the
Breed. The Standard that he initially wrote and presented was for two
different sizes of Spanish Water Dogs, but they would not accept this, so the
Official Standard was made into one with a larger range of sizes. It was
based on a dog named “Lucky” owned by Antonio Morena. It was
accepted by the Ministry of Agriculture. In the fall of that same year, at
the Madrid World Dog Show at Hipodromo de la Zarauela, two brown dogs were shown,
one male and one female. The President of the Spanish Government, Mr.
Filipe Gonzalez was in attendance at the show. He told the President of
the RSCE, Mr. Valentin Alvarez that he knew the breed because he had seen them
in South Andalucia where he grew up. Antonio Garcia Perez promised Mr.
Gonzalez a puppy once the breed was officially recognized. On
May 19, 1985, at the Madrid International Dog Show, held at Retiro Park, 47
Spanish Water Dogs were shown to be registered for the first time. There
were 42 dogs from the South of Spain and 5 from the North. Due to all the dogs
not meeting the Standard, for example some were Albino or had the incorrect bite,
about 40 dogs were registered. The breed was officially recognized
by RSCE and put into FCI Group VIII (flushing dogs) Section 3 (water dogs).
The PDAE was provisionally recognized by FCI until 1999 when it received full
recognition. On
September 6, 1986, Antonio Garcia Perez presented a male puppy to Mr. Gonzalez
at the Palacio de LaMoncloa. The dog was a brown dog called “Rabon”,
born with a natural bob tail. A few days later, the first
“Monografica” was held in Ubrique with 27 dogs and was judged by Mr. Marquez
de Parales. Best in Show was a brown male named “Marquez Chocolat”.
Best of Opposite was a bitch called “Mori” The
Spanish Water Dog can still be found working in the mountains of southern
Andalucia herding goat and sheep as they have been for the last 1000 years.
They are also used for many more modern tasks such as Search and Rescue and bomb
sniffing by the Spanish Government.
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