In an 1851 book, the water spaniel is described as “headstrong and unruly,” “surly and ill-tempered, with children even” and “scarcely worth the notice of the sportsman.” The author provides this introduction:
Bear in mind that this criticism was made at a time when breeds were still being developed and refined and the entry is on “water spaniels” in general (other entries in the book describe “the setter” and “the pointer”), and not specifically the English water spaniel, as it came to be known.
Source for three images above:
Ash, E. C. (1927). Dogs: their history and development. London: Ernest Benn
In his 1910 book, Robert Leighton provides the following entry on the breed:
If, like me, you are unfamiliar with “Astrakhan fur” and decide to search on it, allow me to give you both a warning (which I didn’t have) and a brief description if you opt to skip it: it refers to the curly fleece of very young karakul lambs in central Asia.
Below: Photos of living specimens of the breed from the early twentieth century.
Compton, H. (1904). The twentieth century dog, sporting. London: Grant Richards.
Leighton, R. (1907). The new book of the dog. London, England: Cassell
Leighton, R. (1907). The new book of the dog. London, England: Cassell
Leighton, R. (1907). The new book of the dog. London, England: Cassell
The English water spaniel apparently lacked sufficient dedication from enough breeders to sustain the breed and died out sometime between the world wars. The water spaniel however was immortalized by the words of William Shakespeare:
In Two Gentlemen of Verona, speaking of a maid : “She serves for wages and hath more qualities than a water-spaniel; which is much.”
https://www.thedogplace.org/Prose-and-Poetry/Shakespeares-Dogs-fl1809.asp