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Irish Water Spaniel

Irish Water Spaniel genetic profile from the CanVAS Atlas. 12 dogs in the Atlas, heterozygosity 0.37. Nearest relatives, trait loci frequencies, cohort distribution.

What the atlas says about Irish Water Spaniel

In the atlas, the Irish Water Spaniel clusters consistently as Irish Water Spaniel (100% of the 12 dogs here). Genetic diversity is high (mean heterozygosity 0.369), reflecting either a mixed-breed cluster or breeds with broad genetic backgrounds. At the trait loci, the SMAD2 variant is near-fixed at 100% vs 74% atlas-wide; the FGF4_retrogene_CFA18 variant is near-fixed at 96% vs 77% atlas-wide.

Mean heterozygosity is 0.369, notably high, indicates broad genetic background. Only 12 dogs of this breed in the atlas, modestly sampled.

Closest genetic neighbors in the atlas: Weimaraner, Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen, English Cocker Spaniel, Brittany, and Briard.

Genetic dimensions · CanVAS atlas

What the genome says about Irish Water Spaniel

Computed from the 14,478 research dogs in the Atlas. Methods: technical methodology.

Dogs in the Atlas
12Founders
10 from Spatola, 1 from JenkinsWGS, 1 from Hayward2016
Genetic diversity
0.37Diverse
Mean heterozygosity across the breed. Too few dogs in this breed (<20) to rank.
Cluster structure
Single tight cluster
Intra-breed RMS distance: 17.60
Nearest genetic relatives
  1. Weimaraner3.52
  2. Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen5.49
  3. English Cocker Spaniel5.95
  4. Brittany6.43
  5. Briard7.03
Top-10 PC corrected Euclidean. Lower = closer.
Trait genetics
Allele frequencies at named morphology loci

Frequency of the alternate allele in this breed at each locus's representative SNP. Methods + caveats in technical methodology.

Body size
IGF1
HMGA283%
SMAD2100%
LCORL96%
STC260%
ADAMTS1763%
Leg length
FGF4·CFA1896%
FGF4·CFA12100%
Coat
RSPO244%
FGF575%
KRT71100%
MC1R58%
Ear set
MSRB3
Skull shape
BMP3
SMOC275%
Add your Irish Water Spaniel to the Atlas

You can add your Irish Water Spaniel right now at /add/ as a Charted star. Or, if you'd rather wait for DNA uploads, leave your email and we'll let you know the moment those open.

Last updated
Sources: CanVAS (Brundage 2026) · CanVAS dimensions data