Some forms of misbehaving may seem extremely cute, but try putting on a mop of curly hair and a coat of ringlets. What do you get? You get an Irish Water Spaniel, of course.

The reputation of the Irish Water Spaniel as the clown of the spaniel family may have stemmed from two things. One, it is the one spaniel breed that appears to be rather comical looking, with its coiffed coat, its knotty hair-do and hairless body parts like the face and tail. Two, the Irish Water Spaniel is inherently curious, intelligent, and observant. It tends to always carry a quizzical look on its ringlet-bordered face. It is a confident dog that will really go out of its way to discover its surroundings. The Irish Water Spaniel is bound to prod, turn over and chew its way in order to learn what a particular object is; and while it is doing all that, it is swinging that naked looking tail in two directions. It may look comical, but this is really the way some dogs try to learn about new things.

The Irish Water Spaniel is a rather large dog, and of course its physical attributes are quite distinctive. This may be the reason why people often take a closer look at the animal - just to see how strange it is behaving (or rather misbehaving). Otherwise, its so-called antics are really part and parcel of the Irish Water Spaniel's playful nature.

This breed of dog is non-aggressive but very confident. The Irish Water Spaniel will definitely investigate anything unusual like a car riding past, the movable garden sprinkler head, or a beam of light on the floor. Yes, your pet Irish Water Spaniel may even try to chase after the occasional helicopter that passes overhead.

Because the Irish Water Spaniel is athletic, it can clear a five-foot fence easily. It is also an escape artist that is cheeky enough to abandon its watch guard duties to go out on one of its exploration escapades. If you have forgotten to take it out for its daily exercise, your pet may just go on its own jogging routine, or go to the nearest pond for a quick swim.

It is inherently intelligent, and craves mental stimulation. Without something that its mind can chew on, the Irish Water Spaniel literally chews on something else out of sheer boredom. Like most sporting dogs, the Irish Water Spaniel is a “chewer” and it is almost not happy without something dangling from its mouth. Locked behind the fences of your yard, or left without human companionship, your pet Irish Water Spaniel may just pick on your freshly laundered wash on the clothes line or that basketball you left on the porch.

The Irish Water Spaniel is not only prone to misbehavior. It has the tendency to become “comical” even, especially when you seem to have company. This dog is naturally shy in the presence of strangers and may not befriend your house guests easily. But while you oversee to the needs of your guests, your pet might just find itself something else to do, like study your friends from behind a glass panel with that quizzical look on its face, or chew on your favorite house slipper until it gets really soggy, or worse, jump over the fence to run down a bicyclist who just happened to chance by. Take comfort in the fact that only very intelligent dogs do these things.