I have been considering adding a dog to our fur family (we have two cats). Unfortunately, I am allergic to most dogs. I don't want to abandon this idea, so I have been researching my options. Haired (rather than furred) dogs are not hypoallergenic, but I am less allergic to them. I've been researching the dogs on the "haired" list. I love Standard Poodles, DH not so much. Portugese Water Dogs are out. I am all too familiar with what happened to Dalmations after 101 and 102 came out. We prefer a medium to large dog. The Irish Water Spaniel might be an option, but they are pretty rare and information is hard to come by. I don't know if I've ever seen one. Going to a dog show isn't an option (I can't test my allergy when there are furred dogs around to taint the test), so I plan to contact the only breeder (that I am aware of) within a 6 hours drive and hope she will humor me. But before I do this, I want to learn as much as I can preferably from people with hands on experience (owners, vets, pet sitters and walkers). PLEASE, if you can give me any insight into this breed, I'd appreciate it. Thanks.