Spanish Water Dog Rain breaks obedience barriers with AKC firsts
Rain became the first Spanish Water Dog to pair an AKC breed championship with an Obedience Trial Championship, then broke more ground at Westminster.
Rain has already rewritten the Spanish Water Dog line in AKC obedience. The 9-year-old dog from Colleen Nolan became the first and currently only Spanish Water Dog to hold both an AKC breed championship and an Obedience Trial Championship, and she was the first of her breed to earn the Obedience Grand Master title and to compete in the Westminster Kennel Club Masters Obedience Championship. She will carry that record into the 2026 AKC National Obedience Championship at the Roberts Centre in Wilmington, Ohio, on July 16 and 17.
Rain is the type who will race back and forth from a playground slide, then turn serious the moment the ring opens. Nolan picked the breed because she wanted a medium-sized, intelligent dog that reminded her of the farm dogs she grew up with. Her first Spanish Water Dog, Z, pulled her into AKC sports and gave her a foundation in obedience, AKC Rally, Coursing Ability Tests and Fast CAT, AKC’s timed 100-yard dash.
AKC recognized the Spanish Water Dog in April 2011, with the Spanish Water Dog Club of America as the parent club, and the breed is a rustic, sturdy, medium-sized athletic working dog suited to herding, hunting and assisting fishermen. The breed also carries strong herding instincts and an intense desire to please, traits Nolan turned into competitive control instead of letting them scatter into distraction.
Obedience is built in steps, with Novice, Open and Utility marking the climb, and Westminster’s Masters Obedience field is limited to the top 200 dogs by Obedience Trial Champion points earned during a qualifying period. Rain earned an invitation to the national championship weekend that also includes AKC Rally Nationals.
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