Curly coated retriever Dog Breed Info – Itsaboutdog

The dog breed curly coated retriever is one of the most popular retriever breeds, which are bred mainly for English gamekeepers in earlier times. This retriever breed used to have a curly coat with tight curls, which gave them a unique appearance.

The dog is very affectionate and loving and is now mostly used for participating in dog sports; these retriever breeds sporting dogs are great swimmers and need almost ninety minutes of exercise per day to stay healthy.

The Curly-Coated Retriever: A Devoted and Active Companion

The Curly-Coated Retriever, with its distinctive tight curls, is a beloved breed known for its affectionate nature, intelligence, and love of sports. Here’s a breakdown of this unique breed:

Understanding the Curly-Coated Retriever

  • Origins: England, 1700s. Bred for retrieving game for hunters.
  • Appearance: Medium-large size, floppy ears, tight curls, black or liver color.
  • Temperament: Loyal, playful, and intelligent. Can be independent and a bit stubborn.

Adaptability

  • Apartment Friendly? Not ideal. They need significant exercise and space.
  • Good for Newbies? Moderately. While trainable, they need an experienced, active owner.
  • Sensitivity: Can be sensitive and crave quality time with their family.
  • Tolerates Being Alone: Generally well-behaved if needs are met but puppies may struggle.
  • Tolerates Cold: Their coat offers some protection from the cold.

Friendliness

  • Affectionate: Very loving towards their family.
  • Dog Friendly: Typically gets along well with other dogs.
  • Stranger Friendly: Can be reserved with strangers but not usually aggressive.

Health & Grooming

  • Shedding: Moderate. Regular grooming needed.
  • Grooming Difficulty: Relatively easy.
  • Drooling: Can drool when excited or stimulated.
  • General Health: Prone to some health issues like hip/elbow dysplasia, eye problems.
  • Weight Gain: Can become overweight with improper diet and exercise.
  • Size: Medium-Large.

Trainability

  • Easy to Train: Fairly easy, but their stubbornness can be a challenge.
  • Tendency to Bark/Howl: May bark when excited or on alert.
  • Intelligence: High. Quick learners

Physical Needs

  • Energy Level: High. Needs ample daily exercise and stimulation.
  • Intensity: Needs both physical exercise and mental challenges.
  • Potential for Playfulness: Very playful, especially retrieving games.

History Notes

  • One of the oldest retriever breeds.
  • Popular working dogs in England, then became popular companions.
  • Less common than other retrievers.

Key Takeaways

  • Curly-Coated Retrievers are active and devoted dogs.
  • Ideal for experienced owners who can provide lots of exercise and attention.
  • They make fantastic family dogs and excel in dog sports.
  • Regular grooming and veterinary checkups are essential.

If you’re looking for a smart, energetic, and affectionate companion who enjoys being part of an active lifestyle, the Curly-Coated Retriever might be the perfect fit for you.

Contents

Adaptability

Not suitable for apartment living (Rate: 2 out of 5)

The retriever breeds with curly coats are considered to be not suitable for an apartment-style lifestyle. These retriever dog breeds usually require much exercise and playing sessions as compared to many dog breeds, due to which they require a large area for performing their daily exercises.

As discussed, dogs are originally bred for sports; they always remain active and keep on searching for different activities to perform, which is a unique feature of the canine among other retrievers.

Good for novice owners (Rate: 3 out of 5)

This curly-coated dog of retriever breeds is considered to be one of the best choices for beginner dog owners among all the other retrievers, like golden or labrador retrievers. The dogs of the curly-coated retriever clubs are extremely intelligent, affectionate towards the family, and active, which makes them one of the best choices among other breeds for early training, daily exercise, and early socialization.

This dog breed can be a great companion for novice owners, but the owner has to behave lovingly with the canine mental stimulation. The owner can also go for using positive reinforcement during the training procedures for the mental stimulation of the canine and to keep him stress-free.

Sensitivity (Rate: 3.5 out of 5)

The retriever dog breeds are quite friendly dogs, and also, this dog shows a bit of sensitivity when it comes to a compromise with the quality time with the owner. From a young age, a dog has a habit of being close to its owner, due to which they become possessive of its owner.

Compared to other animals, dogs are more loyal; they are also very affectionate towards their family members and always keep on urging for some quality time with the family members. To make the canine learn good manners, the owner should treat this oldest retriever with patience and care.

Keeps Calm and patient when left alone (Rate: 4 out of 5)

The curly-coated retrievers are one of those dogs which can easily handle themselves when left alone, just like the golden retrievers. Among all the other breeds, this oldest retriever breeds get anxious when its limit to tolerate loneliness exceeds.

Both the adult dog and the curly-coated retriever puppy turn destructive when their level of tolerance exceeds and they start to chew things around them.

As per research, curly-coated retriever puppy has more chances of getting anxiety attacks while being alone, so it is strictly suggested to dog owners to keep their canine along with them as the anxiety attacks can be more dangerous for the canine than other breeds and can even be life-threatening.

Tolerates cold weather easily (Rate: 3.5 out of 5)

The curly-coated retrievers having crisp curls are more comfortable in the cold weather, and the dogs have a type of oily coat that protects their skin from dryness and dead hair during the shedding season. Most retrievers have a unique coat type that doesn’t let the cold outside get absorbed in their body.

Among all the other pets, the retrievers are the ones who can even adapt themselves to the cold weather by doing workouts and other activities on their own; this is all because of the characteristics they have obtained from the genes of this active family.

Curly coated retriever

All around friendliness

Affectionate with the family members (Rate: 5 out of 5)

These curly-coated retrievers are very affectionate and loving toward their family. The wickedly smart owners used to go with these dogs of the curly-coated retriever club because they listened to almost every command of the family members and even kept the small children of the house engaged with them.

The confident owner can also go for keeping their small children with the canine for some time, as the canine has the potential to do anything for the sake of the children’s safety.

Friendly with dogs (Rate: 3 out of 5)

The curly coated retrievers are one of those dog breeds which are friendly and affectionate towards other retrievers and canines too. No other dogs have such a habit of being friendly with other pets naturally, but this dog has this in his nature, due to which he always tries to get friendly with other canines.

But when the canine gets threatened by predators, he will turn aggressive for control, and the owner has to give enough exercise and walking sessions to the canine to make him more socialized.

Friendly with strangers (Rate: 2.5 out of 5)

The curly-coated retrievers are also friendly with strangers, but only until they get threatened by them. Most of the time, strangers may even threaten the curly-coated retrievers unintentionally, which may lead to aggressive behavior.

To properly control such behavior, the dog owner has to simply introduce his canine well to the proper leash behaviors. This will simply lead to a proper grip of the owner over the canine when he turns aggressive, which will help control such problematic situations.

Curly coated retriever

Health and grooming requirements of the curly-coated retriever

Amount of shedding (Rate: 3.5 out of 5)

The curly coated retrievers are one of those dog breeds which shed on a moderate basis. Sometimes their scalp may get slightly looser due to the excessive release of natural oils, which mainly leads to the shedding of hairs; if it remains untreated, then it may also lead to white hairs.

The female curly-coated retrievers usually shed every six months in a moderate range, due to which the canine needs to be trimmed regularly to limit the growth of the canine’s curly hairs.

Easy to groom (Rate: 4.5 out of 5)

The curly coated retrievers are one of those dogs which are relatively easy to groom as compared to other canines. The groomers have made a statement that they have rarely noticed the canine of this breed having straight hair; the hair of the canine generally used to have a dense mass and a few white hairs for which the retrieving setter has to put more effort in grooming the canine.

The groomers might face some difficulties in grooming the tail portion as the hairs on the site have even more split tens, for which the groomer might have to turn the tail to give a perfect shape to the hair.

Drooling potential (Rate: 3.5 out of 5)

The curly-coated retrievers, just like the other dog breeds, might drool when gets they burst out of emotions at a time. It happens with most the canine where the salivary glands of the canine get stimulated due to the sudden release of adrenaline which may be because of any emotions like happiness, sadness, hunger, and even anger. In such a situation, the owner will notice the canine drooling in a moderate amount.

This will sometimes lead to drooling spots on the couches and pillow covers; thus, to maintain cleanliness, the owner has to go for frequent cleaning of the house.

General Health (Rate: 3 out of 5)

The curly-coated retrievers, just like most of the other dog breeds, used to suffer from some basic health problems which they haven’t inherited from their genetic traits. The diseases the curly-coated retrievers suffer from during their lifetime includes life-threatening stomach condition, glycogen storage disease, elbow dysplasia, hip dysplasia, hypothyroidism, and many others, which, if remain untreated, might get deadly for the canine.

The dogs are great outdoors, due to which they might even suffer from many skin issues like solid black bumps on the skin, which may be discomforting for the canine and needs to be treated rapidly.

Effective weight gainer (Rate: 3.5 out of 5)

This retrieving setters dog is an effective weight gainer, but the fact to notice here is that it only becomes overweight when it loses control over its diet. Inducing food products with nutrients more than the requirement of the canine’s body leads to weight gain; thus, it is better to avoid such products from the diet of the canine.

Size of the coated retriever (Rate: 3 out of 5)

The size of the curly-coated retriever falls between the range of medium to large; the male-coated retriever weighs around 60 – 7o lbs, whereas the female one may range from 70 – 80 lbs. The dog attains a height of almost 24 – 26 inches during its entire life and might achieve a few inches more than this, depending on its level of immunity.

Curly coated retriever

The trainability of the Curly Coated Retrievers

Easy to train (Rate: 3.5 out of 5)

These curly-coated dogs are considered to be one of those dogs which are relatively easy to train; they are effective listeners and highly intelligent, due to which they can grab new tasks rapidly.

Now the fact to notice here is that the dogs are quite stubborn, so the owner has a nature of couch potatoes and might face a lot of difficulties in training the canine properly. But adopting a regular schedule may solve all these problems.

Tendency to haul (Rate: 2.5 out of 5)

The curly-coated dog breeds are calm, but whenever they get a kind of threatening by strangers or get anxious due to hunger or other noises, they mostly tend to bark or haul.

This can sometimes be very disturbing, and to stop, the dog owner needs to console the dog with some extra love and care; some treats may also work well in such conditions.

Intelligence (Rate: 3 out of 5)

The intelligence of the curly-coated retriever is one of the unique features that can be appreciated. The level of intelligence the canine have is rarely seen in other dogs, which makes it popular among the show ring.

These dogs are highly intelligent, but if the owner goes for keeping the sessions lengthy to make the dog learn many things in a single day, then it will ultimately lead to stress and anxiety for the canine as the canine will find lots of difficulties in managing a huge amount of tasks at a time.

Curly coated retriever

Physical requirements of the curly-coated dog retrievers

The energy level of the coated retriever (Rate: 3.5 out of 5)

The energy level of the curly-coated retriever dog is quite higher than other dog breeds. The dog remains highly active throughout the whole day and keeps on searching for activities on its own to maintain the energy released in its body.

It has been suggested to the dog owners to go for adding playing sessions for almost 30 – 45 minutes per day to the canine’s schedule to help the canine regulate the energy in the body appropriately.

Exercise requirements (Rate: 2.5 out of 5)

The exercise requirement of this coated retriever is also quite different than that of other canines. This curly-coated retriever is bred for the gamekeepers, which means that the canine has to put himself healthy and muscular in appearance to have a positive impact on others.

Along with the normal exercise schedule of thirty to forty-five minutes, the dog needs some athletic training, too, which should include jogging, swimming, jumping, etc.

Curly coated retriever

Breed history of the curly-coated retrievers

Curly-coated retrievers have a unique history, which attracts most dog owners to this breed. It is one of the retriever’s first breeds that originated in England in the early 1700s.

It was one of the first breeds bred mainly for the gamekeepers of that time. As per the research done, the exact history of the curly-coated retrievers is not available now as the ancestry of these sporting dogs has been lost.

Some pieces of evidence available regarding this dog breed have proven this is a cross between the Irish water spaniel and the English water dog. The Irish water spaniel is a small type of canine from which the dog has inherited the trait of being a great swimmer.

This curly-coated dog breed was one of the oldest British retriever breeders and was recognized by the national breed club in the 1860s.

This curly-coated breed was first taken to the United States in 1907 and was the first to get registered with the American Kennel Club among all other dogs. At that time, this breed was in the 123 number out of the 137 breeds detected by the American Kennel Club at that time.

Some historians have also named this the Blue collar of retrievers as this dog was bred mainly for the gamekeepers and not for the aristocrats. Blue collar retrievers are one of the first breeds among all the other dogs to get popularity similar to the Labradors.

Curly coated retriever

The temperament of the Curly Coated Retriever

The Curly Coated Retrievers are considered one of the most suitable family pets mainly because of their temperament.

The dog remains very affectionate and loving towards all the members of the family and keeps putting in his best efforts following the commands of the family members to satisfy the owner, which makes the breed the best family pet.

This dog with tight curls is one of the best listeners with a high level of intelligence among all the other dogs.

To keep furnishing the intelligence of the canine and to maintain the pet’s interest in the training sessions, the owner should keep on playing retrieving games with the canine.

This retrieve game mainly indulges the canine in doing interesting activities, which keeps the canine active and playful.

The appearance of the Curly Coated Retriever

The curly-coated dog of this retriever breed is mainly popular due to its unique appearance. The dog has a kind of floppy ears and tight curls over his coat with cute oval-shaped eyes, the floppy ears of the canine work as a cherry on the cake over its appearance.

The dog is mostly available in two colors, the black curly-coated retriever and the liver-colored curly-coated retriever. Among these, the black curly-coated retriever is most famous due to its shiny and attractive appearance, the cynologists have mentioned that the cases of pattern baldness are almost equal to zero in this breed.

Curly coated retriever

Care guide for a curly-coated retriever

The owners who are on the way to go for a coated retriever should know the proper methods to take care of this coated retriever canine. This coated retriever is very calm in appearance and energetic and requires almost half an hour of exercise and mental stimulation per day to stay healthy in all aspects.

The dog owner can simply go for giving walking sessions to the coated retriever, inducing playing sessions in its schedule, which includes games like swimming, jogging running, etc.

Whereas a far part from this, the owner should always use positive reinforcement during the training of the coated retriever and should also make the coated retriever learn proper leash behavior for the curly rescue to save him from anxiety during walking sessions.

Curly coated retriever

FAQ’s

1. What is the average lifespan of the curly coated retrievers?

The average lifespan of the curly-coated retrievers is recorded as around 12 – 13 years, but it may also vary depending upon the immunity level of the dogs.

But the fact to notice here is that in case the owner wants to increase the dog’s longevity, then he can simply go for inducing the healthiest foods as per the requirement to keep the required organ of the dogs healthy and active.

2. What is the scientific name of the Curly coated retriever?

The scientific name of the Curly Coated Retriever is Canis Lupus, but as we all know, the first name stands for the Genus, and the last name stands for the Species of the organism; thus, based on this, Canis is the Genus and Lupus is the Species of this Curly Coated Retriever.

3. What are the Parent breeds of the Curly Coated Retriever?

The Curly Coated Retrievers are found to be a cross of the English water dog and the Irish Water Spaniel. The Coated Retriever doesn’t carry any special characteristics of the parent breeds except appearance and temperament.

4. Is the Curly Coated Retriever a rare species?

The Curly Coated Retriever is one of the rarest species of retrievers available; they are present in almost one hundred fifty numbers which attracts the attention of the people towards it the most.

5. Do the curly-coated retrievers shed?

The curly-coated retrievers shed a moderate amount; although the shedding is moderate, the owner still has to use shampoos as per the skin type and regular grooming schedules to keep the canine clean in appearance and to limit hair growth.

6. What is the price of adoption for the curly-coated retriever?

If you are planning to adopt a curly-coated retriever, then it will cost you around $ 1000 to $2500 per canine.

Aapt Dubey
Aapt Dubey

Aapt Dubey, a devoted canine enthusiast and experienced dog Owner, brings boundless passion to our team. With a heart full of love for our four-legged friends, Aapt is dedicated to sharing insights on dog care, behavior, and training to make every pup's life happier and healthier at ItsAboutDog.com.

Know More

Recommended For You