Curly coated retriever

Curly coated retriever is a large retriever with a characteristic, short, but made of curls coat, resistant to adverse weather conditions. Intelligent, bold, smart, quite mentally hard, lively and energetic. He is not without aggression, so he works as a guardian.

Nature

In addition to the characteristic coat from the other varieties of retrievers distinguishes curly their unique character. At home, they are eager to seek contact with people, but they are great individualists. They are calm dogs, but they can be tedious if they do not have enough movement. They are characterized by elegance, jumping and agility. They really like swimming. They are distrustful of strangers, but they easily make friends. They are not aggressive towards people, but they can be feisty towards other dogs.

Skills

Curly coated retrievers were originally used as hunting dogs to catch shot mountain and waterfowl. They also acted as guard dogs, guarding bypasses and property against thieves and poachers.

In Australia, farmers decided on curly because of its versatile utility, using them as guard dogs, herding cattle and hunting for kangaroos. In Scandinavia, curly are used as sled dogs. In some countries, they are trained as guides for the blind.

Curly coated retriever. Training and education

Although they are very intelligent and learn quickly, they can be difficult to train because of their independence. Curly ripen for a very long time. Professionals say that they are only suitable for work after the age of three, while the year-old labradors are able to retrieve well. However, once curly reaches maturity, they are relentless in the field and hard to discourage them from working.

Who is this race for?

Curly coated retriever is suitable for people who have extensive experience with dogs and can spend a lot of time on training and walking. Opinions on whether these dogs are suitable for families with young children are divided. Certainly, the child’s contact with the dog should be under adult supervision and children should be taught appropriate behavior towards the dog.

Curly coated retriever. Advantages and disadvantages

Disadvantages

• stubborn and independent
• slowly matures
• needs a lot of movement and activity, bored can be a destroyer
• requires careful socialization
• sometimes feisty of dogs

Advantages

• intelligent
• cheerful, can make the biggest bleak laugh
• excellent swimmer
• great watchman

Health

As working dogs curly are healthy and resistant to weather conditions. However, like all large breeds, they are at risk of dysplasia of the hip and elbow joints, as well as gastric torsion and many other genetic diseases, including heart problems, epilepsy and various types of cancer.

Curly is also exposed to PRA (progressive retinal atrophy). Unfortunately, no PRA genetic test has been developed for this breed yet. In other countries, x-rays of the joints and eye tests are required.

Feeding

Curly is not overly fussy, but as the breed is extremely active, it needs a high quality feed. Dogs of this breed can be fed with ready-made feeds from reputable companies as well as properly balanced food prepared at home.

Care

Curly molts twice a year. Their coat is easy to care for. It does not require a haircut, and you only need to brush during the molting period. Once a week, you can slightly wet it and massage with your fingers, fixing the shape of the locks, and then gently pat. The condition of the garment is perfectly influenced by swimming, while poor karma immediately reflects on its appearance.

Curly coated retriever. History

Curly coated retriever, or “curly-haired retriever”, is a British breed. Its origin is difficult to determine precisely. Certainly, among curly ancestors, there were different breeds of dogs bred for retrieval, including water dogs with a characteristic curly, waterproof coat.

Curly is probably related to Irish Proof Spaniels, poodles and barbettes. Short curly hair must also be among curly ancestors, and this combination gave the breed a unique coat – short and molting, but twisted.

The exhibition was first shown curly in 1860, initially together with other retrievers. Four years later, a separate class was created for curly retrievers. Even at the beginning of the 20th century, curly was very popular in Great Britain, however, the outbreak of World War I, and then the spread of Labradors, contributed to a large decline in the population.

Its size can be evidenced by the fact that in 1919 only five individuals were registered in the homeland of the breed. Currently, there are several thousand such dogs in the world. It’s not much, but it’s enough to keep the race.

The curly coated retriever breed is most popular in Great Britain, Scandinavia, Australia and New Zealand. 

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Curly coated retriever – group VIII FCI, section 1, reference number 110

• Country of origin: Great Britain
• Character: balanced, brave, confident, distrustful of strangers, but he makes friends quickly
• Size: ideal height: dogs – 67.5 cm, bitches – 62.5 cm
• Weight: unspecified, 25-50 kg
• Coat: on the neck, torso and tail, create small, close-fitting curls; on the head and limbs is short (on the head it must be smooth)
• Ointment: black or brown (liver)
• Lifespan: 14 years
• Vulnerability to training: average; very intelligent but independent dog
• Activity: needs a lot of movement and activity
• Resistance/susceptibility to diseases: very resistant; there are hip and elbow dysplasia and PRA (progressive retinal atrophy), it is also exposed to gastric torsion

Interesting facts

Curly coated retriever is the oldest breed in the retriever group, the pattern of which was set in 1850 and has remained virtually unchanged to this day.