Curly Coated Retriever

Description:
The curly coated retriever can be considered very haughty, resistant, and different because of its curly coat. This dog has a big but well proportioned head. Its skull is slightly flat, it has long and strong lower jawbones but they shouldn't be pointy. Its eyes are pretty big but should not look too prominent and the color should be brown or black, never yellow. The shoulders of this dog are very deep, its chest shouldn't look too wide but it is longish. The body is short and muscular. The legs should be moderate in length; the front ones are strong and the hocks should be low and moderately angled. The tail is moderately short, straight and ends in a point. The coat of this dog should be curly, although sometimes the curls are somewhat open. The color of a curly coated retriever is always black or blackish.

Ideal owner:
Curly coated retrievers are excellent swimmers and are hunters by nature. This dog is serene and somewhat reserved and it is fairly easy to train. It's a great children and family dog however they aren't very keen about being around strangers and don't like to be touched too much. It is important to not be rude with these dogs. Since this is a very athletic breed this dog needs to live around an area where it can run around and if you live around a lake even better, it loves swimming – once it gets in the water though, it's hard to get it out.

Growth:
There are a variety of sizes this breed comes in both for puppies and adults. Litter size varies from one puppy to fifteen puppies. Puppies generally weigh around 225 to 400 grams at birth. The hind spurs should be removed and the front ones are optional. At eight weeks a puppy should weigh around six to seven and a half kilograms. A female adult can weigh around twenty to twenty five kilograms and a male around five to seven kilograms over that. This dog matures slowly and it reaches its maximum height around twelve to eighteen months, however it can continue grow a little more. Breeders say they reach their full physical maturity at the age of two or three years. Curly coated retriever puppies tend to be more reserved than Labrador retriever puppies for example. The litter of a curly coated retriever will probably just observe visitors instead of jumping on top of them. At around eight weeks of age its coat is plush and is somewhat like a puppy poodles coat. At this age its adult color will also be evident. Liver colored ones will have pigmentation on their nose, lips, and eyelids. The eyes can be anywhere from yellow to brown, most people like them darker though. At around four months of age this dog's adult hair starts coming in. Up until this time the coat should be more wavy then straight and later on the thickness and curls of the coat become evident. At around the age of eighteen months to two years of age its attractive looks become very evident.

General health:
Breeders have informed that hip dysphasia and progressive retina atrophy are very uncommon, however they do put a lot of emphasis on getting x rays done on the dog. One thing the owner will need to do when getting one of these dogs is find out about alopecia, which is generic. This disease is in part a hormonal problem but it isn't completely known. A reputable dog breeder will give the future owner a written guarantee about it. There have also been cases of cancer and epilepsy but it is not clear if this has to do with individuals or if there is a tendency of them in this breed. This breed sheds completely, and normally this occurs around the end of spring and beginning of summer – its hair will literally fall out in chunks so don't panic. To help your dog during this time, make sure to brush its coat everyday. After this, this breed doesn't lose much more hair and the amount of work you will need to put into its coat is very minimal. Don't dry this dog's coat with towels as it will cause it to stretch out and will mess up the curls. The life span of a curly coated retriever is around ten to fifteen years.