Curly Haired Retriever: The Complete Breed Guide
The curly haired retriever is the Curly-Coated Retriever, an English sporting breed with a coat of tight, water-resistant curls. Adults stand 25 to 27 inches (64 to 69 cm) at the shoulder and weigh 57 to 90 pounds (26 to 41 kg). Most live 10 to 12 years, which is long for a dog this size.
This is a working gundog built for cold water, so it suits active owners with outdoor space, a long walk routine, and somewhere to swim. Its reserve around strangers is a breed trait rather than a fault to train out. It does not suit apartment life or anyone hoping for a Golden Retriever with a perm.
Curly-Coated Retriever at a Glance
The ranges below come from the Wisdom Panel breed profile (2026) and the American Kennel Club (2026). Your dog will sit inside them rather than at the edge.
| Characteristic | Details |
|---|---|
| Breed group | Sporting, one of the oldest retriever breeds |
| Size | Large |
| Height | 25 to 27 inches (64 to 69 cm) at the shoulder |
| Weight | 57 to 90 pounds (26 to 41 kg) |
| Coat | Tight curls over most of the body, short hair on the face and the front of the legs |
| Color | Black or dark liver |
| Life expectancy | 10 to 12 years |
| Daily exercise | 60 minutes or more, with swimming when possible |
The Cost of Choosing a Rare Breed
The Curly-Coated Retriever Club of America calls its own breed rare, and the club is not being modest. Rare means the litter you want may not exist this year, the nearest breeder may be several states away, and health testing matters more rather than less, because a small breeding population has less room to absorb mistakes. It also means nobody at the dog park will know what your dog is. Owners who wanted a retriever and settled for the rarest one are the ones who rehome. If a long wait and a narrow gene pool sound like a problem, get a Labrador.
The Coat Is Built for Water and Ruined by Brushing
The curls are not decoration. They sit tight against the skin, hold a layer of air, and carry oils that push water away, which is why a Curly can work a freezing marsh and come out dry underneath.
A brush is the wrong tool. Dry brushing splits the curls into frizz, breaks the hair, and leaves the burrs where they were. Soak the coat, work your fingers through the curls, pat it back into shape, and let it air-dry.
Shedding is seasonal and modest, once a year for most males and twice for most females. A metal comb on a damp coat lifts the dead hair in ten minutes. Three or four baths a year is enough, and shaving removes the insulation the dog needs in cold water.
Owners who expect Golden Retriever grooming spend the first year fighting the coat. Owners who leave it alone get a dog that dries in twenty minutes.
Living With a Reserved Retriever
Reserve is written into the breed standard, so it is not a training failure to fix. A Curly is warm with the people it lives with and indifferent to the ones it meets on a walk, which makes it a better watchdog than a greeter.
Socialization between eight weeks and six months widens the circle the dog accepts. It never turns the dog into a Labrador.
The table below matches the breed’s documented traits to everyday situations.
| Situation | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Strangers at the door | Watched, not welcomed, and introductions take a few visits |
| Children | Good with school-age children who respect space, a supervision job with toddlers |
| Other dogs | Usually tolerant, less interested in dog parks than other retrievers |
| Cats and small pets | Chase instinct is real, and free-roaming rabbits are a genuine risk |
| Apartment living | Poor fit on size, exercise needs, and a voice that carries |
| Time alone | Handles a normal workday, not a full day alone every day |
Health Screening This Breed Actually Needs
The national breed club asks breeders to evaluate hips, heart, and eyes, and the AKC health testing list for sportings (2026) adds three DNA tests.
| Condition | Screening |
|---|---|
| Hip dysplasia | OFA or PennHIP evaluation of both parents |
| Inherited eye disease | Ophthalmologist exam plus the PRA-crd4/cord1 DNA test |
| Cardiac disease | Cardiac exam performed by a cardiologist |
| Glycogen storage disease IIIa | DNA test, as listed by the breed club |
Exercise-induced collapse shows up as a young adult that stumbles during hard play, and the DNA test is cheap next to the worry. Gastric dilatation and volvulus is the emergency that matters most in a deep-chested dog.
A dog that retches without bringing anything up, has a hard and swollen abdomen, or paces and drools needs a veterinarian immediately. Waiting until morning costs dogs their lives.
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Daily Care
Exercise That Ends in Water
An hour of walking keeps a Curly fit, and water keeps it content. Retrieving from a pond works the whole dog, and most Curlies will swim until someone calls them out.
Land work still matters, on lead or in a fenced field, because the chase drive does not switch off near ducks. Two shorter sessions beat one long one in summer, when the black coat absorbs heat.
After Every Swim
Rinse the coat to take off pond silt, then dry the ears. The ear canal sits under a flap of curled hair that holds moisture, and a wipe with a drying ear cleaner after each swim prevents most infections this breed picks up.
Check the skin under the collar and between the toes while the dog is still wet, since that is when grass seeds are easiest to find.
The Weekly Ten-Minute Check
Run your hands over the dog once a week and you will catch most problems while they are small.
- Check the armpits and ears for burrs and grass seeds, which work into the skin and turn into abscesses.
- Look at the nails, because a swimming dog wears them unevenly.
- Feel the ribs, since the coat hides weight gain better than any other retriever coat does.
- Check the eyes for discharge or redness that lasts past a day.
Training a Dog That Thinks First
Curlies were bred to work at a distance from a handler and to solve problems without being told how. That makes them quick to learn and quick to notice when a request is pointless.
Reward-based training works with this temperament. Harsh corrections produce a dog that complies once and then finds something better to do.
Plan on three years to full maturity, longer than a Labrador needs. Recall is the skill worth protecting, so practice it on land, then in shallow water, then around distractions, and keep the dog on a long line until it holds.
Two mistakes cost owners months. A puppy class that ends at sixteen weeks and then nothing, and an owner who expects a reserved dog to enjoy a crowded café because a Golden Retriever would.
Feeding a Large, Deep-Chested Dog
Feed an adult Curly twice a day rather than once, and measure the food instead of filling the bowl. Body condition beats any chart: the ribs should be easy to feel under the coat, and the waist visible from above.
Splitting meals and keeping the dog quiet after eating lowers the risk of bloat, although no feeding routine removes it. Treats should stay under a tenth of daily calories, which matters more in a breed that gains weight once the exercise slows.
Puppies need a large-breed formula in three or four meals a day, because fast growth on a dense diet stresses developing joints. Switch to adult food when the growth plate closes rather than at a fixed birthday.
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Is a Curly Haired Retriever Right for You?
The rows below collect the answers this guide gives elsewhere. For the wider field, the dog breeds hub lists profiles by size, coat, and temperament.
| Choose a Curly if | Look elsewhere if |
|---|---|
| You can give an hour of exercise and regular swimming | Your exercise happens on a leash in a city |
| You want a dog that is polite rather than effusive with visitors | You want a dog that greets every stranger like a friend |
| You will wait for the right litter and pay for health testing | You need a puppy in the next two months |
| You like a coat that needs water more than brushes | You want a coat you can brush out every week |
| You are patient with a dog that matures at three | You want a dog that is easy through its second year |
Related Breeds
- The Chesapeake Bay Retriever is the other retriever built for cold water, with a coat that sheds ice and a temperament that is even more territorial.
- The Spanish Water Dog carries a similar tight coat with a much stronger herding instinct behind it.
- The Labrador Retriever stays the easier choice for most families, and the comparison usually ends there.
Frequently Asked Questions
These are the questions the sections above do not answer.
Sources
- American Kennel Club, Sporting Group health testing requirements.
- Curly-Coated Retriever Club of America, Health information and CHIC testing criteria.
- Wisdom Panel, Curly-Coated Retriever breed profile.
- Merck Veterinary Manual, Gastric dilation and volvulus in small animals.
- American Kennel Club, Curly-Coated Retriever breed information.
