Curly Coated Retriever by R Ward Binks

Patrick Chalmers charming poem published in 1931 emphasises the wildfowling function of the dog.

WATERPROOF
(THE CURLY-COATED RETRIEVER)

His brow is so spacious
He looks so sagacious,
The very owdacious
Old workman is he,
And out late and early,
A black dog and burly,
And coated as curly
As corkscrews can be;

When scent is all tricky,
When cover is thick, he
Can pick any dicky-
Bird, titled as game,
That you. Sir, can slaughter;
But it's in cold water
{His wig twisting tauter)
That most he wins fame;

Since to curls unmonastic
But closely elastic
No weather's too drastic,
His clusters are none
That rainstorms can raggle
Or haggle or draggle,
Agog for the gaggle,
He sits by the Gun;

And let tides as they will race
Away like a mill-race,
Shall your game, in their chill race,
Go out on the floods'?
Nay, a dog, black and curly,
With curls that are twirly,
Bobs back through the hurly-
Green water, white suds;

With a goose that is big and
A shake of his wig [and
The diamond drops jig and
"Jump off him like rain,
The pearly drops glisten)
He's landed, "Here's this 'un,"
Says he, "Now, let's listen
For gaggles again."

Down he sits, oh, let none err,
The dog that's the one-er
To wait, with the gunner,
The jowl off the sea-
A black dog, a burly,
Whose black coat is pearly
With raindrops and curly
As corkscrews can be!

From Gundogs by Patrick Chalmers(1931)

In his book Lennon traces the roots of the breed and with his kind permission we have published an extract below:

"The Curly Coated Retriever
In the United Kingdom today, there are usually between 100-150 Curly Coated Retrievers registered annually with the Kennel Club, so even in their country of origin they, although not rare, are relatively uncommon, especially when one considers the fact that there are sometimes as many as 16,000 Golden Retrievers registered annually.

Their ancestry is unknown but it is widely believed that they are the product of crosses between the now extinct English Water Dog, the Large Rough Water Dog, the Small Water Spaniel, the Large Water Spaniel, the Tweed Water Spaniel, the St. John's or Lesser Newfoundland Dog, the Llandidloes Welsh Setter, the Irish Water Spaniel, and the Poodle. Quite a mixture you will agree, but even so, colour, type, and conformation had been fixed as long ago as the mid-1800s making the Curly one of the oldest, if not the oldest retrieving breed of gundog still being shown and worked today.

Although various breeds seem to be involved in the evolution of the Curly Coated Retriever the end result is a large gundog, 27 inches at the withers (compared with the modern Labrador Retriever at 22 inches); they are black or liver in colour with a waterproof coat, hence its great stamina and proven ability to stand up to a long wet day in the field, or frequent immersion in water when out wildfowling. When working in water the dense curls of the coat are virtually water-tight so cold conditions hold no fear for him. The wildfowler often prefers the liver variety as they tend to blend in with the background found in marshes, shores or lakesides. His coat also offers good protection when hunting in potentially hazardous undergrowth

Years ago, before the Labrador assumed the key position amongst Gundog Retrievers, the Curly was probably the most popular shooting dog and was especially appreciated by gamekeepers, hard working men in all weathers, who required Gundogs which were tough, intelligent and courageous because, due to poachers, there were, and still are, times when a keeper needs a good guard.

Many of the Curly fraternity emphasise their intelligence and sagacity while always pointing out that they need firm but gentle training from an early age as they can easily become willful and out of proper control. In the past the Curly wrongly, in my mind, gained a reputation for being hard mouthed, a sin in modern gundog operator's eyes. This was due in part to their being possessed with tight fitting lips which may have given the impression of being hard in the mouth. Certainly, in my experience, I have never found a Curly with this fault. I would make the comment that Retrievers which have to recover wounded geese from rough water must take a firm hold and this habit in the old days may have helped to create the myth that Curlies are hard mouthed.

Curlies are noted for their physical toughness and their particularly keen noses, hence their brilliance on wounded game which had run. Intelligence in a working gundog is a priceless asset and I am of the firm belief that Curlies have A-Level brains.

The Curly Coated Retriever has had its ups and downs as a show breed, but it is difficult to understand the fluctuations in their popularity for they are indeed a very attractive and handsome breed and though their coats may require rather more preparation for the show ring than some, they certainly do not require as much as certain others which have achieved very high popularity in this sphere.

Breeding and showing has been left to a small but dedicated band of enthusiasts, without these people the Curly would have long since disappeared into the annals of history and the dog world would be all the poorer. Thankfully, with careful breeding and owners who care a great deal about their stock, this is a breed which is relatively free from the hereditary defects which plague other more popular breeds.

To sum up, the Curly is a Retriever well appreciated by sporting folk, with physical toughness, mental stoicism, strength, intelligence, nose and pace, in fact, he has all the good points associated with Retrievers. His temperament is very steady and all members of the family will receive his loyalty and devotion. This devotion will be demonstrated when guarding his owner's house and his solid build makes him a force to be reckoned with. Some amount of exercise is necessary for this
essentially outdoor breed, with good rural surroundings being preferred although his versatility also shows that he can fit into almost any surroundings be it town or country."