How to Groom a Curly-Coated Retriever

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By eHow Contributing Writer

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The Curly Coated Retriever has a very unique coat. It's made up of tight, thick curls that lay close to the body. These curls cover the entire body, including the neck, legs and tail. The Curly Coated's coat is also water resistant and doesn't take much work to maintain. These dogs need only a general grooming once a month and a full grooming every 8 to 12 weeks.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Blending shears
Scissors
Slicker brush

Step 1

Remove stray hairs from the face and body with blending shears. The face should have a clean, smooth look.
Step 2

Bathe your dog. Fluff dry after bathing, but don't try to straighten the dog's hair.
Step 3

Wet the coat slightly again after bathing and drying so that the coat can resume its normal curly texture.
Step 4

Remove feathering from the tail by clipping stray hairs.
Step 5

Brush the dog with a slicker brush while she's experiencing shedding season. These dogs shed an average amount of hair.

Tips & Warnings

Breeders developed the Curly Coated Retriever in England. It's one of the oldest retriever breeds.
Curly Coated Retrievers generally weigh between 65 and 80 lb. and range in height from 25 to 27 inches.
These dogs usually live about 8 to 12 years.
Curly Coated Retrievers are incredibly active. They need lots of physical, as well as mental, activity in order to be happy and healthy. They particularly enjoy swimming and retrieving things. Their high energy level makes them a bad choice for apartment life.
This breed commonly suffers from hip dysplasia, eye problems and epilepsy.

Comments

kalindria said

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on 1/12/2008 Of necessity, I lived in a small apartment for six years with my two curly-coated retrievers. They were walked morning and evening and taken to the beach to swim on weekends when we weren't at dog shows. They can be perfectly happy in a small home as long as they are given sufficient attention and exercise. There are *some* lines that are higher energy than others but there are probably more curlies who are big couch potatoes.