Curly-Coated Retriever Grooming

About the Curly-Coated Retriever

There are a handful of coats you should never brush, and every one of them for a different reason at all.

The Puli is separated into cords. The Spanish Water Dog is shorn once a year and left. The Komondor is split by hand. The Lagotto is scissored with the curl left in.

The Curly-Coated Retriever is the fifth, and its answer is water. The coat is a mass of small, tight, crisp curls lying close to the body, and a brush pulls those curls apart into a frizzy halo that takes weeks to recover. What re-forms the curl is wetting the coat down and letting it dry undisturbed.

It is also the oldest of the retriever breeds, and the face and forehead are smooth, which is characteristic and correct.

Wetting rather than brushing

The coat is a single layer of small, tight, crisp curls lying close to the body, covering everything except the face and forehead, which are smooth. There is no undercoat to speak of, and the curl itself provides the water and thorn resistance the breed was built for.

Do not brush it. A slicker or a bristle brush separates each curl into loose frizz, and the dog ends up looking woolly and unkempt rather than crisp. It grows back into curl over several weeks, so it is a cosmetic setback rather than damage, but there is no reason to cause it.

What restores and maintains the curl is water. Wetting the coat down, or simply letting the dog swim, and then allowing it to dry undisturbed, sets the curls back into shape.

Between times the coat needs almost nothing: run your hands over it, feel for anything felting at the skin, and separate that by hand if you find it.

Matting is a low risk on this coat, which surprises people who assume all curls mat. The curls are small, crisp and separate rather than soft and clinging.

Bathe every eight weeks or so, work shampoo through the curls rather than lathering the surface, rinse until clear, and let it air dry.

Shedding, trimming and what not to cut

Curlies shed, which surprises owners who expect a curly coat to hold its hair the way a Poodle does. It is moderate year round with two heavier seasonal periods, and because the hair is curly it tends to collect in clumps rather than spreading as fine hair.

During a seasonal shed, a rubber grooming mitt or your hands will lift a great deal of it, and a bath helps considerably. Still no brushing.

Trimming is minimal and specific. The feathering on the tail and ears is tidied, the hair between the pads is cleared, and the sanitary area is trimmed. Some owners tidy stray longer hairs on the tail.

The body coat is never clipped or scissored. Clipping a crisp single curl changes its texture, often permanently, and removes the water and thorn resistance the coat exists to provide.

The smooth face and forehead are correct and should not be trimmed to match anything.

A Curly that has been scissored into a shape has been given a Poodle groom, which is the wrong job.

Water, ears and drying

This is a serious water dog that will swim in anything, and the coat is built for it.

A curled water resistant coat sheds most of the water it meets, which is one reason drying is less of an ordeal here than on a Irish Water Spaniel. Towel it, let it drip, and let the curl re-form as it dries.

Rinse with fresh water after swimming in salt or chlorinated water, since both sit in a curl and irritate skin.

The ears are moderately feathered drop ears on a dog that swims constantly, which is the standard recipe for trouble. Lift weekly, look and smell, keep the hair around the opening trimmed, and dry the ears after every swim and bath.

Check the skin under the coat while you go over the dog, since a curled coat hides hot spots and ticks better than a flat one.

Nails every three to four weeks, and check between the toes after work in cover.

A rare breed, and what that means at a salon

Curly-Coated Retrievers are uncommon, and most groomers will never have handled one. Several will assume it is a doodle cross and offer to scissor it into a shape, which is exactly wrong.

Say what it is at the booking and be specific: no brushing, no scissoring, no clipping, the face stays smooth, and the tidy is limited to ears, tail, pads and sanitary.

Bring a photograph of a correctly coated dog if you can. It prevents the well meaning tidy more reliably than any description.

Honestly, most Curly owners need a groomer for very little: nails, ears, pads and a bath. The coat itself is close to self maintaining if it is left alone.

Curlies are also more reserved with strangers than the other retrievers, being independent and somewhat aloof rather than immediately friendly, so a groomer expecting Golden Retriever enthusiasm may misread a perfectly normal dog.

The breed is deep chested, so bloat is a risk: no large meal around an appointment.

What to tell your groomer

Say the coat is never brushed, and that brushing turns the curl to frizz for weeks.

Say the body coat is never clipped or scissored, and the face and forehead are meant to be smooth.

Ask for the tidy only: ears, tail feathering, pads and sanitary area.

Say the coat is wetted down and left to air dry rather than blown out straight.

Ask for the ears dried and checked, since this is a drop eared dog that swims.

Say the dog may be reserved rather than friendly, which is normal for the breed.

Keeping the coat between grooms

Common Questions About the Curly-Coated Retriever