Curly-Coated Retriever

Retrievers & water dogs

Large

Median 12.2 y

FCI group 8 · Retrievers, Flushing Dogs and Water Dogs · Derived from the adult weight midpoint (33.3 kg)

Median survival across 218 UK dogs (VetCompass, McMillan 2024) · half live 9–14 y

The Curly-coated Retriever is a breed of dog originally bred in England for upland bird and waterfowl hunting. It is the tallest of the retrievers and is easily distinguishable by the mass of tight curls covering its body. Curly Coated and Wavy Coated were the first two recognised retriever breeds, established as early as 1860.

Confident

Smart

Proud

Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA) · reference ranges from the Kintail breed dataset

Adult weight

Reference

Male

29–41 kg

Female

27–36 kg

Breed club figure (the American Kennel Club)

Weight for age

Stock data

Male

Female

Expected range

Expected range from the breed's own adult weight, kilograms. Growth reference: Salt et al. 2017, WALTHAM (30–40 kg band).

Heat cycles · females

Stock data

First heat

8–12 mo

typical

Interval

180 d

typical

Bleeding

~9 d

typical

Proestrus 9d

Estrus 9d

Diestrus 52d

Anestrus 110d

General figures for dogs, not for this breed — individual cycles vary widely.

Questions people ask

Adult males usually weigh 29–41 kg and females 27–36 kg. Most are close to their full size by around 16 months, though the last little bit of filling out takes longer. Growth reference: Salt et al. 2017, WALTHAM (30–40 kg band).

No Curly-Coated Retriever cycle figures are published here yet, so this is general guidance rather than a breed number: most females have a first season somewhere between six and fifteen months, and cycles then settle to roughly every 180 days. Smaller breeds tend to start earlier and larger ones later.

The median is 12.2 y. Median survival across 218 UK dogs (VetCompass, McMillan 2024) · half live 9–14 y. How the later years go comes down to weight, teeth, exercise and regular check-ups far more than to the breed.