Episode 10: Curly-Coated, Flat-Coated, and Golden Retrievers
09/03/20 • 56 min
This episode continues our path through the origins of today’s modern retriever breeds by focusing on the Curly-coated, Flat-coated, and Golden Retrievers. All three of these breeds were developed in England and came to be known by the characteristics of their coat as opposed to a geographic name.
The least well-known of these breeds is the Curly-coated Retriever which, despite a reputation for a strong work ethic and agreeable personality, has never enjoyed much popularity in the retriever world. The Curly is one of the oldest of the retriever breeds but has never had more than a couple hundred new dogs registered in any given year. Their unique, tightly-curled coat is effective for shedding water as well as providing additional warmth. The origins of this coat aren’t known with any degree of certainty; it could harken all the way back to the St. John’s Water Dog, or it could be the result of adding in Barbet or Water Spaniel breeding stock along the way.
The Flat-coated Retriever actually enjoyed a high degree of popularity in the English hunting scene prior to the explosion of the Labrador. Their beautiful, raven-black coat and noble gait have earned them a reputation of being almost royal in their appearance and carriage. In fact, author David Hancock went so far as to suggest that Flat-coats be renamed the English Retriever due to the fact that no retriever breed ever maintained an eponymous link to the country... and what better candidate than the noble Flat-coated Retriever.
Among these breeds, the Golden Retriever has enjoyed the most popularity by far, whether as a companion, a mascot, a service dog, or as a hunting dog. The Golden’s lovable, good-natured personality leaves no doubt as to why they have found so much success in the pet market. Field lines, however, have produced some outstanding hunting dogs with the same capacity for running in field trials and hunting birds as the rest of the retriever breeds.
We wrap up the episode with a discussion of the now-extinct Norfolk Retriever which, based on the descriptions that remain, sounds awfully similar to today’s Chesapeake Retriever. Its origins are unknown, but it’s not unreasonable to guess that the shipwrecked puppies that led to the Chessie may have had relatives that did in fact make it to England. There is no question that none of our dog breeds were developed in a vacuum; instead, their rich history is intertwined and connected with other dogs of the same era.
Tune in to hear more about the development of these retrievers and how they came to be the world-class athletes and trusted companions that they are today. As always, we thank you for listening and hope you’ll continue to reach out with your comments, questions, and ideas. We can be reached at [email protected]. And don’t forget this week’s big announcement, that Hunting Dog Confidential is going to print! We are so excited to unveil this magazine which will feature stories of all kinds of hunting dogs from all around the world. Check out the official announcement and subscribe today!
Share | Comment, review and discuss this episode of the podcast in our Project Upland Community Facebook group.
Enjoy the show and don’t forget to rate, review, subscribe, and share this podcast.
Hunting Dog Confidential is presented by Eukanuba Premium Performance Dog Food
This episode continues our path through the origins of today’s modern retriever breeds by focusing on the Curly-coated, Flat-coated, and Golden Retrievers. All three of these breeds were developed in England and came to be known by the characteristics of their coat as opposed to a geographic name.
The least well-known of these breeds is the Curly-coated Retriever which, despite a reputation for a strong work ethic and agreeable personality, has never enjoyed much popularity in the retriever world. The Curly is one of the oldest of the retriever breeds but has never had more than a couple hundred new dogs registered in any given year. Their unique, tightly-curled coat is effective for shedding water as well as providing additional warmth. The origins of this coat aren’t known with any degree of certainty; it could harken all the way back to the St. John’s Water Dog, or it could be the result of adding in Barbet or Water Spaniel breeding stock along the way.
The Flat-coated Retriever actually enjoyed a high degree of popularity in the English hunting scene prior to the explosion of the Labrador. Their beautiful, raven-black coat and noble gait have earned them a reputation of being almost royal in their appearance and carriage. In fact, author David Hancock went so far as to suggest that Flat-coats be renamed the English Retriever due to the fact that no retriever breed ever maintained an eponymous link to the country... and what better candidate than the noble Flat-coated Retriever.
Among these breeds, the Golden Retriever has enjoyed the most popularity by far, whether as a companion, a mascot, a service dog, or as a hunting dog. The Golden’s lovable, good-natured personality leaves no doubt as to why they have found so much success in the pet market. Field lines, however, have produced some outstanding hunting dogs with the same capacity for running in field trials and hunting birds as the rest of the retriever breeds.
We wrap up the episode with a discussion of the now-extinct Norfolk Retriever which, based on the descriptions that remain, sounds awfully similar to today’s Chesapeake Retriever. Its origins are unknown, but it’s not unreasonable to guess that the shipwrecked puppies that led to the Chessie may have had relatives that did in fact make it to England. There is no question that none of our dog breeds were developed in a vacuum; instead, their rich history is intertwined and connected with other dogs of the same era.
Tune in to hear more about the development of these retrievers and how they came to be the world-class athletes and trusted companions that they are today. As always, we thank you for listening and hope you’ll continue to reach out with your comments, questions, and ideas. We can be reached at [email protected]. And don’t forget this week’s big announcement, that Hunting Dog Confidential is going to print! We are so excited to unveil this magazine which will feature stories of all kinds of hunting dogs from all around the world. Check out the official announcement and subscribe today!
Share | Comment, review and discuss this episode of the podcast in our Project Upland Community Facebook group.
Enjoy the show and don’t forget to rate, review, subscribe, and share this podcast.
Hunting Dog Confidential is presented by Eukanuba Premium Performance Dog Food
Previous Episode
Episode 9: The History of the Labrador and Chesapeake Bay Retrievers
Continuing on our path through the origin stories of the retriever breeds, this episode focuses on two of the most well-known hunting retrievers: the Labrador Retriever and the Chesapeake Bay Retriever. Both of these breeds trace their roots back to the St. John’s Water Dog of Newfoundland, but the similarities end there.
Wealthy, noble Englishmen were importing the St. John’s Water Dogs from North America and breeding them to suit their style of estate hunting. Two men in particular, the Earl of Malmesbury and the Duke of Buccleuch, were especially instrumental in the foundation of what is now known as the Labrador Retriever. These hardy, strong, athletic dogs displayed exceptional skills in the water and were also well-suited for pheasant shoots on land.
Across the Atlantic Ocean, two St. John’s puppies were on a ship bound for Poole, England, at the request of another English nobleman. Unfortunately, the ship foundered and the crew had to be rescued off the east coast of the United States. The rescuer purchased the two pups and kept them along the eastern seaboard. Based on the descriptions of the dogs and of their hard-hunting progeny, these are assumed to be the two foundation dogs of the Chesapeake Bay Retriever breed.
So while the Labrador was developed in England on wealthy estates for gentlemen’s shooting, the Chessie found its roots in the rough-and-tumble world of American duck hunters and market hunters. While the Labrador was expected to be polite and quiet, the Chessie was valued for its boldness and protective instinct.
The Labrador eventually rocketed to the top of the retriever world through its success in field trial competitions. Understanding the key differences between American and British retriever field trials opens up a new understanding of the difference between American and British Labs.
Tune in to hear more about the development of the Labrador and Chesapeake Bay Retrievers and how they came to be the world-class athletes that they are today. As always, we thank you for listening and hope you’ll continue to share the great feedback about this series. We can be reached at [email protected] with your ideas, comments, and questions.
Share | Comment, review and discuss this episode of the podcast in our Project Upland Community Facebook group.
Enjoy the show and don’t forget to rate, review, subscribe, and share this podcast.
Hunting Dog Confidential is presented by Eukanuba Premium Performance Dog Food
Next Episode
Episode 11: Duck Tolling and the Murray River Retriever
In this episode, we respond to some listener feedback about a couple of more unusual retriever breeds and a strange way of attracting ducks to waiting hunters.
First up, we discuss the Murray River Curly-Coated Retriever. A listener from Australia alerted us to this rare landrace which has been used for centuries along the Murray River of South Australia. This dog’s short, strong build and curly, brown coat share many similarities with other breeds developed around the same time. While its exact origin story is unknown, several theories abound. Could it be the result of Flat-Coated Retrievers mixed with curly coated water dogs such as the Irish Water Spaniel? Could it be an offshoot of the Curly-Coated Retriever? Or, most curiously, could it be a surviving landrace from the now-extinct Norfolk Retriever? Descriptions of the Norfolk Retriever certainly seem to fit the look as well as the working style of the Murray River dog.
Whatever the origins of the Murray River Retriever, it maintains a small but passionate group of enthusiasts who are striving to gain breed recognition within the Australian Kennel Club.
The last of the retriever breeds to cover in this series is the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever. The “Little River Duck Dog” is a symbol of Nova Scotia and a nod to the rich history of duck hunting in local waterways across the eastern seaboard of North America. But what exactly is “tolling” and how did it originate?
We discuss the various origins of canine tolling behavior, which is when a dog plays along the shore to lure curious ducks closer to within gun range. Foxes exhibit this behavior in the wild, but there are no confirmed records of foxes and dogs breeding to form hybrids. Instead, domestic dogs were selected for a fox-like appearance and trained to mimic the fox’s behavior in cleverly luring ducks toward a waiting hunter.
The English and Dutch used similar methods to lure ducks into a cage, pipe, or trap called a “decoy”, but there are no records of them using guns to kill the ducks trapped while using a tolling dog. This unique method of hunting appears to have originated from French practices, which may well explain the origins of the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever.
We wrap up the episode with a discussion of the forthcoming Hunting Dog Confidential Magazine. We are in the final stages of editing Issue One and can’t wait to take readers on a journey to learn about hunting dogs from all around the world. The articles and photography are firsthand accounts from many of the sources that we’ve used for episodes of this podcast. If you are enjoying the podcast and like learning about the history and modern-day use of all kinds of hunting dogs, you will love this coffee-table-quality magazine. Subscribe at projectupland.com to get ahold of the first issue in October!
As always, we thank you for listening and hope you’ll continue to reach out with your comments, questions, and ideas. Who knows what other unusual types of dogs are out there? We can’t wait to find out. We can be reached at [email protected].
Share | Comment, review and discuss this episode of the podcast in our Project Upland Community Facebook group.
Enjoy the show and don’t forget to rate, review, subscribe, and share this podcast.
Hunting Dog Confidential is presented by Eukanuba Premium Performance Dog Food
If you like this episode you’ll love
Episode Comments
Generate a badge
Get a badge for your website that links back to this episode
<a href="https://goodpods.com/podcasts/hunting-dog-confidential-44266/episode-10-curly-coated-flat-coated-and-golden-retrievers-7645375"> <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/goodpods-images-bucket/badges/generic-badge-1.svg" alt="listen to episode 10: curly-coated, flat-coated, and golden retrievers on goodpods" style="width: 225px" /> </a>
Copy