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Dogs and All about Them
·
Robert Leighton
179
THE
CURLY-COATED
RETRIEVER
The
curly-coated
Retriever
is
commonly
believed
to
be
of
earlier
origin
than
his
flat-coated
relative,
and
he
is
of
less
pure
descent.
He
probably
owes
ancestral
tribute
to
the
Poodle.
Such
a
cross
may
conceivably
have
been
resorted
to
by
the
early
Retriever
breeders,
and
there
was
little
to
lose
from
a
merely
sporting
point
of
view
from
this
alien
introduction,
for
the
Poodle
is
well
known
to
be
by
nature,
if
not
by
systematic
training,
an
excellent
water
dog,
capable
of
being
taught
anything
that
the
canine
mind
can
comprehend.
During
the
early
years
of
the
nineteenth
century
the
Poodle
was
fairly
plentiful
in
England,
and
we
had
no
other
curly-coated
dog
of
similar
size
and
type
apart
from
the
Irish
Water
Spaniel,
who
may
himself
lay
claim
to
Poodle
relationship;
while
as
to
the
Retriever,
either
curly
or
flat
coated,
he
can
in
no
sense
be
assigned
to
any
country
outside
of
Great
Britain.
The
presumption
is
strong
that
the
"gentleman
from
France"
was
largely
instrumental
in
the
manufacture
of
the
variety,
but
whatever
the
origin
of
the
curly-coated
Retriever
he
is
a
beautiful
dog,
and
one
is
gratified
to
note
that
the
old
prejudice
against
him,
and
the
old
indictment
as
to
his
hard
mouth,
are
fast
giving
place
to
praise
of
his
intelligence
and
admiration
of
his
working
abilities.
Speaking
generally,
it
seems
to
be
accepted
that
he
is
slightly
inferior
in
nose
to
his
flat-coated
cousin,
and
not
quite
so
easy
to
break,
but
there
are
many
keepers
and
handlers
who
have
discovered
in
individual
specimens
extraordinary
merit
in
the
field
combined
with
great
endurance.
It
is
not
certain
that
any
great
improvement
has
been
effected
in
the
variety
during
recent
years,
but
there
are
particular
dogs
to-day
who
are
decidedly
better
than
any
that
existed
a
dozen
years
or
more
ago,
when
such
celebrities
as
True,
Old
Sam,
King
Koffee,
Ben
Wonder,
Doden
Ben,
Lad
and
Una,
were
prominent,
and
there
is
no
doubt
that
the
curly
coats
attained
show
form
in
advance
of
the
flat-coated
variety.
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