Wickedly Smart

Why do so many Curly fanciers love these dogs?

The breed standard for the Curly-Coated Retriever states:

". . . The Curly is wickedly smart and highly trainable and, as such, is cherished as much for his role as loyal companion at home as he is in the field. . . ." ***

Curlies have an innate problem solving ability that requires a lot of creativity. Many people have developed an opinion of what "wickedly smart" means based on things their Curlies have done.

Here is one of my own examples:

Bath day at our house used to consist of everyone getting a bath then going to the basement to dry. They would each get a rawhide chew (chewie) as they went down the steps and were content to stay in the basement and work on those chewies until they were dry.

One day, Hunter needed to prepare for a vet visit scheduled for the next day so he was the only one who got a bath. As I sent him down the steps into the basement with his chewie Singer ran down the steps expecting a chewie too.

I laughed at her and told her "No bath, No chewie". She barked at me, trying to make a good case for getting her own chewie but I just repeated myself, "No bath, No chewie". We left Hunter in the basement and I brought her back up with me so she wouldn't pester him for his chewie.

Back upstairs, I went to the study to do some work and didn't give her another thought, but I kept hearing her barking from the other end of the house.

Finally, out of desperation, I got up to go find her and there she was, standing in the bathtub, barking for me to "Come".

"OK" I said, "You can have a bath". Yes, I stopped right then and there and gave her a bath, then sent her to the basement with her chewie.

She was happy. She had to work through the problem to get what she wanted, but she succeeded.

Other folks have many, many tales of their Curlies' exploits - some much more wicked, but all equally smart.

Q & A For the Day:

Why are Curlies referred to as "potato chip dogs"?

Because it is hard to stop with just one!

*** from the Curly-Coated Retriever Breed Standard published on the American Kennel Club website at: http://www.akc.org/breeds/curly_coated_retriever/index.cfm