Registered dog list
(Yes, I know....This list is very out of date...)
 Enter CCR Breeders List
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May your curly always be happy and healthy!
Eye problems
The vast majority of dogs of all breeds (as well as mixed breeds) can live long, healthy lives if given proper care and routine veterinary attention. Nevertheless, any dog can fall victim to a wide range of acquired problems. Each pure breed of dogs has its own particular hereditary problems some minor, some impairing, and some possibly fatal. Some may show a very strong hereditary basis and others not much more than a tendency to" run in families". The Curly-Coated Retriever is no exception and unfortunately as seen in other breeds, the problems tend to multiply as the breed continues to increase in popularity and there is an increase in indiscriminate breeding. Failure to screen for these problems before breeding often results in the "doubling up" of unfavorable genes, and the results are distressing for the buyer and dog alike.
A good Breeder of Curly Coated Retrievers should be able to discuss the health screening done with their breeding stock and other measures they've taken to reduce the likelihood of problems. They should be willing to guarantee against common problems and want to know of anything that might show up later in your puppy.
If your Curly should develop a major health problem, you should tell your breeder about it. This way, the breeder can remain informed about potential problems in their lines. Such problems would include those listed below and others, such as seizures, cancer, heart defects, and anything else that might be heritable.
Hip Dysplasia
Hip Dysplasia is an ongoing problems for all the retriever breeds as well as many other breeds of similar or larger size.
Hip Dysplasia is a malformation of the ball and socket joint in the hip, with varying degress of resulting impairment. Diagnosis is definitive only through proper radiographic (xray) analysis. Make sure the breeder supplies you with OFA hip reports on both the sire and dam of the litter.
Read one person's experience with a Curly and HD
Eye Problems - cataracts of various kinds, corneal dystrophy, suspected PRA, distichiasis, entropion, ectropion, PPM, retinal dysplasia. None are particularly common but all should be asked about and guaranteed for. All dogs used for breeding should have annual eye examinations. Make sure the breeder supplies you with current CERF eye reports on the sire and dam.
Cancer
More and more dogs of every breed are being diagnosed with Cancers. Is it environmental? Is it hereditary? Are we breeding dogs with weaker immune systems? If you are looking at a Curly pup, ask about the grandparents. Are they alive? How long did they live? What did they die of? Its scary to hear of dogs dying of cancer at 5 or 6 years of age. Some of the types of Cancer found in dogs:
Mast cell tumors are the most common malignant skin tumor in the dog. An adenoma is a benign growth of glandular tissue cells. An adenocarcinoma is a malignant growth of these cells most often originating (primary site) from the intestines, uterus and mammary glands. They often metastasize (spread) to the lungs. Fibrosarcoma is a cancerous tumor of the deep structures of the skin, specifically the fibrous connective tissue. Hemangiosarcoma is a malignant tumor originating from blood vessels. These tumors usually occur in the skin, soft tissues, spleen or liver. Lymphoma or lymphosarcoma is a cancerous disease of lymphocytes, a particular form of white blood cells that originate in lymph nodes and bone marrow. Melanoma is a form of cancer in which the pigment-producing cells of the skin known as melanocytes multiply in an erratic fashion eventually invading the tissues that surround them. Osteosarcoma is a tumor of the bone and is the most common primary bone tumor in the dog.
Patterned Baldness
The "Curly Coat Problem" can be frustrating -- it is often misdiagnosed for other diseases such as thyroid deficiency, and it is detrimental to a breeding program trying to establish the proper coat. It is difficult to say how many Curlies are affected with this, as many are not shown, are not noticeably affected, or the problem is thought to be something else, such as wear from the collar. In mild cases, the patterning may appear once and then never again when the coat grows back in. While mildly affected dogs generally lead normal lives, it is an indicator of more serious trouble, as it is caused by some type of auto immune problem. Affected dogs are more likely to have allergies, reproductive problems; in its severest form, it affects the growth hormones and the dogs mature at about 40lbs.
Very often dogs with patterned baldness will have good coats as a puppy, with the bald spots appearing at sexual maturity. Bald patterning appears on the backs and/or insides of the hind legs, and/or on the flanks, and/or on the front and/or sides of neck, and/or the deepest part of the chest and/or as an overall thin or brittle coat. A minor indication of the problem are dogs that are fully coated but only have real curls on their necks and backs. The hair loss is very distinctly bilateral -- that
is, on both sides of the dog. There are varying manifestations of this syndrome, from appearing nearly normal to being almost completely bald. In some cases, hair grows back after shedding, but within months rather than weeks.
Diets and supplements do not take care of patterned baldness. You should inform your dog's breeder (send clear, closeup photos of all the spots) of any symmetrical bald spots appearing on your puppy so that they can take this information into account in their breeding program. Unaffected dogs seem to produce affected puppies, implying a recessive gene or genes, but the exact mode of inheritance is unclear. Very few veterinarians know about this problem in Curly Coats.
Cardiac Problems
More and more Curly Coated Retrievers are turning up with Cardiac problems. A good breeder will be screening their breeding stock for cardiac problems. Ask the breeder for an OFA cardiac number for the sire and dam.
Curly Heart Page
Gastric Torsion/Bloat in Dogs.
While it is not known if Bloat is hereditary, it tends to run in families. This may be due to body build and structure and temperament. If you own any deep chested dog such as a Curly Coated Retriever, Setter, Labrador Retriever, Doberman Pinscher, or Great Dane you must be made aware of Gastric Torsion or commonly referred to as Bloat.
Seizures, Bloat, Premature cancer, immune problems are all things you should also ask the breeder about.
One Curly's story with Seizures and how he is doing now
The Curly does not have more problems than the average breed of dog. This is not meant to scare you! You just need to be aware of what kinds of health considerations are out there, so you can be better prepared to ask questions of breeders.
 
We as breeders are caretakers of the future of the Curly Coated Retriever. Breeding just to fill a demand for puppies can damage a breed for years to come. Not all
dogs are worthy of being bred. Having a Championship title is not a good enough reason to breed a dog. There are many judgment calls that a breeder has to make
according to their own conscience. There is no perfect dog, and unfortunately, no perfect breeders!Breeding dogs is a labor of love. Their health and well-being is of primary importance. We check Hips (OFA, or foreign country of origin hip score equivalent) Eyes (CERF)and Cardiac (OFA). Puppies come with a contract covering replacement of puppies that do not OFA, do not CERF, or do not pass Cardiac testing. Since a dog is a living creature, we can not guarantee that the dog will not have any problems. We do our best to check the health history of the parents, grandparents and siblings. We study pedigrees and dogs to help make informed breeding decisions. No one has yet bred the perfect dog. We will stand behind our dogs if there is a problem. The pups are raised in the home. We use the Bio Sensor method of early puppy stimulation. We temperament test our puppies at 7 weeks of age. As we know the personalities of the puppies better than anyone having lived wiht them since birh, we try to match each puppy with the appropriate family for its needs. Every pup that leaves SoftMaple goes with the condition that if for any reason you cannot keep the dog I will always take it back, for whatever reason. Often times I will lease a bitch for a breeding. This is a good way to expand or diversify bloodlines. Sometimes a breeder falls into the trap of only breeding what they have in their own backyard. The same bitch to the same stud over and over, creating puppies, but not expanding the gene pool. A breeder may become kennel blind, thinking the dog they have currently is the one to put in the whelping box, even if she is not the best choice for the breed as a whole. There was a very good article in the AKC Gazette a while back Breeding: What We're Taught
Mark
and Cathy Lewandowski
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John C. Fyfe, D.V.M, Ph.D.
Associate Professor D.V.M., 1984, Washington-Oregon-Idaho Regional Program in Veterinary Medicine Ph.D., 1994, University of Pennsylvania Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics 5169 Biomedical Physical Sciences Michigan State University East Lansing, MI 48824 Email: fyfe@cvm.msu.edu
Glycogen storage disease type IIIa (GSDIIIa) is an inherited metabolic disorder that causes liver and skeletal muscle disease due to deficiency of the glycogen
debranching enzyme (GDE) and tissue storage of abnormally structured glycogen. This disorder was discovered in an extended family of curly coated retrievers
(CCR), with representatives from USA, Canada, and New Zealand, and is due to a single based deletion in the GDE gene. This disease, too, is an autosomal
recessive trait, and so the laboratory provides carrier testing for GSD IIIa in curly coated
retrievers .
A quick explanation is shown in the tables below. BB being a dog that does not have the disease and does not carry the recessive gene for GSDIIIa. Bb demonstrates a dog that does not have the disease, but does carry the recessive gene. bb represents a dog that is affected with the disease. Dogs that are carriers need not be eliminated from breeding. Carriers bred to clear, non carriers, will produce some carriers and some non-carriers. These offspring may then be tested and used as valuable animals in a breeding program.
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produces all clear, not carrier offspring(BB) |
A non affected, not carrier dog (BB) A non affected carrier bitch (Bb).
produces all non affected pups, two of which would carry the GSDIIIa gene as a recessive trait (Bb) |
one GSDIIIa affected pup(bb) and 2 pups that are carriers(Bb) |
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A curly is not for everyone. They are a strong willed, challenging, intelligent dog. We screen our prospective puppy buyers. Your not just buying a dog from
SoftMaple, your joining a family. We ask you questions, and strongly encourage you to ask us questions. Anyone looking to add a Curly to their home shouldn't stop
at just contacting one breeder. We encourage you to talk to as many breeders as you can. 
