The Murray River Curly Coated Retriever is NOT a Designer Dog!

The Murray River Curly Coated Retriever (MRCCR)  is a working dog unique to south-east Australia.   Although the breed is known to be over 100 years old, with photographic evidence from as early as 1880's, it is not a breed recognized by the Autralian National Kennel  Council.

The MRCCR is quite different to the traditional Curly Coated Retriever (CCR).   The MRCCR is always a liver brown colour, occasionally with a white patch on it's chest, whereas the CCR is either entirely black or brown.   The MRCCR tends to be smaller than the traditional CCR.  The MRCCR legs are usually shorter, and the average weight is around 25kgs (usually +/- 5 kgs).  Their ears are also longer, and their fur has a much looser curl.  Often in the summer the tips of the fur turn a golden colour when bleached by the sun.   The MRCCR has distinct eyes as well, being a yellow or golden-yellow colour.   The MRCCR always breeds true to type, with large litters of 10 or more pups not uncommon.

The heritage of the MRCCR is mostly unknown.   It was bred originally as a duck hunting dog, with the early settlers seeking out the good of many different breeds to create the MRCCR.   There is no known history of the breeds that went into the creation of the MRCCR, but there are a few theories.  Some speculate that the Flat Coated Retriever was crossed with a spaniel, while others ponder whether the CCR was crossed with the Irish Water Spaniel.  Yet others think that the MRCCR is a decendent of the early American Water Spaniels brought over with American paddle steamer captains.    Retriever Man has speculated that the MRCCR may even be a decendent of the now extince Norfolk Retriever.

So as you can see, the MRCCR is not a designer dog, even though it is not a registered breed.  There are other working dog breeds in Australia that are also old breeds that are not recognized by the ANKC, such as the Koolie.   The Koolie has it's own breed club that is working towards the preservation of the breed as a working dog, not a show dog.   Many owners of the MRCCR do not want the MRCCR to become a show dog that must conform to certain set standards.   A small group of owners are working at founding a MRCCR breed club, with the purpose of preserving this wonderful breed.   I hope that they are successful as it would be a shame for the breed to die out just because it isn't a registered breed with the ANKC, which really has no real authority, but yet thinks that it does when it comes to dogs in Australia.   

Much of this information came from wikipedia.