Curly-coated dogs owe much of their popularity to the fact that they don't shed or trigger allergies the same way as breeds with straight fur. Other than clipping, curly coats also don't require a lot of maintenance since there's no need to worry about tangles and mats. While there are many breeds of curly and wavy-coated dogs, only a few are also solid white.
The list of dog breeds recognized by the American Kennel Club that have a solid white curly coat is limited to only five out of 175. The most popular curly-coated breed with a white variety is the poodle. This includes the toy, miniature and standard poodle, which are, respectively, the small, medium and large versions of the breed. Other breeds with curly white coats include the small Bedlington terrier and bichon frise, medium-sized Portuguese water dog and the large Bouvier des Flandres. The cocker spaniel is a well-known curly-coated breed, but does not include a recognized solid white variety.
Popular breeds that lack curly coats, like the Labrador retriever, Chihuahua, golden retriever and Yorkshire terrier are often crossed with curly-coated breeds like poodles and cocker spaniels. This effort is often intended to create a "designer" breed that has the characteristics of the straight-haired breed, but with a hypoallergenic, low-shedding curly coat. Depending on the color of the parents, these dogs can be solid white. Well-known examples of white curly-coated designer mixes include the cockapoo, labradoodle, maltipoo, goldendoodle and yorkiepoo. Curly-coated dogs that traditionally come in only dark colors, like the American water spaniel or curly-coated retriever, may also be used to create these crosses, which can result in white curly-coated offspring, depending on the genetics of the other dog.
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