Flat-Coated Retriever
Dogs
Flat-Coated Retriever
Flat-Coated Retriever |
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Alternative names |
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Country of origin |
United Kingdom |
Common nicknames |
Flatcoat |
Classification and breed standards |
FCI: |
Group 8 Section 1 #121 |
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AKC: |
Sporting |
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ANKC: |
Group 3 (Gundogs) |
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CKC: |
Group 1 - Sporting Dogs |
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KC (UK): |
Gundog |
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NZKC: |
Gundog |
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UKC: |
Gun Dog Breeds |
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Not recognized by any major kennel club |
This breed of dog is
extinct |
Notes |
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The Flat-Coated Retriever is a
gundog
breed
from Britain.
It is a specialist dry-land retriever.
Appearance
The breed stands 22 to 23 inches (56-58.5 cm) and weighs 60 to 70 pounds
(27-32 kg). Its colour is either solid black or liver, more commonly the former.
Flat-Coated Retrievers have muscular jaws and a large snout with an undefined
forehead. The ears are floppy and relatively short.
Coat
The coat is moderate in length, dense, and lustrous; ideally it should lie
flat and straight, but the breed was initially called the Wavy-Coated Retriever.
Later, the coat somehow flattened out and the name changed accordingly, but the
tendency toward wavy hair still emerges occasionally.
Temperament
The flat-coat’s personality is described as outgoing, devoted, and friendly,
an ideal companion with a strong bond to its owner. It is said to be a very
versatile hunting dog, retrieving well on land or in the water, flushing
upland game, marking downed birds, and generally doing all that can be
expected of a multipurpose gundog. Although little-known and much less popular
than the
Labrador and
Golden Retrievers, it has benefitted from that lack of popularity by
enjoying more careful breeding and better maintenance of its fine working
ability.
Flat-coated retrievers love to please, but may be slightly more difficult to
train than the popular
Golden Retriever and
Labrador Retriever. They exhibit a streak of willfulness at times, and don't
have a really long attention span. For this reason, it's best to make training
sessions fun, entertaining, and relatively short for the dog.
Flat-coats are known for having a sunny optimism and a tail that's always
wagging. They are capable of getting along well with
cats, other dogs,
small pets, and strangers. However, due to their exuberant nature, they may tend
to knock over chldren. Socialization and
obedience training is highly recommended. Flat-coats tend to be very rowdy
when young, and need plenty of exercise throughout their life. Sometimes they
are referred to as the "Peter Pan of dogs" because they never grow up, acting
playful and puppy-like well into their years.
History
Originating in the late 19th century it gained popularity as a
gamekeeper’s
dog. Part of its ancestry is thought to have come from stock imported from
North
America of
Newfoundland type, as was the case with the
Labrador and
Chesapeake Bay retrievers.
After its introduction, the flatcoat began to quickly gain in popularity as a
gundog, and from 1873
when the breed became a "stable type" according to the
American Kennel Club until
1915 when it was
officially recognized as a breed, the number of flatcoats grew rapidly. However,
soon thereafter, the popularity of the flatcoat began to fall, eclipsed by the
golden retriever, which was actually bred in part from the flatcoat, and
other breeds. By the end of
World
War Two, there were so few flatcoats that the breed's survival was
uncertain. However, beginning in the 1960s, the breed gained in popularity
again, and today, the flatcoat remains a solid breed.
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