The Flat coated retriever

Known as the Peter Pan of the gundog world the flatcoat is an extrovert, with an ever wagging tail, always eager to please, and with a definite sense of humour...

We fell in love with this breed about 10 years ago when we bought our first bitch Ember, who was also liver, so I think it is fair to say that we have a bias towards the liver variety!! We now have her daughter Echo and although now retired from breeding, Echo has given us two lovely litters of puppies, and with the exception of two black ones in each litter all the rest were liver too.  

They are a pleasure to live with and around the home they are very laid back and easy going with a desire for human company and always ready for a cuddle.  They are certainly entertaining with their antics,  and don't be deceived by that 'soft as butter' look, because as soon as your back is turned they will be on the look out for any opportunity that might have the fun factor. 

The Flat Coat is very slow to mature, so the puppy mentality carries on for a good few years, and you certainly need to adjust your training to allow for this. So even though you have a large dog at 12 months of age you will still have a puppy at heart.  

Our dogs certainly have an aptitude to work and Echo in particular enjoys her gundog training exercises. She definitely needs any work to be 'worth her while' though, so high reward stakes are required, whether that be lots of fuss and cuddles, acting like a nutcase, or now and again a tasty treat. 

This breed is not everyones cup of tea, but we love them and although we don't breed them at the moment, we certainly would not be without one in our home.

Doing the job

Acting the clown