Flat Coated Retriever - TOP 10 Interesting Facts

1) Origin
The Flat Coated Retriever was developed in the 19th century, because of the increased popularity of bird shooting and the need to retrieve these birds. The dogs that were used in development of the Flat Coated Retriever are Newfoundlands and various spaniels, pointers and setters. It is also believed, that today already extinct St. John´s water dog and maybe collies were used in the breeding process as well.

2) Sewallis Shirley
A man who involved a lot in the development of this great breed was Brittish politican and founder of the Kennel Club in Britain mr. Sewallis Evelyn Shirley. He loved the Flat Coated Retriever and helped to stabilize and standardize this breed.

3) Forever puppy
Flat Coated Retrievers are known as forever puppy like. They are definitely slow to mature and they are very fun loving, light hearted and playful even in older age. They are typically friendly towards everyone, outgoing, confident and devoted to their family. They tend to bond very closely to their owners.

4) Training
This is highly trainable dog breeds, especially thanks to their two personality traits – high intelligence and eagerness to please. They love to make you happy and they just enjoy the training. Training is also great way how to exhaust your dog mentally, which is extra needed when they are younger, because they have tendencies to chew up on everything, especially, when they are bored.

5) Coat
One of the best feature of the Flat Coated Retriever is its long coat. The doublecoat is water resistant, so it keeps the dog safe when working as a water retriever. It is also protecting the dog from all kind of weather. The only allowed colors, according to the breed standard, is liver and black.

6) Health
The biggest concern about the Flat Coated Retriever health is cancer, because they suffer from it more than other breeds. The average lifespan is not very high, only around 10 years. A health survey of purebred dogs in the UK from 2010 showed approximately 50% of Flat Coated Retrievers death were due to some form of cancer. Other common health problems are bloating and hip dysplasia.

7) Versatility
You already know, that Flat Coated Retriever is great hunter and retriever. But there are other areas, where this versatile breed found use. Thanks to their amazing sense of smell, they are sometimes used as drug sniffer dogs. And because of their loving and intelligent temperament, they make great service dogs. They are even trained as assistance dogs for blind people quite often.

8) Size
The athletic Flat Coated Retriever average height is between 22-25 inches, which is 55-63 cm and weight is normally between 60-80 pounds, which is 27-36 kgs. The females are naturally little bit smaller than males.

9) Exercise
Just like all the Retrievers, even the Flat Coat requiere good amount of exercise to stay healthy and happy. They love to have some job to do. You can also try some dog sport with them, they are quite good at retriever field trials, obedience trials, tracking or agility. And of course, they will always enjoy a good swim.

10) Grooming
This dog breed sheds a good deal. You should brush their coat regularly, to remove the dead hair and minimize the shedding. By regular weekly brushing you will also help the coat to stay shiny and good looking. You should also check their fast growing nails and clip it if needed and remove the extra wax build in the ears. Other than that, Flat Coated Retrievers are pretty self maintance dogs, who only needs baths when its really necessary.