|
| colour = Black, liver
| litter_size = 4 - 8 pups
| life_span = 8 - 1011.7 years
<!-----Kennel club standards----->
| kc_name = [[The Kennel Club]]
}}<!-- End Infobox Dogbreed info. Article Begins Here -->
The '''Flat-coated Retriever''' is a [[gundoggun dog]] [[dog breed|breed]] originating from [[England]]. It was developed as a [[retriever]] both on land and in the water.
== Description ==
===Appearance===
The Flat-Coated Retriever [[breed standard]] calls for males to be {{convert|23|-|25|in|cm|abbr=on}} tall at the [[withers]], with a recommended weight of 60–80 lb (27–36 kg),<ref name="fci"/> and for females to be {{convert|22|-|24|in|cm|abbr=on}}, with a recommended weight of 55–75 lb (25–34 kg).<ref name="fci"/><ref name="fcrsa">{{Cite web |url=http://www.fcrsainc.org/breedstandard/index.html |title=ArchivedFlat-Coated Retriever Society of America, copyInc |access-date=2011-01-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101122235318/http://fcrsainc.org/breedstandard/index.html |archive-date=2010-11-22 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Flat-Coated Retriever has strong muscular jaws and a relatively long muzzle. Its head is unique to the breed and is described as being "of one piece" with a minimal stop and a backskull of about the same length as the muzzle. It has almond-shaped, dark brown eyes with an intelligent, friendly expression. The ears are pendant, relatively small, and lie close to the head. The occiput (the bone at the back of the skull) is not to be accentuated (as it is in setters, for example) with the head flowing smoothly into a well-arched neck. The topline is strong and straight with a well-feathered tail of moderate length held straight off the back. This breed should be well- angulated front and rear, allowing for open, effortless movement.
[[Image:Flat Coated Retriever retrieving.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Flat-Coated RetrieversRetriever retrieveholding wella ongun landdog ordummy.]] The Flat-Coated Retriever comes in thethree watercolors – black (most common), liver, and yellow. Although yellow is a disqualifier in conformation, they can compete in other venues.]]
[[File:Hugo The Flat Coated Retriever.jpg|thumb|A male 7-year-old Flat Coated Retriever.]]
===Temperament===
The Flat-Coated Retriever is an active, multitalented bird dog with a strong desire to please people.<ref name="fcrsa.org">{{cite web|url=https://fcrsa.org/the-forever-adolescent-flat-coat/|title=The Forever Adolescent Flat-Coat|website=Fcrsa.org|access-date=11 December 2017}}</ref> Exuberant, confident, and outgoing, they make a loving family pet and can be companions to small children, provided adults are nearby to direct this dog's boisterous enthusiasm. They are usually very good with other dogs and even cats. These retrievers require plenty of exercise and engagement to help channel their natural sporting energy.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.ckc.ca/en/Choosing-a-Dog/Choosing-a-Breed/Sporting-Dogs/Retriever-Flat-coated |title=Archived copy |access-date=2017-12-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180118140036/https://www.ckc.ca/en/Choosing-a-Dog/Choosing-a-Breed/Sporting-Dogs/Retriever-Flat-coated |archive-date=2018-01-18 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The British Kennel Club recommendeds that owners provide dogs with at least 2 hours of exercise a day.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/services/public/breed/display.aspx?id=2046|title=The Kennel Club|website=Thekennelclub.org.uk|access-date=11 December 2017}}</ref> While they will protect their owners and property with an assertive bark, they are unlikely to back up such noise with actual aggression.<ref name="petch">Petch, P. (1988). The Complete Flat-Coated Retriever. The Boydell Press, NY. {{ISBN|0-85115-463-8}}</ref> Because of their excellent sense of smell, combined with their boundless energy and eagerness to please their masters, they are sometimes used as [[Detection dog|drug-sniffer dogs]]. They are used in the breeding program for [[The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association]] in the UK, both as a breed and as cross-breeds with the [[Labrador Retriever]]. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.guidedogs.org.uk/aboutus/national-breeding-centre/nbc-revealed/our-breeds|title=Guide Dogs National Breeding Centre - Our Breeds - Guide Dogs|website=Guidedogs.org.uk|access-date=11 December 2017}}</ref>
Eager and quick to learn, they are best trained in short intervals, as they may bore with repetition. The Flat-Coated Retriever is a slow maturing dog, as they do not reach full maturity until 3–5 years of age. Even then, these dogs retain their youthful, puppy-like outlook and demeanor well into old age.<ref name="fcrsa.org"/> Paddy Petch, author of ''The Complete Flat-Coated Retriever'', refers to these dogs as the "Peter Pan" of the retriever breeds, given they never quite grow up.<ref name="petch"/>
The Flat-Coated Retriever is a "natural" breed and enjoys partaking in "natural" activities such as rolling in feces, playing in mud, and digging.<ref name="fcrsa.org"/> These dogs are also "thinking" dogs, meaning they want to please but look for a way to bend the rules.<ref name="fcrsa.org"/> This characteristic helps with their hunting ability but only if they are bonded with their owner. These dogs will work for themselves or not at all if there is no motivation to work with the handler or dog-handler bond present.<ref name="fcrsa.org"/>
[[Image:Flat-Coated Retriever brown.jpg|thumb|left|Black is the most common colour, but Flat-Coated Retrievers also occur in liver (dark brown) and yellow, although yellow is not allowed by the breed standard.]]
[[Image:Flatcoated Retriever Image 001.jpg|thumb|Flat-Coated Retrievers love water.]]
[[Image:WetMuddyFlatcoatCropped.jpg|thumb|left|upright|AfterA Flat-Coated Retriever after swimming]]
==History==
[[Image:Flatcoat retriever 2.jpg|thumb|right|upright|A typical Flat-Coated Retriever expression]]
Originating in the mid-19th century in England, the Flat-Coated Retriever gained popularity as a [[gamekeeper]]’s dog. Part of its ancestry is thought to have come from stock imported from North America from the now extinct [[St. John's water dog]], but this is unverified. Canadian seafarers are thought to have brought [[Newfoundland (dog)|Newfoundland]]s to British ports, and they factored into the ancestry of the Flat-Coated Retriever. [[Collie]]-type dogs may have been added to increase the breed's trainability along with the Newfoundland for strength and [[Setter]] blood for enhanced scenting ability. The first examples of the breed were introduced around 1860, but the final type was only established 20 years later.<ref>''The Reader's Digest Illustrated Book of Dogs'', 1982.</ref>
their number grew rapidly. However, soon after, their popularity began to decrease, eclipsed by the [[Golden Retriever]], which was actually bred in part from the Flat-Coated Retriever, along with other breeds{{citation needed|date=June 2016}}. By the end of [[World War II]], so few Flat-Coated Retrievers remained, the breed's survival was uncertain. However, beginning in the 1960s, careful breeding brought the population back and the breed gained in popularity again, for both the [[List of dog sports|sport]] of [[conformation show]]ing, and as a companion [[pet]]. Today, the Flat-Coated Retriever enjoys a modest popularity and is moving ahead as a breed through attentive breeding for the conformation, health, multipurpose talent, and exceptional temperament that are its hallmarks. It has yet to return in substantial numbers to field competition.
In 2011, 'Sh Ch. [[Vbos The Kentuckian]]' (aka Jet), a 9.5-year-old Flat-Coated Retriever from South Queensferry, near Edinburgh, Scotland, won [[List of Best in Show winners of Crufts|Best in Show]] at [[Crufts]].<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/234386/Retriever-Jet-top-dog-at-Crufts/ | newspaper= [[Daily Express]] | date= 13 March 2011 | title= Retriever Jet Top Dog at Crufts}}</ref> ''Almanza Far and Flyg'' (a.k.a. Simon), from [[Oslo]], Norway, won the Gundog Group at Crufts in 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/986/23/5/3 |title=Crufts 2007 Day 1 (Gundog) Show Report |date=8 March 2007 |work=The Kennel Club |access-date=2007-07-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070321144117/http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/986/23/5/3 |archive-date=2007-03-21 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Before that in 2003, a Swedish dog 'Inkwells Named Shadow' had also won the Gundog Group. The last UK dog to win the Gundog Group at Crufts was "Sh Ch Gayplume Dream-maker" in 2002. In 2022 Crufts, Baxer ‘Ch. [[Almanza Backseat Driver]]’, a 6-year-old liver flat-coated retriever from Oslo Norway, won the Best in Show. The previous other Flat-Coated Retriever to win Best in Show at Crufts was 'Ch. [[Shargleam Blackcap]]' in 1980. These wins have contributed to the breed's popularity in Europe and the United Kingdom.
''Almanza Far and Flyg'' (a.k.a. Simon), from [[Oslo]], Norway, won the Gundog Group at Crufts in 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/986/23/5/3 |title=Crufts 2007 Day 1 (Gundog) Show Report |date=8 March 2007 |work=The Kennel Club |access-date=2007-07-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070321144117/http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/986/23/5/3 |archive-date=2007-03-21 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Before that in 2003, a Swedish dog 'Inkwells Named Shadow' had also won the Gundog Group. The last UK dog to win the Gundog Group at Crufts was "Sh Ch Gayplume Dream-maker" in 2002. The only other Flat-Coated Retriever to win Best in Show at Crufts was 'Ch. [[Shargleam Blackcap]]' in 1980. These wins have contributed to the breed's popularity in Europe and the United Kingdom.
==Health==
A 2024 UK study found a life expectancy of 11.7 years for the breed compared to an average of 12.7 for purebreeds and 12 for [[Mongrel|crossbreeds]].<ref>{{cite journal | last=McMillan | first=Kirsten M. | last2=Bielby | first2=Jon | last3=Williams | first3=Carys L. | last4=Upjohn | first4=Melissa M. | last5=Casey | first5=Rachel A. | last6=Christley | first6=Robert M. | title=Longevity of companion dog breeds: those at risk from early death | journal=Scientific Reports | publisher=Springer Science and Business Media LLC | volume=14 | issue=1 | date=2024-02-01 | issn=2045-2322 | doi=10.1038/s41598-023-50458-w | page=| pmc=10834484 }}</ref>
Regular tests and clearances for hereditary joint conditions such as [[Hip dysplasia (canine)|hip dysplasia]], deafness, and eye conditions such as [[progressive retinal atrophy]] and [[Canine glaucoma|glaucoma]] should be conducted by breeders on any dogs used for breeding. Occasionally, [[Epilepsy in animals|epilepsy]] is also seen in the breed.
theThe averagemost lifespancommon types of tumours in the Flat-coated Retriever isare only[[cutaneous]] about[[histiocytoma]]s eightand years,[[soft-tissue]] [[sarcoma]]s.<ref>{{cite webjournal | title last= AMorris general| healthfirst=J. surveyS. of| Flat-coatedlast2=Bostock Retrievers| url first2= http://usersD. pullman E. com/lostriver/citations.htm | publisher last3= BreedHoather Health| Committeefirst3=T. ofM. the| Flat-coatedlast4=Dobson Retriever| Societyfirst4=J. of AmericaM. }}</ref> with| alast5=McInnes high| percentagefirst5=E. ofF. deaths| duetitle=Histopathological tosurvey cancer.of More recent surveysneoplasms in Denmarkflat‐coated andretrievers, the1990 UKto show1998 a| medianjournal=Veterinary lifespanRecord around| 10volume=147 years.<ref>{{cite| web|urlissue= http://users.pullman.com/lostriver/breeddata.htm11 | title date= Breed2000 Data| issn=0042-4900 Summary| website doi= Users10. pullman1136/vr.147. com|access-date=11 .291 December| 2017pages=291–295}}</ref> A health survey of purebred dogs in the UK from 20102004 showed approximately 50% of Flat -Coated Retrievers death were due to some form of cancer.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Methods and mortality results of a health survey of purebred dogs in the UK|first1=V. J.|last1=Adams|first2=K. M.|last2=Evans|first3=J.|last3=Sampson|first4=J. L. N.|last4=Wood|date=1 October 2010|journal=The Journal of Small Animal Practice|volume=51|issue=10|pages=512–524|doi=10.1111/j.1748-5827.2010.00974.x|pmid=21029096}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Breed-Predispositions to Cancer in Pedigree Dogs|first=Jane M.|last=Dobson|date=17 January 2013|journal=ISRN Veterinary Science|volume=2013|page=941275|doi=10.1155/2013/941275|pmid=23738139|pmc=3658424 |doi-access=free}}</ref> ▼Flat-Coated Retrievers have a higher risk of cancer than most dogs. [[Hemangiosarcoma]], [[fibrosarcoma]], [[osteosarcoma]], and [[malignant histiocytosis]] are particularly devastating, and occur at higher rates in them than in many other breeds. According to studies sponsored by the Flat-Coated Retriever Society of America (FCRSA),<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.fcrsainc.org/healthmanual/index.html | title= The Flat-Coated Retriever Health Manual | work= Flat-Coated Retriever Society of America | access-date= 2007-07-08 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070817022832/http://www.fcrsainc.org/healthmanual/index.html | archive-date= 2007-08-17 | url-status= dead }}</ref>
▲the average lifespan of the Flat-coated Retriever is only about eight years,<ref>{{cite web|title=A general health survey of Flat-coated Retrievers|url=http://users.pullman.com/lostriver/citations.htm|publisher=Breed Health Committee of the Flat-coated Retriever Society of America.}}</ref> with a high percentage of deaths due to cancer. More recent surveys in Denmark and the UK show a median lifespan around 10 years.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://users.pullman.com/lostriver/breeddata.htm|title=Breed Data Summary|website=Users.pullman.com|access-date=11 December 2017}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Methods and mortality results of a health survey of purebred dogs in the UK|first1=V. J.|last1=Adams|first2=K. M.|last2=Evans|first3=J.|last3=Sampson|first4=J. L. N.|last4=Wood|date=1 October 2010|journal=The Journal of Small Animal Practice|volume=51|issue=10|pages=512–524|doi=10.1111/j.1748-5827.2010.00974.x|pmid=21029096}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Breed-Predispositions to Cancer in Pedigree Dogs|first=Jane M.|last=Dobson|date=17 January 2013|journal=ISRN Veterinary Science|volume=2013|page=941275|doi=10.1155/2013/941275|pmid=23738139|pmc=3658424}}</ref>
Another more common affliction amongst Flat-Coated Retrievers is [[gastric dilatation volvulus]], otherwise known as bloat.<ref name="flatcoated-retriever-society.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.flatcoated-retriever-society.org/images/stories/health/bloat%20by%20chris%20hewison%282%29.pdf|title=FLAT COATED RETRIEVER : BLOAT |website=Flatcoated-retriever-society.org|access-date=12 December 2017}}</ref> This is not specific to Flat-Coats but it is common due to their large size and deep chests.<ref name="flatcoated-retriever-society.org"/> If left untreated, the dog will die quickly.<ref name="flatcoated-retriever-society.org"/> [[Gastric dilatation volvulus]] is responsible for 5% of all Flat-Coated Retriever deaths and around 20% of non-tumour related deaths.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.flatcoated-retriever-society.org/images/gdvnews.pdf|title=Gastric dilatation and Volvulus (GDV) – What is it and how can we prevent it?|website=Flatcoated-retriever-society.org|access-date=12 December 2017}}</ref>
Flat-Coated Retrievers have a very low rate of hip dysplasia and [[luxating patella]]s compared to other medium-sized breeds; the [[Orthopedic Foundation for Animals]] statistics consistently show a rate of hip dysplasia in the breed of less than 3%. In the 1997 FCRSA health survey, 4.2% of males and 3.2% of females had been diagnosed with luxating patellae.
==See also==
* [[Portal:Dogs|Dogs portal]]
* [[List of dog breeds]]
* [[Curly-coated Retriever]]
* [[Golden Retriever]]
* [[Labrador Retriever]]
==References==
==External links==
{{commons}}
* {{dmoz|/Recreation/Pets/Dogs/Breeds/Sporting-Gundog_Group/Flat-Coated_Retriever/|Flat-Coated Retriever}}
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{{English dogs}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Dog breeds originating in England]]
[[Category:FCI breeds]]
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