Flat-Coated Retriever Info & Flat-Coated Retriever Breeders

The Flat-Coated Retriever is a gun dog breed originating from the United Kingdom. It was developed as a retriever both on land and in the water.The Flat-Coated Retriever is an active, multi-talented bird dog with a strong desire to please people. Exuberant, confident, and outgoing, they make a loving family pet and can be companions to small children, providing adults are nearby to direct this dog's boisterous enthusiasm.

These retrievers require plenty of exercise and engagement to help channel their natural sporting energy. While flat-coats will protect their owners and property with an assertive bark, they are unlikely to back up such noise with actual aggression. Because of their excellent sense of smell, combined with their boundless energy and eagerness to please their master, they are sometimes used as 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.

Eager and quick to learn, Flat-Coats are best trained in short intervals as they may bore with repetition. This breed retains its youthful, puppy-like outlook and demeanor well into old age. 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.