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The Flat Coated Retriever, commonly called the Flatcoat, is possibly the happiest dog you will ever meet. Purpose bred for hunting, the breed was developed in England in the late 19th Century. England's most popular gun dog until the 1920's the Flatcoat's popularity began to decline and was quickly overtaken by the Labrador and Golden retrievers both of whom owe some of their genetic heritage to this breed.

By the end of World War II Flatcoat numbers had dwindled to such an extent the breed almost disappeared but a resurgence in interest in this friendly and devoted breed during the 1950's has seen the breed's popularity rise steadily once more.

Bred as a dual purpose dog, owing its genetic heritage to water dogs, field setters, sheep dogs and spaniels they have retained both the ability to mark and flush game, and retrieve both on land and in the water.

Still a relatively unknown breed, the working ability remains strong in all lines. Unlike many more popular breeds the Flatcoat does not have separate genetic lines for showing and working ability. Today they are successfully competing in obedience, retrieving, field trials, agility, fly ball and showing all around the world.

With elegant lines, reminiscent of their setter heritage, proud carriage and effortless movement these dogs never fail to draw attention. Standing 24 inches at the shoulder in dogs and 22.5 inches in bitches and weighing from 27 to 32 kilograms, they have a dense, medium length flat coat which retains its lustrous sheen into old age. Their legs, tails and ears are feathered yet the coat is easy to maintain with regular brushing once a week.

Only two colors are accepted by the breed standard. Solid black which is genetically dominant and solid liver which is genetically recessive. Very rarely a yellow will appear but this is considered a disqualifying fault. The yellow genetic line appears to carry other faults but whether this is related to the color or simply because the remaining yellow lines are not genetically sound is unknown. Regardless of the cause in this case rare does not equal valuable.

Flatcoats have an average life span of 8 to 12 years and like other pure bred dogs are subject to hereditary diseases:

Patella Luxation - the kneecap slips out of the joint and locks the leg. Elbow and Hip Dysplasia - malformation of the ball and socket. Glaucoma - eye disease leading to blindness. Soft tissue cancer - onset at about 4 years. Not a lot is know about the cause of this cancer yet but

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