Flat Coated Retriever

FCI:

Flushing Retrievers and Water Dogs - Group VIII

General Appearance:

Flat Coated Retriever is gentle, friendly, reliable, kind, smart and active. Its optimism is demonstrating constantly by wagging tail. To the other dogs are tolerant, it can live together with small pets, including cats. Also it gets  well with children and it is  very happy playing with them. It is a philanthropist, so you cannot except its wariness or even aggressiveness against unknown and unwelcome persons, it is not "big guard".

Thanks to its character and capabilities, it is also used as a guide dog for the blind people, assistance dog for disabled and deaf or canistherapy.
Originally, before the first World War this breed was widely used as a hunting dog to retrieve hunted game. When it is hunting it is hardworking and industrious, very hardy, abundantly endowed with natural hunting instincts. It willingly works in country and in water.

Temperament & Behaviour:

It is suitable for beginners. It requires from owner kind but firm attitude. It needs a lot of movement (long walks, retrieving, chases other dogs) and if it plenty of opportunities at home it is completely calm. It is strongly fixed to the owner, and therefore it cannot be permanently kept in an outdoor kennel.

Body:

Flat Coated Retriever is a medium size dog with intelligent expression. It is powerful but elegant. Height at withers male is 59 - 61.5 cm for females 56.5 - 59 cm. Weight of body males, working status 27 to 36 kg for females 25-32 kg.

The head is long, nicely chiselled, skull above flat, moderately broad. The frontal slope (stop) should be very slightly sloping, never be abrupt or even steep. The nose should be adequately large and open.

Jaws long and strong, it is perfect, regular and complete scissor bite. The teeth must be healthy and strong.

Eyes should be medium-sized, intelligent expression. Eyes pronouncedly round and bulging, as well as sloping, are requested. The connector inner and outer corners of the eye must be viewed from the front horizontal. The earlobes are hanging, small and well mounted, flat against the head.

The neck should be moderately long, without dewlap. If it is viewed from above, symmetrically and when viewed from the side set in the shoulders, tapering to the spine.

The chest should be deep and wide front, with definite fore chest. Fore ribs should be relatively flat, middle and back again distinctly less arched, the transitions between the different parts of must be perfectly smooth. The loin is short and quite broad when viewed from above the square.

The tail is short, straight, correctly carried gaily, but never too high above the topline of the body.

The forelegs should be straight with good bone. Elbows move lightly and must be neither turned in nor out. The hindquarters are muscular, they should be straight and when viewed from behind parallel. Your knees should be bent as reasonably hocks to be low over the base. Feet are round and firm, with well-knit, well-arched toes. The pads should be high and rigid.

The coat should be thick, soft to medium-hard and the most fitting. Longer hair forms a rear forelegs "feathering" the back of the hindquarters so.

Trousers and underneath the tail "flag". The coat can only be uniformly black or uniformly liver (dark chocolate) brown. The iris should be dark brown or hazel.

Faults include aggression and fearfulness. It shall be disqualified at the show every dog, at clearly showing anomalies physical or behavioural.