Flat coated Retriever Dog Breeds
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Height at the withers: Males 58 – 61 cm, Females 56 – 58 cm
Average weight: Males 27 – 36 kg, Females 25 – 32 kg
The Flat Coated Retriever is a lean, athletic looking dog and one that is super energetic. They have lovely, dense coats that lie close and which have a glorious natural sheen. Their heads are nicely moulded and long with skulls being flat and quite broad. There’s a slight stop between a dog’s eyes. Noses are a nice size with wide open nostrils and dogs have a strong jaw which allows them to carry game easily. Their eyes can either be hazel or dark brown in colour and moderately large with dogs always having an intelligent, alert look in them.
Their ears are set well and small, lying close to a dog’s head. The Flattie has a strong jaw with a perfect scissor bite where their upper teeth neatly overlap their lower ones. Their heads are nicely set in a dog’s neck which is quite long and clean. Chests are deep and quite broad with Flatties having a nicely defined brisket and their front legs are straight showing a good amount of bone.
A Flattie has an athletic looking body with their foreribs being quite flat but nicely arched in the middle before getting lighter towards a dog’s quarters. Their loins are square and short. Hind legs are well developed and muscular allowing a dog to stand square. Their feet are round, with well arched, close toes and strong, tick pads. Tails are short and straight being well set and which dogs carry very gaily when alert or excited.
When it comes to their coat, the Flat Coated Retriever has a dense, fine coat that lies as close to the body as possible. Their tails and legs are extremely well feathered which adds to their graceful, athletic appearance. The only 2 accepted breed colours for Kennel Club registration are as follows:
- Black
- Liver
Gait/movement
When a Flat Coated Retriever moves, they do so with a free-flowing action always true and straight when seen from the front and behind.
Faults
The Kennel Club frowns on any exaggerations or departures from the breed standard and would judge the faults on how much they affect a dog’s overall health and wellbeing as well as their ability to perform.
Males should have both testicles fully descended into their scrotums and it is worth noting that a dog can be a little lighter or heavier as well as slightly taller or shorter than set out in the Kennel Club breed standard which is given as a guideline only.