The Purebred Flat-Coat HEAD

The two most distinctive characteristics The ideal head is wedge,shaped and the of the Flat,Coated are the skull has less "stop" coat and the shape of the head. (angle or lack of between the eyes) than any other Sporting Breed. It almost appears to be of one ¥ "piece." There can be a large amount of variability in the head among different lines, and in some geographic areas with more stop than the ideal are prevalent. The ideal COAT head is not as broad The coat is longer than that of a Labra, as that of the dor Retriever and is close,lying and Golden or Labrador, dense. It comes in two colors: solid although a broad backskull is common black (usually shiny) and liver (brown). in some lines. The jaws The coat is flat or slightly wavy, not are long, but not square fluffy like a Golden Retriever, nor silky like a . The like an Irish Setter. On adults in full ears, similar to a coat, there is moderate (1/2 to 2,1/2 Golden Retriever, inches) feathering on the legs, but not are small and set usually as much as seen on a Golden or close to the head, although there are Setter. some dogs with larger and lower,set ears

than ideal. The eyes should be brown TEMPERAMENT in both liver and black dogs.

Flat,coats are usually sweet and happy dogs with lots of energy. They are often If you would Like to see more pictures of flat,coats, slow to mature (mentally) and can we encourage you to visit the gallenes on the following websites: remain "puppy,like" f o r m a n y years. www.fcrsainc.org/photos.html Many retain this trademark attitude www.crfcrc.org even into old age, giving the impression www.mafcrc.org www.nefcrc.org of being less settled or serious than www.umfcrc.org other retriever breeds of similar age. http.://dubs.yahoo.com/clubs/gwfcrc www.mwfcrc.org

SIZE The Flat Coat is a medium sized Many mixed breeds can be mistaken for , less weighty for his size than flat coats. A young, ungroomed flat the Labrador or Golden, but coat (as pictured here) should be 21 to sturdier than the Irish Setter. 25 inches tall and thinner/finer boned Average height at the shoulders is than the typical Lab or Golden mix It also shouldn't be as fluffy or have any 22" to 25" for males and 21" to 24" undercoat. for females. Some variation of height does occur particularly in the size of males who may be somewhat taller. Average weight of dogs in good condition: males 55 to 75 pounds; females: 50 to 65 pounds.

The Purebred Flat-Coat

should NOT have: What to do

• Yellow eyes if it is a Flat-Coat

- • White blazes, white feathering, white (or if you are still unsure) feet or toes (some lines are known to produce a very small amount of white If you believe the dog could be a Flat hair on the chest and occasionally a few Coated Retriever, please contact the local FCRSA Rescue Liaison below: individuals will have small amounts of white hair in other areas due to scarring)

• Long, silky coat (probably a setter mix)

• Bushy, fluffy coat (probably a golden mix) • Big, domed head

• Square "setter" head If you are unable to reach the person • Big, thick legs named above, or if there is no local • Bushy tail curled over the back liaison, please contact the National • Rear dewclaws FCRSA Rescue Liaison below:

• All black tongue (individual black spots/ Jackie Capes 603 547 8607 blotches on a pink tongue are common) [email protected] •