Buyer question
Is a Flat-Coated Retriever good for beginners?
It can be: our Animal Library rates the Flat-Coated Retriever 3 out of 5 for beginners (needs patience and exercise).
Source: the Flat-Coated Retriever page in the Everybarn Animal Library. Flat-Coated Retriever in the Animal Library
The detail
A British retriever bred to fetch game on land and water, the Flat-Coat stays playful and puppyish well into middle age. Cheerful, optimistic and devoted to its people, it needs daily exercise and company, and the breed carries a high cancer risk.
- Temperament
- Exuberant, sociable, bright
- Best fit
- Active families, retriever work
- Trainability
- 4 out of 5 (Willing, easily distracted)
- Energy
- 4 out of 5 (1 hr or more daily)
- Grooming load
- 2 out of 5 (Weekly brush, some shed)
What to weigh
Flat-Coats mature slowly and stay bouncy for years. Cancer, especially histiocytic sarcoma, shortens many lives, so the average lifespan is shorter than other retrievers of the same size.