Plate 142 · British Isles
Flat-Coated Retriever
平毛寻回犬
“Once Britain's favourite retriever.”
- Origin
- United Kingdom
- England
- Country of origin
- An English breed; the sources name no single place, so the marker is the United Kingdom's reference point.
- The point is a reference position in the country of origin.
- Era
- Mid-19th century
- Today
- Gun dog · Companion
Under editorial review — sources listed below.
History
01 · Origin
England
A cheerful black or liver retriever, once Britain's favourite retriever and the gamekeeper's dog of English estates.
02 · Historical role
What it was bred for
Retrieving on land and water for estate shoots.
03 · Breed development
How it changed
Probably from St John's water dogs and Newfoundlands brought by Canadian seafarers, with setter and collie-type crosses; the first examples appeared around 1860. Overtaken by the Labrador and the Golden, it nearly vanished after the Second World War and was rebuilt from the 1960s.
04 · Today
Gun dog · Companion
A gun dog, sports dog and family companion.
Personality
- Cheerful
- Optimistic
- Good-humoured
- Eager
General breed tendencies, not guarantees — individual dogs vary with genetics, training and environment. Ratings: the AKC’s trait scores as its breed page gives them (the AKC’s 1–5 guidance for owners, not a measurement). Other profiles here use editorial ratings, a different source, so compare across them with care.
- Exercise
- Very active: ample daily exercise, ideally retrieving or sports.
- Grooming
- Weekly brushing and combing.
- Training
- Intelligent, eager and sensitive; avoid harsh corrections.
Living with one
- Size
- Medium
- Lifespan
- 8–10 years
- Coat
- Dense, flat, glossy coat with feathering; black or liver
Field note
Flat-Coats won Best in Show at Crufts in 2011 and 2022.
Recognition & today
- AKC
- Sporting Group
- Also recognized by
- FCI (Group 8), The Kennel Club (UK)
- Popular in
- No reliable data
AKC: Sporting Group, recognized 1915.
Modestly popular; Crufts wins have added to its popularity in the UK and Europe. AKC registrations: ranked 98 among breeds in 2025.
Sources2 references
- Flat-Coated Retriever — breed information — American Kennel Club
https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/flat-coated-retriever/
Registry · accessed 2026-10-14 · Registry status, group, size, life expectancy and registration rank; history as the AKC tells it. Ratings: the AKC's own 1–5 owner-guidance trait scores as the page gives them (energy level, trainability, barking level, openness to strangers, good with other dogs), not measurements.
- Flat-coated Retriever — Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat-coated_Retriever
Encyclopedia · accessed 2026-10-14 · Mid-19th-century English origin, possible ancestry, decline and post-war recovery, Crufts Best in Show (2011, 2022).
Text is written by World Breeds from the references above; it does not reproduce registry descriptions. Location note: An English breed; the sources name no single place, so the marker is the United Kingdom's reference point.
