“Clean-up on aisle 5!”
Are you shopping for a flatcoat?
Well flatcoat puppies are the cutest thing on the internet but they quickly grow into wonderful, energetic dogs. Take a moment and ask whether the breed really fits your lifestyle and if you fit the breed.
Flatcoats are active dogs. The ‘Peter-Pan’ characteristic means that they stay energetic adolescents for most of their lives. It is virtually impossible to teach a flatcoat not to jump up on people. Flatcoats require significant daily exercise and specific tasks (e.g. retrieving, agility, nose work) to really thrive. A bored flatcoat will find ways to ‘have fun’ that will not please their owners. If you do not have time to commit to regular exercise or do not live in an active household, this may not be the breed for you.
Flatcoats need attention. Flatcoats are people-oriented. They think they are lapdogs despite being close to 70 lbs! The personality and bond with a flatcoat can be lost if they spend excessive time on their own. Flatcoats are not good kennel dogs. If you need to leave your dog alone all day this may not be the breed for you.
Flatcoats are intelligent, learn quickly and can readily become excellent at traditional tasks such as hunting, tracking, obedience, agility or search and rescue. Flatcoats, however, do not respond well to older styles of harsh negative reinforcement. Even well-trained flatcoats constantly test the boundaries of what they have been taught often inventing whole new games to replace what they were doing well just the day before. Sometimes they are just plain stubborn! If you do not have the temperament to be a consistent, patient trainer then it may not be the breed for you.
Flatcoats are poor watchdogs and generally not aggressive. They are wonderfully tolerant and rarely intentionally harm a child or another pet. However when a 65 lb flatcoat speeding at 20 ft/sec playfully collides with a toddler it is not the flatcoat who is going to be hurt. As with all dogs, interactions with children and other pets should be carefully supervised or else this may not be the breed for you.
Flatcoats can wreak havoc. A cheerful flatcoat tail wagging at 2,000 rpm will clear any coffee table under 20 inches in milliseconds. ‘Counter-surfing’ flatcoats have been known to consume whole banquets in about the same amount of time. The natural state of a flatcoat is wet. They love water, being wet and rolling in (and sometimes eating) the smelliest mud, refuse, dead animal or excrement they can find. Flatcoats are moderate shedders except for seasonal shedding when they seem like fur factories. If you like having a very clean and orderly house then a flatcoat may not be the breed for you.
Flatcoats have health issues. All dogs have health issues. While flatcoats are a generally hearty dog, fit for active field work, many 8 to 12 rear-olds succumb to cancer or other ailments. If such a loss would be too devastating then this may not be the breed for you.
On a more humorous note, there is a tongue-in-cheek, but still quite pertinent, self-assessment questionnaire on the FCRSA website that will help you do a reality check to see if you are really ready for a flatcoat! Many breeder websites also have helpful information on determining if flatcoats fit your lifestyle.