- Black or liver only
About the Flat Coated Retriever
Origin: Great Britain
- Typical life span
- 8-10 years
- Size
- Large — from its typical weight
- Weight
- Male
- 27-32 kg
- Female
- 25-29 kg
- Height
- Male
- 58-62 cm
- Female
- 56-60 cm
- FCI status
- Recognised by FCI
- FCI group
- Retrievers - Flushing Dogs - Water Dogs
- Origin
- Great Britain
- Also called
- Cobrador de Pelo Liso
- Known hereditary risks
- 5 documented conditions, with the test for each
About
What is a Flat Coated Retriever?
Large, elegant sporting dog with a lustrous, sleek flat coat in solid black or liver, known for their cheerful, perpetually youthful 'Peter Pan' personality and optimistic temperament
Flat Coated Retriever history and origins
Developed in mid-19th century England by crossing St. John's Water Dog with various retrievers, setters, spaniels and sheepdogs to create a versatile gundog for work on both land and water
Flat Coated Retriever appearance and size
Males typically weigh 27-32 kg and stand 58-62 cm at the shoulder; females 25-29 kg and 56-60 cm.
What the breed standard says
- Bred for
- Gundog
- Behaviour and temperament
“Generously endowed with natural gundog ability, optimism and friendliness demonstrated by enthusiastic tail action; confident and kindly”
Quoted from FCI standard n°121. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
Breed reference from The Dog API.
Characteristics
- Size
- Large
- Exercise needsRead from what the breed was bred to do, in the registry’s own words: “Gundog” That is a working purpose, not a measured exercise requirement — an individual dog’s needs depend on its age, health and household.
- 4 of 5
- Easy to train
- —
- Amount of shedding
- —
- Grooming needs
- 2 of 5
- Good with children
- —
- Cost to keep
- —
- Tolerates being alone
- —
- Intelligence
- —
- Health of breed
- 5 conditions documented
Pros & cons
Pros & cons for the Flat Coated Retriever
What you get with the Flat Coated Retriever
- Purpose stated in the standard: “Gundog”
- The standard describes the breed as: “Generously endowed with natural gundog ability, optimism and friendliness demonstrated by enthusiastic tail action”
- Low grooming needs, fitting for a busy owner — the coat is “Dense, of fine to medium texture and good quality, as flat as possible.”
What you are taking on
- 3 serious inherited conditions are documented, mainly in bones & joints and eyes. The health guide tab has the test to ask for on each.
Drawn from sources rather than written as an opinion — cited health research, the registry’s own standard, and peer-reviewed longevity. FCI breed standard; UK Kennel Club Breed Health and Conservation Plan — Flat Coated Retriever (2020). One breeder’s animals can differ from any of it, and an empty column means we hold nothing for that side rather than that there is nothing to say.
Characteristics
FCI standard · Flat Coated Retriever
Coat and colour
As the FCI standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording.
Coat
Dense, of fine to medium texture and good quality, as flat as possible.
Legs and tail well feathered.
Full furnishings on maturity complete the elegance of a good dog
Colour
- Preferred
- Permissible
- Undesirable
- Disqualifying
Preferred, permissible, undesirable and disqualifying are FCI’s own words about the breed. They describe what the standard asks for — not an assessment of any individual dog, and not ours.
Shortened from FCI standard n°121 — each label is the standard’s own wording with the verdict lifted into the tag beside it. Read the full clause at source.
What the breed standard says
- Size
- “Preferred height: Dogs: 59 - 61,5 cm (23-24 ins), Bitches: 56,5 - 59 cm (22-23 ins). Preferred weight in hard condition: Dogs: 27 - 36 kg (60-80 lbs), Bitches: 25 - 32 kg (55-70 lbs)”
- FCI distinguishes an ideal from what is permitted.
Quoted from FCI standard n°121. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
Breed-level information from The Dog API. It describes the Flat Coated Retriever in general; any individual animal can differ.
Health guide
Health & screening guide for the Flat Coated Retriever
Known hereditary risks for the Flat Coated Retriever breed, and the specific documentation to request from any breeder before paying a deposit. A responsible breeder will have these readily available; deflection is a red flag.
5 conditions documentedThis is breed-level literature, not veterinary advice about an individual animal — your vet knows the animal.
Health checklist (PDF)Bones & joints
Patellar luxation
Serious
The kneecap slips out of its normal groove, causing an intermittent skipping gait or lameness that can become permanent and sometimes needs surgery. One large single-surgeon study screening the breed over 17 years found it in 23.6% of dogs examined.
What to ask for
Veterinary orthopaedic examination for patellar luxation (OFA evaluation or the breed society's own patellar screening scheme) on both parents
Hip dysplasia
Monitor
Malformation of the hip joint that can progress to osteoarthritis. It is required under the Kennel Club's Assured Breeder Scheme for this breed, though the Kennel Club's own analysis found this breed's heritability estimate to be the lowest of 15 UK breeds studied.
What to ask for
Hip score from a recognised scheme (OFA or BVA/KC) on both parents
Brain & nerves
Epilepsy
Monitor
Recurrent seizures with no identifiable structural or metabolic cause. The breed's health co-ordinators list it among the breed's priority concerns, but no causative gene or DNA test has been found in this breed.
What to ask for
No validated screening or DNA test exists. Ask whether the sire, dam or their close relatives have a seizure history
Eyes
Pectinate ligament abnormality (PLA) / glaucoma
Serious
A malformation of the eye's fluid drainage angle that can progress to glaucoma, a painful pressure build-up inside the eye that can cause blindness. The degree of malformation found on examination is closely linked to the risk of later developing glaucoma.
What to ask for
Gonioscopy examination under the BVA/KC/ISDS Eye Scheme (or equivalent) on both parents
Cancer
Histiocytic sarcoma
Serious
An aggressive cancer arising from immune cells, most often in the spleen, lungs or limbs. A UK cohort study found 42% of Flat-Coated Retrievers followed from healthy adulthood died of confirmed cancer, with this type the largest single contributor, and the breed's own health co-ordinators rank it the breed's top concern.
What to ask for
No validated screening or DNA test exists. Ask whether the sire, dam or their close relatives are on the breed society's cause-of-death register and what it shows
How long the Flat Coated Retriever lives, in the records
Median survival 11.7 years
95% confidence interval 11.5–11.9 years, from 784 recorded deaths among 2,146 dogs
Mortality hazard 1.08 (1.01, 1.16) relative to crossbred dogs, whose median is 12.0 years.
Measured in the United Kingdom from 584,734 dogs. Median survival is not a prediction for an individual dog.
McMillan, K.M., Bielby, J., Williams, C.L., Upjohn, M.M., Casey, R.A. & Christley, R.M. (2024) Longevity of companion dog breeds: those at risk from early death. Scientific Reports 14, 531.
Gallery
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Puppies
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