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Welcome to the LARGEST DOG FORUM in the world!!* Welcome, you are seeing this message because you are viewing our dog owners forum as a guest. You are more than welcome to register and join our friendly community of Dog Lovers, on the biggest and best dog forum in the world!* Doing so will unlock lots of features enabling you to participate on the site... and will also get rid of this message box and the advert on the left. Click here to register for FREE! *Dogsey hosts the largest English language dog-related forum in the world! By total number of posts. |
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new and recently doggless
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What do you want to know??? I will help all I can. For starters....I will tell you what many perceive to be the downsides, if you're still interested after that I will start to go on endlessly about the good things! First of all...they eat their own poo. This puts a LOT of people off. They do it as a breed thing, all the remedies are useless...no one knows why they do it but generally most do it at some point and don't necessarily grow out of it. They are nothing like Golden Retrievers or Labradors. They will not stay lying down on the sofa when you get up to make a brew...they have to be with you all the time. You cannot have a bin...they will raid it no matter what training you give them. They will eat anything and everything...(including each others poo and the poo of other species...) You cannot have a coffee table with a Flat Coat around as it's tail will clear it, for the same reason, young toddlers could get hurt by their enthusiastic tail action. They adore water and mud...it is a daily thing given half a chance. You cannot be house proud and own a Flat Coated Retriever. This is a regular sight.. (honestly, I am not exaggerating,daily if he can...)  They are difficult to train. You have to persuade them that anything they do was their idea in the first place. You cannot use harsh training methods as they are sensitive...and the other side of that is you cannot use harsh training methods because they sulk....yet at the same time they could eat a weak handler for breakfast. You need to relearn all the training methods when dealing with a Flat Coat...truly. They really are not, in my experience, like other Retrievers. They are hard work and dirty and truly not for everyone. They look great when they are clean and brushed but they do not look like that a lot....they are enthusiastic in everything that they do and want to be with their family all the time. They do not deal at all well with being left for prolonged periods. In all honesty we had people ask to come and visit us because they wanted a Flat Coat. After half an hour with us they had decided a Flat Coat wasn't for them. You really have to research the breed well...go to shows, speak to breeders, meet lots of the dogs. Make sure if you do opt for one that all the health checks are done and that the lines you get your comapnion from are relatively free of cancer. Cancer is rife sadly.  There.....all the bad points that do put lots of people off because this truly is not a breed for everyone. Yes, they can make great pets, but only with careful handling and lots of exercise. If I haven't put you off I will gladly tell you the good things too>  |
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Sorry...in my enthusiasm, I forgot to say welcome to Dogsey and sorry for the loss of your dog. |
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phew... that was fast. thought I'd have to wait ages to get a reply due to timezones. Thanks for the info...I think!!! You havent detered me yet. I'm more than ok with dogs not acting like humans and I'm not very house-proud. I'm also up for a challenge and have access to great deserted beaches and lakes where I live. I only train with positive reinforcement and I know a tried dog is a happy one! Having said all that...Bring on the good points if you would be so kind! Also...How come you have all this knowledge???? |
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Opps ment to say TIRED dog. Also LOVE the photo and thanks for the welcome! |
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Welcome to Dogsey I am so sorry you lost your dog recently, its so hard when we have to say goodbye. Wow Ramble, I didn't realise f/c were like that, they sound a bit like Basenjis apart from the water and mud!! |
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I share my life with a Flat Coated Retriever and have previously puppy walked both a full Flat Coat and a Flat Coat cross for Guide Dogs. I talk Flat Coat on a daily basis to other Flat Coat people and hope, one day, to share my life with 2 at the same time! Okay the good points. FCRs are incredibly intelligent. They match (IMO) the intelligence of Border Collies (who I also have experience of) but they are much more selective about how they use it and what they use it for (thus their ability to eat some handlers for breakfast). They also have an incredible sense of humour and fun and delight in sharing it with you (normally at your expense). In all honesty I used to mock people who said their dogs had a sense of humour as I don't for one minute think dogs are anything like humans, nor should they be treated like humans, but truly, these dogs have so much fun. They can amuse themselves in the most ridiculous of ways and will actively seek out opportunities to amuse you and interact with you and involve you in whatever scam they have on the go...it is hard to describe fully until you have lived with it and seen it. At the same time, they can take their lives seriously. The one we puppy walked was a steep learning curve and had difficulties at pouints, largely with poor recall and lead work as he loved everyone and everything and wanted to share it with them!!!!! As soon as he went to his owner...it all clicked. He has realised he is blind and he rarely leaves his side, even on a free run. He has bonded so deeply with him (and it is mutual)....yet this same dog will get up and dance with him at parties!!!!!!! They have a love of life and an enthusiasm for everything that they do. They just love life. We thought long and hard about getting one because of the cancer, the thought of losing a dog so young to it was offputting, especailly as we had just lost a collie to cancer and we have a child. The thing is, we decided that this breed are so enthusiastic about life that even if we do (I dread to think of it) lose one to cancer young, at least we know they will have loved every single moment of their life... They are clever, enthusiastic and entertaining...but they are hard work and unless you want youir dog in your face 24/7 they aren't the breed for you. They will not go and lounge around if you are doing something, they will always be with you. Not everyone can deal with that. If I am on the pc, my dog is at my feet, if I move, he follows me...if I go anywhere at all he is there...at my side...head nudging me for tickles. The same head that was just eating poo 2 minutes before then rests it on the worktop in the kitchen...or licks you (they love to lick...) I cannot ever now imagine my life without a Flat Coat in it. I adore this breed. BUT I have heard terrible stories of people getting them and just not really understanding them. They truly are not like other retrievers...we have lab and GR experience too. Have you met many Flat Coats? |
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I don't know anything about Basenjis in all honesty!!! If they are like FCRs perhaps I should find out more......  |
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Thanks Dani.He is great entertainment! But absolutely...not the breed for many people really... |
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