About the middle of the 19th century in England, the hunters and gamekeepers began hunting with a very versatile dog that, like the Chesapeake Bay retriever and the Labrador retriever, was developed from the St. John's Water Dog of Newfoundland. It is generally thought that water spaniels and possibly Scotch collies also played a role in the breed's ancestry.

Connor (Ch. Mantayo Highland McCleod CDX SH WCX), one of Don Freeman's flat-coats, hits a solid point on a pheasant, something he almost always does when hunting upland birds, Freeman says.

While the exact crosses with the St. John's Water Dog that brought about the existence of the "wavy-coated retriever" that in turn became the flat-coated retriever (FCR) are not recorded, one part of the breed's ancestry is absolutely clear. Somewhere in the gene pool of the FCR lurk the canine cousins of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy with crosses to the dog versions of Larry, Moe and Curly and probably a dash of Emmett Kelly tossed in for good measure. Certainly no other breed of retriever, and probably no other hunting dog breed, is quite as willing to don its clown suit and sing, "Let me entertain you" as is the flat-coat.

"Flat-coats have a well-deserved reputation for being clowns because if they do something goofy and you laugh, they'll repeat that behavior as they like to please you and make you happy," said Mitch White. "There are folks who view this as a stupidity issue, but many comics or satirists are very bright people. Really, it's not an issue of intelligence but rather, it's just that these dogs love life.

"Watch them in the show ring sometime. They're always wagging their tails. They are rarely depressed even when they are afflicted with the scourge of this breed--cancer. But while they may clown around in training, when you are actually hunting they are generally all business and obsessed with finding birds."

Hawk (Ch. Gamekeeper's Black Hawk MH WCX HOF), owned by Mitch and Maria White, was not too tired to pose with his "trophies" after a successful pheasant hunt.

"Flat-coats are the 'Peter Pans' of the dog world," said Penny Fuhlman. "They stay young into their old age, they love life and they make every effort to enjoy each day. But when you get them in the field, the 'clown' aspect of their personality disappears. They know why they are there and they are fired up to work.

"Just as an example, Sugar, (Ch. Paradise Sugar N Spice CDX MH WCX) was a bit 'high' for hunting ducks from shore. Once I tied her to a small tree up the hill from me while I stood on the bank of a pond. During a volley of pass shooting at wood ducks, she ended up at my side, tree and all. You have to love that kind of enthusiasm."

Don Freeman noted that one of the grande dames of the breed, the late Honorable Amelia Grace Jessel (she was the daughter of Robert Oliver Fitzroy, Second Viscount Daventry which accounts for the honorific) described flat-coats greeting a stranger as "hail fellows well met."

"I couldn't describe it better," Freeman said. "They probably compare most closely to the perpetually happy golden but with more mischief, inventiveness and in-your-face needs. Just as an example, taking a lunch break on a pheasant hunt, I sat down on the bank of a dry streambed. Wink, one of my flat-coats, tolerated this for about five minutes, then she went around behind me, put a front foot over my shoulder and pulled me over backwards all the while frantically licking my face, imploring me to get up and get going.