The Flat Coated Retriever presents something of a paradox as far as the United States is concerned, for the breed traces its ancestry back to two breeds that are indigenous to the North American continent, yet it is one of the least known species of purebreds in America. Its actual origin and almost its entire development was in England, cradle of so many different varieties of the dog.

The earliest known specimen that approximated the present standard of the Flat Coated Retriever appeared at the Birmingham show (England) in 1860. This was a dog named Wyndham, owned and exhibited by R. Braisford. The dog excited no little comment, for retrievers of any kind were a rarity in those days.

Wyndham was very much on the type of the Labrador Retriever, with the exception of coat. Almost wholy black in colour, his conformation also followed that of the Labrador; but there the resemblance ended, for Wynham carried a much heaiver coat.

It is impossible to say just how long verious sporting dog men had been experimenting with various crosses before the first specimen called the "wavy coated retriever" was taken to a bench show, but it probably had been at least half a decade. Formal shows were in their infancy and the greater interest was in work afield. So it is quite probable that a fairly long and varied history lay behind Wyndham.

The real proof of this breed that since has come to be known as the Flat Coated Retriever was to be found in the efficiency of its work. It proved to be a natural water dog, marking, retrieving and delivering with a style that always elicited favourable comment. Others found the dog equally satisfactory for upland shooting, and it was only al few years before it was used in great numbers on pheasant and other kinds of feather.

The early rapid progress of the breed may be imagined from the fact that it was only four years after its show debut that it had classes at the regular shows. The first exhibition where classes were provided was at the big all breed event at Ashburnham Hall, Chelsea, in April of 1864. By then there was considerable discussion of type and the leading breeders were beginning to be rather set in their ideas.

Perhaps the one man who deserves major credit for the pure development of the most desirable type was Dr. Bond Moore of Wolverhampton. He was convinced that the new breed should follow the Labrador in both colour and conformation. It is said that he was such a stickler for the solid black colour that he destroyed all puppies that had any traces of other colours on them.

Aside from the Labrador Retriever and the St.John's Newfoundland, the original cross, there is evidence that both the Gordon Setter and the Irish Setter were used to advantage. Some talk of a cross with the Collie is prevalent in the history of the Flat Coated Retriever, but this is doubtful.

The Flat Coated Retriever of today is a sturdily made dog of sixty to seventy pounds, with a close lying, somehwat dense coat that is a splendid protection in the water. The great majority of specimens are wholly black or liver, sometimes a small amount of white is found on the chest.