Eileen - 195811 Onalaska, WA 4/18/2013 1:58:34 AM My husband knew I was missing my white German Shepards after they were gone from our lives. I had had them 12 and 14 years, Mother and daughter. We went to our local animal shelter one day just to love the animals as we do a lot. It was almost my birthday and he got me this really neat black dog there that day for my birthday. The shelter called her a retriever cross. I ran into a breeder of flat coats by accident one day and discovered my cross baby looked just like them and had all the same qualities that her babies had. She told me that my girl was probably a Flat Coat too. Looks just like all the pics of Flat Coats here too. Wonderful breed to take me away from my shepards. Would not trade her for anything else. Wonderful breed for around everyone, children, adults and even strangers. Very protective, but will mind when you say they are okay.We had only had her 2 weeks when he came home from second shift at the mill and she did not hear his truck come in the driveway. When he started in the house she was about to take him down when she recognized his voice. He said "Honey, I don't ever have to worry about you being alone at home anymore. Zoe will protect you." Love him, love my Baby Dog.
Karen Walkertown, NC 2/14/2009 11:37:20 AM I have a black Flat Coat retriever named Pru. She is so sweet and intelligent. Her best friend is my cat Aeysa and they have a very special relationship. Aeysa had six kittens and was extremely protective, not letting any other animal in our house close to them. One day, after Aeysa nursed her kittens, she walked over to Pru(who had always shown curious interest in the kittens.) I could see they were communicating.Aeysa was inviting Pru to meet her babies. All of a sudden as Aeysa stood by, Pru walked over to the kittens and began smelling and nuzzling them. After that, Pru was the only animal allowed near them. As they grew to crawl and scurry, Pru became vigilant in rounding them up and nudging them all to safety. You could even see her "counting" making sure she found them all. When Aeysa weaned her kittens, Pru took over as suragate mom. She allowed them to "nurse" on her and she would clean them. To this day, the 3 year old "kittens" have a special relationship with "mama Pru". In puppy class, Pru learned very quickly. My flat coat is so sociable, she loves every dog at the park as well as people. She doesn't have a mean bone in her. I would love to get her into agility training, she would love the activity and she would be great at it. Flat coats are GREAT!