Yesterday I had the pleasure of hosting a special guest at “casa Flatastic”. Aage and his wife Leanne and their two gorgeous flatcoated from Danish breeder Jiggers (Baku and Balder). Aage and I share many vision on the breed as he also knows the importance of connecting with people in order to maintain the best for our breed. One of my big wishes for the flatcoat is that we build bridges between our (European) countries especially concerning breeding. This could help maintaining the small genepool and allowing the breed a prosperous future. I feel it is a responsibility for us as breeders/stud owners but also the breed clubs to make it possible and not difficult to use foreign breeding material. So Aage and I talk a lot about things such as training and breeding but also on functional exterior. We ended the visit by taking some decent photos of our male dogs as we both realized that most photos were a capture of the hind quarters when our in the field. They are all fast dogs so we decided to do a quick photoshoot in our drive way. I am pleasantly surprised of how my “Italian” is finally building a bit of mass. He will never become a big male but despite his elegance I find him more and more masculine and well proportioned. He also had a new ECVO clear eye test and because we do not know exactly what caused the kidney failure of one of his siblings at the age of 1 1/2 (could be anything from a hidden bladder infection to a birth defect) – 9 out 11 siblings have had kidney check ups (8 ultrasounds and 1 bloodwork) including Lotte and Kaspar. A big thanks to the owners for being so cooperative. Lotte and Kaspar have both been looked at by a specialist and the whole breeding idea has been discussed in the light of the passing of Line. This resulted in a positive advice for breeding and this means from now on that Lotte – Kaspar and some of their littermates have green light. I am very happy that all my thorough work has resulted in a step forward maintaining working skills and functional looks. I am proud of their social skills and happy faces – they are self confident and free spirited too. So to celebrate this point in our time – I made a little collage of Kaspar. What do you think of it? Is he handsome enough to have puppies some day?

All credits for the hairstyling to Barbara Ras from Joyful Friends

Many flatcoated retriever fans have a strong preference of black color. The breed also comes in liver color and yellow – however yellow is an “illegal” , meaning yellow colored flatcoats are not recognized by the breed clubs – however they may participate in gun dog competitions and they own pedigrees too.

I myself have not seen many attractive yellow colored flats but one may argue that liver color flatcoats can also have less “glamour” when their eyes are too light or their coat too light. Whatever color is to your liking … I have always had a weakness for liver colored flatties. I was of course a bit disappointed when Rumi turned out to only carry black genes and it came as a nice surprise that Lotte carries the liver gene. My priority in breeding is at the very least the color – putting character, function and health on top of my list (not necessarily in the above mentioned order). But as I have been looking around for a suitable stud for Lotte for a longer period – it came to a nice surprise when Mr Right turned out to be a liver colored stud. Not only is he liver colored-his liver color is dark and rich. He has the bone we have been looking for and he is known to pass this on to his offspring too. He has a calm temperament and he is a solid and passionate worker with lots of focus and will to please and retrieve. He is primarily a hunting dog but has great working certificates alongside. His father is a working & show champion and a proven stud dog who has influenced breeding in Scandinavia & Germany given a fair amount of puppies. Cajus is 6 years old now and has sired a couple of litters in different countries and I have seen him very well work during several days of training. He will get a proper introduction as soon as I have received approval from the flatcoated retriever klub & group. Using a foreign stud is quiet a hassle when arranging the right paperwork and I do understand when breeders fail to resist the pressure one must be able to endure while arranging a mating abroad. But I am very strong minded on the importance of maintaining our genepool – I feel strongly about the matter and I will do what it takes to make it possible to “fish from fresh waters”. So for those of you who follow my news feed, here is a little sneak preview of our chosen Mr Right.. we meaning Lotte and I and some fellow flatcoated breeders who were kind enough to help double check the pedigree of choice with me. Lotte of course have met him and she like Cajus a lot. So Cajus it is. Look at his his sweet little puppy face.. today he is not so little anymore – he has grown to become a strong and muscular stud – of somewhat different type than Lotte…

More fotos and a proper introduction will follow soon..

Last week Rumi spend the week at our place. Birgitte asked me to write a blog-post about having Rumi as a guest. Since Rumi was in heat, Birgitte asked us if we could please help her out to take care of one of her dogs. It’s one of the downsides of having two bitches and one stud. Last time Rumi was in heat Kaspar was sent away, this time Rumi was the lucky one. Rumi knows us pretty well. We, Mathijs, Ragne and I live in Twente, the eastern part of the Netherlands. Rumi stayed with us before, for example when Birgitte had a competition here in Twente. Our Flatcoated Retriever, Ragne, is 1,5 years old and is also a descendent of Brösel, like Kaspar and Lotte. Ragne really looks up to her half-brother, half-sister and stepmother, but on the other side she pushes the boundaries of how many kisses are tolerated by the other dogs. We often call Rumi the evil stepmother, because she puts Ragne in her place quite often. But this time she chose the role of easy-going, laidback companion and spent her week with sleeping on the sofa, good food, brain-games for entertainment and relaxed on-leash walks with lots of sniffing and rolling. We took the dogs to a hardware store for some brain stimulation. We had a good laugh when Rumi showed Ragne how to walk from cart to cart. At the end of the week Rumi let Ragne lay beside her on the dog bed. It was nice to see how the two of them bonded during the week. At the end of the week Rumi’s heat was over, so her retreat came to an end. On the last day we went for a citywalk that ended on a terrace with tea and brownies. The next day Birgitte came to pick her up to go straight away to a competition.

Above piece is written by Josine Woudsma.

This year we chose to have an early summer holiday in June as the new Danish flatcoated club SFR held a weekend of training on the isle of Fyn with great trainers in a lovely terrain at Faurskov. It is such a nice initiative because you get to meet many flatcoats and their owners throughout the weekend spending time socializing and training. The Netherlands was represented by me and Yvonne from Tricksywood’s kennel and also some German handlers joined.

During the weekend training camp we met with many old friends and lovely people from last year. It was great to see how the dogs had developed in their training and especially Rumi received compliments for her attitude. Last year we trained with a very friendly and strong working dog from Germany and enjoyed time with his handler so meeting each other again in training was a positive reunion. Another pleasant surprise – this lovely guy had passed my attention while looking through pedigrees of working flatcoated retrievers without knowing that I already knew him. I remembered him because of his calm nature and his self confidence and earthy presence. It is rather rare to find these traits in a dog who also works passionately.

After the weekend I was really in need of a holiday and my dummy bag went into the bottom of the car – giving me and the dogs 3 weeks just to be. No plans and no tasks to complete. Just enjoying holidays. Here are some pictures – they speak for themselves how a flatcoated retriever colors your holidays:

Once we arrived home it was with a memory of many re-visiting dog friends and places. Even the camping where I stayed 3 1/2 years ago awaiting the right moment with Rumi to mate with Brösel in the middle of covid lockdown. I did shed some tears because it felt like closing a book..

Hopefully a new chapter in a new book will start writing itself. So as I am vacuuming the last dog hair out of the caravan – my mind is daydreaming of what is to come this Autumn. There are many big plans awaiting – and the first plan is to have a debut with Rumi in the Map A. Rumi would not be Rumi if she did not manage to play tricks with my plans. Two days after arrival home she came in heat – meaning our whole working season of competitions will take place during a hormonal roller coaster. Never a dull moment with a flattie.

Since we have had puppies from Rumi she has developed some fat lumps. The last few months some hard ones on unusual places on her hind quarters worried me a bit. Rumi has had some bad experiences at the vet’s so taking a tissue sample is a bit stressful for us. A few months ago I talked to the holistic vet about preventing teeth problems and showed her Rumi’s bite. She asked what was growing above a tooth? I had not noticed and was very surprised. So I decided to monitor the little bump. The little bump grew quit quickly and I decided in concert with the regular vet & dentist to have it removed. Up until the operation last Monday it continued growing and as Rumi’s mother died of a nose tumor (11 years of age) I started getting a little anxious. We are lucky to have breeding lines without young cancer – as many flatcoated retrievers die too young of this horrible disease (very commonly around 6-7-8 years of age). But even despite of this I always worry when a flatcoated has an unusual growth. The operation went very well – together with vet dentist Joyce Muys at the Diergeneeskundig Centrum Alphen a/d Rijn we took care to make the whole thing less stressful for Rumi. Here a some of the steps we took to make it easier for her:

No shaving for adding the needle – while vet was disinfecting the skin and bringing in the needle for anesthetic I allowed her to lick a tiny bit out of a Danish chef cheese tube (licking has a calming effect)

I had given her a meal in the middle of the night before the operation (according to schedule from Vet) to have her maintain a better blood sugar level to start the day with.

Remaining close to Rumi while the anesthetic was administered instead of handing her over to an assistant.

Being present before she woke up – allowing her to smell that I was in the neighborhood (scent is the firstly registered by the brain after anesthetic).

All of the above requires cooperation from an understanding vet. Thank you Diergeneeskundig centrum Alphen Ad Rijn for that.

Since the operation we have of course done everything to make her feel well. She is on detox homeopathic meds to get all anesthesia out of her body and bone broth from goose feet (homecooked of course) should give a good boost. The wound in her mouth is heeling nicely and she even managed to work with dummies again last Sunday.

While she was under anesthesia we also had an ultrasound to check her organs and womb. All looked very well for a bitch her age – tight and very nice tissue structure. Her stomach had been shaved so now her loose nipples are really showing off at the beach.

Today we got an email from the vet – all tissue sample results were back from the lab – all good – no scary stuff. I am very happy about this and a bit relieved. We trust in many more healthy years for Rumi.

Putten 22 juli 2023

Update 6 juni 23

Workshop is volgeboekt- alleen plek op reservelijst

Goed heelwork hebben houdt in dat de hond op een ontspannen een enigszins aandachtige wijze aan het been loopt, staat, zit en meedraait wanner de voorjager dit vraagt, zonder dat hij/zij continue aandacht moet geven aan de hond. Bij het werken rondom het water wordt deze basis uitgebreid met routines zoals het afgeven, schudden en indraaien. In deze workshop zoomen we in op alle basis routines die aan bod komen bij het waterwerk en wordt de gedragsketen van het heelwork in stukjes gebroken zodat je zelf thuis beter in staat wordt gesteld om de losse onderdelen thuis te oefenen.

Gedragsketen waterapport:

1. Rustig maar oplettend aan de voet zitten en zittend blijven als het schot valt en het apport valtHet apport/apporten goed markeren en onthoudenHet gestuurd worden voor het apport/apporten al dan wel of niet met een hindernis zoals rietkraag en derg.

2. Het vlot ter water gaan op de meest efficiënte wijze (dit geld voor praktijkjacht en diverse wedstrijdvormen, bij OWT wordt rechte lijnen en uit vereist)

3. Direct naar het apport zwemmen (welk aangewezen is)

4. oppakken (diverse voorwerpen)

5. Terugzwemmen met het apport

6. Uit water komen zonder te schudden en nat de afstand tussen water en voorjager overbruggen het apport vasthoudend.

7. Het apport afgeven op commando (zittend/staand naar keuze maar ook voor en naast inkomen) en gewenste posities kunnen houden tot het commando schudden is gegeven (of andere release cue)

8. Het indraaien naar heelpositie en daar gaan zitten

De workshop is geschikt voor alle combinaties waarbij de hond het water aanneemt en kan apporteren.

Ochtend 9.30-12.30: combinaties op C niveau vol

Middag13.30 16.30: combinaties op B niveau VOL

Prijs €60 per combinatie – alleen deelnemende combinaties. Max 8 deelnemers (we werken in 2 groepen van 4)

Ontvangst met koffie/thee voor de ochtendgroep en de middaggroep sluit af met een drankje

Bewijs van deelname wordt uitgereikt en de workshop sluit met persoonlijke feedback zodat je inspiratie hebt voor je eigen “huiswerk”.

Locatie: de Lorrekorf in Putten

Aanmelden voor 1. juli 2023 via email bskriver@hotmail.com met vermelding van:

• naam voorjager

• Naam, niveau, leefttijd en ras van de hond (naam zoals op bewijs van deelname gewenst)

• 06-nummer waarop we voorjager kunnen bereiken

• Evt vermelding van schakel in gedragsketen van het waterapport waar je denkt werk aan te hebben in het bijzonder

Trainers:

Yvonne van Houten – Scheltens van Jachthondenschool Kaya & kennel Tricksywood’s

Birgitte van Vondelen – Jørgensen van kennel Flatastic Flatcoated Retrievers

Beide trainers zijn kynologisch onderlegd – Yvonne is gediplomeerd KI en Birgitte is KI in opleiding (eindfase) en is tevens gedragskundig opgeleid binnen de veterinaire gedragskunde. Yvonne heeft haar eigen jachthonden school in het noorden van het land en Birgitte geeft workshops op het gebied van Stress & Opwinding naast het (stage)lesgeven op een hondenschool. Beide zijn Flatcoated retriever fokkers en voorjagers – praktijkjacht én wedstrijden. Beide dames hebben een humanitaire achtergrond in de hulpverlening en werken welzijnsgericht. De workshop is gebaseerd op positieve bekrachtiging en voorjagers worden gestimuleerd om met diverse beloningstechnieken voor te jagen.

Today it is the birthday of our Aura litter. What a journey have they brought me personally and what a pleasure and joy too. A big congratulations to all brothers and sisters – wishing you a wonderful day.

Kai Kaspar Shelby Spyke Lotte Jason Jones Fien Gurbe Bruce & Victor

Also in loving memory Line – the girl who rocked many of our hearts.

On the 13th & 14 of May the WFRG held a working test weekend – on day for the younger dogs C & B1 level (beginners & advanced beginners) and the other day B2 and A (pre-open and open class).

I participated with Flatastic Black Peace “Kaspar” in B1 and Flow of Spirits Silver Skipper “Rumi” in the A class. The theme of our weekend turned out to become “make your own assessment”.

When you obtain more experience in gundog competitions you start to recognize the difference between the abilities of a dog and the execution of a retrieve set up in a competition. When hunting for real it is very different. The success is determined based on wether the bird gets in the hand or not and how well the dog worked on the bird. At tests it can even be a disadvantage to participate with a working gundog. I will explain to you why a bit later on.

Kaspar has been a bit of challenge in mating season as his nose is extremely well developed and he has an enormous passion to retrieve. He does that very well to and brings everything that has hair or feathers. He brings it alive and well – even newly hatched chicks, so he is keept on a long leash now and we are working really hard to teach him the difference between working and hunting.

I am very lucky to have a trainer who understands this talent and knows how to appreciate and yet deal with the challenges of it at the same time.

In Oostvoorne the park is rather rich in game and when I sent him off to the first retrieve – a free search in front of a forest – he took off like racehorse and came back with foam in his mouth. The judge was a bit startled- not understanding why he didn’t catch scent of the dummy in the beginning. I felt compelled to be honest and told him that my boy was not sincerely looking for a dummy but was most definitely hunting for live game instead until his passion settled and he regained some thinking capacity. This turned out to be the theme of the day – me having a very good laugh with two judges familiar to the pointing dogs. They enjoyed my “German black haired pointer”. All dummies were retrieved and Kaspar ended up with 73 points and a descent diploma. Was I happy? No! But yet I had to smile – he is so talented with his nose and drive, how can I not be glad from a breeder’s point of view? But we definitely need to tame him a little bit in these circumstances.

The next day it was Rumi’s turn. Our first station blew the whole result it turned out afterwards as this gave us only 4 points. A bit of a schokker as I had two dummies in the hand. But nevertheless I got an explanation from the judge later on making me understand “the game” of a test better. It does however make me a bit sad – knowing that Rumi had done exactly what I wish for in a working gun dog and that this actually can lead to such a poor result. But that is all in the game I understand. It does challenge me though to remain very sharp eyed on which qualifies I value myself when selecting for breeding. So what happened? I was at post with Rumi on the low side of a hill behind a waterway and a green dummy was thrown with a shot. All the dog could register was a shot and the judge and photographer on top of the hill. So the intention was that the dog would run up and down – scan the water and see the movement of the water caused by the thrown dummy and then finding it by scent when swimming. Rumi’s dummy fell rather distant on the left side this out of the wind from where she entered the water.

At the shore on the other side was a dead fish with a white belly floating. Guess what – Rumi is very skilled in scanning water surfaces when hunting. And most waterfowl have a light side that shows in water.. so she swam towards the fish – checked it and did the following:

But of course without result because the dummy was under the grass – thrown too far and pressed under the grass by the waves Rumi made while jumping in. She had no chance of finding this dummy and she continued searching the whole side along the water, the judge told me later. This is really a good skill for a hunting dog because hurt game will try to hide upstream. Back to the test: I was called to direct her to the dummy which she did in 1 command.

Then the blind. I carefully repeated the judge’s explanation as it has happened before that I misunderstood the directions. Guess what – it happened again. I directed Rumi to the place and she listened rather well. Turned out to be the wrong “brown spot” next to yellow flowers. So I called her back and after a few commands we got the dummy from the right place. I was very pleased with how Rumi worked and even the judge remarked that we had improved over the winter. We earned 4 points out of 20 for the whole station.

I am not sharing this story to complain about the test or the judge in any sense. What I do feel is important to empathize is the fact that we as handlers really need to be able to see how our dogs work and why they do what they do. Especially when doing tests, because there can be so many things going on that we do not know about but to the dog’s instinct or skills that might make a lot of sense. Was I disappointed about the 4 points? Yes of course- but what remains in my memory is that I am unbelievably proud of what Rumi shows – what she has learned in hunting and that she is beginning to trust my directions better and better, even when I take her out of a search area. All the stuff we strive for is sweet when it succeeds and is values in competition. But the most beautiful thing is to watch our dogs in their natural behavior and applying their skills. So I proudly took our last place in the ranking of certificates in Oostvoorne. It may be our lowest certificate ever but boy am I in love with my fantastic girl – such a pleasure to witness her at work.

Thanks to Sophie Alma who took all the nice pictures of Kaspar and Rumi in action.

At 3:45 AM on a Friday morning an annoying alarm clock reminded me of the fact that “the early bird gets the worm”. An invitation to join a hunter in his field means being at the location around sunrise. This not an activity for lazy bedstayers.

He who gets up early gets to experience the breathtaking beauty of dawn and awakening of all life in Nature. Nothing else can make a human land more in the body and serve with with peace of mind than nature does. The sounds of birds and insects. Wind in the grass and water whispering at you.

Today the point of interest is barnacle geese. This bird stays in NL during winter and heads back to Russia and/or other similar cold areas to mate and raise their chicks.

As they are not mating yet this time is the last chance to obtain some fat rich biological and sustainable meat from an animal that has had a high quality of life.

Many people ask me how I can stand being a part of killing an animal. I often try to explain that I have more difficulty seeing our regular meat and diary production where animals have less freedom and/or some times limited well being. If we could eat less “regular” meat and more game from nature it would make a huge welfare difference and we humans would still have sense of respect and awe for the animals we eat as obtaining a goose’s meat for consumption is a long process that takes effort. When I do the effort – I value the meat even more and I feel less comfortable disposing even the tiny bits. So when I prepare a goose for consumption, all but the intestines, head and feathers are used.

Apart from my fascination of what beautiful nutrition Mother Nature provides us with – I must not forget to mention that it brings me great joy to watch a good hunting dog work from his instincts and skills.

I cannot think of anything prettier than a flatcoated retriever build for his function galopping towards a retrieve with his tail out and nose upward. It can give me goosebumps of awe every time.

Gurbe is a full brother of Lotte & Kaspar from our first litter Aura. He is a bit stronger build than Kaspar but still very compact, fast and turnable. He has a lovely coat – a very charming presence and he is incredibly driven with huge hunting cleverness. I remember when his owner visited us before they were born and he explained about his hunting field and his wish for a hunting dog with excellent water skills. Today I can proudly conclude that he got all that and even more. Gurbe is a passionate worker giving his handler enough challenge. This great boy will do anything to get the last bird home and in my opinion this is a very important talent that a dog either has or not. He has a very good balance between problem solving on his own and will to please. And he is so charming. I am very proud of this boy and of his owner. It is his first flatcoated retriever and they are a great team still in the proces of ankering their teamwork in gundog tests – but already with very good results in the pocket. The hunt together as if they have done that for ages..

Lotte is by far not so experienced as Gurbe in goose retrieving so she got a chance to watch and learn from her brother after having had a few relatively easy marks. She was a bit exited when allowed to run out for a mark and lost some focus on the first bird but after a while she settled better and worked more precisely. A goose fell on the waterway at 200 meters away and she did not see it. It became a blind passing of the water and directing to the left on another 20 meters. Amazing job that she trusted my instructions and retrieved the floating goose.

Later on we sadly had an injured goose that landed very close to the road. Lotte and I immediately started running up to come in between the road and the goose. I made the mistake of letting Lotte search for the goose too early (due to my own poor impulse control) and she turned wind downward and found the landing spot of the goose. She was now behind the goose and the road and if the goose would have been able to fly up this could have put her in the risk of running up to the road and the goose to fly away to a field where we did not have access. This was a big learning moment for me to think more carefully about risks and how to set up the search better. Luckily Lotte put her nose to the ground, kept tracking where the goose went and retrieved it promptly. Pfffiiiewww what a moment. I am not sure which feelings I had at that time – a bit of everything I believe. The morning hunt ended enjoying quietness and singing of the field birds. A rare sound as many of these birds are pushed away by predation (cats/geese/foxes/poor living areas). The sounds of the birds always seduces me entirely and I had not even noticed that the hunt had been called to an end. “We stop now or you will have difficulty cutting out the meat in time as it is getting warm” we’re the wise words of my hunter. So I returned home after a cup of coffee and a quick “Adonis photo shoot” of Gurbe. I had the last goose on my cutting board at 21.45 hours at night.

Sustainable meat is not easy peasy done. And I even did not have all the hassle of a hunting license and shooting etc. Did I mention that this type of goose hunting is law regulated to protect crops from farmers etc? Meaning it is not optional – the hunting is more or less obligated. Also on weekdays when the hunter might not have the exact spare time.. Nature does not wait and regulated protection of crops sets the pace. Nature shows us humans that everything has its timing – I try to learn from her…

Our two youngsters are different from character but they do look a lot alike – especially in their habits and positions. When joining a couples class that works in our advantage. The couples class takes place in the main ring of a show and the dogs do not necessarily need to be perfect breed representatives but they must be the same type and explicitly male and female in looks. Lotte and Kaspar have been placed every time when entered in couples classes and again today they brought home a golden cup 3rd price and a very nice bag of Renske dog food.

Before the couples class we had the individual judging that sadly did not give a placement for Rumi – but she is also completely out of coat. Good a very nice report on all three, with feedback that makes sense to me.

Judge today in breed was Mrs Gerda Groeneweg-de Klerk & couples class Godelieve Wit-Bazelmans

Kaspar 1st place VG working class:

Bijna 3 jaar. Reu van een zeer goed type maar zou in het geheel wat mannelijker mogen zijn. Goed gevormd hoofd. Prima expressie. Voldoende halslengte. Mooie rugbelijning. Voldoende voorborst. Voldoende diep lichaam. Zag liever meer kniehoeking. Bone passend bij het type. Voldoende krachtig voetje. Goed behang. Gaat vlot met een wat korte pas. Zeer goed

Rumi Excellent open class:

7 jaar. Innemend vrouwelijk hoofd met zachte expressie. Prima geplaatst oortje. Fraaie halsrugbelijning. Prima voorborst. Mooi opgeribd lichaam. Goede hoekingen voor en achter. Ovaalvormig bone. Voorvoeten mogen wat compacter. Is momenteel iets in de rui. Gaat vlot. Uitmuntend

Lotte 1st place Excellent working class

Bijna 3 jaar. Elegante teef. Mooi type en formaat. Mooi gevormd vrouwelijk hood. Prima expressie. Mooie halsrugbelijning. Prima voorborst. Goed opgeribd lichaam. Prima hoekingen voor en achter. Bone past bi het type. Voldoende krachtige voetjes. Mooie vlak aanliggende vacht met prima behang. Gaat met correct paslengte. Goede presentatie. Uitmuntend

Tonight it will be double bubble of champagne to celebrate this week’s results. Work & show. But most importantly never forgetting the fun..