On the 6th of April 2024 the Working Flatcoated Retrievers Group organized their yearly flatcoated only working test.

Flatastic Black Peace “Kaspar” won the Novice class and got himself a participation ticket for the Trophy B2 in the Autumn. Not bad for a young dog with a sick handler who was busier sweating the flu out, than guiding her dog.

Thank you WFRG for a well executed Working Test and a special thanks to Sophie Alma for the nice photo’s of my boy.

It has been a couple of weeks since Lotte’s ultrasound showed an empty womb. It was a bit of a shock to us and I needed some time to digest the news. Digesting bad news has been a bit of theme lately and it has been reminding me that breeding and having passion for what I do really puts my heart in a vulnerable position. Luckily the dogs are still their fantastic selves and they bring smiles on my face everyday. That is very valuable in times where hardness seem to arise more and more between humans.

After some consideration and elaboration with the owner of Cajus, we have decided to give this combination another chance whenever Lotte comes in heat. The fact that several bitches in the Netherlands and in central Europe have been mated without results, gives me idea that it is a natural phenomenon rather than there should be anything wrong with the parents or the combination. I am very thankful that the major part of the potential puppy buyers are giving me their confidence too awaiting the next heat period of Lotte.

To celebrate the fact that we are “getting back in the saddle” a friend of mine, Henriette de Feij has designed this lovely poster. I think she did an amazing job.

Henriette enjoyed making this and she has offered to make more of this kind of litter adds and/or stud adds for a reasonable price in the future. I would be happy to provide you Henriette’s contact information should you wish to use her services. Henriette is familiar to gun dog work and therefore has the right eye for gundog breeds.

Thank you Henriette!

The gundog competition season finished for us with a qualification to participate in the Champions Trophy on the 24th of February.

One may call it the “Retriever Championship” of the year as the best of all the retriever breeds compete at a high level. Rumi and I are invited and looking forward to the experience. Hopefully she will not come in heat at that time – we keep our fingers crossed.

I have had the joy of being invited to many different hunts this year – and many of my hosts have invited me and the dogs because they appreciate the diversity of the flatcoated retriever. They are of course specialists in working after the shot – working very keenly on lost birds and game. I have come to the conclusion that they are absolute perfect gundogs for goose hunting – being great on marks and memory’s.

I was invited to Friesland 3 times this year and I brought the girls on two occasions.

Our first was at Piet’s area and my friend Yvonne was also there with her lovely girl Ylva.

We started early with hiding in the cover for goose hunting. As I have explained earlier goose hunting is not only hunting but also damage control as they are living in the NL in very large numbers – spoiling a lot of fields and contaminating waterways with their co2 rich excrements. More importantly they apply pressure on other field birds as some are very aggressive and territorial. Economically it is a very expensive animal because the government pay out damage compensation to farmers and landowners who are affected by invasion of hungry geese.

Luckily I am a fan of eating goose meat – and willing to put the hard work into the whole processing of these big animals.

In fact is a very durable way of taking in proteins – no man made production facilities, no medication in the animals and they live a natural life in freedom. They die quickly without long stress and suffering of being transported or kept in poor conditions.

Hunters are often viewed at as bad humans who take pleasure in killing. After some years of assisting in hunting with my dogs – I think I might be able to add some nuance in this image. Yes, hunters do take honor in making a good and clean kill. Because it is the most friendly way to obtain meat. With the lowest possible suffering, using your human skills and focus. I think many people today are not aware how our food ends up in the supermarket and therefore we are relieved from the moral pressure of taking a life. The truth is that we are all in one way of the other hunters in our core nature. Hunting for food may be the lesser experienced action in these modern times but we all hunt after something or someone in life and we tend to do some crazy thing in order to obtain what we hunt for. It is a very strong motivation and drive in our human nature – wether we acknowledge it or not. For some reason, many of us who like to hunt on game find it important that we maintain the skill to feed our families – have knowledge and practical skills in and about nature. Hunting is 20 % shooting and 80 % caring for your field – creating a balanced living space for all wild life – counting numbers and keeping the flora in good condition. Hunting itself one may say is the cherry on top at the end of the year – after a long period of being in and about the fields. Knowing what is going on and communicating with farmers and officials is a big part of the task of a hunter who has a field/area under his responsibility. When there is an annual hunt on hare the amount of hares that needs regulation and/or the number of hares the hunt may harvest is pre-set. In my case it was one hare per hunter per drive allowed. This left plenty of hares in the field after hunting and still keeping the pressure on the fields low enough. 2023 was a very good year for hares.

But enough talking about the ethical side of hunting and let us get back to the gundog work..

Working the dogs on a goose hunt is really great – they often get to make some far retrieves and often they need to work extra hard on rough waterways – sometimes a goose is drifting off and a good dog like Rumi who trusts my instructions is such a pleasure to have at my side. Lotte has been out on geese too but surprisingly this little elegant girl has surprised me in being a really reliable “spaniel” on driven hunts. A hare that jumps out in front of her nose is a bit too tempting but if on a bit of distance she remains really steady in her task of searching and even deer she was able to resist.

The traditional pea soup is a Dutch thing one either loves or hates but I must say – Lieuwe’s version is the best I have had so far. I was lucky enough that he agreed to share the recipe (sorry only in Dutch language):

Erwtensoep: 500 gr spliterwten, 2 litr water (meer of minder voor dikker/dunner 2 uien wortel prei 2 aardappelen halve stronk bleekselderij 2 tenen knoflook 200 gr gerookte spekjes 2 schouderkarbonades 4 speklappen rookworst in plakjes 2 bouillonblokjes peper en zout naar smaak

For quite some time I have developed skills in processing geese, pheasants and ducks. But a hare is a whole new thing.. maybe it because it looks like a cat in some way, also the soft fur and the big eyes.. it is a different level to kill it if necessary and also to process it. Up until now I was reluctant- but I challenged myself to do the job myself. My chance to put my challenge into action came when Lieuwe invited me for a second hunt in Friesland. Rumi brought a hare that needed to be releaved from suffering. Poeh – that was indeed a next level thing. As I have not yet tasted hare to my liking – my dog friend Raymond was kind to show my how to proces a hare – so at Christmas morning me and my friend Josine (who has recently obtained her hunting license) went to Raymond for a lesson in cutting out a hare. He gave me a recipe too but it has not been tested yet.. to be followed ..

Of course Kaspar was also out hunting – more on his adventures later on.. for now I would like to thank Piet, Lieuwe, Yvonne, Marian and Jacqueline for the wonderful opportunities you have given me and the dogs to develop over the season. And Raymond for teaching me game processing skills 2.0.

Thank you to all hunters and fellow dog handlers for all the good and safe hours in the field together.

Last Sunday – the 19th of Nov 2023 the FRC held her flatcoated finals gun dog competition. Rumi and two of her siblings were invited which is very special to have 3 littermates at this top level. To qualify one must have at least an A diploma in an SJP – WT or MAP.

The competition consists of 4 rounds with each 3 retrieves. All on long distances with various distractions – testing marking skills – double drags, blinds and memories as well as searching in different covers.

Here is a link to the description op the 4 rounds:

https://www.frc-nl.com/event/apporteer-trofee-en-de-uitreiking-van-de-ben-koolen-bokaal/

Rumi was in a good mood – very eager and ready to rock and roll. I had a bit of hard time walking her on the leash as she simply could not wait to get started. She simply loves to work and I was afraid she might get lost in the passion as it often does. But I must say she really did her utmost to keep listening and with a little bit of handling we got all retrieves. What a joy!

While enjoying the “afterbuzz” of a great day working with my beautiful Rumi (Flow of Spirits Silver Skipper) – we all had a drink in the café of the “Forrelenvijver Breukink” while waiting for the results. To my great surprise we came in 3rd place and to obt the joy Rumi’s brother Déroy won the AT.

Thank you FRC for this wonderful and memorable day.

A special thanks to Robin Polman & Ad Ordelman for making these lovely photographs for us to remember these precious moments.

Last week I received an invitation from colleague flatcoated breeder Pearlycoat to join a hunt in Denmark. It was unique in the way that Cajus,who is planned to sire our upcoming, was attending too. Pearlycoat is a well known flatcoated breeder in Denmark who has a reputation of breeding working gun dogs with calm temperaments and plenty of work drive. Christian & Marianne are also the owners of Cajus’ father Hasse (Spader Damens Amenlis).

So of course I gladly accepted the invitation-when does one get the chance to see the stud in real action!?

Cajus showed me that he is the perfect match for Lotte – he has characteristics that will compliment my fast Rumi daughter. He is very motivated in game but has a natural obedience and stays closer to his handler than Lotte. He showed me how easily he settles after a hunt an he is truly a good sport towards other dogs. He is also such a funny guy – he did his utmost to flirt with Lotte who took great interest in exchanging smells. I wonder how much longer we have to wait for her to come in heat.

Also Cajus’ sister Nura was joining our wonderful day on pheasants. She is a really nice flatcoated retriever too. Very feminine and fast.

Lotte herself did a good job – picking up in a different terrein than she is used to. At the end of the day she got a bit overexcited by the many amounts of birds – but during the after search she got all the sick birds back who had run far out.

I am very excited to see how this wonderful couple is going to pass on their hunting traits.

Me & the dogs are kindly invited to hunt at larger commercial hunts in Belgium. These days are often with long hours in the car but really worthwhile as the dogs learn heaps and it is such joy to bring to practice what we have learned throughout the year. Our host had a special treat – offering a hunting day for the Aura litter. The dogs are now 3 1/2 old and some have already hunting certificates – others are taking their time but all are trained to retrieve beyond basics.

We met the night before as the hunt (pheasants & duck) started 9.00 hours the next day. A good dinner after a long drive at our usual Italian restaurant. The next morning we left the motel on time. Sleeping at Campanile is an adventure in its own – but it is very practical that one can bring the dogs without problems.

During the day we different drives and because we were with more dogs than needed we could allow the less experienced dogs to retrieve the “clear” marks and the more experienced dogs were standing by for runners and other difficult tasks.

It is hard to describe in words what we experienced during the day – but the emotions I can recall. What a joy to see the pleasure the dogs had and also the handlers – from experienced to first-timers. I will not forget the look of wonder and excitement in their eyes when they got to experience the great natural abilities of their dogs.

For me this day was very special – it felt like an achievement of full circle. Happy working flatcoated retrievers born out of my beautiful Rumi & papa Brösel. Both great hunting dogs and now many of their children are retrieving with same style and passion. Wonderful to see how much pleasure they bring to their owners.

Thank you Marian for this day!

And thanks to Frans, Lieuwe, Yvonne, Mathijs, Hans for joining the flatastic adventure..

My 7 1/2 year old wonderful working girl. Mother of 12 and extremely passionate hunting dog.

This year’s season is not over yet and her list of results is already impressive.

1st place Open Class Working Test

Working test A certificate

2 x MAP A certificate

Show excellent

and she is not castrated and she is out hunting in between it all..

It has been a challenge to keep her fit with a chronic injury but she is thriving and enjoying life to the fullest.

She is not your average flatcoated retriever – free spirited and strong minded with an excellent nose and passion for more than one. But she makes your heart pour with smiles and love. She is funny and charmingly crazy. In many ways resembling her mother Flynn.

We are (un)patiently awaiting her daughter Lotte to come in heat .. we dream about Rumi becoming a grandmother.

This past gun dog competition season team Flatastic has been busy. As we expected Lotte to come in heat early October, she was not entered in a lot of competitions. It was therefore a big surprise to me that one of the few MAP B entries she had turned out to be a big success.

In het afgelopen wedstrijd seizoen is team Flatastic druk geweest. Omdat we aanvankelijk dachten dat Lotte begin Oktober loops zou worden hadden we haar niet veel ingeschreven. Het was daarom een grote verrassing toen ze op de MAP B een derde prijs won.

Lotte had a really good day – working very nearly – needing little support from my side and she loved problem solving on her own.

Lotte had een goede dag – ze werkte heel netjes – had weinig ondersteuning nodig van mij and ze genoot volop van al het zelfstandige werk.

She only made one “slip” when running a blind she had a short detour for a quick cool off swim. I was a bit annoyed by that – mostly because I should have let her swim on beforehand. Lotte came back from her swim, shook off and continued her blind. What a memory. My little “wild” princess is really growing in focus and putting herself into the task just like her mother.

Ze maakte alleen één uitglijder onderweg op een blinde lijn – kwam ze een opening naar het water tegen en maakte even een afkoel duik. Ik was een beetje geïrriteerd, vooral omdat ik mijzelf kwalijk nam haar niet te hebben laten zwemmen vooraf. Toen ze uit het water kwam zette ze haar lijn voort. Ongelooflijk wat een geheugen. Mijn kleine “wilde” prinses groeit in focus hebben en wijdt zichzelf aan de taak zoals haar moeder dat ook doet.

We are of course very proud of Lotte. She is ready for motherhood – she has fantastic dual qualifications for her age – but mostly I find it impressive that she can run such a high score in the midst of an active hunting season. She is really following her mothers big paw prints.

We zijn natuurlijk heel trots op Lotte. Ze is nu klaar voor het moederschap – ze heeft fantastische dual kwalificaties op een jonge leeftijd – maar bovenal vind ik het knap van der dat ze midden in een actief jachtseizoen zo een hoge score haalt. Ze is echt de grote poot-sporen van haar moeder aan het opvolgen.

HD A ED free Patella free ECVO free Gonio mild

HD A ED vrij Patella vrij ECVO vrij Gonio licht

SJP B WT B1 MAP B

Exterior 1 EXC working – 1st place couples class Gundog show

Exterieur 1U working klasse – 1ste plaats koppel klasse Gundog Show

For this winter we are planning a litter with Lotte. I am very pleased with this expected combination.

Deze winter plannen we een nest met Lotte. Ik kijk heel erg uit naar deze combinatie.

Both parents are very friendly and social family dogs. They are both actively used for hunting and have proved themselves in cold game gun dog competitions. They both have exterior rated to excellent and have the right coat and breed specifics.

Beide ouders zijn hele vriendelijke en sociale gezinshonden. Ze zijn beiden bejaagd en hebben zichzelf bewezen op koudwild wedstrijden. Ze hebben beide exterieur kwalificatie Uitmuntend en hebben een goede vacht en rastypische eigenschappen.

Lotte is a very attentive, lightly build female. She is very fast and eager to work. She has a very kind personality – very feminine too.

Lotte is een hele alerte, lichtgebouwde teef. Ze is heel snel, een passievolle werker. Ze heeft een lief karakter – ze is heel vrouwelijk.

Cajus is a male with strong bone and a compact body. He is very calm in his temperament and excelled in steadyness and has plenty will to please. He is also a fast and determined worker with a good firm grip. He is nonchalant towards other males – a very friendly male.

Cajus is een reu met veel bone en een compacte bouw. Hij heeft een rustig temperament en is opvallend steady met veel will to please. Hij werkt snel en vastberaden en houdt het wild goed vast. Hij is gemakkelijk in de omgang – ook met andere reuen. Het is een hele vriendelijke reu.

HD A ED free PATELLA free ECVO free (except dist. & cat punctata) GONIO free

HD A ED vrij Patella vrij ECVO vrij (behalve dist. & cat punctata) Gonio vrij

JAS BLP JEPs VPS+F Prfg.m.leb.Ente (JEP)

Exterior Formwerth Excellent

Exterieur U op Duitse fokaankeuring

The grand parents of this litter have high working qualifications too – Lotte’s mother and grandmother have 2 MAP A qualifications-Cajus’s father is a field trial champion. The pedigree only consists of working gundogs – most of them have both working certificates and show qualifications. We are combining well known working lines from UK and Scandinavia. The Coi is 0%. The litter is bred under the requirements of the Dutch Flatcoated Retriever Club (FCI). We expect liver & black colored puppies.

De grootouders van dit nest hebben hoge werkkwalificaties – Lotte’s moeder heeft twee MAP A diploma’s en haar moeder eveneens. Cajus’s vader is field trial kampioen. De hele stamboom bestaat uit bejaagde honden – de meesten hebben ook werk- én show kwalificaties. We combineren met dit nest bekende Engelse en Scandinavische werklijnen. Inteelt coëfficiënt 0 %. Het nest wordt gefokt geheel volgens de eisen van de Flatcoated Retriever Club (FCI). We verwachten lever en zwarte puppies.

We are keen to place these puppies in homes where their handlers will provide active lives – either as a gundog or in some kind of dog sports. We expect the puppies to be intelligent and motivated with “a lot of nose”. Please contact us for placement on our waiting list.

We willen graag puppies uit dit nest plaatsen bij mensen die hun een actief leven kunnen bieden zijnde in jacht en/of een vorm van hondensport. We verwachten intelligente en gemotiveerde puppies met “veel neus”. We nodigen u uit om ons te contacten voor een plek op de wachtlijst via telefoonnummer 06-26706616 of via het contact formulier op de website.

Contact via +31626706616 or via the contact form on this page.

The weekend of the 30th of Sept 23 we drove to Sauerland to spend some days training under guidance of Willem van Loenen & Trudy den Boesterd.

Willem is known for his all round gundog work with his golden retrievers – he is competing on international level and has previously won the Dutch Championships. His lovely wife Trudy is also an experienced handler competing on national top level in the Netherlands with her golden retriever.

What I love about this couple – apart from their jolly company – is how they live and train from positive training principles with respect and love for the dogs.

We arrived Friday at noon and after a short check in we went off to the fields. Wim tested the combinations on focus, steadyness and basic retrieves. It was clear that many of our flatcoats needed more focus on their handlers and their tasks and Wim started explaining how handlers can create focus and attention.

After the training we enjoyed dinner and German beer at hotel Klaukenhof.

The next morning I was surprised at breakfast with a birthday celebration – I absolutely enjoyed it and the delicious cake created an energetic start of the day.

The morning training was time for “the young dogs” to train focus and cleanliness in the retrieves. We had 5 dogs from our Aura litter in the group: Lotte Kaspar Jason Shelby & Spyke. Halfsister Ragne & Ylva of two years old did a great job following the slightly older Flatastics. All the technical challenges like marking in a different terrain and running uphill – dealing with sound moving in echo was a non issue – but walking at tight heel and keeping focus in double retrieves was a bigger challenge. As always the core is at the handlers address and we were put to opt our game. Thank you for that Willem & Trudy!

Saturday afternoon was time for the experienced dogs to enjoy the space for long marks and hilly lining. What a great place to extend distances..

Saturday morning we took some time to get in action – my birthday party with bbq and German beer was enough to make us a bit rusty in the morning. But no mercy – we took the training up a nudge – tracking with cold game – double retrieves and distractions for the young dogs.

What a weekend it was – we ended the fantastic time together with a lunch in the field – receiving feedback and summing up from Wim and Trudy. We were all so pleased with all the insights and new inspiration – and above all we enjoyed our time together.

For me this weekend was not only special because of my birthday- more so because it was so pleasurable to see how the littermates of my dogs have developed and how much pleasure we have with the dogs together.

Thank you all for being a part of this adventure.

Today my “Italian” boy Flatastic Black Peace “Kaspar” optained his MAP B diploma with 461 points. MAP B is a competition of 6 stations each with double retrieves of simulated hunting situations with cold game. I am very proud of our accomplishment – only 6 out of 30 dogs received a diploma today. He is such a pleasure to work with so I enjoyed the day with him a lot.

Kaspar has been out hunting a couple of times this week – doing a great job. So proud of this lovely chap.