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.

It is with great joy that we may announce that the Flatcoated Retriever Club FRC has approved our breeding plan for this winter. So here he is our “Mr Right” for Lotte:

Arved von der Wichmannsburg

DOB 5.10.2017

HD A ED free Patella free

ECVO free 2021

Gonio 2021 free

ECVO 2022 free (except distichiasis & cat. punctata – 2 points)

Exterior: Excellent

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

Link to Cajus’s registration at DRC:

https://drc.de/adr/listen/show_druede.php?what=Hunde&rvid=143665&race=Flat-Coated%20Retriever

Cajus is a German bred stud – his owner is his breeder and I had the privilege of meeting them long before I even was thinking of a partner for Lotte. This was 2 years ago during a training weekend in Denmark. I liked his calm nature and tweeky look in his eyes. When working Cajus showed a lot of drive and cleverness – a dog who can handle a challenge and he has plenty of will to please. He is of a different exterior type than Lotte and from his previous litters we know that he passes on bone and muscles. His calm temperament is to be traced back from his father – a Swedish bred stud who has produced many really good dual flatcoats in his time of breeding.

His mother Rosa and his father Hasse are both +11 years now and still going strong – retrieving and enjoying their senior days.

Cajus works very well in all kinds of terrein – water is evenly easy for him and I have had the pleasure of spending 2 weekends training with him and his owner in Denmark the past two years.

Cajus is primarily a working gun dog now – but his working certificates are impressive too.

Cajus has a breeding certificate within the German retriever club “Spezielle Jagliche Leistungszucht”. He has never attended shows but he has a Formwerth which is a thorough anatomic assessment for breeding performed by selected judges within the DRC.

We are looking forward to this combination with him and Lotte (Flatastic Red Strength). We are expecting liver and black colored puppies with plenty of drive and passion – both parents and almost all ancestors are working gun dogs. Lotte’s mother Rumi is currently performing on the highest level of national gundog competitions in the Netherlands (SJP A – WT A – WT open qualified) and she has excellent show results too. Lotte herself is currently on B+ level (see Lotte’s own page on our website) for all her accomplishments in work & show.

This litter is of special interest for hunters and handlers who enjoy working with their dogs in gundog competitions and/or other (nose oriented) sports meanwhile enjoying a stabile and social family dog with attractive looks.

Both parents are very social and friendly dogs with lots of energy but also a well functioning “off-button”. This litter may be less suited for inexperienced handlers and/or first time dog owners as we expect intelligent and passionate puppies who need mental stimulation throughout their lives. Our kennel provides guidance to puppy owners on upbringing & training, especially the first year – we are just a phone call away.

We expect owners to health test & provide safe homes with welfare oriented upbringing and force free training.

We expect Lotte to come in heat somewhere around the beginning of October. If everything goes according to the plan the puppies will be ready to leave their mother & siblings mid February.

Pedigree of puppies B litter:

Parents:

Arved von der Wichmannsburg

Flatastic Red Strength

Grand parents:

Spader Damens Amenlis

Meadowline Aboda

Flow of Spirits Silver Skipper

Brösel vom Timeloberg

Great grand parents:

Ewoke’s Final Fireworks

Spader Damens Hilarious Hazelhen

Duckfinder’s Baileys

Pearly Coat Earwen Romanssi

Dark Devotion Oban’s Obsession

Aspe vom Timeloberg

Dustin Flat-XP

Khila-Flynn Umbra Fida

This litter is bred under regulations of DRC & FRC – both national breed club ander FCI

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.