I am a Flat-coat enthusiast and breeder who, like all others in my shoes, has suffered premature losses of dogs I’ve owned and bred.  As I type this, my 9, 10 and 13 year old Flatcoats have retreated to the protection of their desk cave to escape the antics of my 3 and 6 year olds.  Statistically speaking, they’ll all be dead within the year - Minnow has defied the breed’s average lifespan for long enough that I am overdue the tragic loss of a young dog or two. 

It’s a tragedy I’m unfortunately familiar with.  After two decades shared with Flatcoats, Minnow is my first to live a normal lifespan.  She remains vibrant, sassy and joyous, but now reveals a thoughtful and contemplative side beyond the reach of her exuberant youth.  Her breath peels paint off the walls, her hearing (selectively?) intermittent and her body mapped with lumps and bumps, but she is sound and continues to find and share abundant joy in each day. 

My bookshelf holds tribute to my dogs of yesteryear – Flatcoats who died at 10, 9, 7, 10, 6, 5 and 9 respectively.  I have bred many more lucky, unlucky, and statistically average dogs.  I wish they all lived longer, but the loss of a young dog is distinctly tragic, robbing us not only of a dog before its time, but of possibilities, golden years, and the extraordinary pleasure of sharing life with a grand old dog (spoiler alert: they’re all grand when they get there).

Outside my window I watch my 7-year-old Anatolian Shepherd, Sultan, complete his second perimeter patrol of the morning.  Despite his 150 pounds, I can expect Sultan to work another few years before phasing into a 3- to 4-year retirement.  My 2-year-old English Shepherd, BroDude, will live approximately forever.  OK, not really, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him into his mid-teens. (His resident ranch dog predecessor — an Aussie of questionable purity — celebrated his sweet 16, then lived another year before indicating he’d had enough). 

Reliably sound health and longevity is attainable, and this project strives to demonstrate that for Flat-Coated Retrievers.  Together with a handful of other like-minded breed enthusiasts, I’ve spent countless hours assessing the breed’s health and genetic profile, reviewing research, and collaborating with veterinarians, geneticists, statisticians, breeders, and biologists.  This journey brought both grim realities of an unsustainable status quo and hopeful possibilities of a path towards healthy and long-lived dogs. I have learned that Flat-Coat health and longevity are inseparable from a more existential crisis — breed survival.

A few years ago, I bred what became my last registered Flat-Coat litter. I kept a pup, Trout, who, despite a wild puppyhood, quickly grew to become an all-time favorite. She is sound, athletic and possesses a magical blend of confidence, resilience, focus and livability — my kind of dog, and everything I hope to carry forward. I confronted the sad realization that after years spent cultivating my dream dog, I couldn’t perpetuate from her unless I found a way forward that honors the responsibility I feel towards the dogs I breed, and the owners who love them. But I’m not yet ready to give up on Trout, not ready to give up on the beloved dogs in her pedigree, and not ready to give up on the breed I love, so I’m sticking my neck out to break with a status quo that fails to serve the best interest of dogs and their people.

The Flatcoat Conservation Project has developed a genetic rescue plan to improve Flat-Coat health, increase lifespans, and chart a path towards preserving this extraordinary breed.  This plan implements science-based back-crossing, borrowed from dog breeding tradition and the genetic rescue programs developed by species conservation experts.  Genetic rescue requires collaboration to find long-term and lasting success across the population.  We’re committed to completing a “proof of concept” to demonstrate that reliable type can be achieved in genetically healthy dogs, and we invite any Flatcoat breeder, owner, or enthusiast to join us in walking this path to a future where all Flatcoat lovers can reasonably hope to know a grand old dog.

Onward!
Xan Latta
Flyway Farm Retrievers