The Flatcoated Retriever

In the beginning of the 80ies, the moment I decided I could seriously concentrate on the breed met in 1971 at Benelli’s Kennels,  we can say no specimen of the breed could be found in Italy. As a matter of fact, the Flat had been very successfully bred, used for hunting and shown in the end of the 60ies and the 70ies by  Dr.Giuseppe Benelli (Di Montetuscio kennel ) who used to travel very often to Great Britain for his interest in English breeds. In one of his trip, being a keen hunter he met Colin Wells, a well known gamekeeper  devoted to selecting Flat Coated Retriever.
Benelli was hit by the soundness and hunting ability of his dogs and convinced  Colin Wells to sell him the great Ch.Donovan and two females of his famous W kennels.
Donovan was impressive for his soundness, his substance and balance and his working ability. Benelli bred a couple of litters and used  his dogs for hunting parties with friends, but at the same time this group of Flat was widely shown  in Europe winning  consistently.
But, as I said, in the 80ies he had quit breeding Flat but because of my enthusiasm  he encouraged and helped me to search in England new  blood to begin again. So I did, and travelled often to England with Claudio and sometimes with Beppe too,  visiting Shows and small family kennels.
There I had the great opportunity to meet dr. Nancy Laughton, Read Flowers, Colin Wells learning by such knowledgeable stalwarts of the breed the many features of this beautiful dog so rich of working ability. In those trips I started to realize my favourite type  between the many good ones that I still cannot forget. The Riversflight, the Kenjo, Clwobeck, Emanon and Paddy Petch’s Rase who had just finished the second book about the breed, the first one remaining Dr. Laughton’s. Later Paddy gave me a puppy male, Rase Harlequin and thank to him the Flatcoat appeared again in the Italian Show scene. But the lines I was really fond of, were the Halstock and a few years later I was so lucky to  get to know the great breeder Mrs. Peggy Miller, Emanon, who appreciated my pure passion and gave me the honour to have  in Italy Emanon Amzel, a superb bitch whose mother was  Ch. Halstock Bridget one of the best female ever bred. So Cookie (Suki for Peggy) arrived in Florence in 1986 aged 2 and half after having whelped for Mrs Miller two litters in England; like all the Emanons Cookie was regularly used by Peggy for picking up in the hunting parties.

In those years, before meeting Emanon Amzel, I had imported, thank to my Swedish connections,  a bitch 11 months old  bred by Britt Marie Brulin, Puh’s Ptarmigan -my Panna - she was an ideally well  balanced, classic female with the best easy temperament, but absolutely unlucky: after one year she died for a terrible disease she had. Leaving me shocked, I decided to quit but my italian-swedish friends decided for me and to my surprise two Gunhill’s  puppies arrived from Sweden hoping to help me forget the sad experience. The best of the two was in due time bred twice, once to Rase Harlequin and once to Hallbent Harvest Star:  most of the puppies went abroad   to breeders or families end  with  a sort of friendly  “puppy exchange” I gave the best puppy bitch  to my good friends breeders Wessels in the Netherlands, who gave me their best puppy dog Quietwoods Challenge a New Fellow(my  Muffin).

Anyway my breeding program has been based only on Emanon Amzel ‘s line and her progeny born in the only litter I got from her and my Muffin. Until today all my Flatcoats descend from her.
My breeding program has been very careful and slow, wishing  to select for my pups the best friends or families willing to appreciate this unique breed and really “different” retriever, and in the beginning  my aim has been to make this breed appreciated also in Italy .