Retriever Temperament

At Bertschire, we believe temperament to be one of the most important characteristics of a correct Flat Coated Retriever.  Historically, retrievers have been required to work around and with other dogs while in the field, and to be biddable with humans.  We will not use a dog in our breeding program that does not meet our standard of behavior with either people or other dogs.  

We expect male dogs to be tolerant of other male dogs, even around bitches in season.  They don't have to be best friends, but we will not tolerate dog-fighting.  Such animals are spayed or neutered at the very least, and placed in a pet home.  All dogs living in our home must be able to spend unsupervised time together while indoors (at this moment we have 5 intact male dogs), without fear of a fight starting.  Our dogs are also exercised in groups (unsupervised) and we regularly walk our entire household around our property, at the same time.

Temperament is also expressed in how dogs behave with people of all ages.  We consider trainability and the willingness to be a team player to be an essential part of a dog's basic temperament.  By working our dogs (primarily in the field), we feel that we learn a great deal about this attribute.  We also pay close attention to a dog's reaction to it's environment (spookiness, boldness, etc.) before making a decision as to whether it is a breeding quality animal.  Flat Coated Retrievers that are "crazed" to work do not display correct temperament!  This breed should enjoy going out to work, be willing to work at any task but should not be so wild to retrieve that you can't enjoy a relaxing day or evening with the dog pestering you constantly!  We look for sensibility in our dogs, along with courage, drive and biddability.

It is our hope that all Bertschire Flat Coated Retrievers display correct temperament throughout their lifetimes!

                                                    12 year old Shinda with 3 month old Patate