The Flat Coated Retriever is a very confident dog. It has an outgoing attitude and maintains a great desire to please people. The Flat Coated Retriever is also extremely athletic, and is more than happy to get its dose of daily exercise like fetching, running and even swimming. Its playfulness and affectionate manner are signs that the Flat Coated Retriever thrives upon the lavish attention that its human handlers give it.

Having said thus, the Flat Coated Retriever is one of those breed of dogs that excels in all sorts of competitions. There are many, many activities where the Flat Coated Retriever would be more than happy to participate in but before you can think of entering your pet Flat Coated Retriever in any competition, you may want to make your dog undertake obedience training first.

Your Flat Coated Retriever will retain its lightheartedness and playfulness even in its advance years. It is essential that while it is still young, you are able to harness his exuberant energy into something beneficial. It takes a lot of patience and doggy control to train a Flat Coated Retriever for it is known to have a willful streak. Obedience training is a must for this breed of dog because it helps instill calmness and good manners in the animal.

After a considerable period of basic and advanced training, your pet Flat Coated Retriever may indulge in such activities like:

Conformation

This is a dog show competition that leans heavily on the specifics of your pet Flat Coated Retriever's adherence to the physical dog breed standards and gait. Although it may seem like a sedentary sport, it actually is very physically demanding on the part of the dog. If your Flat Coated Retriever measures up to the conformation standards and undergoes proper guidance and training, it is an ideal dog for such an activity.

Agility

Agility competition is by far, one of the more physically strenuous activities for dogs. There are many variations to agility competitions but the basic mark down includes a series of obstacle courses in which the dogs must complete in a given amount of time. Other forms of agility competitions sometimes allow judges to test the endurance of the animal. This is done with more "advanced" activities like wall scaling and distance jumping. The Flat Coated Retriever is a very active dog and when it is trained to be at its peak physical form, it easily overcomes simple obstacles and has remained a top favorite among more advanced agility competitions worldwide.

Other types of activities wherein a Flat Coated Retriever may excel in are the Canine Disc Competition (Frisbee Catching); Fly Ball Competition (Boomerang Catching); Hunting / Field Trials (usually reserved for dog breed with skills in pointing-hunting-retrieving); Musical Freestyle (Dance competition for dogs); etc.