Firstly I hope this is in the right section, apologies if it's not.

We're looking to get a flatcoat and have read up lots about them and met some too.
We realise they're lively "Peter Pan" dogs and that is not a worry.
However we've also read that they are licky(kissy) dogs and my question is ...

Is this just a characteristic you have to put up with or are there any owners out there who have successfully trained their pup not to lick?
To be honest I'm not a fan of overly licky dogs so am hoping with the correct training the pup will learn it's not acceptable.

Am I expecting too much?

Thanks in advance.

Hi CMG
my parent have a FCR and she is not very licky if you let her she would lick as they are very loving dogs but IMO any dog if got when it is a puppy can be trained not to lick.

i have a dog that i re homed last year he had been aloud to lick a LOT and it drives my hubby mad as he hates it, but he does know when he licks that just one look from hubby he stops but as i am such a push over he loves to lick me and as he has been aloud to do it all his life i feel its a bit unfair that he can not let me know just how much he adores me.lol

my bitch that i have had from puppy does not lick at all she has been brought up not to.

Regardless of breed, some dogs are licky and some aren't. I have litter brothers, one of whom can wash your entire face with one wet sweep of his tongue (which is just for starters) while the other will occasionally daintily touch the tip of his tongue to your chin. Personally I'd prefer a happy medium for both, but that's how their personalities are, and to try to change it would cause stress and unhappiness for everyone. Just not worth it.

Hi CMG, If you don't like 'licky' dogs, I would advise against a Flat-coat!

Owned, loved and licked by two Flat-coats.

Flat coats just are licky dogs IME - it's one of the things I love about them. I own one and have met countless others - and they all want to give kisses. My mother HATES her feet being licked - but it is SO difficult to try and stop Duibh licking - yes it may be possible to train not to I suppose, I never tried - but to me it is just a part of the flatcoat personality and if you really don't like the licking then maybe flatties aren't for you.

I've met a couple who have licked for England and a couple of haven't been particularly licky, I think like JG says it's more about the individual personality of the dog.  My young girl didn't come to me until she was nearly 5 months and it was something her previous owner had encouraged (including mouth licking, eeww)  that's such a natural thing for a pup to do any way it had become a very ingrained behaviour for her, it's still natural for her but 5 months down the line she manages not to greet everyone with a tongue in their mouth but she is still very licky, but it can be modertated.  I've also put it on cue because she loves doing it so much that it can be used as a reward in training, dopey dog :-D  I think if you get a pup from very young then you can deal with it through training without too much effort, just bear in mind that it is more part of some dogs personalities than others.

Each dog has their own charateristic, just like any species. If you are lucky enough to get a great personality and the worse thing they do is lick you, thats not a problem, IMO as there are so many worse problems you could and may well get.

I know you are supposed to not let your dog hold your arm, but my darling Golden girl I lost last year lived for greeting you by gently taking you round the room by the arm. I wouldn't stress her by stopping her, as she was not allowed toys as a puppy ( by previous owner) this was her natural carrying behaviour coming out as it should.

Bring on the love!!!!!!!!! however it manifests itself, there are much worse problems to have in a dog.

I have three extremely licky Spanish Water Dogs and two who won't come near you for a little peck :)  All dogs are different though there again the three lickers are a mother and her two pups from different litters, so there's a trait there somewhere!

have had fcr for 20 years

yes they do lick but all dog will lick to greet you or other reason but fcr are a licky breed beacuse they are so happy to please you.
but say that i have had fcr that are not so licky.
pagan my puppy is happy go lucky girl and she will lick you to death
chase the boys love his mum on his term and will lick you when ever.
brie not a licky fcr
teyha was
blue not
wispa some time
rush yes
harley ?
i got spanish water dog and they lick me as well.

but with fcr it their nature to do it

I have two flatties, mother and daughter, both are not very licky apart from the odd ear if you let them!  Although they both like to greet strangers (or anyone really!) wearing shorts by licking legs!  Can be a bit of a laugh in the summer, as we live in the Lakes and do alot of hill walking.  Another of Josie's pups is called Kissy Kizzy, she likes kisses as you can imagine.

I had a wonderful flattie who unfortunately died 2 years ago. I didn,t hear about the licky characteristic and certainly she and others I have met of her breed do show that more than other breeds I have met or had. I hate being licked but to an extent managed to reduce with training. However I would say they are such a wonderful breed it is a small price to pay for all their other fantastic characteristics.
I would say have a flattie enjoy her/him and look at all the advantages,I have also noticed they are becoming more common at least in my area Croydon so I would have one before unscrupulous breeders get hold of the breed and affect it

> they are becoming more common at least in my area Croydon

I must be walking around with my eyes shut ( or need new glasses :-D) I haven't noticed any! We must walk in different places LOL

some have already.got hold of the breed and affect it.

not know what the breeds like.just for a quick buck,

I have two flatcoats both different personalities , the eldest one gets all excited and loves to cover everyone in kisses she also likes to kiss all the dogs around the park, she is such a flirt.
Bracken on the other hand has a passion for cleaning out everyone's ears preferably while sitting on their laps.
Ros

Thats lovely I can just picture it!! it brings back good memories

I gather you must be  from Croydon to , there are three different flatties I see around here and 1 at training , that really seems lots compared  with when I had Josie. Most people thought she was a red setter albeit a black one !

All I can say is hrumph!! people will do anything for money, even though I now have a gsd and as of yesterday and courtsey of my daughter
an accidental crossbred pom/chi pup I would love another flattie sometime but its to soon after Josie. Lets hope they stay as true to type as they should be

Hi furriefriends, yeah i'm in Croydon too! Where do you go training? do you go to ringcraft? so many questions I know :-D only I couldn't find any ringcraft when I was looking, before Louis broke his leg end of May :(

I get long-haired labrador!!!!

When you buy a flatcoat puppy or even if you breed it yourself there is no way you can tell if it is going to be a "licky" dog. However if you really do not like "licky" dogs then I would suggest a flatcoat is probably not the best dog to choose because they do like to lick and will lick people, other pets (my poor cat spent a lot of her 21 years soaked by flatcoat slobber), and pretty much anything that takes their fancy. Have you looked at all the retriever breeds? Perhaps another might be better for you?

Another idea might be to look through the breeds listed on champdogs? A friend of mine loved flatcoats but really couldn't bear to be licked. In the end she bought a setter and was really pleased she had changed her mind, as she now a setter and a weimaraner I think she was pleased she didn't get a flatcoat. My friend got her setter from a local breeder then as it got older she looked through the champdogs listing before choosing her next dog. She didn't get a puppy but she did get a rescue weimaraner.

>I have also noticed they are becoming more common at least in my area Croydon so I would have one before unscrupulous breeders get hold of the breed and affect it<

Unfortunately there are some already in the hands of some BYB breeders! You only have to look on the internet to see them on commercial websites. One such site I rang up and was answered by a bunch of children who had been left in charge of the litter, they squealed with delight comments such as "Oh it's another buyer" "We could have sold these twice over" and "Really we didn't know that lthe brown coloured dogs were fashionable we should have charged double, we'd still have easily sold them all"  Finally the best for last was "Oh we are going to breed our dog again, because we have made so much from this litter, do you want to us to put you on the waiting list? She could have another litter this year"........ Need I say more?

Oh and one breeder banned from CD.... made claims for their dogs and breeding that plainly were untrue. They are still breeding their dogs though and sell via commercial web sites. I even checked out their claims in America with the AKC and Universal KC of America.

Thats horrific

the more I find out about dogs the worse the stories get its so upsetting

Chris

How depressing. :-(