Flat-Coats and cold resistance

Yes, it’s that time of the year now that the lakes, rivers, ponds, and the sea in Finland are getting colder and colder. Just waiting for a thick layer of ice to coat them for several months. A Finnish blog about flat-coats blogged (in Finnish) about the surprise her flat-coats gave some scouts (boy or girl, Finnish doesn’t differentiate) by swimming in a lake this last weekend. Naturally, it reminded me of some of our boys escapades with water.

Never mind that Jalo’s first contact with water was the cold sea last autumn or that Flippe can barely stay out of any body of water he can find, including puddles. Flippe did surprise us this spring by starting to swim as soon as a few metres of water was revealed by the melting ice (this was in early May). His best trick however was swimming to the ice and climbing on it, as pictured below.

Flippe on the ice

Flippe back in the water

These pictures can be used as an example of the cold-resistance that flat-coats exhibit. They are also a very good example of the work ethic that flat-coats have. Flippe’s only reason to climb on the ice was to look for a stick we had thrown for him to retrieve. The same day was Jalo’s first real experience with swimming. After that day he’s been just as enthusiastic as his brother when it comes to swimming and being in the water.

This may sound like too much praise of a breed by a very biased person, but in all honesty we can recommend flat-coats for anyone who needs working dogs in varying conditions. However, remember that with flat-coats you must have a very good sense of humour.

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