Appearance
Flat-Coated Retrievers have strong muscular jaws and a relatively long muzzle to allow for the carrying of birds and upland game. Their head is unique to the breed, and is described as being "of one piece" with a minimal stop and a back skull that is approximately the same length as the muzzle.
They have almond shaped, dark brown eyes that have an intelligent, friendly expression. The ears are pendant, relatively small and lie close to the head. The bone at the back of the skull, or occiput, is not to be accentuated as it is in setters. The head flows smoothly into a well-arched neck.
The top line is strong and straight with a well feathered tail of moderate length held straight off the back. Flat-coats should be well angulated front and rear, allowing for open, effortless movement. They are lighter, racier, and more elegant in appearance than the other retriever breeds.
Size
The Flat-Coated Retriever breed standard calls for males to be 23 to 25 inches (58 to 62 centimeters) tall at the withers and for females to be 22 to 24 inches (56 to 60 centimeters), with a recommended weight of 55 to 75 pounds (24 to 34 kilograms).
Coat
The Flat-Coat's color is most commonly solid black or solid liver. The single coat is moderate in length, dense, and lustrous. Ideally it should lie flat and straight, but a slight wave is permissible. Body coat is of moderate length with longer feathering on the backs of the legs, chest, under body and tail.