Boberga Books | Sweden

Ingemar Borelius has been involved with working retrievers for more than fifty years. He and his wife welcomed their first Flatcoated Retriever in 1971—a bitch who later became one of Sweden’s earliest dual champions. Since then, working gundogs have been a central part of his life. He was a co-founder of the Swedish Flatcoated Retriever Club in 1977 and served as its chairman during the 1980s. He later chaired the national Spaniel and Retriever Club. Over the decades, he has trained and bred several successful dogs and has also worked with working Labradors.

Ingemar has long been deeply interested in the history and development of retrievers. He has maintained close contacts with breeders in the UK and the US and has written extensively in club magazines about working ability, breed health, and the challenges of a narrowing gene pool. As an experienced author of several biographical works, he now brings together his lifelong passion for gundogs, his historical research, and his interest in breed sustainability in this book on the working Flatcoat.

The Working Flatcoated Retriever
– A Comprehensive History and Guide to the Working Breed.

A landmark 450-page richly illustrated volume (300+ paintings, drawings, and photos) offering the most detailed exploration yet of the working Flatcoated Retriever and the shared origins of all retriever breeds. A must-read for work-oriented retriever owners. Inside this book, readers will discover:

The most complete history of the retriever family – how the breeds evolved together, interbred, and remained varieties of one breed far longer than commonly believed.
The birth and development of the field trial movement, told with clarity and historical depth.
The dramatic rise, decline and comeback of the working Flatcoat, including the factors that shaped its fortunes over 150 years.
Profiles of the key breeders who continually reshaped the Flatcoat across decades and countries.
A vivid account of the post-WWII restoration of the breed and how dedicated fanciers brought it back from the brink.
A unique international perspective covering working Flatcoats in Britain, the Nordic countries, and North America today.

An honest discussion of the challenges facing a minority gundog breed attempting to stay competitive in modern fieldwork.
Critical analysis of testing and evaluation methods – what they measure, what they miss, and how they could better support smaller working breeds.
A detailed, working-based interpretation of the Flatcoat breed standard, explaining the functional purpose behind each characteristic.
A thought-provoking examination of conformation showing, and how show trends have drifted away from the ideal working retriever.
A broader debate on genetic sustainability in minority breeds, and practical actions needed to preserve health and working ability.
Extensive appendices listing the most merited retrievers and working Flatcoats from the early years to the present, organised by country.

Beautifully designed in US Letter format, this major work is essential reading for Flatcoat enthusiasts, retriever historians, working dog trainers, gundog handlers, and anyone interested in the future of sustainable dog breeding.

The Concise Edition is 338 pages long, compared to the complete edition's 450 pages. Fifteen of the nineteen appendices containing historical field trial data have been removed. However, the text chapters are identical. Available in paperback.

Read the entire chapter ‘The Birth of the Retriever’ and enjoy the exciting story of your favourite companion:
Ingemar Borelius: The Birth of the Retriever.pdf. The entire table of contents is included.

The book can be ordered here: www.amazon.com or from other Amazon websites such as amazon.co.uk, amazon.se, amazon.de, amazon.com.au and others.