General Info
These are lovable, well-mannered, intelligent dogs with a great charm. They are easily trained, and always patient and gentle with children. Loyal, confident, sweet and eager to please. It is active, loving and an outstanding family dog. Golden Retrievers enjoy pleasing their masters, so obedience training can be fun. They excel in obedience competitions. Friendly with everyone, including other dogs, the Golden Retriever has very little, if any, guarding instincts. While unlikely to attack, Goldens make good watchdogs, loudly signaling a stranger's approach. This breed needs to be around people to be happy. If isolated from human contact, or left alone for long periods of time, the Golden Retriever may become mischievous. They can be over-exuberant and distractible. Some of the Golden's talents are hunting, tracking, retrieving, narcotics detection, agility, competitive obedience, and performing tricks. These dogs also love to swim.
The foundation of the golden retriever was the now-extinct Tweed water spaniel. Over the years, crosses were made to numerous other breeds, most of which differ significantly from the dogs we know today by the same names:
Today's Golden Retriever is most commonly known as a companion animal. Unless you go to, or are involved in, conformation, obedience, field or hunting trials, you may not realize that the Golden Retriever is a far more versatile animal. It also had a reason for having been developed as a separate breed back in the latter half of the nineteenth century.
During the nineteenth century, there was an ongoing quest among the British gentry for the perfect hunting dog. As a result, most of today's retrievers and many other hunting dogs have their roots in these early efforts. Many attempted this goal by acquiring and breeding good hunting dogs, using outcrosses to other breeds in an effort to bring in other desirable qualities. Sometimes this worked, more often it did not. That the exact origins of several of the retriever breeds is unclear is due to the somewhat haphazard or occasionally secretive methods used at the time.
The origin of the Golden Retriever, in contrast, lies in the careful work of one man, Sir Dudley Marjoribanks (later the first Lord Tweedmouth) who also set out to breed a good hunting dog. A colorful folk tale has him buying Russian circus dogs, reportedly 100+ lbs., 30 inches at the shoulder, pale blonde and extremely intelligent as the foundation for his breed. This fanciful story even appears in the GRCA's Yearbook as late as 1950. However, examination of his Stud Book, covering the years from 1835 to 1890 and finally made publicly available in 1952, records no such purchase but instead details a careful line-breeding program unusual at that time and place for dogs.
In 1865, Lord Tweedmouth purchased a yellow retriever "Nous" from an unregistered litter of otherwise black Wavy-Coated Retrievers. Nous was later bred with "Belle", a Tweed Water Spaniel, and the resulting litter produced four bitches that were instrumental to his breeding program. One of them, "Cowslip," he bred back to for over twenty years. Over the years, several outcrosses, to black Wavy Coated Retrievers, an Irish Setter, and later a sandy-colored Bloodhound occurred as he sought to improve and fix his new breed. The coat textures of the Goldens of this time reportedly varied, as did the color, which ranged from fox red to light cream.
The Wavy-Coated Retrievers were the ancestors of today's Flat-Coat Retriever and they in turn were developed from crossing setters with the lesser St. John's Water Dog of Newfoundland. The Tweed Water Spaniel, now extinct, came from early water dogs crossed with land or field spaniels to develop Water Spaniels. These spaniels were developed in the Tweed River area and were described by contemporaries as a small liver-colored retriever ("liver" at the time signifying any shade from yellow to brown).
The Kennel Club of England accepted the first Goldens for registration in 1903. At the time, they were registered as "Flat Coats -- Golden". By 1904 the first Golden placement at a field trial was recorded. Among the first shown in conformation were Culham Brass and Culham Copper. In 1911, they were recognized as a separate breed, at first called "Yellow or Golden Retrievers," but within several years the "Yellow" was dropped from their name.
The first Golden in Canada seems to have been brought over by Hon. Archie Marjoribanks in 1881. The Canadian Kennel Club first recognized the breed in 1927. In 1928, Mr. M.M. Armstrong of Winnipeg took an interest in the breed and his Gilnockie kennel was started. At his death, Gilhockie was transferred to Col. Samuel Magoffin's kennel in Denver, Colorado, and from this he eventually imported his first Golden, Am/Can CH Speedwell Pluto.
The Golden Retriever Club of Canada was formed in 1958 with the original name of the Golden Retriever Club of Ontario. In 1960 it became the Golden Retriever Club of Canada and to this day has grown steadily.
Goldens have been in the US since about 1890, with the earliest recorded dog being Hon. Archie Marjoribanks's "Lady" in 1894. The first AKC registered Golden was Robert Appleton's Lomberdale Blondin. But there was no serious interest in them until about 1930 when Magoffin's import, CH Speedwell Pluto, captured widespread interest. The Golden Retriever was subsequently recognized by the AKC in 1932. At that time, they were a rare breed.
In 1938, a group of Golden Retriever fanciers formed the Golden Retriever Club of America (GRCA) which is today among the largest of the parent breed clubs in the AKC, numbering over 5000 members.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between a Golden and a Lab?
Goldens are generally a little more laid back than Labs. Although both make excellent pets, a Golden can get worked up in the yard with a ball or stick, and then calm down easier and sit at your feet. Although Most Goldens love water, and cold weather, occasionally you might find one that won’t like water as much as the typical lab. Goldens can endure heat more than the average lab, there-fore can be more suitable for Dove Hunting or other Hot Activities.
Are they good with kids?
Most Goldens are wonderful with kids, especially when they have been regularly exposed to well-behaved children as puppies. Goldens are the least likely dog to bite a human (FYI German Shepards are the most likely to bite humans). However, they are large and excitable and may easily knock children over if they jump up to lick their faces or propel a toddler along with a solid whack of their tails. Never leave very young children and dogs together unattended. Just as the dog could easily accidentally hurt the children, so could they hurt him by poking him in the eyes or ears or pulling his tail.
How much exercise do they need?
They are a sporting breed and as such need plenty of exercise. They will benefit best from regular periods of high intensity activity once they are fully grown. This includes a quick session of fetching, romping with other dogs, running along the beach and so on. You do need to be careful with puppies under 18 months or so; while they need exercise, it must not be forced or sustained. For example, you cannot take them jogging or biking with you until they are fully grown, or you will damage their joints
How about swimming?
Most Goldens love to swim, and it's excellent exercise for them, even when young. Introduce them to water and let them explore on their own. If they are unsure about the water, you might get in and swim out a bit to encourage them, but let them take their own time. Younger puppies might be more standoffish to water than they would be in another month or two; that's normal. Never toss a dog into water that doesn't want to go in! Sometimes a water crazy older dog is perfect to have along to help teach your dog to appreciate swimming. You might also try tossing in a toy for him to get, but be prepared to go out and retrieve it yourself if he doesn't!
Do they bark a lot?
Not typically, but they can if they are bored.
How do they do in hot weather?
As long as they have access to shade, free moving air, and water, they will do just fine in the heat. Don't exercise them in the heat of the day, and be sure you have water with you when you do exercise them later.
They're supposed to be good in the obedience ring, aren't they?
Goldens are typically very eager to please their owners. This translates into their being both relatively easy to train for obedience and to having a good attitude in the ring. While not all Goldens make good competitive obedience dogs, you will see many of them in the obedience ring.
Are they any good as hunting dogs? In field trials?
Goldens do not do as well as Labradors in the field trials which are, in all fairness, biased toward the sort of work the Labrador was bred to do. But most Goldens make excellent hunters in real hunting situations.
Is there a split in hunting and show lines? What should I look for?
There is something of a split between show, field, and even obedience lines. As with any sport that becomes highly competitive, the specialization intensifies. With Goldens, that means the show dogs will have more coat and bone and be more laid back. The field dogs generally have less coat, more drive and be intensely "birdy" (interested in birds) with good noses. The obedience dogs often have less coat and a high drive but may or may not be birdy. You should consider carefully the differences between the different lines when picking your own dog out so that there are no surprises. Looking at the parents and any of their previous offspring is a good approach.
But no matter which lines you are interested in, you should try to find the puppies that are well balanced with correct structure and conformation as the base. Whether you are interested in pet, show, hunting, etc., will determine other characteristics that you want. But an unsound dog does not make a good show dog, hunting dog, obedience dog, or pet!
Do males or females make better pets (what are the differences)?
Besides the physical differences, personal preference is probably the only big one here. Many people think that the males are slightly more "teddy-bear like" than the females. Neither should show any type of aggression (including dog aggression). If left unaltered, females will sometimes show a change in personality when they are coming into heat and when they are in heat. Most often, they seem to become a bit more clingy. During this time, they may not tolerate males sniffing around them or they may be extremely interested in males. If a male is left intact and used for breeding purposes and there is another intact male and a bitch in heat, the males might show some competitive aggression. However, neutered males and females will mostly differ in size (the females will be smaller) and their individual personalities. Both males and females are good with children. For your best predictor of personality, be sure to ask about and try to meet and interact with the puppy's sire and dam. There are tests that can be done to help determine the puppy's dominance, independence, and abilities. Be sure to ask your breeder about these. Also, socializing the puppy and general obedience training are always important.
Why do your two Goldens look so different?
The Golden is supposed to be a mid-to-large size dog, suitable for sitting in a duck blind all day with, as well as small enough to be able to haul over the side of a boat all wet (after a retrieve). The standard has a range of acceptable sizes, for females it is 21 1/2-22 1/2 inches at the shoulder, for males it is 23-24 inches at the shoulder, with an inch allowance either way. So, just in size, if you have a small female (which could be 20 1/2 inches, about 45 pounds) and a large male (which could be 25 inches, about 95 pounds) there is a BIG difference. Now, if you add variations in coat, which may come from the "type" of breeding, you can get quite a physical difference. Through the years, breeders have bred for different qualities. Some breeders are interested purely in physical appearance for show purposes. Since "big and hairy" looks stunning in the show ring and wins, these breeders have bred for those characteristics. Other breeders have bred only for field ability. Since the smaller (and often darker colored) dogs have been the ones that are faster and flashier in the field, these breeders have tended to breed for those characteristics. There are other types, as well, but these are the most common. Just because a dog is of the "conformation" type does NOT mean that it cannot work in the field, just as being of the "field" type does NOT mean that that dog cannot win in the show ring.
Living Conditions
This breed will do okay in an apartment if sufficiently exercised. They are moderately active indoors and will do best with at least a medium to large yard.
Life Expectancy
About 10-12 years