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Origins & History
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Description
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Temperament
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Exercise
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Grooming
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Photo
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Organizations
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Further web sites to explore
Origins
& History
Until the Golden Retriever
breed was developed, there wasn't a large dog that could both
locate and retrieve game for hunters. At the time, the
hunters used setters and pointers to locate game and then other
spaniels to flush out and retrieve the game shot.
During the 19th century,
breeders looked for a dog that 'could do it all'. And the
Golden Retriever was bred as a result from yellow retrievers
hailing from Newfoundland to the Tweed Water Spaniel.
Other dog breeds that contributed were the Irish Setter and
Bloodhound. The Golden's eventual size, nose and persona
allowed hunters to have one dog instead of many.
Gamekeepers at the Guisachan
estate of Lord Tweedmouth (Iverness-Shire, Scotland) kept the
earliest complete records of the development of this fine breed
from 1835 until 1890. Lord Tweedmouth (Dudley Coutts
Majoribanks until he became titled in 1881) bought his first
Yellow Retriever ("Nous") to Brighton in 1865. "Nous" was
breed to a Tweed Water Spaniel named "Belle" between 1867-68 and
they produced four puppies: "Crocus," "Cowslip," "Primrose," and
"Ada".
In 1877, Lord Tweedmouth's
daughter, Ishbel Marie brought the breed to Canada when she
married her husband, the Governor General. The Goldens
were known both in Canada and the U.S. as far back as the 1890s.
And were first shown in England at the Crystal Palace show in
1908 (listed as Flat-Coats).
In the 1920s, Golden Retrievers
were brought from Great Britain and Canada to both the East and
West coasts of the U.S. And in November of 1925, the AKC
lists the first registration of a Golden Retriever (there were
previous registrations, but not under as a separate breed from
Retrievers). In 1936, the standard was changed in Scotland
and England to include the lighter as well as darker colors of
this breed. The Golden Retriever Club of America was
formed in 1938. And the first three dogs of any breed to
achieve the AKC Obedience Champion title was the Golden!
These records of Lord
Tweedmouth were released to the public in 1952 when a
great-nephew of the lord published material left by his
ancestor. Lord Tweedmouth is considered to be the 'father'
of this breed in fact. However, the 'story' of the Goldens
development by a troup of 'six circus-performing Russian
Trackers' is just that - a story.
Because of the popularity of
this breed in the U.S. (it ranks second in 2005 behind the
Labrador Retrievers), bad or unknowledgeable 'back-yard' and pet
stores have flooded the marketplace with aggressive, hyperactive
or too-timid Golden Retrievers - many have serious medical
problems as well. The decline of this fine breed is truly
sad and far too many Golden Retrievers are short-lived, prone to health issues or just
not the true temperament of the traditional Golden.
Neither a 'purebred' or rescue are immune to what has occurred
with this noble breed. See Purebreds
for more info.
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Description
Depending on the breeding and
geographical location, a Golden can look very similar to a thin,
golden-colored bear with their dense coat. The outer coat
is thick, shiny, water-repellent - and either wavy, flat or
feathery depending upon its background. Colors range from
light almost white to deep, dark rich golden (although the
deepest colors - the deep golden to almost red - are generally
those with field blood lines and are too active for the
traditional family environment).
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Temperament
Golden Retrievers are probably
one of the top five breeds that combine an eagerness to please,
playfulness, gentleness and devotion. There is a downside
to this however - because they crave so much attention and
wanting to be around their owners - these traits can be annoying
to some.
There is a difference between a
dog's ability to be a "guard-dog" versus a "watch-dog". Having
said that, as a breed, this dog is unsuited to be a "guard-dog"
but is an alert "watch-dog". Goldens will usually
bark when someone comes to the door, but it's usually a
'welcome' bark and not an 'alert' bark.
Intelligence, learning rates
and obedience are three separate issues. While one dog
breed might excel in learning rates and intelligence, their
tendencies towards obedience might not go hand in hand.
This breed is good in obedience when compared to other dog
breeds. In learning rates when compared to other breeds,
this breed is fast. If you needed to rate the three venues of
learning, it would be 1) rate of learning, 2) obedience and 3)
problem solving in that order of abilities. Because of this,
they do very well in obedience training (if it starts early
enough), and are legendary in this venue (the top AKC obedience
dogs in the U.S. are almost exclusively Golden Retrievers!). They are also fantastic at agility,
"fly-ball" and tracking
training. Goldens make great narcotics detection and
search & rescue dogs as well.
HOWEVER, this is one breed that
MUST be trained. Period - end of story. Between the
temperament, size and strength of this dog, if you don't, expect
to be pulled down the street on a routine walk, having your
shoulder almost dislocated and your biceps stretched beyond
belief!
The same holds true in terms of
emotional stability and behavioral constancy - each varies
individually and separately as issues in each breed. In
this particular breed, they are considered "stable" in the emotional stability
issue although low in behavioral constancy.
Socializing with humans as a
family - with or without children - can vary greatly with each
dog breed. This breed socializes well within an 'open family'
environment once they know and trust all the members of the
'human pack'. Chosen specifically as playmates for
children, this breed is considered 'exceptionally
tolerant' of considerate and respectful children as long as
the dog has been raised from puppy-hood with children - but
each dog is an individual and should be regarded as such.
It can not be said strong enough that a child's welfare and
safety must be paramount in any situation - not only for a
child, but for the dog's future as well.
If there was a downside to the
Goldens, it would be that they 'play too much' at times.
This can lead to jumping up on everyone and an uncontrolled
playfulness. They are always active and self-confident...
if you come across a timid Golden, you can almost be assured it
was not socialized properly from birth by the breeder and/or has
poor breeding to begin with.
In
terms of territoriality, this breed is very low. With regard to
dominance of familiar people, this breed is submissive. As for
visiting strangers, this breed is very friendly. With other
(strange) dogs, this breed tends to be submissive.
Dominance guarding is very rare with Goldens - and when it does
occur, it's usually a female Golden attempting to protect her
male master from his wife. This isn't 'jealousy' but in
fact, establishing territory, and should be strongly attended to
and trained out of the dog when it first appears.
Rankings for:
-- Stress when left alone: Average; left alone too much
develops into behavioral issues
-- Used for personal protection: Medium to high; more of an
alert dog than protection
-- Used as a guard dog: Poor and extremely low in this role
-- Barking: Usually alerting more than anything else
-- Level of aggressiveness: Very low
-- Child friendly: Very high - too active & rowdy for
infants or toddlers though; excessive licking and/or 'mouthing'
can be an issue if not addressed
-- Socializing with other animals: Usually very well, love
to play and will often roll over first unless you have a poorly
bred Golden
(Special note:
Personality traits as listed above are not only genetic ones,
but are formed by time left with the mother, size of litter,
growing environment - and sadly - treatment by humans.
There are exceptions to every rule and these rankings are given
as a suggestion only to be used in your decision after careful
research and observation of your potential new canine member).
Rescue/Adoption:
Golden Retrievers (purebred and
mixes) show up a lot in rescues and shelters... usually because
of their overly outgoing nature and large litters. It is
rare that an adoption would fail if you're the right human for
this breed. Goldens are such adaptable canines, they
seldom can't accommodate different circumstances and situations.
If you rescue a puppy or young Golden, be prepared for the
almost excessive activity level and involvement in your life.
Goldens 'stay young and active' for many years (at least until
they are four or five years old in human years).
Fences (and SECURE fences) are
a must for this breed as well as active and social owners.
Small apartments just won't do, nor will fussy housekeepers as
this breed sheds a LOT throughout the year.
Many Golden adopters find that
crate training is initially the way to go - be it a puppy or an
adult. Not only does the crate give the dog boundaries and
limitations, but it will also be a secure place of 'theirs' and
children (and adults!) MUST be kept out of the
crate (or kennel) at all times for this to be an effective tool!
For further information, please
see Why
Adopt a Golden Retriever Rescue?
Special Note - Purebreds:
If you MUST have a purebred and
aren't rescuing a Golden, remember that "all that glitters is
not golden" (no pun intended). With any popular breed,
there is always a rush for backyard breeders and puppy mills to
satisfy the demand. If you can't be provided with the OFA
and CERF health clearances, 'buyer beware' as the saying goes.
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Exercise
This is a dog that likes to
play - and play a lot. It's not the breed for
couch-potatoes at all. If it can't find someone to play
with - or another dog - it'll find something to 'play with' in
your house and that eventually leads to destructive behavior.
Goldens are high on the indoor activity list and about average
on the outdoor activity one. Their behavioral consistency
is on the low side... so although a new toy could keep Fido
happy and content for hours one day, it might not work the same
way the next day.
The best way to keep this dog
happy (and in turn you), is a lot of exercise and activity with
its owners. Goldens don't really mature into adults until
their third or fourth year in fact. Daily walks twice a
day with a playtime in between will keep this canine a happy
camper!
As Golden Retrievers are easily
distracted and love the water, anyone with a pool should never
leave a Golden alone with an unfenced and/or unsecured pool. As
always, with pools around, every dog should be tested on two
things - their ability to swim and their knowledge of where the
steps are. It's unlikely that a Golden could get out of a
pool without steps, simply because of the mechanics of hoisting
their bulk out of the water without footing.
This is one breed that doesn't
do well with 'free feeding' - measured meals on a consistent
basis are the way to go - or else your Golden will end up being
obese.
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Grooming
If you're a neat freak, this is
not the breed for you. Goldens shed throughout the year
and a LOT - although they do not 'blow' their coat on an annual
or semi-annual basis as other breeds do. If you want to
keep the hair problem down, it requires brushing them not once a
week, but several times a week as they have a dense outer and
undercoat. And the more 'showdog' breeding in your dog's
background, the more grooming you can expect.
Depending on the amount of feathering, his coat
might need a trim here and there to keep it from appearing
'shaggy' instead of flowing and smooth. Like most large
(and frequent outside) dogs, this dog needs a weekly bath at
least to stay inside the house a lot with humans (i.e. that 'wet
doggy smell'). As Goldens love water, this should not be
an issue.
Because of the lay of the ears
with such dense fur, dirty or infected ear channels can be an
issued if not kept clean and dry. Some owners are
proactive in this area by closing trimming long hairs that grow
from within the ear channels. Another area to keep
closely trimmed is their bottom to avoid matting and unnecessary
hygienic issues.
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Photo
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Organizations
associated with this breed:
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Other
web sites to visit:
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Breed: the Golden
Retriever
