The golden retriever features well inside the top 10 for most popular dog breeds in the UK and the US, and it’s easy to see why. Friendly, biddable, with a beautiful, luxuriant coat in resplendent golden hues, this gundog breed is not only a looker but a worker.
The breed has its origins in 19th-century Scotland, where Scottish politician Dudley Coutts Marjoribanks (later known as Lord Tweedmouth) crossed Belle, a liver-coloured Tweed Water Spaniel, with Nous, a rare yellow-coloured wavy-coated retriever with black parents that he bought from a cobbler. From this mating in 1868, he kept two yellow females, Primrose and Cowslip, that were the foundation stock of millions of golden retrievers in the world today. Lord Tweedmouth’s Guisachan estate, while the house is dilapidated, is still revered as the ancestral home of the breed and golden retriever shows and conventions are still held among its ruins.
Nous and Belle’s offspring were largely gifted to Lord Tweedmouth’s friends and family, and used as gundogs. Some setter and even bloodhound lines were added, which probably influenced the variety of shades in the modern golden retriever. Their aptitude as an enthusiastic and athletic working dog remains undiminished, and those physical and mental attributes that made them wonderful hunting companions is nowadays put to good use not only in the field, but as guide and assistance dogs, tracking and obedience competitions.
There are many shades in the golden retriever
(Image credit: Alamy Stock Photo)
Golden retriever breed: fact file
Kennel Club breed group: gundog
Size: medium to large
Daily exercise: more than two hours
Coat: medium, either flat or wavy with good feathering; shedding
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Colours: standards colours include cream, gold and golden. In practice their coats vary from a pale cream to warm reddish gold. Eyes are dark brown.
Lifespan: more than 10 years.
Bark: moderate barkers.
History: what we now know and love as the golden retriever was initially a cross between the yellow offspring of black wavy-coated retrievers and a Tweed water spaniel – which has been extinct since the 19th century. Lord Tweedmouth is credited as the founder of the breed on his Guisachan Estate in the Scottish Highlands, and his pioneering mating produced four yellow puppies, which were later crossed with bloodhound and Irish Setter lines. Initially recognised in 1913 by the Kennel Club as the yellow or golden retriever, when the Golden Retriever Club was established in 1920 the breed was officially called the golden retriever.
Distinctive features: the beautiful golden shades of their luxuriant, water-resistant coat, a feathered tail and their kind, friendly disposition. They have an athletic, loping stride
Temperament: biddable, intelligent and natural workers, with a joyful, playful demeanour.
Things to consider: the fabulous double coats shed once or twice a year, as well as moderately on a continuous basis. You’ll need one of the best dog grooming brushes for regular grooming, and an appropriate hoover for all that dog hair.
With their water-resistant coats, webbed feet and roots in the Tweed Water Spaniel, it’s no surprise that most golden retrievers love a swim. You might want to invest in one of the best drying coats to helps dry off that thick coat after a dip.
Finally, although he’s well proportioned, this is a medium to large dog, so equip him with a large dog bed for comfortable kips.
Training: the golden retriever has a naturally trainable temperament and are highly valued as guide-dogs for the blind, search-and-rescue as well as hunting and field work. They are outgoing, loyal and eager to please, making them an easy dog to train.
Fun fact: in the US, National Golden Retriever Day is celebrated every year on 3 February. It is in memory of the founder Kirsten Shoyer’s beloved golden retriever, Quincey, and the biggest gathering takes place in the appropriately named town of Golden, Colorado.
Complete Guide To Golden Retrievers | Amazon Using interviews with 11 top breeders, this book gives an in-depth look at what it takes to successfully live with, raise, and train the breed.
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Martha is an experienced journalist who is mad-keen on horses and dogs. Her reporting CV includes the Paris Olympics, European championships, Aachen World Equestrian Festival and World Cup finals. After growing up with assorted liver and white springer spaniels, she enjoyed 14 years with two rescue dogs. Now, her constant companion is Fidget, an extremely energetic and habitually muddy black and white springer. Martha has written on topics as diverse as a top horse’s clone to the best GPS trackers for dogs, as well as equestrian and rural matters for Country Life, The Field, The Times, The Spectator and The Telegraph alongside Horse & Hound.
