Golden Retriever

Golden Retriever skeleton

The Golden Retriever is a medium-large, strongly built breed with a dense, water-repellant wavy coat.[11] As a dog with origins in pedigree breeding, and owing to its widespread historical popularity, some regional variations have emerged in the breed; therefore, the three subtypes of the Golden Retriever reflect the typical variations in dimensions and coat. However, all Golden Retrievers are blonde, yellow, or gold in colour, and all subtypes are susceptible to the same health problems.[12]

British

The Golden Retriever was first bred in Scotland. British-type golden retrievers are more muscular than North American varieties, with thick coats and heavier weights

British-type Golden Retrievers are prevalent throughout Europe and Australia.[13] The skull is broader and the forequarters are more muscular than in other types. The muzzle is balanced and well chiseled. The coat is generally lighter in colour than in the American types. Males stand between 22 to 24 in (56 to 61 cm) at the withers; females are between 20 to 22 in (51 to 56 cm). Acceptable or expected weights are not specified in the UK standard, but the Kennel Club standard calls for a level topline and straight hindquarters without the slight rear angulation found in American lines.[14][15]

The eyes are round and dark, which is in contrast to the triangular or slanted composition of their American counterparts. British Golden Retrievers can have a coat colour of any shade of gold or cream; red or mahogany are not permitted. Originally, cream was an unacceptable colour in the UK standard, but the standard was revised in 1936 to include cream. At the time of this revision, the exclusion of cream as a colour was agreed to as a mistake, as the original "yellow" retrievers of the 19th century were actually lighter in colour than was permitted by the standards used before 1936. As with American lines, white is an unacceptable colour in the show ring.[16] The British Kennel Club standard is used in all countries except the US and Canada.[15] Golden retrievers have muscular bodies with great endurance, owing to their origins as hunting and gundogs.

American

American Golden Retriever

American types are lankier and less muscular than other types, males stand between 23 and 24 in (58 and 61 cm) in height at the withers; females are 21.5 to 22.5 in (55 to 57 cm) tall. Their coats are darker in colour and occur in various shades of lustrous gold with moderate feathering. When trotting, they have a free, smooth, powerful, and well-coordinated gait; as the dog runs, its feet converge towards the center of the line of balance.[17] The American standard also makes requirements about the proportion, substance, head and skull, neck, body, topline, forequarters, and hindquarters; in these respects, the American-type Retriever is the same as Golden Retrievers that conform to other national standards. American breeders of Golden Retrievers sometimes import their dogs from Britain to take advantage of the temperament and appearance of the British types.

Canadian

Canadian Golden Retriever

The Canadian Golden Retriever has a thinner and darker coat and stands taller than other types. Males stand 23 and 24 in (58 and 61 cm) in height at withers; and females 21.5 to 22.5 in (55 to 57 cm). Weight for males is between 29–34 kg (65-75 lb); and females between 27–32 kg (60-70 lb).[18]

As indicated by their name, their coats occur in light golden to dark golden colours. The topcoat is water-resistant and slightly wavy, and sheds in small amounts throughout the year. The undercoat is soft and keeps the retriever cool in summer and warm in winter; it sheds in the spring and fall.[19] It usually lies flat against the belly. The Golden's coat should never be too long, as this may prove to be a disservice to it in the field, especially when retrieving game.[20] Golden Retrievers have mild feathering on the backs of their fore legs and heavier feathering on the fronts of their necks, backs of their thighs and the bottoms of their tails.[4]

The American Kennel Club (AKC) standard states the coat is a "rich, lustrous golden of various shades", disallowing extremely light or extremely dark coats.[21] This leaves the outer ranges of coat colour up to a judge's discretion when competing in conformation shows. Therefore, "pure white" and "red" are unacceptable, as is black.[16] The Kennel Club (UK) also permits cream as an acceptable coat colour.[14] Judges may also disallow Goldens with pink noses, or those lacking pigment. The Golden's coat can also be mahogany, referred to as "redhead", although this is not accepted in the British show ring.[14] As a Golden grows older, its coat can become darker or lighter, along with a noticeable whitening of the fur on and around the muzzle. Puppy coats are usually much lighter than their adult coats, but a puppy with darker ear tips may indicate a darker adult colour.

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  Golden Retrievers vary in colour, with a fair-haired dog shown here beside a mahogany one
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  The coat is "rich, lustrous golden of various shades"
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  A four-month-old white Golden Retriever
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  A light golden puppy
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  A dark golden coat
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  Golden Retrievers (left) are often confused with Yellow Labs (right). One key difference is the much shorter hair of the Yellow Lab.
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  Adolescent
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  Adult sitting

Bred to be a game retriever, the Golden is instinctively fond of swimming[22]

The temperament of the Golden Retriever is a hallmark of the breed, and is described in the standard as "kindly, friendly and confident".[14] Golden Retrievers make good family pets, particularly as they are patient with children.[4] They are not "one-man dogs" and are generally equally amiable with both strangers and those familiar to them.[23] Their trusting, gentle disposition makes them a poor guard dog.[24] Any form of unprovoked aggression or hostility towards either people, dogs or other animals, whether in the show ring or community, is considered unacceptable in a Golden Retriever and is not in keeping with the character of the breed, nor should a Golden Retriever be unduly timid or nervous.[17][23] The typical Golden Retriever is calm, naturally intelligent and biddable, and with an exceptional eagerness to please.

Golden Retrievers are also noted for their intelligence. The breed ranks fourth in Stanley Coren's The Intelligence of Dogs – following the Border Collie, Poodle, and German Shepherd – as one of the brightest dogs ranked by obedience-command trainability.

Typical Golden Retrievers are active and fun-loving animals with the exceptionally patient demeanour befitting a dog bred to sit quietly for hours in a hunting blind. Adult Goldens love to work, and have a keen ability to focus on a given task. They will work until they collapse, so care should be taken to avoid overworking them.

Other characteristics related to their hunting heritage are a size suited for scrambling in and out of boats and an inordinate love for water. Golden Retrievers are exceptionally trainable—due to their intelligence, athleticism and desire to please their handlers—and excel in obedience trials. They are also very competitive in agility and other performance events. Harsh training methods are unnecessary, as Golden Retrievers often respond very well to positive and upbeat training styles.[25]

Golden Retrievers are compatible with other dogs, cats, and most livestock. They are particularly valued for their high level of sociability towards people, calmness, and willingness to learn. Because of this, they are commonly used as guide dogs, mobility assistance dogs, and search and rescue dogs.

Golden Retriever litters typically contain five to ten puppies[26]

Goldens have an abundance of energy and require plenty of exercise, excelling at dog agility competitions[27]

The average lifespan for a Golden Retriever is about 11 to 12 years.[28][29][30] The breed is susceptible to specific ailments, so pets should be taken to a veterinarian for yearly checkups.

Golden Retrievers are known to have genetic disorders and other diseases. Hip dysplasia is common in the breed; when buying a puppy, the pedigree should be known and be examined by the OFA or by PennHIP for hip disease. Obesity is also common in the breed because Golden Retrievers love to eat. Puppies should eat about three cups of food a day and adults three to five cups, depending on the food and how active the dog is.[19]

Cancer is the breed's biggest killer, causing 61.4% of American Golden deaths according to a 1998 health study conducted by the Golden Retriever Club of America. The most common is hemangiosarcoma, followed by lymphosarcoma, mast cell tumour, and osteosarcoma.[28] A 2004 survey by the UK Kennel Club puts this number at 38.8%.[29] Although most puppies are screened for the disorders before being sold (by reputable breeders), hip and elbow dysplasia afflict one-fifth of dogs.[31][32] Eye diseases are also possible in the breed; cataracts are the most common eye disease,[31] but they can also be afflicted with progressive retinal atrophy, glaucoma, distichiasis,[33] entropion,[33] corneal dystrophy,[33] and retinal dysplasia.[33]

They may suffer from heart disease, especially subvalvular aortic stenosis,[31] and cardiomyopathy and joint diseases, including patella luxation, osteochondritis, panosteitis, and cruciate ligament rupture. Their long hair also gets knotted up under the ears and longer hairs on their belly and legs if not groomed, these dreads can be cut out with scissors with slow rapid cuts. They can cause pain and discomfort and if left too long will get more matted. In addition to the heavy shedding they experience (and their constant lighter shedding throughout the year), Golden Retrievers can suffer from skin diseases; the most prevalent skin problem is allergies (often leading to acute moist dermatitis or "hot spots"), with the most common allergy being to fleas.[28] They can also suffer from seborrhoea, sebaceous adenitis, self-inflicted lick granuloma, and haemophilia.[34]

Golden Retrievers require regular grooming and occasional baths.[4] Their coats shed somewhat during the year, but are known to shed profusely twice a year. They also need to have their ears cleaned regularly, or ear infections might occur. While shedding is unavoidable, frequent grooming (daily to weekly) lessens the amount of hair shed by the animal. Severe shedding resulting in bald patches can be indicative of stress or sickness.

Goldens excel at dock jumping

The Golden Retriever's eagerness to please has made it a consistent, top performer in the obedience and agility rings. Its excellent swimming ability makes it proficient at dock jumping. A natural retrieving ability means it is also competitive in flyball and field trials.[5]

The first three dogs ever to achieve the AKC Obedience Champion title were Golden Retrievers; the first of the three was a female named 'Ch. Moreland's Golden Tonka'.[35]

Since Golden Retrievers are so trainable, they are used for many important jobs, such as guide dogs for blind people, drug or bomb sniffing at airports, or helping to rescue people from earthquakes and other natural disasters.[19] This breed is also used in water rescue/lifesaving, along with the Leonberger, Newfoundland and Labrador Retriever dogs

Bred to retrieve, Goldens have a "soft mouth" grip

The Golden Retriever was originally bred in Scotland in the mid-19th century.[3][5] At that time, wildfowl hunting was a popular sport for the wealthy Scottish elite, but the existing retriever breeds were inadequate for retrieving downed game from both water and land. Retrieving from both land and water was necessary because the hunting grounds of the time were pocketed with marshy ponds and rivers. Consequently, the best water spaniels were crossed with the existing retrievers, resulting in the establishment of the breed today known as the Golden Retriever.[36] The Golden Retriever was first developed near Glen Affric in Scotland, at "Guisachan", the highland estate of Dudley Marjoribanks, 1st Baron Tweedmouth.[37] The breed is thought to have originated from the now-extinct Russian tracker dog.[38][39]

Improvements in guns during the 1800s resulted in more fowl being downed during hunts at greater distances and over increasingly difficult terrain, leading to more birds being lost in the field. Because of this improvement in firearms, a need for a specialist retriever arose, as training setter and pointer breeds in retrievals was found to be ineffective. Thus, work began on the breeding of the dog to fill this much-needed role.[23]

The original cross was of a yellow-coloured retriever, 'Nous', with a Tweed Water Spaniel female dog, 'Belle'.[40] The Tweed Water Spaniel is now extinct, but was then common in the border country. Marjoribanks had purchased Nous in 1865 from an unregistered litter of otherwise black wavy-coated retriever pups. In 1868, this cross produced a litter that included four pups; these four became the basis of a breeding program which included the Irish Setter, the sandy-coloured Bloodhound, the St. John's water dog of Newfoundland, and two more wavy-coated black retrievers. The bloodline was also inbred and selected for trueness to Marjoribanks' idea of the ultimate hunting dog. His vision included a more vigorous and powerful dog than previous retrievers, one that would still be gentle and trainable. Russian sheepdogs are not mentioned in these records, nor are any other working dog breeds. The ancestry of the Golden Retriever is all sporting dogs, in line with Marjoribanks' goals. The Golden Retriever was active and powerful and had a gentle mouth for retrieving games while on hunts.[4]

In the United Kingdom

A Golden retriever puppy at play

Golden Retrievers were first accepted for registration by The Kennel Club in 1903, as Flat Coats – Golden. They were first exhibited in 1908, and in 1911 were recognized as a breed referred to as Retriever (Golden and Yellow).

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