Golden Retrievers

The Golden Retriever is reliable. He learns quickly and remembers fully, learning anything a patient owner can teach him. He is an easy going, almost imperturbable pet at home, perfect for children to romp with. Once he learns his place, he keeps it. The Golden is sturdy enough to protect himself against children's abuse and even-tempered enough to take rough handling in his stride. In general, he is an excellent watchdog. The Golden Retriever is a supreme family, service and sporting dog, because his intelligence, beauty, loyalty and steady nerves are all integral characteristics of the breed.

The origins of the Golden Retriever dog go back to the nineteenth century. At that time Setters and Pointers were often trained to retrieve and do other work. It was not until 1840 that dog breeding enthusiasts decided to make a new breed which would only be used to find and bring back wounded and dead game. The aim was to create a dog with brains, first-rate nose, tender mouth, stamina, but with less disposition to hunt than Setters and Spaniels. It was believed that the best retrievers were bred from a cross between the Setter and the Newfoundland, Labradors and the Water Spaniels known for their remarkable ability to retrieve game from the most inaccessible places.

The systematic yellow line-breeding in Scotland laid the firm foundation of the Golden Retriever as a breed. The first Golde Retrievers were exhibited under the name of "Flat-coats, Golden" in England in 1908.

The early Golden Retriever dogs were bigger, often longer in leg, with a heavy ear. These Golden Retriever dogs were noted for excellence in water and for delightful disposition and trainablity. When the breed standard had first been drawn up by the Golden Retriever Club (UK) in 1911, cream had been excluded as a permissible color, and in the 1920's light-coloured dogs were not popular. Color tended to be darker, and light ones were frowned on by some judges until 1936 when the Golden Retriever breed Standard was altered to include cream and shades of gold and cream.

The first Golden Retriever, born from British parents, was registered in the United States with the American Kennel Club in 1925. Canadian and American Champion speedwell Pluto, owned by S.S. Magoffin, was one of the great pillars of the Golden Retriever breed in North America. He was the first Golden Retriever to win a Best in Show. His record also included two Sporting Group Firsts. The Golden Retriever Club of America held its first licensed field trials near the Ozaukee Country Club. Stilrovin Nitro Express (Nite), owned by Ralph G. Boalt, became the first Golden Retriever dog to win top honors in the first year of open competition. Since 1945, specialty shows have been introduced that include conformation judging, field trials, obedience trials and tracking. Working certificate tests are held for those Golden Retriever owners who wish their dogs to compete in hunting stakes but who do not have the time or interest to pursue field trials.