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History of
Golden Retriever
Picture from the Englisch retriverclub
©GRC2001
Until the discovery of
Lord Tweedmouth's stud
books in 1952 the breed
was thought to have
originated from a troupe
of Russian circus dogs
that Lord Tweedmouth
saw performing in
Brighton in 1858.
These dogs were thought
to be about 30 inches at
the shoulder with thick
wavy coats, varying in
colour from cream to
light biscuit.
Lord Tweedmouth was said
to be so impressed by
their intelligence,
looks and docility, that
he purchased all 8 of
them and had them
transported to his
Scottish Estate at
Guisachan, where
they were used for
tracking deer.
However the sixth Earl
of Ilchester, a
great-nephew of Lord
Tweedmouth, in 1952,
dismissed the Russian
theory, basing his
evidence on a stud book
meticulously kept from
1835 which recorded all
the dogs kept at
Guisachan and in which
there was no mention of
the Russian dogs.
The entry of 'Nous'
hitherto always thought
to be one of the Russian
circus troupe, reads
'Lord Chichester's breed
- June 1864 - purchased
at Brighton.
Lord Tweedmouth's
Grandson had stated that
his Grandfather bought
his first yellow dog
from a cobbler in
Brighton, who said it
had been the one yellow
puppy in a litter of
black wavy-coated
Retrievers, and was
given to him by a keeper
in payment of a debt.
This puppy was Nous
.
During the time from the
first mating in 1868 to
the last in 1889, some
of the puppies bred were
kept, some were given to
keepers on neighbouring
estates and others to
friends and relations in
England and Scotland,
thus the early kennels
were founded.
The first Golden
Retrievers to be
exhibited were in
1908. These belonged to
Viscount Harcourt who
started his 'Culham'
line with stock from the Earl of Portsmouth.
They were shown at
Cruft's and the
Crystal Palace, although
at that time they were
not officially
recognised as a separate
breed of Retriever.
In 1906 Mrs Charlesworth
obtained her first
Golden, a bitch puppy
without a pedigree, whom
she named Normanby
Beauty. She proved to be
a highly intelligent and
tireless worker. In 1908
she mated her to Culham
Brass and in 1909 she
joined Lord Harcourt as
the only other exhibitor
of the 'yellow'
retrievers.
In 1909 although there
was still no separate
classification for them,
eight Goldens appeared
at Cruft's, while ten
appeared in 1910.
Kennel Club Standard for
the Golden Retriever
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1. Muzzle |
9. Tail |
17. Ribs |
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2. Cheek |
10. Tight |
18. Front |
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3. Stop |
11. Stifle |
19. Knee |
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4. Skull |
12. Second Tigh |
20. Elbow |
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5. Occiput |
13.Hock |
21.Brisket |
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6. Neck |
14. Rear Pastern |
22. Chest |
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7. Back |
15. Flank |
23. Shoulder |
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8. Croup |
16. Loin |
24. Feathering |
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General
Appearance
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Symmetrical,
balanced, active,
powerful, level
mover; sound
with kindly
expression.
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Characteristics
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Biddable,
intelligent and
possessing
natural working
ability.
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Temperament
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Kindly, friendly
and confident.
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Head and
Skull
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Balanced and
well chiseled,
skull broad
without
coarseness; well
set on neck,
muzzle powerful,
wide and deep.
Length of
foreface
approximately
equals length
from well
defined stop to
occiput. Nose
preferably black.
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Eyes
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Dark brown, set
well apart, dark
rims.
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Mouth
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Jaws strong,
with a perfect,
regular and
complete scissor
bite, i.e. upper
teeth closely
overlapping
lower teeth and
set square to
the jaws.
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Neck
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Good length,
clean and
muscular.
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Forequarters
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Forelegs
straight with
good bone,
shoulders well
laid back, long
in blade with
upper arm of
equal length
placing legs
well under body.
Elbows close
fitting.
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Body
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Balanced, short
coupled, deep
through heart.
Ribs deep, well
sprung. Level
topline.
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Hindquarters
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Loin and legs
strong and
muscular, good
second thighs,
well bent
stifles. Hocks
well let down,
straight when
viewed from rear,
neither turning
in nor out.
Cow-hocks highly
undesirable.
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Feet
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Round and
cat-like.
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Tail
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Set on and
carried level
with back,
reaching to
hocks, without
curl at tip.
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Gait /
Movement
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Powerful with
good drive.
Straight and
true in front
and rear. Stride
long and free
with no sign of
hackney action
in front.
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Coat
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Flat or wavy
with good
feathering,
dense
water-resisting
undercoat.
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Colour
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Any shade of
gold or cream,
neither red nor
mahogany. A few
white hairs on
chest only
permissible.
From 2000, only
Cream, Gold or
Golden will be
accepted by the
KC on
registrations.
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Size
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Height at
withers: dogs;
56-61 cms
(22-24ins)
bitches:
51-56cms
(20-22ins).
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Faults
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Any departure
from the
foregoing points
should be
considered a
fault and the
seriousness with
which the faults
should be
regarded should
be in exact
proportion to
its degree.
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Note
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Male animals
should have two
apparently
normal testicles
fully descended
into the scrotum.
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©
The Kennel Club
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