Dog Breed Guide
Golden Retriever
Profile
- Size
- Large
- Country of origin
- United Kingdom
- Origin
- 19th century
- Bred for
- Retrieving, Guide dog, Assistance dog
- Height
- male 56 - 61cm (22 - 24in), female 51 - 56cm (20 - 22in)
- Weight
- male 29 - 34kg (64 - 75lb), female 25 - 29kg (55 - 64lb)
- Life span
- 10 - 12 years
A large dog loved for its rich, gleaming golden coat and kind expression. The water-repellent double coat ranges in color from cream to deep gold.
Cheerful and good-natured, the Golden loves people and other dogs. It is very intelligent and takes great joy in being praised, so it is easy to train. Its calm nature and talent for connecting with people are what make it so successful as a guide dog, assistance dog and therapy dog. It is often so friendly with everyone that it makes a poor watchdog.
Its specialty is a "soft mouth" that carries game without damaging it; it is said a Golden can carry an egg in its mouth without breaking it. It needs plenty of exercise and adores swimming and playing ball. It sheds heavily and is known to be prone to cancer and joint problems.
Good to know
The Golden Retriever's birthplace is Guisachan, an estate in Glen Affric in the Scottish Highlands. There Dudley Marjoribanks, later Lord Tweedmouth, set out to create the ideal dog for retrieving game birds shot during the hunt.
In 1868 his yellow, wavy-coated retriever Nous and a Tweed Water Spaniel named Belle produced a litter of three yellow puppies named Crocus, Cowslip and Primrose. This litter is regarded as the beginning of the breed. Nous himself had been bought from a cobbler in Brighton.
There was once a story that the breed descended from Russian circus dogs, but Lord Tweedmouth's breeding records came to light in 1952 and revealed the truth. In 2018, to celebrate the breed's 150th anniversary, hundreds of Goldens from around the world gathered at Guisachan for a group photo in front of the ruined house.