Goldens have been a longtime favorite family dog around the world. They are the third most popular dog out of 200 breeds at the American Kennel Club (AKC). But the history of the Golden Retriever is much less well-known.
Dog breeds are all about transformation, and as AKC described all began “with an ambitious man born with means but no title, with a dog of a color that was considered undesirable, and with a once-sparkling mansion reduced to crumbling ruins.”
But let’s start from the beginning.
Golden Retriever origins
Scotland, more specifically, the Scottish Highlands was the home of the Golden Retriever ancestors. Around the 13th and 14th centuries, the majority of the dogs in the region were bred mainly for working purposes, with their skill and talents being much more important than their looks. These dogs generally fitted into one of three categories – terriers, herding dogs, and hunting dogs.
Over the centuries these basic groups began to separate into smaller groups of dogs with very specific characteristics and the idea of individual dog breeds took shape.
The Golden Retriever was a little late in this development, around the 19th century. It was introduced by Sir Dudley Coutts Marjoribanks, a second son to a successful Scottish banker, but without any titles. Later in life, he was known as Baron Tweedmouth.
He was fascinated with dog breeds since a teenager. Marjoribanks set out to create what to his mind was the ultimate breed of retriever at his Scottish estate. He cross-bred Flat-coated Retrievers with Tweed Water Spaniels (today extinct), with some further infusions of Red Setter and Labrador Retriever. The breed was recognized by the Kennel Club in 1913, and during the interwar period spread to many parts of the world.
Picture of Baron Tweedmouth.
The Crossbreeding process.
In the 1860s Marjoribanks started his breeding program by acquiring a yellow-colored Flat-coated Retriever dog called Nous. This dog was the only yellow pup in an otherwise all black-colored litter. It is the pedigree of Nous that was the source of the heritage of the Golden Retrievers. Some sources claim that Nous was purchased from a Russian circus, some others that he was bought from a cobbler, and yet another claimed a gypsy.
In 1868 Nous was mated to a Tweed Water Spaniel bitch named Belle, as part of his efforts to produce a dog who would be more suitable for working in wet and rough conditions. The litter from this mating consisted of four yellow pups, Primrose, Cowslip, Crocus (these 3 named after a trio of yellow flowers), and Ada. These puppies were the foundation of the entire Golden Retriever breed.
Picture of a Tweed Water Spaniel (today extinct)
As the breeding program progressed, other wavy and flat-coated retrievers, at least one other Tweed Water Spaniel, and a Red Setter were added to the mix, eventually producing the stunning and, at that time unique, Golden Retriever.
The picture shows the scheme of the crossbreeding program.
In 1952 Marjoribanks’s great-nephew, Giles Fox-Strangways, in collaboration with Elma Stonex studied Marjoribanks’s stud book. In 1960 their research was published, presenting all the evidence required to counter all tales of Russian ancestry and the breeding process. The stud book, which covers the period from 1868 to 1890, is preserved in the library of the Kennel Club in London.
The explosion of popularity
For many years, the Guisachan retrievers were owned by family and close friends known to the Marjoribanks family. Two of the dogs traveled to North America in the late 1800s with family members. The first one was a male named Sol who was brought to Texas. Soon after, a female named Lady was brought to Canada. Sol died in Texas, but Lady returned to Britain and went on to produce more puppies there.
At the very beginning of the 20th century, Goldens began to compete in dog shows, under the category of ‘Retrievers, wavy or flat coated into other colors’ (basically not black).
The UK Kennel Club recognized the Golden as a breed in 1911 under the name ‘Retriever (Yellow or Golden)’. When the Golden Retriever Club was established in 1920 the official breed name was officially changed to ‘Golden Retriever’. Goldens were officially recognized by the Canadian Kennel Club in 1925 and by the AKC in 1932.
Today, Golden Retrievers are one of the most popular dog breeds around. They are still used as a gundog by sportsmen, both as a hunting companion in the field and for competition in field trials. Goldens are used more for retrieval of land-based gamebirds than for wildfowl hunting. Those used as gundogs are usually from working lines specifically bred for field use. Goldens from pet or show lines are rarely suitable for field purposes. As today more Golden Retrievers are bred as pets or for the show ring than for hunting, as generally, hunters prefer Labrador Retrievers for work because they are fastest to train, easier to maintain (referring to the coat maintenance), and faster swimmers.
