They start out as cute little “white” puppies:
Unlike field bred golden puppies, they aren’t nearly as active or obsessively intelligent and driven. The first dog I had of this type I actually thought there was something medically wrong with puppy, because she never wanted to play or get silly. Most consumers of dogs don’t really want the real drivey temperament in a puppy, so that puppy doesn’t cause that much trouble (at least by comparison).
Then they mature into dogs that run like draft horses. Have you ever ridden a draft horse? They may have once carried knights in full armor, but compared to a saddle horse, they are lump and choppy in their gait. You get the same out of a blocky English goldens. (Here’s an example of coarse English goldens running with that choppy, lumbering gait.)
Compare the gait of these dogs with some working bred dogs.
Here’s a video of “Shuttle” (The dog in the header). She moves very quickly and fluidly. I don’t see any lumbering around with this dog.
Now, you might like a cute dog that lumbers around. You aren’t going bird hunting, and you don’t want to work a dog. Well, I have a simple statement: Don’t get a golden retriever and stop accommodating breeders who are breeding in poor working conformation and mellow temperaments in the dogs. If you can’t handle the working temperament, you need another breed.
I hate to be blunt here, but I’m tired of seeing my breed destroyed by the caprices of a fickle public, one that wants a mass-produced animal that is not only good- natured and very trainable but also “white,” bear-like, and calm. To get those other three characteristics, you have to fundamentally change the other two. And people who like retrievers as retrievers and not playthings do not want those first two characteristics to change.
Further, a lot of these “white” dogs develop food possession for some reason. The one thing this breed always had going for it was its incredible temperament. It might have a relatively high cancer rate. It might not be as good a trial dog as a Labrador. But its gentle temperament was its asset. If that goes, this breed deserves to lose its popularity.
I hope it does. And I say this as someone who is absolutely in love with the golden retriever as a retriever and dog.
*I have yet to be challenged by any “white” golden fans out there. I’ll just tell you this– I don’t have any good scientific studies on the two separate lines of golden and their behavior and health. However, it’s been my experience dealing with this breed most of my life.
What kind of challenge are you looking for? Perhaps I am making assumptions as to what you intend by “white golden” but can tell you I have a young, beautiful, rather “English” looking “white” golden that is a maniac in the field. Focused, birdy, excellent marker, good work ethic. True, I got her for show, but one day while at practice with my other “field golden” my trainer suggested we “try her out” and all our jaws dropped. I am a very novice handler having just put my first JH title on another golden, but I can assure you this little gal is going to grow into an excellent hunter. I have the privilege of knowing Shuttle, and I am a big fan of dark gold dogs, having had two in the past that I loved dearly (unfortunately before I got into the field at all).
Personally, I am striving for a golden that is both true to the standard and has the smarts to perform the work. I am dismayed with the AKC breed ring as the judges clearly are looking for fluffy teddy bear types with blown-out straight coats, and very few appreciate that they are a hunting dog, lacking appreciation for fitness, soundness, and balance. Shame.
Anyway, it will certainly be interesting to see what develops as this young girl grows. Would be happy to keep you posted. I will be shocked if she gets uninterested in working in any way, but most of all, I hope her health will be such that it allows her to do the work. That, I suppose, remains to be seen when we get clearances. I wish I knew how to attach a photo.
I’ve met only a handful of “white” goldens that acted anything like a “normal” American field-type golden retriever. To use my grandfather’s term, “they lack ambition.”
I have a light gold golden retriever from partial British extraction. However, she’s nothing like my old field-line dogs that would retrieve and run with all the endurance and brains of any border collie.
The light colored Newfoundland-type are a bastardization of what was once a universally useful working retriever.