When did they change from this,
this,
And this
To this,
this,
and this?
It happened at least ten years ago, when I wasn’t in the market for a golden retriever, and I didn’t realize what was going on with the show lines.
I don’t think I’ll be as quiescent and complacent as I was when the shift happened.
In fact, I’ll do anything within my power to make them shift back.
These dogs are nothing like they once were, and you have to hunt hard to find a good one.
But in the popular imagination, golden retrievers don’t look like the old type, and I find this scary. That means that hundreds and maybe thousands of dogs will not be considered goldens if they are picked up on the street.
I saw a supposed Irish setter/golden retriever cross on the Dogs with Jobs show. He was no such thing. He was just a dark gold dog with a lighter build than what apparently show up in the ring and in dog breed books.
If you see a dark golden with a light build, the odds are in favor of it being a golden retriever, not a crossbreed. I wouldn’t have had to say this ten years ago, because most golden retrievers in this country looked more like the old way.
This is the first real shift I’ve seen in goldens in this country, although the Europeans shifted their golden retrievers many decades ago.
So the dog fancy hates conserving the dog type. It claims to do so, but in reality, it is as susceptible to fickle caprices as virtually any fashion trend in clothing.
Unfortunately, due to the stubbornness of the old school breeders….Your efforts will need to be made clear to the world….. one litter at a time.
I consider myself to be nothing more than a real old school dog person. I grew up where people crossed farm collies and foxhounds to make good varmint dogs, or they crossed Norwegian Elkhounds with a terrier-type dog called a Feist to make a superior squirrel dog. However, you have to be extremely careful crossbreeding AKC and established KC breeds, because they are just messes genetically.
The problem with golden retriever is genetic diversity, but also people breeding for an incredibly incompatible type. I won’t say that this is the worst example in the dog world, but it could be, if something is not done.
I know of a lady who hunts with her goldens and she also does dog training with them and is a well-known trainer in the Wichita, KS area. Let me know if you would be interested in her info. I can give it to you. I have thought about buying one of her goldens but I am sticking with what I know: blue lacys, catahoula leopards, and blackmouth curs.
Well, thank you, but I have a golden pup right now. Not a real retriever but a good dog (and spayed!) I may be in the market for a real retriever in the next couple of years, though.
They changed the same way that so many other breeds have changed – due to the penchant for breeding for extreme traits for the show ring. (I know, I’m preachin’ to the choir :-) .