Golden Information
History of the Breed
In the early 1800's, sportsmen in Europe were interested in refining dogs for the purpose of retrieveing waterfowl and other game. Much of country life centered around the hunt, and many within the aristocracy, including the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, popularized the sporting life.
Dudley Marjoribanks (pronounced Marshbanks) was born in 1820, from an old Scottish family. Mr. Marjoribanks became a member of parliament for Berwick-on-Tweed. He was devoted to animals and to sporting events of every kind. In 1881, Mr. Marjoribanks was raised to the peerage, and toke the title, Baron Tweedmouth , the 1st Lord Tweedmouth.
In 1864, Lord Tweedmouth purchased the single yellow dog from a litter of black wavy-coats. In 1868, he bred this dog, named Nous to a Tweed Water Spaniel named Belle. The resulting litter with four yellow puppies was the foundation for the modern Golden Retriever.
Lord Tweedmouth four generations of dogs, using line and cross breedings to refine his line. Prim and Rose were the last two yellow retrievers recorded by Lord Tweedmouth.
The Breed Standard
The American Kennel Club (AKC) maintains a written description of what a Golden Retriever should be (form, function and temperament). This written description is called the breed standard.
The standard defines the "idealized" dog regarding:
- General Appearance
- Size, Proportion, Substance
- Head
- Neck, Topline, Body
- Forequarters
- Hindquarters
- Coat
- Color
- Gait
- Temperatment
- Disqualifications
Read the Breed Standard to become familiar with how a Golden Retriever should look and perform. We also hope that you become a member of the GRCA. The GRCA Code of Ethics also is an important standard to which breeders, dog owners, and members are held accountable.
Click here to see the Golden Retriever Breed Standard on the AKC site.
Click here to see the GRCA Code of Ethics (requires Adobe Acrobat reader.)
Health and Temperament
An issue that confronts breeders of all types of dogs is the fact that breed popularity often results in an increase in potentially devastating genetic problems. Successful dogs in the conformation ring or field trials are used repeatadly in breeding programs, and intentional (or unintentional) line breedings often result in a concentration of genetics related maladies.
Some Golden Retrievers suffer from Hip Displasia, Eye Disease, Subvalvular Aortic Stenosis (SAS), Hyperthyroidism, and susceptibility to various allergies, particularly skin allergies.
All of our breeding stock is certified by the Orthopedic Foundation for hip displaysia, have been examined by a Board-certified veterinary ophthlmologist and found free of hereditary eye disease (CERF registered), and have undergone examination by a Board-certified veterinary cardiologist. We will not breed animals that exhibit serious genetic defects, and guarantee our puppies to be free of these genetic defects (see our puppy guarantee for details).
The Golden Retriever breed standard calls for a dog that is "Friendly, reliable
and trustworthy. Quarrelsomeness or hostility towards other dogs or
people, in 
normal situations, or an unwarranted show of timidity or nervousness, is not in
keeping with Golden Retriever character."
Pacific Crest Goldens kennel philosophy is to position tempermant and health above all other Golden Retriever traits. Our breeding program incorporates dogs that are highly trainable and that are excellent performers in obedience trials. Pacific Crest Golden puppies are well socialized from birth, and do not tend toward territorial or aggresive behavior.
Glossary of Terms used on this Page.
Eye disease
Some Goldens carry genes for Central Progressive Retinal Atrophy (CPRA) which is a progressive deterioration of the light-receptive area (retina) of the eye, and may result in complete blindness at a young age.
Hereditary cataracts are also common eye problems in the Golden Retriever. Examination by a Board-certified veterinary ophthalmologist is necessary to determine if the cataract is of concern from a genetic standpoint. If there are any questions, the dog should not be bred.
Dogs that have undergone examination by a Board-certified veterinary ophthalmologist and found to be free of hereditary eye disease can be registered with the Canine Eye Registration Foundation (CERF). Note that not all forms of cataracts disqualify a dog from getting a CERF number; you should ask to see a copy of the paperwork the vet filled out (the original is sent to CERF). Back
Hip dysplasia
The term hip dysplasia means poor development of the hip joint, and describes an inherited developmental disease in young dogs of many different breeds. Unsound hip joints are a common problem in many breeds, and hip dysplasia can be a serious problem in any dog that is to be trained for a demanding activity.
Hip dysplasia may be diagnosed by x-ray between six months and one year of age, but this is not entirely reliable, and dogs intended for breeding should be x-rayed when fully mature. Two years of age is considered to be the minimum age for accurate determination of sound hips.
The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals is a organization with trained veterinarians that examine thousands of xrays and grade the hips they see. Dogs that are past a minimum age and have good hips are certified Fair, Good, or Excellent. Hips that show signs of arthrosis and hip dysplasia do not get certified. Needless to say, both parents of the puppy you are considering should have OFA certification. The more OFA numbers in the pedigree (including littermates of the parents, grandparents, and previous offspring of either parent), the better off your puppy is. However, as the inheritance of hip dysplasia involves multiple genes, breeding only OFA certified dogs only lessens the chances of HD in the puppies, not eliminates .
Dogs not intended for breeding but who will be active in obedience, agility, hunting, etc. should be screened between 6-12 months of age. This way if there is a problem that shows up this early, you have several options for corrective surgery that are best done at this age. And if your pup shows no signs of hip dysplasia at this point, you can more comfortably continue with your planned activities without worrying that you are making a problem worse down the line.
If your puppy has a persistent, unexplainable limp, he should be x-rayed to determine if hip dysplasia or something else is the cause. On the other hand, Goldens and other retriever breeds often seem to have high pain thresholds and do not show signs of pain. An x-ray does not always show you how your dog feels, as many dysplastic Goldens are completely asymptomatic, especially when younger. Others that do display symptoms can often be helped with either medicinal or surgical intervention to alleviate the pain. Back
Hyperthyrodism
Hypothyroidism is characterized by atrophy or malfunction of the thyroid gland. Clinical symptoms include obesity, lethargy, and/or coat problems. Affected animals may also have various reproductive problems including irregular or absent heat cycle and lack of fertility in both male and female.
Diagnosis of hypothyroidism is by laboratory tests measuring levels of T3 and T4 (produced by the thyroid gland) in the blood. Treatment consists of daily administration of oral thyroid supplement. When treated successfully the prognosis is excellent and the dog's lifespan is normal. Lifelong thyroid supplementation may be required.
Many clinically normal, healthy Goldens may test slightly under the accepted range of "normal" T3 and T4 levels and it is quite possible that the normal values for this breed may be slightly lower than the values used for the general canine population.
There are some dogs that will have epileptic attacks when hypothyroid and stop seizuring when put on thyroid. While there is a link, the hypothyroid condition does not cause epilepsy, and the dog should still be monitored for epilepsy. Back
Subvalvular aortic stenosis
SAS, a hereditary heart disease, is known to occur in the Golden Retriever breed. There is no registry for screenings for SAS, however, breeders have begun to have their dogs screened by Board-Certified Veterinary Cardiologists, and OFA is setting up a Heart Registry program as of mid-1996. The usual screening is auscultation (listening to the heart with a stethescope). If there is any suspicion in the cardiologist's mind, an echocardiogram is run to rule out any problems. The typical proof that a breeder has had their breeding stock screened for SAS is a letter signed by a Board-Certified Veterinary Cardiologist indicating that the animal is, in their opinion, free from SAS. Back