It is my fervent hope that someday all breeders will recognize the importance of working together diligently and respectfully for the improvement and perpetuation of the breeds that we love. Remember the Golden Rule. In the meantime, I will continue with an intransigent passion to do my absolute best to honor the past, present and future of the breed. - Laura 2/24/23.
​​Champion European Lineages ~ 27 Yrs Experience Breeding
ABOUT GOLDEN RETRIEVERS
There is only one Golden Retriever breed and currently it is a well deserved third most popular dog breed by AKC registrations. The recent popularity of European “English Cream” Golden Retrivers is due to more than just the lighter coat color on some dogs. Studies done in 1998 and 2004 indicated that the cancer rate is far lower and the life expectancy longer in the Golden Retrievers from European bloodlines.
The term "English Cream" refers only to coat color and not pedigree because the English breed standard used in Europe allows for the lighter shades of coat color. "European" generally refers to more, or recent generations from European countries. (Note that not all European breeders fully health test their show and breeding dogs. This could be due to choice or that they just don't have access to heart and eye specialists for certifications.)
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Some Golden Retrievers in Europe have been bred for a lighter coat color which is allowed in the English GR Breed Standard. The more detailed American breed standard does not promote "cream" shades of coat with the goal of maintaining the "golden" color for which the breed was named. There are still all shades of coat color in Europe.
The cream-colored puppy coats can sometimes become more golden with age and so the adult coat colors of "English Cream" puppies can vary from very light cream (although not pure white) to honey golden shades. Generally, the ear color of a puppy resembles its coat color as an adult. Their coats also sun bleach in the summertime making the very light colors look almost white.
Know that we breed for health and temperament, phenotype and conformation before taking into consideration the shade of coat of our breeding dogs. We retain the overall very best pups from our own litters for our breeding program.
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If you are considering you're first Golden, then be prepared to fall more in love the more you get to know your dog. The breed was developed for hunting and retrieving game in Scotland in the late 1800s by Dudley Majoribanks from a retriever dam and a Tweed water spaniel sire. Later, setters and hound were used to improve the breed. This explains why Goldens have different looks...shorter coat, legs or muzzle; longer coat, muzzle, legs or ears, spots of other colors, etc.
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If you are already a fan of Golden Retrievers, then you know how truly special they are in disposition. Goldens are known for being very intelligent, happy, friendly, confidant, loyal, eager to please, easy to train as well as natural retrievers and water lovers. They are all that and more. They are extremely patient and respectful, devoted, kind, gentle and affectionate people-focused dogs. They are very obedient and excellent at remembering...and doing...what they have been taught. They also have very good control of their drive which enables them to quickly switch from "go"mode to "calm" mode...a behavior attribute that we humans really appreciate in our canines. They are an extremely caring breed and so are not recommended as a guard / protection breed. However, they can sometimes be good sentry dogs by alerting / barking at strangers. Their huge hearts along their their eagerness to please and ease of training makes them excellent family and service dogs.
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Pedigrees and other data for individual Golden Retrievers can be found at www.k9data.com.
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The AKC Breed Standard for Golden Retrievers is very detailed and can be found on the AKC web site.
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Here is Tradition's "Suhka"with his new owner. He was specifically chosen to do therapy work with children and started his job at just a few months old...helping a child, whose mother was in the hospital, to stay in school. We were told Suhka really loves his kids.
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This is Goldie cooling off on a hot summer day. She's our water baby and loves everything about water. She even dips half of her face into the water every time before she gets a drink.
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Reply to "No Yard" and...Two Dogs are Better Than One:
Dogs are pack animals and when they have enough room to play and are in a "pack" 100% of the time, they are as content and happy as they can be. Do you have a fenced yard? Do you already have a dog? Contentment and harmony will be difficult to acheive for both the owner and a young, exuberant, larger breed dog without adequate space and companionship for the dog. Dogs left alone become depressed, stressed, lonely and bored rather quickly and what follows can sometimes be very destructive and neurotic behaviors. Once a dog becomes neurotic that psychological damage cannot be completely fixed ever. They also need regular moderate exercise while growing for their bones and joints to develop properly. If you do not have a fenced yard, then your best bet is probably to get an adult dog that is a smaller breed, then a puppy later on when you have a yard. The best thing to do to make a dog happy (especially if someone is not home all the time) is to give it the environment and companionship is was made for: another canine companion to be with (always in a pack) and enough room to play...like a dog...and it will be contented and thrive.