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Last year I was in Europe for a few weeks on business and noticed a number of GR for the most part they were much lighter then the American GR.

I can live with the dark or light GR! Health and temperment are two keys to what drew me to this breed as a little kid. Our neighbors golden just loved
playing with my friends and I (For hours, non-stop!) Stew lived to the age of 14 years-old.
 
I am pretty sure that in Canada that red is accepted in the show ring. I know some breeders who have red goldens and they have shown them and have earned championships.
Incase your wondering I am from NS Canada.
If you grab an old copy of the GR News, you'll see that in the Seventies and Eighties, darker goldens were very popular in the show ring. In fact, today, there are still some very dark colored goldens winning in the show ring.

As with anything else, the favored colors move in trends. Right now, the trend is swinging back again to the darker dogs in conformation.

The standard allows for a very wide range of colors. Because of that, you do in fact see many darker goldens participating in the show ring these days. The important thing is that no matter the color of the coat, you'll see gold in it when the lighting is just right. That, IMHO, is what determines whether or not the coat is correct, not the color.

I have dark goldens, and I have light goldens. I love them both.
 
Thank you Vrocco!!
I love your Jesse.
Shys grampie, and great aunt are both a deep red, and she also has a lot of red -copper colored goldens in her family on her mothers side. Under different lighting Shy has a small hint of a copper-ish color in her coat.
 
Thank you Vrocco!!
I love your Jesse.
Shys grampie, and great aunt are both a deep red, and she also has a lot of red -copper colored goldens in her family on her mothers side. Under different lighting Shy has a small hint of a copper-ish color in her coat.
LOL, that's the gold coming through! If it's there, you can't stop it. :)
 
I too love all goldens but I tend to favor the darker ones.
 
I've just been reading some sections of a book I have here, and it states what the standards are for showing, according to the American Kennel Club (AKC) and the English Kennel Club.

For the colour of the coat it says...
" Both standards advocate any shade of golden, and both condemn excessively dark coats. The AKC singles out very pale coats as being undesirable, but these are popular in the UK. In both standards, a few white hairs are permitted on the chest - or on the muzzle if they are the result of ageing."

Personally, I like 'em all.


Quite interesting stuff in the same book about how the breed first came about and what dogs were bred to create the Golden Retriever. Also, how the different colour pups are bred.
 
I thought that Samwise would be a lot darker red but he looks almost orange to me. In fact, he and my middle son have just about the same color hair (Ash's is a little brighter orange). Ashton calls him his Irish dog. I am very pleased with his color, though. In the sun he looks like he's had highlights. The longer hair on the back of his legs, on the underside of his tail and around his butt is very blonde.
 
Well howdy!
I was looking at all your wonderful pictures and was surprised at the amount of really really dark "red" colored goldens.
I know according to the AKC they can't be that color for showing, but I do see it getting more and more popular.
Is red the new gold? :)
Just wondering if anyone else noticed the trend :)
If you look back in the past you will see the darker colored goldens which many call the reds, or copper colored ones. They are not new at all, and have been around for a very very long time. The AKC gets there standard for the parent club, if you look on the parent clubs site you will see the darker goldens. The AKC also says the golden should be shown in working condition....i've yet to see that!

Another good source is to get at some older books on the Golden Retriever, you will see the dark ones in there as well.
 
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