[ckj05]

If you read about what goldens were bred for which is hunting and retrieving and what thier attributes are supposed to be, one being fur that repels water..why do they show goldens that are not at all what goldens are supposed to be? I thought judges go by how close the dog is to what the breed stands for and was bred for? All the goldens i see that win at the shows are huge and light in color and have tons of hair..they look totally different then what a golden was ORIGINALLY bred to look like.

 

[Oaklys Dad]

That is a very good question. Goldens have really split into two or three different types. It would be interesting to see what the winning dogs looked like through the years. I have a book that shows the differences between what a European judges and American judges look for. It is very interesting.

 

[rappwizard]

In June 2007 the Golden Retriever Club of America addressed this issue with judges in an open letter--here is the link--

http://grca.org/education/letter.html

Of course, the argument goes, judges can only judge what breeders/exhibitors send to them.

At the last shows I've been to in South Florida, although they've admittedly been small shows, I would have to say that all the goldens were presented with what I would call "natural" and not "excessive" coats and I actually had a chance to hug some of those that placed, and a few of the winners afterwards, and I found the coat texture to be correct, so I think the GRCA's letter must be working.

 

[K9-Design]

Cause bigger is better.
Or so goes the fad.

However not all are like that. Good judges do not reward huge coats and dogs with correct coats certainly do win.

This:

Looks like this coming out of the water:

Champion/Senior Hunter

 

[ckj05]

In June 2007 the Golden Retriever Club of America addressed this issue with judges in an open letter--here is the link--

http://grca.org/education/letter.html

Of course, the argument goes, judges can only judge what breeders/exhibitors send to them.

At the last shows I've been to in South Florida, although they've admittedly been small shows, I would have to say that all the goldens were presented with what I would call "natural" and not "excessive" coats and I actually had a chance to hug some of those that placed, and a few of the winners afterwards, and I found the coat texture to be correct, so I think the GRCA's letter must be working.

Thats a really good article, thanks for sharing Im glad they addressed the issue..i feel like they are breeding goldens way to large and its really taking a toll on thier joints and thier health.

 

[hotel4dogs]

in the midwest the trend in the show ring seems to be toward "correct" goldens, not overdone nor overcoated.

 

[mylissyk]

That's good to hear. I hope the trend continues.

 

[Tahnee GR]

I have to agree-for the most part, I haven't seen the really big Goldens in many years, and it's been a long time since I have seen those long straight drippy coats. Some of the biggest Goldens I have seen were being shown back in the 70's. I remember seeing Ch. Goldrush's Contender UD in the BOB ring. Ben was about 23 1/2" if I remember, and he looked like a puppy in the ring next to the rest of the dogs! Ch. Goldwing True Bear was in front of him, and compared to Ben he was huge.

 

[Ljilly28]

For all my childhood years growing up with goldens and even into my first dog all my own, we had children and grandchildren of Quar, who was a dual champion dog:http://www.gaylans.com/quar.html. Because of this, he is stuck in my mind's eye as the classic golden. My Joplin lived well into his 15th year as did four of the five dogs we had from this line.

 

[ckj05]

wow he was so handsome!

 

[starshine]

I've been reading this thread with lots of interest since I was wondering about the "original" golden, too since I got mine. Here in Europe - especially in Switzerland, Germany and Austria - you mostly see very light coloured golden .. which I personally don't really like .. it's called GOLDEN retriever .. not WHITE retriever *my opinion* .. however, there are many really nice golden here in Europe ..but I personally think also, that this is not the type of golden which was originally bred ..

 

[cubbysan]

I have to agree-for the most part, I haven't seen the really big Goldens in many years, and it's been a long time since I have seen those long straight drippy coats. Some of the biggest Goldens I have seen were being shown back in the 70's. I remember seeing Ch. Goldrush's Contender UD in the BOB ring. Ben was about 23 1/2" if I remember, and he looked like a puppy in the ring next to the rest of the dogs! Ch. Goldwing True Bear was in front of him, and compared to Ben he was huge.

What confuses me, is if the Standard is 23 - 24 iinches (right?), then wouldn't a Golden bigger or smaller than standard be disqualified??

My understanding that most of a breeds' standards are a matter of interpretation, but something like size or even color, can only be interpreted as correct or not correct.

 

[K9-Design]

Height is not so much a concern now -- in fact I am seeing a lot of SMALLER males in the ring. Fisher always looked huge and he is 23 3/4 and 75 lbs, just exactly what the standard calls for for males. WEIGHT is an issue though. Some of these guys are way heavier than they should be == or, very overdone for their height. Bulk is a bigger downfall than height.
I could rattle off a few recent big winning specials that were way overdone.
I could also rattle off a lot more who were just right and VERY correct!!!
There are a lot of super nice dogs out there in the show ring.

 

[Maxs Mom]

I've been reading this thread with lots of interest since I was wondering about the "original" golden, too since I got mine. Here in Europe - especially in Switzerland, Germany and Austria - you mostly see very light coloured golden .. which I personally don't really like .. it's called GOLDEN retriever .. not WHITE retriever *my opinion* .. however, there are many really nice golden here in Europe ..but I personally think also, that this is not the type of golden which was originally bred ..

OK I don't show conformation but I have to agree with this. I do NOT like the color extremes. I like mine "redder" but not "too" red. I saw one walking down the street it was darker than an irish setter. I don't care for the white ones either. I like GOLDEN retrievers.

Ann