Golden Retriever puppies for sale with breed information.

Breed History

The development of Golden Retrievers is attributed to Lord Tweedsmuir at his estate, Guisachan, at Inverness-Shire, Scotland, north of the English border, along the Tweed River. In 1952 a descendant published documents of his breeding from 1835 until about 1890. In 1865, he acquired his first Yellow Retriever, named Nous, who was bred to a type of dog called the Tweed Water Spaniel, commonly found in the Border country, whose traits and qualities, subsequently influenced the development of the Golden Retriever dog. Nous and Belle produced 4 yellow puppies in 1868, Crocus, Cowslip, Primrose and Ada. From the four, followed additional crosses to the Water Dogs, an Irish Setter and sandy colored Bloodhounds. Then followed some line-breeding, unusual for those days, and Nous and Cowslip appear several times in pedigrees. This line breeding eventually created the Yellow or Golden Retriever dog, later becoming popular in Britain towards the end of the 1800s. First shown in 1908, they were granted breed status by the Kennel Club in 1913, and became known as the Retriever (Golden and Yellow). In 1920 the name was changed to Golden Retriever.

Additional Information

The breed, considered the glamour dog of retrievers, is powerful, active and sound, very elegant. With its intelligence, tractability, poise and beauty, it does exceptionally well in competition such as conformation dog shows and in other canine events. Its personality is eager, alert, self confident, always displaying a kindly expression. It is very friendly towards people and other dogs normally, but should never show timidity or nervousness. It is very intelligent and excels in obedience training and obedience trials. It is exceptional as a guide dog too, but it is as a family pet, and its fondness of children, that this dog breed has gained its renown. A Golden Retriever puppy enjoys socializing and it does well with training. It needs regular combing to minimize shedding. Give it a home in the suburbs or country where it can get lots of wanted exercise. As with many purebred dogs, this breed has some health issues, of which, a prudent puppy prospective buyer should be aware. That is why it is important to deal with conscientious breeders, who address those problems, by having their breeding stock tested and cleared, before they breed.

Health Issues

The Golden Retriever can have some serious health concerns, from hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, to cataracts. There are some minor concerns too, such as entropion, distchiasis, trichiasis. Be sure to check out the Health Issues page for more breed information.