LMU GOLDENS - About Golden Retrievers

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The Golden Retriever: A Breed Close to My Heart

After reading through many different accounts of the Golden Retriever’s origins, I have found that the most reliable and detailed version is shared by the Golden Retriever Club of America. If you are curious and would like to explore more about the breed’s history, I encourage you to visit their official site. You can access the GRCA’s breed origin page directly here: ORIGINS.

When it comes to their personalities, I truly cannot say enough. Golden Retrievers are outstanding family dogs. They adore children, are naturally gentle, and are just as happy romping in the yard as they are curled up beside you for a quiet moment. They are incredibly trustworthy, loving, and eager to please, which makes them very easy to train. In their eyes, almost everyone they meet is a friend.

Golden Retrievers are deeply pack-oriented animals. They thrive on companionship and attention, and they do best in homes where they are not left alone for long periods of time. If you travel frequently or are rarely home, this may not be the right breed for your lifestyle.

These dogs do best when they are part of a close-knit family, whether that is a single person who can spend quality time with them throughout the day, a home with another canine companion, or a family with multiple people who are present and involved. Because they are so social, having a constant companion truly helps them flourish.

Puppies

Golden Retriever puppies are absolutely adorable, but they can also be a handful. While not every puppy is bouncing off the walls all day, most do go through a very active and curious phase somewhere between eight weeks and eight months of age.

Just like children, every puppy has their own personality. Some are naturally more laid-back with occasional bursts of energy, while others seem to be in constant motion with only short breaks of calm. Neither is better nor worse, just different, and both need patience, guidance, and consistency.

Golden puppies require training and plenty of exercise. If your schedule does not allow for several short, active play or run sessions throughout the day, a Golden puppy might not be the right fit unless you have help, such as a dog walker, sitter, or access to a safe daycare program.

There will be moments when your puppy feels like a little whirlwind, and yes, it can be exhausting. But this is all part of their learning and growing. With consistency, structure, and lots of love, these energetic little puppies blossom into truly amazing adult dogs.

20 Reasons I Believe Golden Retrievers Are Truly Wonderful Companions

They absolutely love being part of the family and thrive when included in daily life.
Their friendliness is unmatched, they are welcoming to almost everyone they meet.
They make excellent activity partners, whether for hikes, fetch, or just exploring the backyard.
Golden Retrievers have naturally “soft mouths” and rarely grab things roughly.
They are eager learners and respond beautifully to positive training.
For a large breed, they tend to have a relatively long and healthy lifespan.
They are incredibly sweet and affectionate by nature.
Their loyalty runs deep, they form strong bonds with their people.
They are attentive and in tune with their owner's emotions and energy.
With consistent guidance, they are naturally obedient and eager to please.
They are exceptionally patient and gentle with children.
Full of energy, yet more than happy to cuddle at the end of the day.
They love retrieving, whether it is a toy, ball, or bird, it is in their nature.
Many become successful scent dogs, therapy dogs, or service animals.
They usually get along well with other dogs and even other species.
They tend to have naturally good manners when properly raised.
They are highly adaptable to new environments and different lifestyles.
They genuinely want to make their people happy.
While they can alert you to something unusual, they are not prone to excessive barking.
They trust deeply and love their families with all their hearts.

Let’s Talk About Black “Golden” Retrievers

From time to time, I get asked about black Golden Retrievers. I want to take a moment to address this clearly; there is no such thing as a black Golden Retriever.

The official history of the breed, including the one shared by the Golden Retriever Club of America, supports this fact. While Golden Retrievers did originate in part from a black Flat-coated Retriever in the 1800s, that was only one of several breeds involved in creating what we now recognize as the Golden. Over generations, careful breeding resulted in the consistent golden coat we see today.

If a puppy with a black coat is born from two dogs labeled as Golden Retrievers, there is only one likely explanation: somewhere in the bloodline, a Flat-coated Retriever or possibly a black Labrador was introduced, intentionally or not. For this to show up today, that mixing would have likely occurred within the past few decades, not generations ago.

I do not share this to criticize others, but to help educate future puppy families who may encounter misleading advertisements or claims. Golden Retrievers come in a range of golden shades, but black is not one of them.

Is It a Flat-Coated Retriever or a Golden?

Flat-Coated Retrievers and Golden Retrievers do share some common ancestry, which is why they can appear similar, especially when coat color comes into play. This similarity is one of the main reasons some people mistakenly refer to Flat-Coated Retrievers as "black Goldens."

I want to mention this to help educate families who might be considering a puppy advertised as a “black Golden Retriever.” While it may be presented as a rare or recessive variation of the breed, there is no genetic basis for a black coat in purebred Golden Retrievers. This is supported by canine genetics research and by the Golden Retriever Guide, which outlines breed standards and lineage.

Some websites claim that black is a recessive trait from the early Golden lines, but current genetic science does not support that. As noted by resources like Dog Genetics, the Golden Retriever breed does not carry the genes required to produce black coats unless mixed with another breed, such as a Flat-Coated Retriever or Labrador.

If preserving pure Golden bloodlines is important to you, I strongly recommend researching the breeder's practices, verifying pedigrees, and ensuring transparency around both the parent dogs and the genetics behind your future puppy.

The “Short” of It

According to the American Kennel Club, there are only three officially recognized coat colors for Golden Retrievers: light golden, medium golden, and dark golden. Black is not a recognized or accepted color by the parent club or the AKC.

In short, Golden Retrievers are meant to be golden. That is what defines the breed, and that is the standard I follow.

Looking ahead, I plan to continue learning more about this topic. I hope to speak with a geneticist who has DNA-tested both Golden Retrievers and Flat-Coated Retrievers to better understand how closely the lines might overlap, and whether a mix could potentially test as all golden.

For now, my position remains simple and clear: Goldens are golden.

Black Markings on Golden Retrievers

Every so often, I get questions about Golden Retrievers that have small black markings or patches. While it is quite rare, this is a real and naturally occurring phenomenon. These markings are the result of something called a somatic mutation.

In simple terms, this means a pigment-related genetic change happens during the early development of the puppy while still in the womb. Specifically, the typical e/e genotype, which produces the red-to-yellow coat seen in Golden Retrievers and yellow Labradors, can randomly shift to an E/e genotype in a small patch of cells. That change allows black pigmentation to appear in just that area. This can happen in Golden Retrievers, yellow Labradors, and occasionally other breeds with the same genetic background.

This type of color mutation is not a birthmark and it is not inherited. It is a developmental quirk that results in what is called mosaicism, where one part of the body has a slightly different genetic code than the rest. Since this mutation happens in the somatic cells and not the reproductive cells, it cannot be passed on to future puppies. Breeding a dog with one of these markings will not result in spotted or multicolored litters.

If you would like to explore more about this topic, I recommend visiting doggenetics.co.uk, which explains it in even greater depth. It is a fascinating area of canine science that I continue to learn more about, myself.

White Markings on Golden Retrievers

White markings are much more common in Golden Retrievers than the black markings I mentioned earlier. Unlike black spots, white markings are inherited and come from the dog’s genetic background. Even if both parents show no visible white, they can still produce a puppy with white markings if they both carry the recessive gene responsible for it.

Sometimes, a white mark may appear when the puppy is very young, but it may fade or blend into the adult coat as they grow. However, this is not always the case. Many Golden Retrievers carry these markings into adulthood. Most often, the white appears on the feet or as a small patch on the chest, although I have seen Goldens with more noticeable white markings as well.

While white markings are not considered ideal in the show ring, they have no effect on the quality or purity of the dog. If you are not planning to show your Golden, these markings are simply a cosmetic detail and do not make your dog any less special. Golden Retrievers with white markings are still purebred and wonderful companions.

In fact, white markings are more commonly seen in field-line Golden Retrievers. These lines were bred primarily for working ability and temperament, so coat color was never a top priority in their selection.

At the end of the day, whether your Golden has white toes, a chest patch, or none at all, what matters most is the loving heart and loyal spirit they bring to your family.

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