So Close To Reason, Common Sense and Sanity

   On August 30, 2012 I visited the official GRCA website. To my surprise and delight I discovered what appeared to be a sea change in attitude on the part of the Club leadership.
   A document formulated by the GRCA Judges' Education Committee and approved by the AKC for use included the following information.
     Coat and Color: Color is probably one of the most common variants seen in the breed. The standard specifies "lustrous golden of various shades" which allows a broad range of color, ranging from cream to a coppery gold, with allowable lighter feathering. This variation in color is one of the breed's attractions. Extremes of light and dark of the predominant body color are considered undesirable.
   With this new attitude, the born-cream Golden Retrievers would no longer be treated unfairly in the conformation ring. Long overdue, but most welcome none the less.
   This meant that the GRCA would now follow the practice employed by the GRCC to our north. While the Canadian Breed Standard speaks to the same "lustrous golden," it is clear that cream is permissible as a coat color. This is stated in the official Illustrated Breed Standard and instructions to judges.
   The GRCA Judges' Education Committee claimed the right to expand upon and clarify the meaning of the American Standard, and thus to determine the spectrum of permissible coat color that was in keeping with that sort of enhancement. (A letter I have since received from the GRCA Board reaffirmed that right.)
   But my excitement and appreciation of the work of Ainslie Mills and her committee was short-lived. By September 11, 2012, the word "cream" had disappeared from the document.
   The maintenance of the original wording of the document would have represented a watershed moment for our breed. If, that is, judges were instructed properly to follow it and then did as instructed. This would most certainly be greeted as good news by breed fanciers and GRCA members both north and south of the 49th parallel. And it would send an important signal to Golden Retriever fans throughout the world.
   The revised document may be found on the GRCA website under the heading, "Judging The Golden Retriever." And a 2010 document entitled simply "Color" includes the statement, "Dogs whose body color is predominantly cream or off-white, or dark setter-red, are not  truly 'golden' and should be judged accordingly." So the same GRCA which insists  that there is no such thing as a WHITE Golden apparently believes that there are OFF-WHITE Goldens. And, Goldens are improper if they are SETTER-RED but apparently they mean only mahogany RED and NOT chestnut RED-- which they have no problem with. Break out the Crayolas kids and we'll tell you how many are gold.