What strikes me as interesting is that the breeders of the English-Type Golden Retriever here in America do NOT appear to have a "Go-To" Golden stud dog. This is not necessarily a bad thing, considering the great number of breeders in the States who have lined up to breed Goldens you could count on one hand. Elsewhere on this blog site I have pointed this out-- without naming names. Certainly this does nothing to expand the gene pool for our breed.
There are some possible reasons for this.
First, rarely indeed is the English- Type Golden awarded an AKC championship in America. Most imports possess a coat color which judges are encouraged and instructed to penalize under guidelines developed by the GRCA. And breeders love to use title holders in their programs. This is understandable in the general sense, since a titled dog has been deemed worthy of the breed by his evaluators in the conformation ring.
Second, there is a tendency on the part of many hobby breeders to purchase their own bitches and their own stud dogs. Most, if not all, pups are then sold with limited registrations; thus of course adding nothing to the gene pool overall. While a breeder may retain one or two with full registration for himself, other pups that might be of merit are denied the opportunity to influence the breed's development.
Many English Types never show up on the national scene. Most are NOT entered in AKC-sanctioned events at all. And the IABCA and United Kennel Club shows are largely local in nature, with limited entries.
For many American breeders of the English Type the answer lies north of the 49th parallel. That would be Canada, of course. A significant and growing number of American fanciers have traveled there and earned titles for their Golden Retrievers.
While the Canadian and American Breed Standards both speak of lustrous gold of varying shades, the Maple Leaf venues have no trouble providing equal treatment for the cream-coated Goldens. Hardly the case in America. It is NOT the standards which differ but rather the instructions-to-judges documents that are at odds.
It should be added that there is a long history of "go-to" Goldens north of the border. True, especially, of imports brought into Canada from Europe and Australia.
Perhaps most noteworthy was Dewmist Davenport from Sweden, sire of at least 109 litters in his lifetime. Another prolific producer was the Norwegian, Mjaerumhogda's Kyon Flying Surprise credited with no less than 57 litters. Giltedge Traveller (Australia) gave us thirty or so litters as did Cheek To Cheek Steve MacQueen (France). Twenty or more litters were the result of breeding to Majik Mr Darcy (Finland), Stanroph Secret Weapon (Great Britain), and Guldakra's Ivan Lendl (Sweden). Quite a considerable concentration of genes for a Golden community far less in number than that found in the United States. While color was usually a key element in their selection-- most were born-cream Golden Retrievers --not all were of this lighter hue. What they had in common was strong pedigrees replete with outstanding producers behind them.
If there is truly a Canadian- Type Golden Retriever , it is the result of blending many American-Type Goldens with this rather more limited number of overseas imports. But perhaps this is being a bit unfair to our northern neighbors. True, many American lines were used in Canada, but truth be told, the Golden Retriever arrived in that nation BEFORE the first Golden ever set foot on United State's soil.
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