LOOK WHO's HERE

                 EXCITING ADDITIONS TO THE AMERICAN GENE POOL--PUPS FROM TOP-PRODUCING  STUD DOGS IN EUROPE ARE HERE IN THE USA AND CANADA--2013
     Have you fallen in love with some of the outstanding Golden Retrievers in Europe? Would you love to have a son? A daughter? You may not have to go to Europe to bring these dogs into your breeding program. Through direct purchase or by means of artificial insemination their progeny have crossed The Pond.
   Nearly two dozen recent arrivals are noteworthy. And there are some planned breedings as well.
   Perhaps you fancy the Ritzilyn line. There are pups by R Rick O' Shay, R Male Order, and soon R Manhattan. If Dewmist impresses you, there are offspring from D Servantes, D Silk Screen, D Silkventure, and D Sandoliano. From Erinderry there are representatives from E Diamond Edge of Glenavis and E Just The Ticket From Bluewaters. And don't forget the Shardanell brothers-- S Castaspell and S Talk O' The Town at Ipcress. Other arrivals are out of Ashbury Angel Heart, Majik Truth Or Dare and his dad Majik Finders Keepers, Inassicas Coriander, and Abinvale Traguardo. And also pups by Mad About You de Ria Vela, Camrose Time To Return, Xanthos Mondriaan (he's in America now), Ronjalee Ragamuffin at Motlaisa, and Baron of Stanroph du Domaine des Rives de l'Erdre. Finally,  a litter by From a Rose del Valle de Pielagos and a youngster who can claim Gold Digger du Bois de la Rayere as his dad.
   Together they represent nearly two dozen reasons for believing that the European Golden Retriever is alive and well in the States. And there may be many more that I am not aware of at this time. Let's hope that the breeders who own these fine specimens see fit to continue to build on the tradition of the ORIGINAL Golden Retriever-- the English or European type.

RETRIEVING--A LOST Art?

The Retriever Need Not Retrieve; A Lost Art?

   The Golden Retriever was developed primarily as a hunting dog. So says the GRCA/AKC Breed Standard. He should be shown "in hard working condition." But is it enough that he simply LOOK the part? No need to exhibit such ability for which he was created? 
  Next year we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Golden Retriever Club of America.
   Does the 2012 version of the breed look anything like your "father's Oldsmobile" (I mean his Golden Retriever)?
   Not a single Golden Retriever has won the National Field Champion title since the 1950's. Only one Golden has ever won the National Amateur Field Championship-- and that was back in 1985. Since the late 1960's, only two Goldens have earned the prestigious title of Dual Champion.
   In our determination to make the Golden Retriever a "jack of all trades," he no longer is master of the one for which he was developed.
   I'm just sayin'.
   

A Breed Standard OR A Show Standard?

                                       A BREED STANDARD FOR ALL GOLDENS?
   The Golden Retriever breed standard in the United Kingdom is written for and applies to ALL Golden Retrievers registered in that nation of origin.
   In contrast, the breed standard of the AKC/GRCA is written for Golden Retrievers who enter the conformation ring.
   TRUE or FALSE?
   Consider the fact that nowhere in the British document is there any reference whatever to exhibiting dogs or the conformation ring. Not a single word. It is a standard which is intended to apply to ALL Golden Retrievers, regardless of venue. Which is as it should be. One would think.
   Now consider the document issued by the GRCA with AKC approval. Under General Appearance
   in the FIRST paragraph of the written standard it says:
     ....Primarily a hunting dog, he should be SHOWN in hard working condition....
   Barely forty words into the standard, reference is made to the "show" Golden. Why? Was the standard written and meant to apply to a small fraction of the entire breed? Those deemed worthy (or maybe not so) to enter a ring to be judged.
   Are the other AKC-sanctioned standards-- for each and all breeds --likewise intended to refer to the "show" dog?
   I'm just askin'.

                      Thoughts on CCA and AKC National Owner-Handler Series
   Those of us who own and love "undesirable" Goldens which are cream in color have two opportunities for our dogs to strut their stuff in the show ring-- sort of.  If you participate in the Certificate of Conformation Assessment program and your dog is deemed to be of very good to excellent quality, the dog will earn a CCA certificate which gives you bragging rights. If your dog is in the conformation ring and is owned and handled by you (or a non-professional handler, apparently) then if you stick around in that same ring, he or she may be judged again. If, however, your Golden is selected as the best of the owner-handled entries in this second round of competition he or she receives NO award, NO certificate, NO points toward a championship.
   Both of these programs may have value, in that your Golden is considered to be an outstanding example of its breed, but I believe each of these programs provides a good deal of insight into how the dog show venue operates.
   On the GRCA website it points out that the CCA program "is an educational gateway for everyone to reflect on the written description of what is 'ideal' for this incredible breed, the essence of a Golden Retriever, that is timeless, without prejudice and not subject to changing fashion or popular style."  
   The original intent of the CCA program is to "...provide a NON-COMPETITIVE area of participation in conformation where dogs are assessed against the Breed Standard rather than merely against other dogs present..." And it also provides information about your dog which can not be gained in the conformation ring.   
   Merely? Really? The prevailing belief (or is it a myth?) is that every dog in a show ring is judged against the breed standard, NOT against the competition. This is said to be true in the Group as well as Best In Show judging. Have those show commentators on television been lying to us all these years? To their credit, they do add a disclaimer of sorts. The winning dog exhibits that "extra something" or shows that he "really wants it." Or whatever.
   Sounds like a CCA certificate is a better judge of quality than a CH in front of a dog's name. But does anyone really believe that? Do we line up to use a stud dog because he has a CCA designation after his name or a CH title in front of his name?
   Sadly, cream-coated Goldens who earn CCA certificates rarely if ever win points toward a championship when they enter the conformation ring. Does anyone see the disconnect here? The parallel universe as it were? Assessors found them to be "very good to excellent" representatives of our breed. Why is that not good enough to assure success in the conformation ring?
   The Owner-Handler Series presents a bit of a conundrum as well. First and most important, why is such a program necessary? If the judge is doing his/her job, that individual should be concentrating on the four-legged animal at one end of the leash, NOT on the two-legged animal holding the other end of the leash. Is this newly-instituted program a recognition of the fact that judges are often too impressed with the professional handler? How he does his job? Is competition between owner-handlers and professional handlers patently unfair?  Are judges unduly influenced? Nobody seems to want to go there; which begs the question.
   Is it fair to believe that judging in the show ring may well be rigged, third only to the performances offered in professional wrestling or the judgments made in figure skating? Some might add gymnastics to that list-- especially in international competition.
   The chance of a cream-coated Golden doing well in the Owner-Handler Series is slim to none. Wouldn't you agree?
  
  

You Did Not Build That

                               You Did Not Build That

   The Golden Retriever was NOT "invented" in America. It is NOT a creation of the United States. Rather, it was a glorious gift from the British Isles-- more specifically Scotland. The breed is ours to promote and protect. To love, admire, and enjoy. First and foremost he is a hunting dog, though multi-talented in many fields.
   The AKC has granted near-sole authority to the GRCA to protect our cherished breed; as such it has created a breed Standard which represents the ideal for the Golden Retriever. This document generally reflects that of the nation of origin; differences between the two and those used throughout the world are minor-- for the most part. But they do affect  the breed as it has developed over the years on either side of The Pond.
   True, there are differences in type-- often subtle though real --between the American-breds and those found overseas. Distinctions can be found regionally within a single nation. And we can not dismiss the growing divergence between the field Golden Retrievers and those bred for the conformation ring-- regardless of where they are being bred.
   But do our dogs live in a "restricted neighborhood?" Is the American breed Standard one which may declare an entire sub-set of Goldens "undesirable," based upon a Golden Retriever's birth color? This is the case at present. Individuals or GRCA committees of five or perhaps six members are deciding whether a born-Golden Retriever falls within the acceptable color spectrum-- a range that to them dismisses the born-cream dogs as something other than true or truly Golden Retrievers. And, they are doing so by ignoring the rules and By-laws of the GRCA itself. Personal tastes and opinions (NOT FACTS) are used to declare to all America what a Golden Retriever should look like. The Standard makes no mention of the color cream--whether good or bad; nor does it refer to red, yellow, yellow orange, pale gold, tan, off-white, reddish or coppery gold. These terms are provided for your edification by the miniscule percentage of the GRCA membership alluded to previously. You can find them in articles featured on the Club website. They appear in Committee documents intended to educate judges in the ring and the general public as a whole. But each is little more than opinion. True, the Standard says that Golden Retrievers who are born or mature to a color which is "extremely pale or extremely dark" require a penalty if they appear in the show ring. Such personal biases, however, are all extra-constitutional. Nowhere can they be found in the Golden Retriever Club of America Breed Standard. They are exercises in a Fill-In-The Blank game; they are entries upon an Etch-A-Sketch pad, subject to change at any time by a fraction of the Club membership. The whim of this tiny group of GRCA leaders.
   It has been said, as negative criticism, that the Supreme Court is what this highest court says it is. But, like it or not, our Constitution grants our courts the right to interpret our founding document. No such power has been given to the GRCA's committees or individuals to interpret the meaning of any clause in the GRCA/AKC Breed Standard of our beloved Goldens. If anyone wishes to change that Standard, proper procedures must be followed, without exception. Would anyone like to remind the GRCA Board of Directors of this FACT? So far, the silence has been deafening.