Golden Retriever breeders and pet stores

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Written by Carol Matthews

Golden Retrievers originated in the British Isles. A Scottish lord, Baron Tweedmouth, was the first Golden Retriever breeder. The Baron desired to breed a yellow-coated water spaniel that had tracking and retrieving skills as well as the charm of a family pet. Using various dog breeds including the now-extinct Tweed Water Spaniel, the Newfoundland, the Irish Setter and the Bloodhound, Baron Tweedmouth bred an eventual litter of four Golden Retrievers. These four puppies were the ancestors of modern Golden Retrievers. Developed by a Scottish Lord in the 1800s, Golden Retrievers are the result of breeding various water spaniels, bloodhounds and the Irish Setter. The resulting breed has resulting characteristics of all. Any Golden Retriever breeder can tell you that Golden Retrievers love water, are skilled at hunting and tracking and make excellent companions.

he American Kennel Club registered the breed in 1925 and has set specific characteristics each Golden Retriever must meet to engage in AKC competition. Due to their many excellent traits, Golden Retrievers have been champions in competition many times over.

The fur is cream to dark gold. Rust or copper colored fur is prohibited. Ears are pendulous, eyes are medium to dark brown and expressive, the tail is feathered but does not curl, and there may be lighter colored feathering on the legs and chest. These are just a few of the American Kennel Club's stated breed characteristics. A knowledgeable Golden Retriever breeder may also look for dogs from champion bloodlines to mate with other purebred Golden Retrievers. This increases the desirability (and price) of resulting litters.

A Golden Retriever breeder will be able to educate potential buyers on the pros and cons of the breed to make sure buyers and Golden Retrievers match. They may also urge buyers to look into rescued Golden Retrievers. These are purebred Golden Retrievers that have been abandoned or neglected. They can be bought for a much lower price and often need loving homes even more than purebred puppies.

Unfortunately, the popularity of the Golden attracts unethical breeders who wish to make a profit with no regard for animal health and well-being. These backyard breeders sell unhealthy and uncertified Golden Retriever puppies to pet stores and/or unsuspecting buyers.

Besides staying away from pet stores, buyers should look for qualities in a good Golden Retriever breeder such as maintaining a clean kennel, treating all puppies and parents as members of their own family, screens potential parents for genetic defects, provides warranties and may accept no refund returns and can provide complete documentation of ancestry, pedigree and medical records.

A Golden Retriever breeder that asks no questions of buyers to determine whether buyers and puppies are a good match is a bad breeder. It is important that buyers do their research before purchase so that they do not feed the cycle of bad breeders making a profit and churning out more puppies in their puppy mills. Good breeders ask buyers many questions. The goal of the good Golden Retriever breeder is to find puppies a good home.

Carol Matthews
		About the author:
		Carol Matthews loves Golden Retrievers and has studies the Golden Retriever standard for a long time. There are several specifics for the American Kennel Club standard, as it pertains to the http://www.goldenretrievernews.com/Golden_Retriever.php Golden Retriever. They include things like how the tail should be held and whether or not the fur should be trimmed.

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