Much of the history of the golden retriever lies in Scotland, although there are claims that a similar dog was found in Russia more than a century ago.  It was Colonel; the Honourable W. Le Poer-Trench who championed this idea of a yellow Russian retriever and claimed it was the forerunner of the yellow dog he owned in 1883.  The colonel’s claims were unfounded, though, and his yellow dog was traced to a troupe of circus dogs from Russia.

In 1952, the Earl of Ilchester, a sporting historian, researched the origins of the golden retriever, later publishing an article in Country Life.   There he revealed that the 1^st Lord Tweedsmouth pioneered the breed with dogs known locally as the “Tweedsmouth water spaniel” being the first link in a breeding chain that included the Newfoundland, thus giving rise to a yellow or golden retriever that is the ancestor to today’s golden retrievers.    

Interestingly, the Newfoundland appears in many of the bloodlines of the various retriever breeds.  One can assume that the Newfoundland’s capability in water was a main factor in breeding North American dogs with European breeds.

Comfortable on land and water, the golden retriever has an excellent nose and is much favoured by female handlers.  Whilst described as ‘golden’ in colour, the colour variants can range from cream to red fox.