Golden retrievers, what wonderful dogs. Where did they come from?
They seem as American as apple pie. It does seem that the Golden Retriever is an American dog breed as there are more Golden Retrievers in the United States than any other country, but the truth is they were not developed in the U.S., we simply adopted them. The Golden Retriever was actually developed in Scotland. Ther person who is considered the father of the Golden Retriever breed was Lord Tweedmouth who was determined to create a dog that was loyal friend, kind, high spirited who loved water and to hunt and retrieve water fowl. All the breeds used to develop the Golden Retriever were hunting dogs which include the now extinct Tweed Water Spaniel, the Newfoundland, the Irish Setter, and a variety of other water spaniels. They were first called Flat Coated Retrievers under the variety golden and later the name was shortened to Golden Retrievers. They were first introduced to the U.S. around 1890. The breed name Golden Retriever pretty much describes their color as golden, but are the
