Golden Retrievers E-Book

Elana Rose

• Herausgeber: Crowood
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015

Beschreibung

Books in the A Practical Guide for Owners and Breeders series explore in detail all aspects of owning and caring for individual breeds of dog. Written in an accessible style, this book focuses on providing practical information about caring for your Golden Retriever, and will be an essential resource for all dog owners and professionals. Topics covered include the Breed standard; choosing a puppy or rescue dog; care at every stage of life - puppy through to elderly dog; diet and training; healthcare and breed-specific health issues; breeding and whelping and showing. This practical guide to caring for your Golden Retriever is fully illustrated with 150 colour photographs.

Leseprobe

A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR OWNERS AND BREEDERS

GOLDEN RETRIEVERS

ELANA ROSE

THE CROWOOD PRESS

First published in 2015 by

The Crowood Press Ltd

Ramsbury, Marlborough

Wiltshire SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

This e-book first published in 2015

© Elana Rose 2015

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 1 78500 038 6

CONTENTS

1 What’s in a Name?

2 A Golden Retriever for You

3 Finding Your Golden Retriever

4 The New Addition

5 Puppy Love

6 Learning The Ropes

7 Training

8 Basic Commands

9 Caring For Your Dog

10 Healthier Dogs Are Happier

11 Signs of Illness

12 Hereditary Health

13 First Aid

14 Showing

15 Other Activities

16 Field Trials

17 Breeding

Conclusion

Acknowledgements

Index

CHAPTER 1

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

A HISTORY

The Golden Retriever was originally bred, as the name implies, to retrieve, working mainly as a hunting companion to collect the game (originally waterfowl) that had been shot for sport. Being hardy, biddable in nature and soft in the mouth made the Golden Retriever an excellent choice for someone wanting a dog who would respond to commands, have a love for water and be gentle enough not to damage the game when retrieving it. Although the primary function of the Golden Retriever was as a hunting dog, over time, and as the breed gained popularity, it became a family companion and show dog.

The development of the Golden Retriever is attributed to Lord Tweedmouth from 1864 onwards, although the very starting point of the breed lies with a yellow, wavy-coated retriever bred by Lord Chichester. How the dog came into Lord Tweedmouth’s hands is a matter for speculation. Perhaps he purchased him directly from Lord Chichester, but the more romantic version tells that he first came across the dog in Brighton, where he had been sold by Lord Chichester to a craftsman; Lord Tweedmouth, impressed with the dog, offered to buy him. However this yellow retriever came into Lord Tweedmouth’s life, one thing is for certain: both Lord Tweedmouth and the yellow retriever would set the foundations for the breed. The dog’s name was Nous.

Nous, the first Golden Retriever, photographed at Guisachan around 1870.

Nous was taken to Lord Tweedmouth’s estate in Guisachan in Scotland, where he was mated to a Tweed Water Spaniel bitch called Belle; this breed is now extinct. She produced four puppies, named Crocus, Cowslip, Primrose and Ada. The bitches of this litter were outcrossed to different breeds, including an Irish Setter, another Tweed Water Spaniel and a Flat Coat Retriever. The bloodline produced dogs that were excellent workers, very biddable and handsome. Puppies were given to close friends, family and most notably Lord Tweedmouth’s nephew, who would go on to breed Golden Retrievers himself. Nous’s successors were bred true to type and became the forerunners of the breed we know today.

The breed did not, however, catch the public eye until Lewis (‘Loulou’) Harcourt, who owned a number of Nous’s descendants, decided to enter them into a Kennel Club show in 1908 in the ‘Any Variety Retriever’ class, labelled as yellow Flat Coat Retrievers. They generated a great deal of interest, with many admirers wanting one of their own. Enthusiasts of the breed developed a breed club and breed standard, and campaigned to have the ‘Golden’ Retriever recognized as a different breed from the Flat Coat Retriever. Only in 1913 was the breed accepted by the Kennel Club. Glory for the Golden Retriever came in 1937 when Mr J. Eccles’s dog FTCH Haulstone Larry won the Retriever Championship. From that moment onwards Golden Retrievers became an established breed, winning the hearts of many with their temperament, trainability and good looks. As the Golden Retriever’s reputation spread, they became more appealing to people from all walks of life as a humble family pet, and thus they have become one of today’s most popular dog breeds.