Canis lupus hominis

Cute golden "teddy bears" mature into coarse adults that often have structural and temperamental problems (namely they are either slow learners or extremely lazy).

Choosing the cutest puppies to breed from is probably how we got such different forms of dog. It probably goes back to at least 10,000 years ago, when wolves and dogs developed very distinct morphologies. The shortened muzzle and floppy ears that were signs of the dog’s domestication. Now, cuteness gave certain dogs a leg up on the competition, allowing them access to better foods and more breeding opportunities. It is little wonder then that most of the early domestic dogs were small, and one variety of early dog found in the Gobi desert has a relatively short muzzle, even compared to other domestic dogs at the time. Cuteness or novelty were advantages for early dogs. Today, breeding for both is probably going to be the downfall of the species.

The golden retriever was first bred for novelty but was still functional. When the 1st Baron Tweedmouth picked out Nous, he was intrigued by his reddish gold color. He knew that most retrievers used in Britain of his day were black, and yellow dogs were culled from the breeding programs. It is likely that he spend a lot of time caring for Nous, developing and honing his abilities until he became the best dog at Guisachan. He got breeding opportunities, as did his offspring, because their coats were of a different color. We are such a visual species that color means that much to us. It our love for unusual looks that has causes so many problems in dogs.

In the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, wavy/flat-coat breeders selected away from dogs “with lumber,” breeding in lithe, athletic working retrievers that could do their work. Mrs. Charlesworth, Lord Harcourt, and the Earl of Shrewsbury did the same when selecting their early golden breeding stock, which they selected from the dispersed bloodlines of Guisachan. Their interest was in a working dog that was sometimes shown, not a show dog that occasionally did something like retrieving every once in a while.

Golden retriever puppies are extremely cute. This cuteness has led to a selection for blocky heads and heavy bone, because breeders and dog owners are selecting for puppies that look like little bears in the puppies. This reason is the only reason why the blocky-headed dogs have returned. A gracile golden puppy from field lines  is simply not going to have the features of their bear-like littermates.

I remember once working with a service dog organization. They were using golden puppies. They had six puppies. Five were from show lines and very teddy bearesque. One, the only bitch in the group, was dark red and from field lines. All of the people selecting the puppies at the time thought that she was ungainly and ugly compared to the rest.

When the puppies were seven months old, though, she was 48 pounds. The  others were pushing 55 to 60 pounds, and one dog was already at 70. She had retrieving instinct and had been selected for biddability above all other traits. She could do all the tasks required without much persuasion.  She also had good hips and joints. She moved fluidly and could keep up with wheelchair. ( Of course, part of her success was that she was a bitch, and bitches mature earlier than dogs.)

She may not have been the cutest dog as a puppy, but lots of people thought she was “pretty” at seven months. Field-type dogs, especially bitches, are often quite elegant in appearance because they lack that coarseness that begins to appear in show types as they mature. She may not have been cute, but she did not mature in a coarse dog.

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Another reason why coarseness has been selected into goldens, even though all the early retriever people warned against this, is because of the show ring. A golden takes about 2.5 to 3 years to mature. Dogs can be shown at 6 months.

The breed standard for goldens in the US calls for “good bone.”

A six month old puppy with “good bone” has a lot more filling out to do, but in order for him to compete, he must have good bone at that early age. If he is a full champion by age 2, he will continue to gain bone until he’s nearly three. By that time, he will be so heavily boned it will approach coarseness,

And do not tell me that all judges make allowances for young dogs in the ring. The truth is they want that bone, too. Because a coarse golden can throw litters of  puppies with “good bone,” and these puppies will become breed champions early. The cycle then continues until you’ve essentially bred too much bone on too little leg and then added too much coat and too little retrieving instinct (because you didn’t care about that in the first place). 

Then you start breeding them to be very pale in color, even when the vast majority of the dogs that are still used for their original purpose are not. Then you make a rule that the dark colored and reddish individuals are faulty, so you can really diss the dogs that still do their original purpose.

By the time you reach that point, hip displasia takes over, as does hypothyroidism (both of which are associated with too much bone). And you really have ruined the breed.

And these heavily boned dogs are throwbacks to dogs that were so widely cursed when these dogs were still bred to be functional animals first and show dogs only on occasion. You aren’t preserving the breed. You are preserving the faulted type.

And this is why dogs should be bred according to these principles: 1. Health. 2.  Temperament 3. Brains and Biddability 4. Working instinct and 5. Working conformation.  All but 3 are universal.  Number 3 is unique to herding dogs, protection dogs, and gun dogs, while in terriers, scent, and sighthounds, you want brains and courage combined with brains, instead of biddability. In a livestock guardian dog, you want no predatory instincts or motor patterns and increased tendencies to bond strongly with small groups of people or animals and to protect them with extreme aggression.