Note the very curly coat.
In Hungary, they come in an ivory cream color that I supposed someone might mistake for a golden retriever.
In fact, it was one time assumed the golden retrievers were related to the livestock guardian breeds. They were thought to have descended from something like the Caucasian Ovtcharka.
Of course, that’s all nonsense. Golden retrievers are derived from water dogs and are very closely related to flat-coats.
Now, the ancestral St. John’s water dog may have some livestock guardian in its ancestry. The Cao de Castro Laboreiro is a livestock guardian breed from Portugal that very closely resembles a Labrador retriever. Portuguese fishermen are believed to have brought that breed and the poodle-type water dog (the Obama dog) to Newfoundland, where they crossbred and also bred with other European dogs, including water spaniels, collies, and setters.
That’s the only link that golden retrievers have with livestock guardians. They are not kuvaszok or Ovtcharkas.
If you don’t believe me, try turning a golden into a livestock guardian dog, or try turning a livestock guardian into a working retriever. You’ll see what I mean.
