The History of the Golden Retriever Breed

The first steps towards the creation of the Golden Retriever were given in Scotland by Sir Dudley Marjoribanks, in the mid-nineteenth century, with his quest to find the perfect dog for hunting and search. He hoped to develop a hunting dog that would work independently, but obedient, water and heavy vegetation, and carefully retrieve small pieces of hunting.

To this end, Marjoribanks crossed initially a retriever yellow hair he had acquired in 1865, called Nous, with a Tweed Water Spaniel. The resulting offspring became the basis of the breeding program, which later changed by the introduction of Red Setters, Springer Spaniels and Bloodhounds. These crossovers eventually give rise to the Golden Retriever, with the attributes that we are familiar today.