Golden Quality

[RoughCollies]

Wow, ever since I started training, I have seen a great deal of goldens. They are everywhere. The happy go lucky personalities are great for training, making them ideal for most beginner dog people. Which means, as we dog intelligent people know, that breeding quality is going WAY down. It is rare to see a well bred golden now a days. Prodog's very own Sammy is one of those rare examples. In the picture, you can see that his head is not too narrow, not too broad. His feathering is not too heavy, not too light. He's a good looking golden. What I have been noticing, however, is a great deal of goldens with thick, long (collie and/or border collie type) coats, rather than well feathered golden like coats. The heads are narrow and short. The color is almost faded, rather than bright and shiny no matter what shade of gold. The ears are back like greyhounds rather than forward. They are almost always overweight. And don't get me started on health... horrible hips, even a few bad elbows!

It infuriates me when breed quality goes down so much!!!!!!! That's when you wish that a breed wasn't so popular.

At least we have a few "sammy quality" goldens still!

[Rusty-Buck]

Sammy IS a beautiful dog! That makes me sad. About the bad breeding, not Sammy lol

[whimzikal]

I'm glad you used Sammy as a good example!
I think of a golden and I imagine Sammy!
Goldens around here are mre like Sammy....but none as dreamy!

[RoughCollies]

Originally Posted by whimzikal

I'm glad you used Sammy as a good example!
I think of a golden and I imagine Sammy!
Goldens around here are mre like Sammy....but none as dreamy!

lol, no golden could ever be as dreamy as sammy!

I almost never see goldens that look good anymore. There is one I can think of and I have a freind who breeds them and hers look good. Other than that, not one.

[Ladida]

I know. I am taking care of a golden right now that sort of fits that description. She is very mellow, yet a little dumb and her back looks soo long with her back feet turning in like a ducks! She is a sweetie, (spoiled though) but does demonstrate the lack of quality. Sammy is VERY nice though.

[RoughCollies]

Originally Posted by Ladida

her back looks soo long with her back feet turning in like a ducks!

That is EXACTLY what I am talking about. I actually noticed that exact same thing on a few. It's puppy millers that are doing it!!! AARRGGHH.

[Ladida]

The people who bought her are very sweet and were looking for a nice dog because the first breed they tried (Corgi) snapped at the kids and so they went Golden...IMO they should have gotten an adult dog then, and not a puppy.

[CayceV]

I personally think the quality of a lot of breeds has gone down, which makes me sad.

I have a Golden and spent quite a long time searching for a suitable breeder before finally picking a dog. I'm quite happy with the pup I ended up with. She could use a bit more feathering, but she's still a pup so that may still come.

[.Little Texas.]

She's a beauty Cayce I've noticed this too, RC!! The golden we have in our neighborhood is so light! She doesn't exactly have the right shading, she's not fine and elegant. I was thinking of asking the owners if they are sure she is not a lab lol...She's not exactly graceful But then there is Bella. She is shaping out really good. Looks like Sammy except with a lighter shade of gold

[Blaze]

I've seen quite a few Goldens around here, none are as beautiful as Sammy!