July 27, 2018

Last Friday, July 20, the Golden Retriever Club of Scotland hosted a cute and furry gathering to crown a short week celebrating the 150th anniversary of the creation of the golden retriever dog breed in 1868. Hundreds of dogs and their owners attended the “Guisachan Gathering,” named for the Highlands estate where the four-day anniversary event was held. It was at Guisachan that the first litter of golden retrievers was born from a cross of a tweed water spaniel and a yellow flat-coated retriever (also called a wavy-coated retriever).

The golden retriever dog breed was created in Scotland 150 years ago in 1868. Credit: © Micimakin/Shutterstock

Guisachan landowner Dudley Marjoribanks, later known as Lord Tweedmouth, crossed his water spaniel and flat-coated retriever in hopes of creating an ideal hunting companion. That first litter in 1868, kept within the Marjoribanks family, produced ideal companions for all endeavors, and subsequent litters found their way into other hands and, eventually, other lands. (Early golden retrievers were mated with dogs of their ancestors’ breeds as well as with the occasional Irish setter.) Detailed accounts have the first golden retrievers (then called yellow flat-coated retrievers) arriving in Texas in 1882, and in Canada in 1883. By 1925, registered “golden retrievers” were starring in Kennel Club dog shows and making friends and puppies as far away as India and New Zealand. Golden records have been lovingly kept by generations of dog owners, and numerous books detail the breed’s conquering of the pet world.

Events for the 2018 sesquicentennial began at Guisachan on July 16 with a special welcome to the golden retrievers and their fanciers who made the trek to the Scottish highlands. On July 17, a dog lecture and afternoon tea preceded a torchlight procession that ended with a heartfelt toast to Lord Tweedmouth. A seminar was followed by a gala dinner and dance on July 18, and outdoor games and food highlighted Guisachan events on July 19. On the last day of the gathering, photographers crowded the well-behaved field of 361 golden retrievers as they competed in the Breed Championship Show.

The golden retriever is a medium-sized dog. It has won recognition as an intelligent, hard-working hunting dog, as a therapy dog, and as a guide dog for the blind. The golden retriever stands 21 to 24 inches (55 to 61 centimeters) high at the shoulder and weighs from 55 to 75 pounds (25 to 34 kilograms). The dog has a thick, water-repellent double coat of flat, golden hair. It has a friendly, good-natured personality that makes it a popular pet.