Key Takeaways
- What Are the Three Different Types of Golden Retrievers?
- American Golden Retriever
- Canadian Golden Retriever
- Living with Pets
- Pet Compatibility
Spoiler: They’re all very good
After loving 19 cats, 11 dogs, and a canary, Tracey married someone allergic to all those creatures. Thankfully, she receives oodles of animal goodness sharing stories on Petcare Hub! When not traveling, teaching yoga, or doing voiceover projects, she's an editorial strategist and developer for print, digital, and multimedia platforms.
Did you know there are three distinct types of golden retrievers? Not only do these breed variations hail from different countries but also have their own special physical characteristics to help tell them apart. Not that a golden would ever be in a police line-up. She's far too congenial and well-behaved to pull off a heist!
Here are the three types of golden retrievers and how to tell them apart.
What Are the Three Different Types of Golden Retrievers?
The three types of golden retrievers are American, English (or British, if you prefer) and Canadian.
"They're all still the same breed, but with different appearances, as enthusiasts in the United States, Great Britain, and Canada have preferences for certain physical attributes.
Vivve Tamm, the board chair for Golden Rescue Canada, provides a snippet of breed history. "The golden retriever was created in the mid-1800s by a Scot [Dudley Marjoribanks, the first Lord Tweedmouth], who was looking for an ideal gundog," she says. "He bred his yellow retriever with a breed that's now extinct—the Tweed water spaniel. Bloodhound and Irish setter were added to the mix." There's also a little flat- or wavy-coated retriever in the lineage.
This makes for a terrific blend of good dogs! Let's take a closer look.
American Golden Retriever
What we know is the American golden first bounded onto the scene in the mid-1970s when President Gerald Ford brought his dog, Liberty, to the White House. Today, they consistently rank in the top 10 of the American Kennel Club's most popular breeds, especially for families. Tamm says this variation is usually more lanky, less stocky, and has more 'feathery' fur.
Canadian Golden Retriever
The Golden Retriever Club of Canada notes that Archie Majoribanks, the son of the breed's founder, imported goldens as early as the 1880s, but the first registration of a Canadian golden happened in 1927. Tamm says you'll spot their difference because they're usually darker in color, taller, and leaner than American and English golden retrievers, with a thinner coat.
English (British) Golden Retriever
The heritage origin of the American and Canadian golden retrievers come from this one! Does that make him the OG golden? The United Kennel Club states that the British golden retriever "was bred by British aristocrats to be a dual-purpose dog, able to retrieve waterfowl and upland game birds and also to be a companion." Tamm notes this golden is heavier and stockier, with a full coat, wider, shorter muzzle, and a blockier forehead.
Different Colors of Golden Retrievers
Despite their name, golden retriever coats truly run a beautiful spectrum! With so many heritage breeds influencing their color hues (so if you see a red golden retriever, that's probably her Irish ancestor popping up!), you might think at first that it's challenging to tell them apart, but here are some helpful hints.
- American golden retrievers are generally more honey-colored, a little more true to what people often perceive as 'golden'.
- Canadian golden retrievers usually have the darkest color of the three variations, perhaps with a bit more red.
- English cream-colored golden retrievers are often regarded as the rarest type of golden retriever due to their light coats, with off-white colored locks.
"There are no two goldens the same—not in body shape nor coloring," Tamm says. "Just like humans, all vary in their intelligence, personality, and health."
