Giant Golden Retrievers General Chat

Yesterday whilst I was walking my dogs in the forest we met a couple with 2 Golden Retrievers (show type). Cooper went up to say hello and they dwarfed him.
I remarked to my mother how large they were and she agreed.

I've just looked on the Kennel club breed standard for Golden Retrievers and it says dogs should be 22-24 inches, and bitches 20-22.
Cooper is a Dalmatian and is 24 inches tall to the withers, the Goldies were at least 28inches if not bigger.

Is it common for show type Goldies to be so big?
We saw a man with 2 Newfies whilst out and about as well (one was a Landseer) and the Goldies weren't far from their height and width!

Sorry to ask but were they definitely Goldens? I only say this because one of my friends met a beautiful golden dog recently and he assumed it was a Golden as it looked just like one. But it turned out to be a Hovawart!

They looked more 'Golden Shaped' than Hovawart shaped. They looked very similar to a Golden I meet when walking at home, but were quite a bit taller (and the Golden I meet at home is taller than Cooper). I def know he's a Golden as I chat with his owner.

Hovawarts dogs: 63-70 cms, bitches: 58-65 cms. There are a couple that come to class but they aren't that big when stood next to them, I mistook them for GSD crosses - as my friends GSD cross could be mistaken for them.. not a common dog though..

Did it look like this:
http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=ho...0&tbnw=178&start=0&ndsp=17&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0

Goldens always have a broad face I find, especially the show type..

Thinking about it - a while back when I first started going to class there was a Golden in the next class and I'm sure he was bigger than usual Goldens.. I'm sure it was..

It was just a thought

It may be that there is one particular Golden breeder in the area who is producing big dogs?

Almost all the Goldens in my area look identical. They are all the exact same shade of white and have rather frizzy coats... Wouldn't be surpised if most of them come from the same breeder.

There are very large GR about, as well as those with no legs, and of course the variation in coat colour can range from almost white to fox red.

For some people bigger is better, although were they neutered before puberty?

This will delay the closing of the growth plates and thus encourage tallness.

It's quite a popular tourist spot we were at so no idea where abouts in the country they came from, I was surprised actually as they were a fairly dark Golden colour, most show type I see are white to very pale cream.

They had a broader face and a more domed head than the pic of the Hovawart SLB, I like Hovawarts and looked into the breed a lot before getting Cooper so I would have probably jumped on them if I thought they had been Hovawarts

I think golden retrievers are often leggier and bigger than labradors. I have a golden retriever bitch puppy. I have just measured her and she is 19.5" at the shoulder and she is 20 weeks old. She is also quite long bodied, so expect that she will finish bigger than the breed standard of 20-22". Some of the males can be very large but they should never be coarse looking but, like labs., many of them don't know when to stop eating, so can become overweight. I have never seen one as big and heavy as a Newfoundland though, but golden retrievers are classed as a large breed. When I watched the goldens at Crufts I thought they were smaller somehow compared to the ones I have seen and they seemed very sturdy but many appeared to have quite short legs and long bodies, which didn't seem to look right to me - but then what do I know about showing dogs - I just know what I like and I do like a good sized dog.

All my Golden Retrievers except my first one who was a rescue have been large .The one i have now is the largest of the lot he is a giant..And when he is placed next to other golden retrievers they look small.He has legs like a tree trunk and is very tall and stocky .he isnt overweight as he recently had a medical and the vet said he was 2 pounds over which is nothing when you think he is so big.He can eat like a horse as well he has hollow legs ..I saw a golden retriever over the field the other day and i was talking to the woman and i remarked how small it was compared to mine and she said its only 20 months old so its still growing..Well mine is only 21 months old and i hope mine has stopped growing or else we will need a bigger house..I dont think she liked me saying it was small even though i didnt mean anything nasty by it .My rescue who i once owned was small he just about reached the lower end of the breed scale and he wa small in structure also..They seem to come in all shapes and sizes..My second retriever was very long in body which made him look bigger than he was.The one i lost two years ago was probably just right for the top end of the breed standard and his body was in the required size also.But the one i have now was the smallest puppy i ever bought and grew into a giant..But we still love him no matter how big or small he is..

There were 2 lived near me and from a distance I always mistook them for Pyrs. They dwarfed Rupert who's around 24 inches at the shoulder, heavily built and were a very pale colour.

They're huge over here. I'm routinely hoisting 100 pound Goldens at work. Still lovely though. I have seen a few that could be mistaken for a pyr in terms of size. you know what they say, bigger is better in texas.

I will say though, working bred goldens are much smaller than those on the pet market. They tend to have a much different look all-together. I blame breed popularity for its ruin. par for the course I guess.

Mine is very pale as was my last one .The one i had with a long body was darker and he also had a oversized head on him..One thing about Golden retrievers they just do not all look the same .But they are still good pets to have as they are great family dogs.It doesnt bother me how large mine get as they are just pets but you cant help noticing when you see others out for a walk and they look small and slender in build..not sure some people like you saying though allthough i cant for the life of me think why when they are just pets and it doesnt really matter what they look like when they are loved so much.If anyone said anything about mine then i wouldnt care .My rescue who wasnt very big used to get sneered at by a woman who lived down the road from me as he didnt look great his ears were bashed as he was a prosecution case before i got him and he was only 20 pounds in weight when i got him so he looked a poor specimen and she used to walk past with her golden retriever and her friend criticising him saying he was a mixed breed when in fact he wasnt. ..But really it wasnt his fault..I guess they all come in different shapes just like us..I do prefer the paler ones though and as mine is now so large i do not really care his dad is a big dog also .so its in his genes..I never thought he would be so big though and even my husband thought we were going to get one on the. smaller size then he grew like a beanstalk..

I do wonder though what's the point in having a breed standard if dogs aren't being bred to it?

Why do Golden Retrievers need to be 30 inches tall? If you want a dog that big buy one that is meant to be that big,
What happens when someone buys a Golden Retriever pup thinking it's going to be 22 inches tall and it grows huge and they don't have the space for it?
I know accidents can happen and some dog will naturally grow over height, but there are so many big Goldens about now that it seems someone is breeding for height.

Well it wouldnt really matter to me if they were big or small as mine are just pets i dont show or breed .But i am very fond of the Golden Retriever Personalitys..Thats why i am on my 4th i stayed with the breed i loved.i guess it may only bother those who are showing if they go over the breed standard size..I just measured mine and he is 26 inches roughly as he ran off with the tape measure.. Mine is very strong he sometimes trys to push my arm down by placing his leg over and pressing down and i feel like my arm will snap.. But he is a gentle giant and isnt any trouble he walks well without pulling and he is quite good around the home ..Just dont get in a fight over his toys with him.. They do curl up fairly small at the moment i am on the sofa on one seat and he has curled up on another with his legs hanging over the arm..The breed standard is Height at withers: dogs; 56-61 cms (22-24ins) bitches: 51-56cms (20-22ins).

I'm sure your Golden would be just as lovely even at the correct height.

happens with one of my breeds too :-( gigantic sibes!!!

bigger is better to somepople! forgetting what a breeds function is and why there is a breed standard :-(

Well bred Goldens are not huge, however like any mass produced breed, breeders who are breeding for money take no notice of the respective breed standard.

It is quite usual for bigger dogs to produce bigger litters so it's an advantage for the puppy farmers, BYB & pet breeders to breed bigger versions of a breed.

There are lots of massive BC/WSDs around that could never work for a full day herding stock-they are seen quite often in the Obedience rings-just as very small BC/WSDs are also seen in Obedience & other"dog sports"

Years ago a very tall Golden attended our pet dog club, he had a dreadful temperament with people at times-yet his litter sister who also attended was tiny:-( from a breeder who was only interested in the money I must add

Do you not all think sometimes you dont have any guarantees how large they are going to be ? As my dogs dad and his mum are normal size okay his dad must be top of the standard as he is a big boy but he isnt oversized as he wins many shows also the mother was smaller than my last dogs mother so sometimes you cant say for sure. where as callum was the smallest of the three puppys i have bought and he just sprouted like a bean until he was about 5 months old we thought he would be on the small size then he grew legs "Hollow Ones " ..And he then bulked out large..Callum would be no good as a working dog he is to slow and big I met a proper working retriever last year a dark coloured one and yes it was small .the only people who would be really bothered is dog snobs and i am not keen on those sort of people as i see dogs as pets not trophys .The only thing i did was go out my way to find a pale one as i like those best.My dogs have all been spoiled pampered pets..I am sure they will have to look at the breed standard if they continue to evolve as large..

So you consider that show Goldens are being bred over the breed standard & therefore the breed standard is wrong-Sorry but the breed standard is the blue print for the breed & breeder should(if they really love the breed)be breeding towards the "perfect"dog & the breed standard.

Giant breeds & dogs bred to be bigger have a shorter livespan & to change Goldens into a giant breed would shortern their life expectancy-sometime that responsible breeders breed away from. Giant breeds are also more prone to cancer, skeletal disorders etc not something a good breeder would want to produce in their dogs

so to u the function of a working dogbreed and the reason they look the way they are meant to is rubbish...but because they win at shows it must be ok :?

surely u are missing the point of 'breeds' full stop