Asking this question may seem odd, especially when there is an important demand,
when serious breeders sell correctly their puppies and when ads for puppies of " golden retriever type ",
that is to say mongrels looking somewhat like Goldens - in general appearance or in temperament -
can be found very easily on the net !

It is still difficult to make people understand that buying a pup 3 or 400€ less is a poor saving
since it is often wasted on various expenses during the first year
and is also a detail compared to the amount spent during the whole life of a Golden Retriever.I

However it is also true that we can see more and more Golden Retrievers in shows that have major conformation faults, even among the most titled dogs.
The most common faults are : raw-boned dogs which aren't finished, front legs turning, not enough bone, hindquarters too much down, yellow eyes whose colouris often hidden thanks to atropine, etc ...

This will probably be the cause of numerous problems in the long run when the quality of breeding is to be incredased to erase these faults that have been fixed by the previous generations.

What is really worrying is this persistent rumor of turning the Golden Retriever into a simple variety ,
it wouldn't be a full breed any longer,
and all the matings with the other varieties of “Retrievers” would be possible !

 Therefore we asked ourselves the following question :

What if this rumor was backed up with something official and real ?

We set out on a mission and searched through an incredible number of websites so as to find a clue.

Great Britain :

The Kennel Club does not change a word from its hundred-year doctrine : the Golden Retriever is a full BREED

 Even at Crufts  when it comes to registrations . . .

 Or even results !

 We continued and read the website of the Golden Retriever Breed Council, still nothing !

 Not a trace of a variety of Retriever in the Golden Retriever Club website.

 The International Authorities : 

As we were empty-handed from our quest across the Channel, we decided to look for more information on varieties overseas , at the FCI, nothing again !

 Oh no, we found a mention on varieties, at last !!!

 Too bad, it was only for the Cockers Spaniels !

 What about France ?

 The RCF still speaks of six breeds (races) of Retrievers on its front page

 of a breed (race) in its presentation of the Golden Retriever

 or in its list of litters, where the six different breeds are mentioned.

 The SCC still refers to a breed on its identification sheet for the Golden Retriever

 As well as on its page announcing the litters

As well as in its yearly statistical chart on births ( see below )

 A priori, we can thus be reassured - Great britain, the FCI, RCF, SCC - all speak of a breed when it comes to Golden Retriever, variety does not exist. So there is no reason for this breed not to be treated as the 330 official breeds, in complete respect of the basic texts among which the Status and Interior Rules of the SCC.

Phew !

 But suddenly, we found that :

 It is an extract of page 4 of the ruling of the Court of Appeal of Paris, given 26 March 2008, in the trial AAGR vs SCC, which you can read in its totality (in French) if you click here.

So this rumor is backed up with something official and real!

In the first paragraph, 2 fundamental notions appear which are in total contradiction with the rules of the FCI :
First a country member asks its own national justice to lower a foreign breed in a status of variety and introduces the notion of a new breed of unknown origin : the “Retrievers”.

But the notion of retriever cannot replace the uniformity of a breed,
it is only about the similar roles or uses of dogs, such as pointing dogs or scenthounds !

What interest is there to try on the sly to judicially lower the Golden Retriever in a variety a century after its status
of full breed by the Kennel Club in 1911 ?

 However we've tried to see if it was possible to make a common standard for the largest breeds - in terms of births - the Golden Retriever and the Labrador Retriever.

To do so, it is useless to read the totality of the two standards, the essential points are enough :

As far as the rare breeds are concerned, it is even more obvious :
For instance the basic characteristic of the Curly - a curly hair, often black, without under coat - is a main fault for the Chesapeake which cannot be black nor curly, but which must have a wooly under coat !

 What we ignore is what will be the second breed of retriever to be lowered into a variety ?
In fact, if a variety is alone, it becomes de facto a full breed in itself ! So there must be at least a second or even a third or maybe more to be lowered.

Knowing that the matings among varieties are allowed, for what failure are we heading ?

This story of variety is something to follow closely ,
by all the owners, breeders and lovers of Retrievers.

If you wish to react to this manipulation, write us

You are already a lot to offer your help. If you have a book in your library, a magazine, dealing very clearly of the Retriever Breeds, or of the Golden Retriever breed, you can help us.

For a book, scan the page as well as possible, write the title, its author, the number of the page, and if possible the name of the publisher. Then send all the information by mail.

For a magazine, do likewise, scan the page, indicate the name of the magazine, number, date, number of the page and name of the writer. Ans mail it to us.

The e-mail address to use is : ret080326@yahoo.fr

The first documents are published, click here

If you want to help spread the information by using you address book, the link to give is ::
 http://www.goldenretriever-france.com/ag/2008/racvare.htm

Thanks a lot