English Golden Retriever AKC Breed Standard
AKC or most popularly known as American Kennel Club is an official club which serves as a registry of pure dog breeds in the United States. It also conducts various events for purebred dogs, and regulates the activities of involvement of dogs on these staged events. The most famous event conducted by AKC is their annual event – National Dog show, where participants can enter their purebred dogs all around America to compete on various skills.
English golden retriever is classified in the terms of AKC as an English purebred dog. British purebred golden retrievers differ slightly from original Scottish bred retrievers.
Types of certification include CHIC certification, Hip certification, age, eye, and color coat certification which allows or disapproves the fact of a golden retriever being purebred or not along the lines of AKC standards.
Breed standards are classified on the basis of traits like general appearance – which classifies it into having an overall personality of being sporty, stud, indoor loving or outdoors loving. A standard size is defined for being eligible for a certain breed, apart from this – temperament, characteristics, eyes, neck; ears all have a certain threshold to which every purebred dog must fit into.
- General Appearance
– The English Golden Retriever has been classified into a sports category, so they are powerful, agile and energetic. They have a hearty kind of personality and are more emotionally attached with physical attributes like being burly, sturdy and athletic. They have a good speed and are considered to be a hunting dog. So, a general overview is seen to be a fit healthy dog running around and playing with other dogs or their owners. - Characteristics
– Golden retrievers are characterized to be a good family dog breed along with being smart, agile, kid friendly, easy to train and a decent watch dog breed. They have a fluffy and cute appearance and cover up most of the necessary qualities a good dog must possess. Along with this, they are quite well built, powerful and brawny. - Temperament
– Overall a good temperament, they are amiable, gregarious, dependable and reliable. They do not generally get nervous or weak when it comes to interacting with other dogs, they usually do not quarrel on companionship of fellow dogs, and are not usually dominated, similar they do not like to show their power and get into fights. - Head & Skull
– They have a wide skull, which is curved laterally and longitudinally in the absence of projection of frontal bones and occipital bones at the forehead. They have a deep snout which is nearly as long as their skull. Quite a big head when it comes to comparison with other breeds, and built to be strong and supporting the activities of mouth. - Eyes
– They have very expressive eyes, medium large and are slightly triangular in shape. They convey a friendly expression and show them to be quite intelligent. They have close fitting rims on the sides and both eyes are set well apart for a wide field of view. Generally, a dark gold color and in some cases medium gold for purebred dogs is acceptable. -
Ears
– Ears are quite short and are located just above the eye and falling down to the length of cheek. The front edge of both the ears is well attached behind two adjacent eyes, for a quick test, both ears and can be pulled forward and the forward tip should cover the eye – which is considered to be the ideal length.
- Mouth
– Having a sharp scissors teeth bite, teeth must be perfectly aligned with each other, misalignment is not approved and an incorrect level bite is penalized. The outer side of the incisors placed at the lower segment touches the upper segment of incisors at the inner portion of the teeth alignment. Under bite or overbite is not approved to be classified as purebred of English Golden Retriever. - Neck
– Having a muscular appearance, they have a medium length neck, and are merging into strong bulky shoulders – which are strong and stiff. - Forequarters
– They have a strong and well coordinated forequarters and ability of free movement based on support of the hindquarters respectively. Legs are strong, no weakness or elongated feet’s are approved, and must be in perfect alignment with each other. - Body
– Since they are agile and energetic, body is very well balanced and coordinated with legs, neck and the backbone. Chest is quite deep, and the brisket extends to the length of elbow. Ribs are long and well extended through the length of the respective hindquarters. Loins are short and muscular and quite deep with a small amount of tuck-up, too much tuck-up is eliminated. - Feet
– Feet are medium sized, and a good support of knuckles for agile movement is seen, possession of hair is not mandatory, and can be trimmed according to liking. Too thick feet, not complying with the standards are not approved, and the same goes with feet of leveret (or the appearance of a young rabbit’s feet) shape. - Tail
– English Golden Retrievers have a muscular tail that is thick in appearance which extends to the point of the hock. Tail follows the line of the back reaching to the rear part of the hindquarters. An agile action should be followed by the tail bones. - Gait / Movement
– In the impact of normal jog or step, movement is precise, smooth, flexible and well balanced. Having a good reach with long legs, the position of legs is well placed with each other and no interference or disturbance from front and rear is seen. Once a more rapid movement is seen feet converge towards the center for prior balance. - Coat
– A well built coat but at the same time resilient and smooth, the coat does not seem harsh or dirty but is silky, clean and fully fledged. The coat length must be precise, too long or short are not approved, and the natural color or appearance of coat should not be altered. - Color
– They have primarily a rich golden color which has a glowing and shiny appearance, and may contain a few shades. With the aspect of age, few white marking can be considered, but not many. Body should not be pale or dark, and manual shading is not approved. - Size
– The average size of males must be around 23-24 inches, while females must be in the threshold of 21 to 22 inches. Deviation up to less than one inch is approved, but more than one inch can be penalized. Weight for male dog is 65-75 pounds and 55-65 pounds for female dog.
Limited Registration
Limited registration restricts breeding. Essentially, the generations of litters have different rights. Our dogs have full breeding registration. Your puppy, will have limited registration. Unless you obtain breeding rights from us, and from the AKC, any puppies that your dog produces cannot be registered with the AKC.
Breeding Rights
Breeding rights are obtained by following multiple channels. First, you must purchase breeding rights from West Coast Cream Goldens. This allows you to use our dog’s lineage in a way that people will recognize as quality, healthy, and reputable. After obtaining breeding rights from West Coast Cream Goldens, you must register with the AKC (American Kennel Club) and fill out the certificate of full registration. Unfortunately, this is not something we can help you with. When you purchase breeding rights from West Coast Cream Goldens, we will provide you with all of the documentation you will need to prove that your puppy is a purebred English Golden Retriever with a reputable, honorable lineage.
Disclaimer: West Coast Cream Goldens does not recommend or condone breeding your puppy before the age of two years. This can lead to complications. If you do breed your puppy before the age of two years, not only does it void your warranty, but it also puts your puppy’s life in danger.