The vast majority of Goldens these days are of a very light, almost white colour. This may be the fashion but I am looking for a very dark golden pup (dog), nearer the colour of a red setter. Any suggestions as to where I might start looking? Many thanks. 

Can't help you guest but I'm with you all the way, much prefer a golden to be golden.

If you are not bothered about showing your dog, you could look for a working bred one. Most of the working type ones tend to be darker and the 'polar bears' seem to be unpopular with those that work them.

If you contact one of the Golden Retriever breed clubs they may have a 'puppy list'.

Most of the working type goldens have a different 'look' to the show dogs. If any of the clubs are running a working test this summer, perhaps you could go and watch to see if they are the type of dog you would like. You may get to meet someone thinking of breeding or who knows of pups available.

I have seen a litter of seemingly well bred (& health checked) dark, working goldens on the web. The breeder is a field trialler. I have no vested interest in these pups and cannot vouch for them, but if you PM me (or post your email address) I would be happy to give you the website address. (not sure that I should post it publicy on here!)

If you would prefer a show type dog then I would sugest you get along to your nearest chamionship show. Although the pale ones are more common, I believe some people do show the darker ones. Once again, if you see a dog you like - get chatting!

Hope this helps.

<The vast majority of Goldens these days are of a very light, almost white colour.>

In fact the vast majority of Goldens these days are of mid gold to cream colouration. Both extreme ends of the spectrum are not popular with the majority of owners and the 'ideal' is a mid-gold colour.

The colour of the dog should be the last consideration, as a breeder we expect people to ask about the temperament, biddability, health clearances etc before colour is even mentioned. If this was one of the first questions asked by a prospective purchaser of our puppies, we would end the conversation as soon as possible because we would not consider a home where colour was one of the first priorities.

When we have mated our dark bitches with a dark dog, we have ended up with a mixture from pale, through mid-gold to dark gold. When we have bred our paler bitches, we have ended up with a similar colour range. Colour is only cosmetic, the most important consideration is soundness and temperament.

As a lister said on a previous message, if colour is your major concern, you could consider purchasing a dog from working bred lines. However, please be aware that unless you are willing to fulfill the puppy's natural intelligence in the working role for which it was developed, or obedience or agility, you will have a very frustrated dog which could result in destructive behaviour. Working bred dogs make ideal working dogs but are not so good as pets unless they are mentally stimulated.

If however, you wish to have a well balanced, temperamentally sound puppy, you will choose a puppy from parents with these same attributes and colour will be a minor concern.

The Golden Retriever standard states "any colour from cream to dark gold, but neither red nor mahogany".
If you are looking for the colour of an Irish Setter, you will probably be out of luck because this is an out-of-standard colour and is only popular in North American bred dogs, which are almost a different breed compared to European and Australasian examples.

Good luck!

snomaes

I find your comments re colour interesting, I wonder if others feels the same.  I must confess whenever I have bought a dog in the past I have always known exactly what colour I was looking for and have always regarded that as perfectly natural after all isn't the appearance of the dog what attracts us to a breed in the first place so its colour/markings is obviously going to be of interest to us.  Having decided on colour I will then go any distance to find a suitable dog of the type I want and of course health and temperament have to be right too but I would not have settled for a healthy, good temperament if it do not look how I wanted it.  I would also add that I never met with anything less than complete acceptance that it was a particular colour I was looking for from the breeders (although some may have tried to persuade me otherwise if that was not what they were selling :) )  Similarly, I think most of my puppy enquiries have hinged around what colours the puppies were likely to be but I never for a moment felt that had any bearing on whether they could offer a suitable home or not.

Think health is the most important consideration along with the reputation of the breeder. But you are going to live with the dog so, of course, the dog you get should be the dog you really want, if you like a particular colour within a breed and are prepared to wait until you can get a well bred one of that colour, then I see nothing wrong with that. You would not buy a carpet of a particular colour if it did not appeal.

Think the problem arises if the colour you want is not a standard colour, then you may find that some breeders are breeding for colour to the detriment of the health and or conformation of the dog.

One more thing even within the normal standard some colours become more popular than others, as with the Golden. When I first came into dogs Goldens were just that a golden colour, not as deep as red, but a good strong gold, now the majority are cream and a few are nearing off white.

Hi,

There are plenty of Goldens of all the acceptable colours in the showring up and down the country :-)
My Goldens are all mid gold with an older one dark gold.
Some may look white but are not when put next to a Samoyed you will find these Goldens are definately off white, cream in colour and not white as snow.

Looking at my dogs now I think I have 4 black sheep they have enjoyed good roll
in mud and water in the fields which seems to be their idea of heaven :-D

Briony:-)

I think it depends on the breed as well with the coulour, when we were looking for a sheltie we wanted a sable and white one but it did not mean we didnt want him to be from good lines with a good temprament etc but then most sheltis are advertised by their colour so you dont have to ask.

But even with other breeds, if i ever get a lab i would like a black one or if i had a yellow one i would like it to be quite light in colour.

Briony, if you were replying to me I did say off white, and up and down the country the Goldies have as a whole got lighter, there is the odd one that is still a golden colour but most are blond or lighter. Nothing wrong with that if that is what is wanted, and I guess it must be or it would not have happened, it is just that I liked them the way they were, but I don't own one now so I have no influence on the breeding of Goldies at all. For me it is just a mater of aesthetics, the pleasure of looking, and for me it is not just colour but size and conformation and it is not just your breed, guess that distance lends enchantment but I would love to see one like those I remember from my youth. This does not apply to all breeds some are much better than I remember them and some may well be an entirely different breed. 

But is it fair to cold shoulder someone who comes looking for a particular coloured puppy?

I'm willing to bet most puppy purchasers have a clear idea of what colour they would like their pup to be.  I wonder if Admin would run a poll on it :)

Not if that colour is within the breed standard, if it's not then it would not be fair to expect responsible people to breed a non-standard colour just to please someone else's whim. It would be unethical and unwise.

Hi,

Well, I show up and down the country there is a good balance of colour in my opinion.Although I have mid gold to dark, I also like the paler ones as well and no
doubt at some point will have paler dogs showing as well :-)

Obviously certain Judges *may* prefer a certain colour therefore at that particular show or shows you may see more paler type  and vice versa for those showing with  more colour.

I think it also depends on what the breeders have in their kennel at the time.

There are definately plenty of good quality well reared puppies of all the acceptable colours
from careful breeders you just need to do your homework and seek them out :-)

To me, personally colour makes little difference to me thats the icing on the cake I more concerned with temperament,construction and soundness .

However Jackie I'll agree the real dark gold is less evident ,however we do have a good mix of very pale and mid-gold :-)

Regards Briony:-)

Think that may be the answer, in days gone by the class ranged from mid-gold to deep gold and now they range from mid-gold to off white. Not saying that you do not get the odd dog of a deep colour but unfortunatly some of the deeper coloured dogs lack quality.