International Golden Retriever Day
In celebration of International Golden Retriever Day, we're going to have some fun with 5 things you may not have known about Golden Retrievers. Our lovely model for this post is the beautiful CH Tangleloft The Bee’s Knees TKN DN, but those who know and love her know her as Dani.
Let's start by breaking down that alphabet soup:
- CH: denotes her AKC conformation championship
- TKN: denotes her Trick Dog Novice title
- DN: denotes her Dock Diving title
Dani was born in Sturbridge, Massachusetts on Dec.19, 2018, at the Tangleloft golden retriever kennel. She comes from a long line of AKC Champions through both her sire and dam.
Dani's person, Debbie, enjoys doing "all the things" with her dogs and next up for Dani is earning her agility title. Dani's favorite activity is playing ball and she loves squeaky toys. Of particular note is her ability to bark with a toy in her mouth as a greeting (now that's true talent right there!).
Not surprisingly because of her Dock Diving title, Dani also loves to swim and play chase with her four golden retriever housemates. After having met her for her pet portrait session at the Grapevine Botanical Gardens, I can attest that she is the sweetest girl and is loved by all that know her.
Because she's a showgirl, oops, I mean show dog (tee hee), Dani arrived at her photo shoot with her own entourage. Okay, one extra person who is her groomer and show handler; Dani looked perfect in every picture!
As we were in the middle of the session, Debbie let it slip that Dani might be "with puppies". Wait. What? PUPPIES? She had recently been bred to GCH Emery’s Star Baker, who was awarded a Judge’s Award of Merit in conformation at the 2022 GRCA National Specialty, and on the day of the session, she wasn't sure if the coupling had been successful.
It was confirmed by ultrasound a few days later. Yes! Puppies are on the way, expected later this month. Now on to the fun, let's test your dog breed knowledge of golden retrievers!
(click on any image to view full screen)
Fun Facts You May Not Know about Golden Retrievers
1) You may think they are an all-American dog as they are consistently in the top 5 of the American Kennel Club's (AKC) most popular dog breeds in the United States, but golden retrievers hail from Scotland. They were developed by Dudley Coutts Majorbanks, also known as Lord Tweedmouth, during the late 19th century.
2) Golden retrievers are considered to be the 4th smartest dog breed behind border collies, poodles and German Shepherd Dogs.
3) They have water-repellent double coats that shed seasonally (tip, brush your golden once a week to minimize the shedding - note I said "minimize" and not eliminate 🙂)
4) They have resided in the White House, presidents Ford, and Reagan both had golden retrievers as pets while in office. Ford's dog was named Liberty and Reagan's Victory.
5) They're almost 100 years old! Huh? The breed was officially recognized by the AKC in 1925, so that makes them 98 years old!
Bonus: Did you know that there are actually three types of golden retrievers? English, Canadian, and American. There are subtle differences between the three types, but they all fall under the same breed.
Canadian and American golden retrievers tend to have the same build; however, Canadians have a thinner coat than the American type. English golden retrievers have a stockier build than their North American counterparts and also tend to have a light golden to white color.
All Around the Pet Photography Blog Circle
One last bonus, bonus for you because it drove me nuts as I was writing this post. The term "golden retriever" is not typically capitalized, so I have not done so here. Capitalizations are appropriate when the breed name includes a proper noun for a place, region, or person such as Labrador retriever and Gordon setter.
I hope you enjoyed learning about these fun facts as much as I did research the information. It's all about golden retrievers this week in the pet photographer's blog circle, next up is Nicole of Pawtraits by Nicole, in Las Vegas, Nevada shares 5 ways to celebrate Golden Retriever Day and then continue clicking on the link at the bottom of each post until you land right back there, then you will have completed the circle.
Tracy Allard of Penny Whistle Photography is a Certified Professional Photographer with the organization Professional Photographers of America; a designation held by fewer than 2,000 photographers nationwide and a hallmark of consistency, technical skill, artistry, and professionalism. Tracy photographs all breeds of dogs, cats, and horses as well as families and high school seniors with all the aforementioned. She did photograph one corporate headshot of an attorney with her cat, it's the policy of the Texas Humane Legislation Network that staff headshots include their pets and she was only too happy to oblige.
Penny Whistle specializes in both on-location and studio photography providing pet, equine, family, couples & engagement, and high school senior portraits as well as corporate headshots and commercial photography services in her studio located in historic downtown Carrollton as well as on-location in Coppell, Grapevine, Southlake, Flower Mound and surrounding communities in Dallas – Fort Worth, Texas.