Legends persist that other breeds were involved, such as the Bloodhound and some type of Russian sheepdog purchased at a traveling circus. He bred for good working ability, but the primary criterion for future breeding stock out of each new litter was color. When outside blood was needed, he introduced another Tweed Water Spaniel, a few more black Wavy-Coated Retrievers, and an Irish Setter. Lord Tweedmouth evidently liked the results of this cross, as for several more generations, he linebred to both Nous and Belle. Their four puppies (Crocus, Cowslip, Primrose, and Ada) were all a perfect golden color. In 1868, he bred Nous to Belle, a representative of a curly-coated breed known as the Tweed Water Spaniel, which is now extinct. Besides his wavy, golden hair, he had the powerful physique that Lord Tweedmouth sought.
Today, Nous would be virtually indistinguishable from a registered Golden Retriever. Even though black was the most popular color in Lord Tweedmouth’s time, he loved dogs with shining golden coats.Īccordingly, Lord Tweedmouth bought a yellow Wavy-Coated Retriever named Nous in 1865 from a cobbler who had received the dog in payment of a debt. Lord Tweedmouth preferred a stronger, more robust dog than was the fad, and he also liked a biddable retriever that would focus on its master. As early as the mid-1800s, he was carefully breeding retrievers with excellent working ability, but he had different tastes than most in his day. One early breeder of gundogs was Sir Dudley Majoribanks, the first Baron of Tweedmouth, who lived just north of the Scottish border with Britain. The advent of reliable long-range guns had created a demand for a dog that could run long distances to pick up fallen birds, particularly where bodies of water were involved.
Retrievers under any name were valued by the British aristocracy of the early 1800s as indispensable hunting partners. This was called the Wavy-Coated Retriever, now known as the Flat-Coated Retriever. However, a furrier type was also known and imported. The shorthaired version of this cold-hardy, water-loving working breed evolved into the modern Labrador Retriever.
All British retrievers trace back to the same source-the Canadian water dogs imported in large numbers in the early 1800s, variously called Newfoundland or St.
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