Jim Spencer's "Duffy" (Duncan Dell's MacDuff **CD, VC). Although not an All-American, Duffy's Versatility Certificate (VC) shows he was a three-sport letterman (field, obedience, and conformation). This picture was taken back when both Duffy and Jim were in their primes.

Fifth, he needs trainability, and here the golden surpasses every other sporting breed. In the very demanding blind retrieve training, the ideal golden is an absolute joy. His strong desire to please combined with his attentive mind and excellent memory give him an edge here that he lacks in marking. An old saying claims that goldens love to be trained, Chesapeakes resent it, and Labs don't care much one way or the other.

One training caveat: The golden has a strong desire to please and learns best from a trainer who freely expresses his pleasure while training (and hunting). Not being stubborn or hard-headed, the golden responds best to training that is mostly positive. He needs few corrections and will not work well for the heavy-handed trainer.

"The golden," Lorie Jolly said, "will take fair corrections but is more receptive to positive reinforcement."

The ideal golden is properly endowed with these five inherited traits. Thus, with proper training, he can become an outstanding hunting dog in both marshes and meadows. He can retrieve waterfowl in the foulest (pardon the pun) weather from bone-chilling water without apparently suffering any more discomfort than his bundled-up boss.

"I hunt mostly on the San Juan River," Chuck Wheeler said, "with slush ice floating downstream. My goldens don't seem to notice the cold. I guess they just want that bird desperately!"

"In jump-shooting" said very feminine Lorie Jolly, a self-described high-maintenance tomboy, "my golden creeps along very quietly beside me through 'whatever.'"

Dana Oaks and two of his goldens. Photo by Dana Oaks.

"Hereabouts we hunt waterfowl mostly from blinds," Dana Oaks said, "sometimes with multiple hunters and multiple dogs. My goldens are always perfect gentlemen in such situations."

The ideal golden can also quarter in the uplands to find, flush, and retrieve birds. Granted, the boss may have to stop from time to time to remove burrs from his dog's lovely coat, but that's a small chore for a golden person.

"When pheasant hunting," Lorie Jolly said, "my golden quarters within 30 yards, and when he gets birdy, I prepare for a flush."

"We hunt upland birds near railroad tracks and fence lines," Dana Oaks said, "where control is an absolute must. My goldens give it to me, very willingly."

"I sometimes use a setter," Chuck Wheeler said, "and keep my golden at heel for retrieving. No problem. He enjoys the camaraderie, and the show!"

So much for the ideal golden. Now let's look at the current realities that make finding one such a challenge.

Chuck Wheeler. Photo by Chuck Wheeler.

Today's Problems
Over-Popularity
Prior to October 3, 1974, the golden was a relatively rare breed. Before then, I was once asked if my old Duffy (Duncan Dell's MacDuff ** CD, VC) was an Irish setter! Then, on that fateful 1974 day, President Ford brought a golden, Liberty, into the White House, and America discovered the breed--big time.

TV ads with goldens followed ad nauseam, until owning a golden became a national "in thing," and the golden has been among the most popular breeds ever since. Frankly, as a dedicated goldenite, I've always wished that Nixon rather than Ford had brought Liberty into the White House.