Calling all Gundog owners!

[gracelund]

Golden Retriever

Although the Golden Retriever is one of the most recently developed retrievers it was not until 1960 that the true origin of the breed became known.
Prior to Mrs Elma Stonex's book. The Golden Retriever, published in 1952, the most commonly accepted origin of the breed was that it had been developed from a troupe of Russian circus dogs bought by Lord Tweedmouth during a visit to Brighton. The Russian circus dog story of origin became the accepted version of the beginnings of the breed and appeared in the Crufts catalogue until 1960. One of the greatest proponents of this theory was Colonel Le Poer Trench who had his St. Hubert's strain registered with the Kennel Club as retrievers (Russian Yellow).

Certainly Caucasian sheepdogs of the time did appear to bear a resemblance to the early goldens and Atwood Clark in his book Gundogs and their Training (193, reports seeing a Russian Retriever at one of the earliest dog shows which he attended. Many authoritative canine writers of the day also upheld this theory including Croxton Smith, Robert Leighton and Mrs Charlesworth. However the most romantically written version of this story must certainly be the account of Patrick Chalmers in his book Gundogs (1931).

Chalmers states that the golden owes to the collie or sheepdog his "lion sable and the comb and waving feather of his stern". He subscribes to the circus dog origin primarily because as he states "and the extra ordinary thing is that he just occurred like a mushroom, and no man knows, for certain, the how or the why of his coming." He then goes on to quote from Sir Hilary Saxmundham's Diary of a Sportsman in reporting that "my Lord Panmure owned a wavy coated straw coloured retrieving dog at his castle near Carnoustie in 1865". Writing in 1877 Sir Hilary apparently refers back to the dog Tarf and says how comparatively common the type is becoming. Chalmers completes his section on the golden by repeating a charming story on the genesis of the golden from Charles Gunter's book Gun-Room Brevities

However the true history of the breed was first published by Lord Ilchester in 1952 in an article in the Country Life entitled "The Origin of the Yellow Retriever". This was based on over ten years of research by Mrs Stonex and in 1959 she and Lord Ilchester put their findings to the Kennel Club.

In 1960 the Crufts catalogue carried the true origins of the breed as approved by the Kennel Club:

"Description of the Golden Retriever
'The origin of the Golden Retriever is less obscure than most of the Retriever varieties, as the breed was definitely started by the first Lord Tweedmouth last century, as shown in his carefully kept private stud book and notes, first brought to light by his great-nephew, the Earl of Ilchester, in 1952.

In 1868 Lord Tweedmouth mated a yellow Wavy-Coated retriever (Nous) he had bought from a cobbler in Brighton (bred by Lord Chichester) to a Tweed Water Spaniel (Belle) from Ladykirk on the Tweed. These Tweed Water-Spaniels, rare except in the Border Country, are described by authorities of the time as like a small Retriever, liver-coloured and curly-coated. Lord Tweedmouth methodically line-bred down from this mating between 1868 and 1890, using another Tweed Water-Spaniel, and outcrosses of two black Retrievers, an Irish Setter and a sandy coloured Bloodhound. (It is now known that one of the most influential Kennels in the first part of the century which lies behind all present day Golden Retrievers was founded on stock bred by Lord Tweedmouth.)"

From this description it can be seen that all Golden Retrievers go back to the yellow retriever Nous who himself was obviously the produce of Flat - coated Retrievers. Many canine authorities of the day including Rawdon Lee in his Modern Dogs (1893) referred to brown retrievers including pale chocolate coloured dogs being bred from black parents.

In the pedigree of Prim and Rose, the last two yellow retrievers recorded in Lord Tweedsmouth's records, one can see the influence of both the Flat-coated Retriever and the Tweed Water Spaniel in the development of the Golden Retriever.

The Tweed Water Spaniel is now extinct but writers of the time including Stonehenge in The Dog (1859), Vero Shaw The Book of the Dog (1890), give detailed descriptions of the Tweed Water Spaniel as a small type of retriever used by fishermen in the borders between Scotland and England. The type of flatcoats used in the breeding programme to produce Prim and Rose were very much of the old golden type in head and conformation rather than having the construction and head of the modern flatcoat.

Zelstone, Think and Tracer were all from the breeding of S.E. Shirley and photographs of Ch Moonstone (Brother to Tracer) published in Nancy Laughton's "A review of the Flat-coated Retriever" (196 and Thoughtful (sister of Tracer) published in Sir Henry Smith's, "Retrievers and how to break them" (189 show dogs very much of the early golden type.

One other throw back to the flat coat ancestry is the presence of a few black hairs on some of even the lightest goldens. More uniquely one of our more experienced breeders has told me that in one of her very early litters she had an almost totally black puppy. Unfortunately she put this puppy down at birth. The link between Prim and Rose to Culham Viscount Harcourt's Cluham Brass (the dog behind most of today's pedigrees) is via a bitch called Lady who was thought to be a daughter of Prim or Rose. Other Guisachan bred dogs that can be traced through early pedigrees are Conan and Rock.

To summarise the origins of the breed, I think it fitting to quote from Mrs Stonex's book:

"The influential recorded links of Guisachan bred Lady, Conon and Rock, prove the descent of today's Goldens from the first Lord Tweedmouth's thoughtfully planned matings on a foundation of a yellow retriever of unknown antecedents (Nous) and two Tweed water spaniels (Belle and Tweed). The roots of the breed lie in Scotland and the Border Country."

info taken from countrysport & countrylife


http://www.k9data.com/ Is a wonderful place to trace your goldens pedigree, you can add your own goldens pedigree to the already extensive database

[novavizz]

THE HUNGARIAN VIZSLA

The Hungarian Vizsla (pronounced V-ee-sh-la) is a multi-purpose gundog originating as the name implies from Hungary, although it is possible that the very first Vizsla types were from Turkey. First Vizslak (plural) were probably descended from the Turkish Yellow dog. There are Illuminated drawings dating from the 12th and 13th century that show records of the Vizsla and it is mentioned by name.

The first recorded registration of the Vizsla in the UK was in 1953, two dogs called Agnes and Ernest, brought back to the UK by a diplomat who had been posted in Budapest, so it is a relatively new breed here in comparison to many others, and although new, has gained in popularity as their prowess in the shooting field gained reputation. They are also gaining popularity in falconry. They are excellent water dogs and work quite happily on deer, and any type of birds. In their native Hungary they are also used to hunt wild boar.

Throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s the breed grew in popularity but until 1971 was still classified as a Rare breed and could only be shown in rare Breed or Any Variety classes, indeed, when I bought my first Vizslak in 1990 I found it very difficult to find breed classes at Open shows.

There were a few breeders that worked hard to develop the breed both in the show ring and most importantly, in the field. They were Kathleen Auchterlonie,(who bred my old, now deceased, dog, Rory), of the Saline affix, Barbara Douglas-Redding of the Wolfox affix, Sheila Grey(Abbeystag), Angela Boyes (Galfrid), who bred my Tally, Gay Gottlieb (Russetmantle) to name but a few. As time has passed the breed is now popular as a pet as well as a working dog, its nature is second to none. A sensitive breed, always willing to please, a family dog but also a good guard. They are, in my opinion, best kept indoors, they do not have the coat for out door living and they thrive by being around their families. In time they were recognized by the AKC and FCI as well as the KC here in this country.

The breed standard says that the height for a Vizsla should be for dogs 22 1/2” – 25” and bitches 21” – 23 1/2”. Recommended weight for this breed should be between 48 1/2lbs and 66lbs. They are a medium sized short coated breed, although there are also wirehaired and even long haired varieties. The long coated are sought after as working dogs and are registered with the KC as Hungarian Vizslas although the coat varies from the standard. The wire haired are becoming more and more popular as time passes. The coat colour varies in shade from very dark to a fairly light shade although they are all classed as Russetgold. This is, in my opinion, a beautiful description of the Vizsla colour. There is nothing more stunning than a Vizsla caught in the sunlight, and the shine of their coat is mind blowing. Their coat needs little in the way of special care, a good rub down with a rubber mitt and a bath if they start to smell is all that they require.

They are a reasonably long lived breed and you can expect them to go into their teens. Dogs of 13, 14 and 15 years of age are not unusual. I lost one at 15 and one at 14 years of age. They are a pretty hardy breed with not a great deal of problems however there has been a study into Epilepsy in the breed and it is recommended that when planning a litter the breeder should have scored the dams hips first and also checked the hip score of the sire. There is a code of ethics that both the HV Society and the HV Club expect their members to adhere to.

They are a sweet natured breed, always willing to please. They greet their owners with an enthusiasm that is not matched by any other breed. They meet you with any gift that they can find from a tiny scrap of paper to their most favourite toy. If they can't find you a 'present' they will mouth, very gently, your hands. A hard mouth is a fault with this breed. They are the only breed I know that can stand on their hind legs and wag their tail at the same time making the little ‘vizzie’ noises that we, as Vizsla owners, come to love so much.

They can work all day on a shoot then come home and just be the family pet, they like nothing better than to sit alongside their owner on the sofa and be cuddled. Not only are they an all-purpose gundog but an all-purpose companion.


Recommended reading:
The Hungarian Vizsla by Gay Gottlieb
The Complete HUngarian Vizsla by Gay Gottlieb
Your Vizsla by John X. Strauz and Joseph F. Cunningham