Although it is a complex explanation, we will try to demonstrate "theoretically" the difference between pet standard and show standard in... "practice"!

With the exception of "amateur" breeders, all serious professionals try to improve the Golden Retriever breed standard. Each matching is thought through and studied to asure the ideal of the breed, by aesthetics and temperament

This, though it seems, is not as simple and in most cases gets very "expensive"! Sometimes dogs from Canada, USA and Europe are imported to new  blood lines. Or the semen of some excellent model is used. Dogs with championships, for example, have high cost of maintenance with the handlers, subscriptions and trips, though they bring more than the joy and the sure that they are competitive Goldens and of a high genetic standart, besides the natural maintenance (health care, nutrition, exercise, grooming, trimming, etc.) of the goods and serious breeders. When choosing a good source for a review, a good breeder takes all this in consideration!

Still, your bet is always in the eye of the breeder of the "best Golden of all times"! And for that ... anything goes, since they don’t lose the ethics and responsibility of what is being done, of course! Another basic issue is the dysplasia.

You need to know about their parents, one of the possibilities that your puppie won’t carry the disease, often genetic. Because the real breeder never mate a dog with dysplasia, otherwise, it will be castrated to stop this genetic disease. But there are "irresponsible dog’s traders" who do not act the same way ...

And to some buyers, who don’t know about these variations in the breed, the lack of knowledge made them victims of these people. It is worth to remember that the total guarantee of a dysplasia exemption can not be given only by finding the parents. Talking about genetics ... we would need the record of each ancestor... of each one of the crossed blood lines.

Therefore, the maternal and paternal files, although important, can not guarantee for the full 100% that your puppy is without dysplasia. But it can point out, thanks to its excellent gene, that the chance of being exempted from the inheritance of this evil. Another factor is the care in development from puppy to adulthood. Nutrition, inadequate floors among other factors, can make a dog acquire dysplasia, outside the allowed standards. A B dog can become a D dog during its development - gaining dysplasia, due to incorrect handling.

Talking about and obtaining information about the care with a puppy is very important! When a litter is born, even if all of them are children of the same parents and have the same genes (lineage), not all present the same physical characteristics or temperament. Not all daughters of the Bündchen couple became "Giseles", right?

The same thing happens in the animal world ... In a litter, puppies born with "less bone” and muscle mass and / or a positioning and levelling of the ears, an incorrect tail, rounder eyes, a “tight” head, a long snout and so on.

That doesn’t mean they don’t have the excellent genes we were talking about,  we just know they won’t be the perfect Goldens ...for the tracks! These are called "pets" and sold at a lower price by traders to less demanding buyers.

The “show dogs” are those with "a good head" (large, with short snout and good proportion), good angle of the feet, right movement, muscle mass and good bones, almond-shaped eyes, ears, proportionate and well positioned tails, and so on. Basically this is what differentiates the two classifications of puppiess and not just the lineage they carry. So, the question most breeders ask their buyers: "Is the dog just for company?"

Personally, I think the buyer has every right to make that choice, as an aware choice. Among the true breeders you will find similar prices charged. The price-quality rate of the puppy will be more or less similar. Much lower prices ... suspicious! There are many people that only "mate a male and a female" without the slightest concern and knowledge of genetics, among others. Unfortunately, these are the very thin Goldens we see around, with long snouts, a scarce pelage, and worst of all ... with behavior deviations.

The are dogs far beyond the true appearance of the real Goldens Retriever. When you buy a puppy you need to choose with all the care in the world. All puppies are beautiful, but they grow ... And saving some money, in the beginning, simply won’t be worth your frustration about 8 months later, when the dogs is all grown.

A dog will be with you for at least 12 to 15 years, and you will pay for it only once. It's a question of cost versus benefit. It is an initial investment which will guarantee you a sort of “guarantee” for years...

Cecilia Branco