Hearing the word “Golden Retriever,” most people pull a similar image to mind: a dog with a gorgeous, flowing golden coat, a smiling face, warm eyes, and a wagging tail. But what if that image remained the same except the dog had a beautiful white colored coat instead of a golden coat? That is the case with the White Golden Retriever. Also known as English Cream Golden Retrievers, White Golden Retrievers have a similar breed standard to the classic Golden, but come with a striking color difference.
All Golden Retrievers started from the same two dogs, a Yellow Retriever and a Tweed Water Spaniel, who were bred together to have four golden colored puppies. These golden puppies eventually formed the foundation of the Golden Retriever breed. By 1925, the Golden Retriever was recognized as a breed by the AKC, and in America everyone seemed satisfied by the golden color. In England, however, breeders began breeding the lightest of their dogs together, trying to develop a white coat color. After decades of this breeding they were successful in developing white golden retrievers, or “English Cream Goldens.”
Due to the selective breeding of European dogs to develop the White Golden, there are several differences found between standard Golden Retrievers and the English Cream Goldens other than the obvious color difference. One is that the English Cream Goldens tend to be healthier. They do not carry the gene for Lymphoma and their life span is up to two years longer. They are known for having very healthy coats and no genetic defects. Another difference is that the English Cream Golden was bred based on the English Kennel Club standards instead of the American Kennel Club standards, which means that they tend to be of blockier build than their American counterparts.
Other than this, White Golden Retrievers tend to have the same wonderful temperaments as Goldens, and make great family dogs. If you are looking for a dog with all the wonderful traits of a Golden but are drawn to a white coat and sturdy constitution, this could be the right dog for you.
I had no idea that Golden Retrievers were a mix between a Yellow Retriever and a Tweed Water Spaniel. I’m so glad that this was discovered though, because they are my absolute favorite dog! It is interesting how specialized the breeds have gotten now that we have subsets called English Cream Goldens, but I am not opposed to it! I’ll have to look into getting one of those next time.