Saturday, March 26, 2011

Playing with the big dogs!

Last Sunday morning my family took me to meet up with some friends for a "dog walk" arranged by my Golden Retriever Club. Needless to say I had lots of fun running, jumping, swimming and getting pats. That is good pats from human hands, which are not to be confused with the cow pats and horse pats which some of the dogs found, sniffed, sampled and even rolled in during our walk!

Here are some of mum's photos - I'm on the left in the first photo...



Me waiting for my humans to catch up!

Now for a quick lesson as many of you have commented on my pale blond colour (or "color" if you are American), but here our breed standard is similar to the British breed Standard so us goldies are often lighter than our American friends.


The British Kennel Club breed standard is:
Colour
Any shade of gold or cream, neither red nor mahogany. A few white hairs on chest only, permissible.


Our NZ Kennel Club breed standard is:
Colour:
Any shade of gold or cream, but neither red nor mahogany. The presence of a few white hairs on chest permissible. White collar, feet, toes or blaze should be penalised. Nose should be black.

Americans tend to prefer their dogs darker so that is what they are more used to seeing. The American Kennel Club standard is:
Color
Rich, lustrous golden of various shades. Feathering may be lighter than rest of coat. With the exception of graying or whitening of face or body due to age, any white marking, other than a few white hairs on the chest, should be penalized according to its extent. Allowable light shadings are not to be confused with white markings. Predominant body color which is either extremely pale or extremely dark is undesirable. Some latitude should be given to the light puppy whose coloring shows promise of deepening with maturity. Any noticeable area of black or other off-color hair is a serious fault.

Here is a picture of me - I am the one on the left.


The darker and lighter dogs in the water with me both meet our standard for colour (both of these dogs have won prizes at breed shows) so while I am pale (especially if you are used to seeing American GR's), I'm not as pale as some of the dogs in New Zealand.



Here are some more photos of the chaos and fun...










Wishing you all a good weekend,
Woofs,
Riley

18 comments:

Anya said...

Oh..oh.. Riley
so much fun
to play with all doggies :-)
Its also at our country a golden retriever club day.
I know that because my brother has also one
her name is Sjuul :-)
and we love her very much !!!

I think you need after that doggie party a long nap hahahahaha.....

Love all your shots
great action :-)

Hugs and a cuddle
and happy week-end
Kareltje =^.^= ♥ Betsie >^.^<
Anya :)

Maxmom said...

Hey there big buddy!
Where's small buddy?
Did Enzo go on that walk with you? I suppose if you cant play with the big guys, you must stay on the porch! What a load of fun you guys had.
Maxmom says that she cannot get enough of Goldens and, to her, it does matter what colour a doggie is! Apparently though, here in SA, they also judge by the British way.
As for me? Well, I think catching rats for Maxmom is the most important priority, BOL!
Sending lotsalicks
TOBY IN SOUTH AFRICA

Maxmom said...

ps...

Heartiest, heartiest congratulations to your sterling cricket team! You guys must be so proud of them!
As for our Proteas - well, they whithered...true dried arrangements!
You guys are going to have to throw a HUGE party for them. I'm supporting New Zealand for the rest of the Cricket World Cup.
Lotsaluv,
A disillusioned Maxmom, in SA

Dexter said...

A whole herd of golden doggies! Amazing.

Slobbers,
mango

~Kim at Golden Pines~ said...

I love, love love the pictures of all of the Goldens having a swim!!! You know, to the untrained eye, everyone would look the same and no one would be able to tell you for another pup--Thankfully some of us can tell the difference...This was you that posted this, right Riley? ;-)

PS: I knew about the difference in breed standards--As you know, our crew cover the standards of both in color and what's acceptable and what isn't--But to me, they're perfect! :-)

Jacqueline said...

Great photos of your fun adventure!...We also loved the Wednesday photos of you handsome boys playing together=too adorable!!...Happy weekend, sweet friends=we love you...kisses...Calle, Halle, Sukki

Mrs. JP said...

Wow, that should have been called "Golden Mania!" Thanks for pointing Riley out, I don't know how you kept up w/ which one he is!

meowmeowmans said...

Oh that looks like SO much fun, Riley! What a grand adventure you all had! :)

Golden Woofs! SUGAR said...

Woof! Woof! WOWie ... Lots of Golden FUN FUN FUN. Lots of Golden Woofs, Sugar

Molly the Airedale said...

You look like you had a blast with all of your Golden buddies, Riley!

Love ya lots
Maggie and Mitch

Miss Bailey Herself said...

Oh, Riley, that looks so much fun. I always love meeting other GRs especially if we find out we're related! Tyler always feels outnumbered, lol.

Slurps, Bailey

sprinkles said...

Hello, Riley! I've missed you!!! Sorry I haven't been by in a long while, school is keeping me so busy.

Looks like you had a great time with all of your friends.

Nadia said...

My dogs would love doing that! I don't see very many pale golden retrievers, but I actually like them better then the darker ones!

NAK and The Residents of The Khottage Now With KhattleDog! said...

Or kholour in Khyraese!

All those fun furiends!

Hugz&Khysses,
Khyra

Milo and Jet said...

Riley looks like you a great time playing with all those golden fur friends. It look like a lovely place for a walk. From Angus & Milo

Anonymous said...

Wow look at all those Golden's!!! You must have had a blast :D

That looks like a great place to walking and the best place for 10+ Golden Retrievers to play and swim :)

Licks and lots of slobber,
Lexi and Jasper the Danes
www.doggyadventures.wordpress.com

Casper Bear said...

Riley that looks so much fun! Loved all the pics, it looks a lovely place for a walk.
Lotsa Licks
Casper Bear

Molly's Mum said...

What a great day out, such fun to see so many goldens all together playing in the water at the same time.