Guisachan.
The birth place of the Golden Retriever.
(sadly now just a ruin)
It was once a magnificent house set in its own grounds just on the outskirts of the centre of the Village of Tomich which is about 12 miles north of Drumnadrochit, which is almost at the top end of Loch Ness in Scotland.
If you are a Golden enthusiast it would be worth a visit before the old house ends up as just a pile of rubble !
The origin’s of the Golden Retriever have been well documented and the breed was started by Lord Tweedmouth during the last century at Guisachan.
In 1868 Lord Tweedmouth mated a Yellow Wavy-Coated Retriever (Nous) to a Tweed Water-Spaniel (Belle). He continued to line-breed down from this mating between 1868 & 1890, using other Tweed Water-Spaniels, and outcrosses using 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.
Lord Tweedmouth was a keen shooting man and used these breeds to produce a keen working dog to retrieve the game shot or wounded. So all our beloved Goldens go back to these dogs, which is why both Rich and I believe in keeping this working instinct going in our show bred dogs.
Sadly the breed today has become ‘split’ into 2 distinct types.
There is the Show type and the Working type, but all go back to the same lines and all should sill possess that instinct to hunt and retrieve, but sadly some never get the chance to enjoy what they were bred to do. Having said that all Goldens have the instinct to also be the loving companion which fill many a household with love companionship and joy. They are a very adaptable breed with a biddable affectionate nature and are quite happy to be a couch potato as well as a Gun Dog, Show Dog, Guide Dog or Assistance Dog and many do Obedience, Working Trials, Fly Ball and Dancing to Music, among other things.
So thank you to Lord Tweedmouth for producing the foundations of our wonderful Golden Retriever Breed !