Red Golden Retrievers, the deep end of the gold

Is a red Golden Retriever purebred?

Yes, a red coat is one of the Golden's own colors. The breed's colors run from pale gold to a deep reddish gold, and a true golden is a bright yellow or reddish yellow, never a dull tan or brown.

So red names a shade within the one breed. Our Golden Retriever colors guide covers the whole range, from cream to dark gold, and how a puppy's coat can change as it grows.

Does the breed standard allow a red Golden?

It allows it up to a point. In the United States a coat at either extreme, very pale or very dark, isn't wanted, and a dog whose coat is a dark setter red isn't counted as truly golden in the show ring. In the UK, red and mahogany are ruled out altogether.

Those rules are for judging at dog shows, where color is only one of many things a judge weighs, alongside the dog's build, movement, size, head and coat. A Golden's shade has no say over how it behaves, how well it works, how healthy it is or how long it lives.

What makes a Golden red?

A Golden's coat color comes from red and yellow pigment, and how much of it a dog makes sets its shade. Goldens show nearly the full range of that pigment, from the palest cream to deep red.

Several genes work together to set that amount, so the depth of red in a Golden is shaped by many genes at once rather than one.

Is a red Golden part Irish Setter?

Only in the sense that a setter sits far back in the breed's history. When the breed was being founded in Scotland in the 1800s, an Irish Setter was brought into the line, and a red setter owned by the founder's son may explain the deep red still seen in some Goldens.

A modern red puppy's papers answer the question for its own parents. A litter can be registered only when both parents are registered dogs of the same breed, so ask to see both parents' registrations for any Golden you're considering, red or otherwise.

Are red Goldens field Goldens?

A red coat doesn't tell you whether a Golden comes from field or show breeding, because the same color range applies to every Golden and color doesn't decide how well a dog works. If you want a hunting partner, ask what a puppy's parents do and how they were bred, and let the answer come from them instead of the coat.

Can you tell whether a puppy will be red?

A light-coated puppy with deeper color on its ears will usually grow into that shade, and you can see both parents for yourself on every Golden puppy's page on our site.

Shade still varies within a litter, so a puppy's exact color is something to watch rather than count on until you choose at 4 to 5 weeks.

Do we raise red Golden Retrievers?

Our Goldens run from cream to gold, and red isn't a shade we raise today. We are working toward health testing every one of our mamas and papas. As each parent's certificates come in, we post them on that parent's own page.

Every Golden we have now is on our Golden Retriever page, and the waiting list holds a place for the next litter. A $200 non-refundable deposit holds a place on the waiting list for a litter that has not been born yet. Puppies are reserved by gender and color once the litter is born, so tell us the shade you're hoping for when you apply, and our Golden Retriever price guide explains how reserving and paying work.