What is the difference between a golden retriever and a yellow lab?

Question

I have a yellow and I love him to death what is the difference though?

Answer 1

Official Standard

of the Golden Retriever

The Board of Directors of the American Kennel Club has approved the following revised Standard for Golden Retrievers submitted by the Golden Retriever Club of America, Inc., to be effective September 1990:

General Appearance -- a symmetrical, powerful, active dog, sound and well put together, not clumsy nor long in the leg, displaying a kindly expression and possessing a personality that is eager, alert and self-confident. Primarily a hunting dog, he should be shown in hard working condition. Over-all appearance, balance, gait and purpose to be given more emphasis than any of his component parts.

Faults: Any departure from the described ideal shall be considered faulty to the degree to which it interferes with the breed's purpose or is contrary to breed character.

Size, Proportion, Substance -- Males 23-24 inches in height at withers; females 21 1/2-22 1/2 inches. Dogs up to one inch above or below standard size should be proportionately penalized. Deviation in height of more than one inch from the standard shall disqualify.

Length from breastbone to point of buttocks slightly greater than height at withers in ratio of 12:11. Weight for dogs 65-75 pounds; b*****s 55-65 pounds.

Head -- broad in skull, slightly arched laterally and longitudinally without prominence of frontal bones (forehead) or occipital bones. Stop well defined but not abrupt. Foreface deep and wide, nearly as long as skull. Muzzle straight in profile, blending smoothly and strongly into skull; when viewed in profile or from above, slightly deeper and wider at stop than at tip. No heaviness in flews. Removal of whiskers is permitted but not preferred.

Eyes -- friendly and intelligent in expression, medium large with dark, close-fitting rims, set well apart and reasonably deep in sockets. Color preferably dark brown; medium brown acceptable. Slant eyes and narrow, triangular eyes detract from correct expression and are to be faulted. No white or haw visible when looking straight ahead. Dogs showing evidence of functional abnormality of eyelids or eyelashes (such as, but not limited to, trichiasis, entropion, ectropion, or distichiasis) are to be excused from the ring.

Ears -- rather short with front edge attached well behind and just above the eye and falling close to cheek. When pulled forward, tip of ear should just cover the eye. Low, hound-like ear set to be faulted.

Nose -- black or brownish black, though fading to a lighter shade in cold weather not serious. Pink nose or one seriously lacking in pigmentation to be faulted.

Teeth -- scissors bite, in which the outer side of the lower incisors touches the inner side of the upper incisors. Undershot or overshot bite is a disqualification. Misalignment of teeth (irregular placement of incisors) or a level bite (incisors, meet each other edge to edge) is undesirable, but not to be confused with undershot or overshot. Full dentition, obvious gaps are serious faults.

Neck, Topline, Body

Neck -- medium long, merging gradually into well laid back shoulders, giving sturdy, muscular appearance. Untrimmed natural ruff. No throatiness.

Back line -- strong and level from withers to slightly sloping croup, whether standing or moving. Sloping back line, roach or sway back, flat or steep croup to be faulted.

Body -- well-balanced, short coupled, deep through the chest.

Chest between forelegs at least as wide as a man's closed hand including thumb, with well developed forechest. Brisket extends to elbow. Ribs long and well sprung but not barrel shaped, extending well towards hindquarters. Loin short, muscular, wide and deep, with very little tuck-up. Slabsidedness, narrow chest, lack of depth in brisket, excessive tuck-up, flat or steep croup to be faulted.

Tail -- well set on, thick and muscular at the base, following the natural line of the croup. Tail bones extend to, but not below, the point of hock. Carried with merry action, level or with some moderate upward curve; never curled over back nor between legs.

Forequarters -- muscular, well co-ordinated with hindquarters and capable of free movement. Shoulder blades long and well laid back with upper tips fairly close together at withers. Upper arms appear about the same length as the blades, setting the elbows back beneath the upper tip of the blades, close to the ribs without looseness. Legs, viewed from the front, straight with good bone, but not to the point of coarseness. Pasterns short and strong, sloping slightly with no suggestion of weakness. Dewclaws on forelegs may be removed, but are normally left on.

Feet -- medium size, round, compact and well knuckled, with thick pads. Excess hair may be trimmed to show natural size and contour. Splayed or hare feet to be faulted.

Hindquarters -- Broad and strongly muscled. Profile of croup slopes slightly; the pelvic bone slopes at a slightly greater angle (approximately 30 degrees from horizontal). In a

Answer 2

pfft frankie my dear, just goes to show how much YOU know! goldens were SO not circus dogs, that is a myth. they were bred from two wavy coat retrievers and a yellow pup from them was purchased by loerd tweedmouth, and he then bred a tweed water spaniel to nous[the dog] and they had a litter of 4 pups and these dogs were mated to an irish setter, and a from then on kept mating dogs from those litters[inbreeding] until they produced the golden, and no they are not russian they are scottish.

Answer 3

Its a different breed. Think about this, you would not ask anyone about the difference between a German Shepherd and a Great Dane. There is the same difference between these breeds as there is between the breeds that you are asking about.

Answer 4

http://www.grca.org/StandProgs/standard....

http://www.thelabradorclub.com/subpages/...

Answer 5

Golden's are darker in coloring and have "wings" in their fur. Their hair is long and silky and they are similar to an Irish Setter.

A golden lab is lighter in coloring,some almost white. They are short-haired and also have a shorter snout than a Golden Retriever.

Answer 6

The Golden Retriever, with its intelligence and eager to please attitude, is one of the most popular breeds in the United States according to AKC® Registration Statistics. The working ability that has made the Golden Retriever such a useful hunting companion also makes him an ideal guide, assistance and search and rescue dog. The golden-colored coat is the hallmark of this versatile breed, and can range from light to dark gold.

A Look Back

The Golden Retriever originated in the Scottish Highlands in the late 1800s and was used predominantly for hunting. The breed was developed by Lord Tweedmouth, whose goal was to create a superb retriever suited to the Scottish climate, terrain and available game. He crossed his original "Yellow Retriever" with the Tweed Water Spaniel (now extinct) found on his estate. Later integrations of Irish Setter, Bloodhound, and more Tweed Water Spaniel produced the retriever we know today.

The gentle, intelligent and family-friendly Labrador Retriever from Canada continues to be the most popular breed in the United States, according to AKC® registration statistics. This versatile hunting breed comes in three colors - yellow, black and chocolate - and because of his aptitude to please his master they excel as guide dogs for the blind, as part of search-and-rescue teams or in narcotics detection with law enforcement.

A Look Back

Labrador Retrievers, originally from Newfoundland, were initially used in work alongside fisherman, helping to pull in nets and catch fish that escaped from fishing lines. After being crossed with Setters, Spaniels and other Retrievers, the Labrador Retriever honed its skills as a true retriever. From this point in the breed's history, "Labs," as they are affectionately called, were bred primarily to perform as an efficient retriever of game, with a stable temperament suitable for a variety of activities beyond hunting.

Answer 7

Uh theyre completly different breeds!

Labrador came from Canada (obviously) and were originally breed to dive into very cold waters to get nets or something so they have a higher % of body fat than most dogs which is why they tend to gain weight easily, they originally needed it.

They have short dense hair. They were originally predominantly black with fewer Golden Labradors being seen. Tend to be slightly more inclined to guard than A GR.

LR's come in Black, Yellow/Golden and Chocolate/Liver. Most recently in America, "Silvers" seem to have appeared but they are not recognised and probably have some Weimaraner in them somewhere. Gundogs are often crossed and its easy to sell them as purebreds.

The height standard for the breed is I think 22 to 25 inches or thereabouts.

Easy to train.

Golden Retrievers are British. Some guy saw lovely white dogs at a circus, bought them all and trained them as gundogs. They were so smart and versatile. He bred from them and they are the foundation of all todays Golden Retrievers.

GR's have lovely long/medium wavy hair.

GR's only come in Golden. Varying in lightness to creamy white to rox red.

The height standard is about 22 - 25 or 26 I think.

p**s easy to train.

I prefer Goldens.

Good luck!!

P.S. All you 'copy and pasters', pfft, shows how much you know! That was off the top of my head by the way!

Answer 8

We have one of each. I'm sure you know they look different so I won't go there. Our Lab is the hunter and retriever, she is always looking for something for you to throw for her. Our Golden on the other hand likes getting attention from people, sniffing around and in general just playing.  

Answer 9

I have discussed this with several guide dog trainers and the consensus was this:

Goldens are more sensitive and stubborn, more prone to sulk when corrected.  They take several days to bond to a new handler.

Labs (all colors) are better able to roll with the punches, tolerate having a foot or tail stepped on, and they take only a matter of hours to bond to a new handler.

Genetically both breeds are the same color - E  locus yellow

Answer 10

They're just an entirely different breed. Goldens hair is longer than labs. Both are great dogs, though!

Answer 11

Golden Retrievers have long hair, that is really the only difference!!!  

Answer 12

They are completely different breed but are both similar in appearance and temperament due to their similar use as gundog retrievers. Labs I believe originated in Newfoundland which is in Canada while golden retrievers originated from Scotland and England. Both have the same ancestors which was the ST. John's water dog which is now extinct. St. John's Water dog is also the ancestor of the newfoundland.

From my experience, labs tend to be less softer and sensitive and more active than goldens. Some golden retrievers are extremely soft and sensitvive and can sometimes "shut down" if you become too harsh when training. Both are exceptionally intelligent and easy to train.

Answer 13

While they are both retrievers, they are 2 entirely different breeds.

A lab can be black, chocolate, or yellow, are a very high energy, very intelligent dog. Tend to be a little more "up" than a golden is.  Typically short hair.

a golden is also a very intelligent dog, a little less hyper, longer coat, either a dark red/yellow/cinnamon color and up to a light yellow color.

both a great dogs, but they are different breeds.

Answer 14

The Labrador Retriever is taller and heavier than a Golden Retriever according to the AKC breed standard. Golden Retrievers come in various shades gold to red and have long hair, they were also developed in England. Labrador Retrievers were originally bred in Canada and come in three colors and have short hair. They are similar in temperment but Labradors tend to be a bit more energetic.

Answer 15

golden retrievers have longer hair and can grown slightly larger.

Lab's are fairly short hairs dog's and are easier to train :)