Mary Allen
#10 Tweedmouth, like most nobility of his day, bred all kinds of animals and tried to perfect different breeds.
Tweedmouth's breed registers from 1835 to 1890 show what his aim was with the Golden: A talented retriever - Tweedmouth was an avid waterfowl hunter - with an excellent nose, who acts more attentively to his human partner than the setters and spaniels currently available for breeding retrieval were used. Also, he wanted the dog to be loyal and balanced in the house.
#11 Tweedmouth brought Nous home to Scotland and bred him to Belle, a Tweed Water Spaniel, in 1868 and 1871.
Tweed Water Spaniels (now extinct) were known to be eager retrievers in the field and exceptionally calm and loyal in the home - traits found in today's Golden Retriever.
#12 Nous and Belle’s offspring were bred to have wavy and flat coated retrievers, another Tweed Water Spaniel and a Red Setter.
Tweedmouth mostly kept the yellow puppies to continue his breeding program and gave the others to friends and family.
Not surprisingly, Tweedmouth's breed was first recognized for its hunting skills. One of the best-known was Don von Gerwyn, the successor of a chocolate-coated Tweedmouth hound who won the International Hounds League in 1904.
The Kennel Club in England first officially recognized the Golden Retriever as a separate breed in 1911. At the time they were classified as "Retrievers - Yellow or Gold". In 1920, the breed's name was officially changed to the Golden Retriever.
The American Kennel Club recognized the breed in 1932. Today, the Golden Retriever is the second most popular breed in the United States.