There's another aspect to consider here, too. I don't know what it's like in Australia (or at home, for that matter in re: my cousin's dog) but I've heard multiple people remark on how how cancer-prone North American Golden retrievers have become. Both work and show lines, and apparently all manner of different cancers. :( Not surprising, I suppose, given how very popular the breed is, and how much BYB and close inbreeding has happened, but I've heard this independently from enough people (some into showing, some with pets, and some in the working gundog fancy) that I've added Goldens onto my "remember to caution people because they're a genetic minefield" list.
I *really* hope it's different both where you are, and in Europe. What a horrendous thing to have to live with, if one loves the breed. (Or rather, one doesn't have to live with it, but breeders are hardly going to practice the extreme caution and careful outcrossing required to rectify the situation, and even if some do fixing it would take multiple generations, and several decades.)
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Date: 2011-11-21 01:07 am (UTC)I *really* hope it's different both where you are, and in Europe. What a horrendous thing to have to live with, if one loves the breed. (Or rather, one doesn't have to live with it, but breeders are hardly going to practice the extreme caution and careful outcrossing required to rectify the situation, and even if some do fixing it would take multiple generations, and several decades.)