Getting your questions ready
Getting your questions ready
Beat the crowd
10 questions No timer
50 free Golden Retrievers trivia questions with answers — nature quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
The Golden Retriever was invented on purpose. In the 1860s a Scottish banker-politician, Dudley Marjoribanks, set out at his Highland estate to breed the perfect retriever, starting with a single yellow pup from an all-black litter. His stud book, kept from 1868 to 1890, disproved a century of tales about Russian circus dogs and survives in the Kennel Club library in London. These 50 questions follow the breed from Guisachan and the Tweed Water Spaniel to the Kennel Club's 1913 register, the 1936 cream-colour amendment and the American standard that still forbids cream. They cover the breed's temperament, coat and health, its work as a gundog and guide dog, and the famous goldens: President Ford's Liberty, Mayor Max of Idyllwild, Orca the PDSA Gold Medal assistance dog, Bretagne at Ground Zero, Buddy the basketball star of Air Bud, Dug from Up and Duke from the baked-bean ads. The expert tier asks about the Earl of Chichester, Winifred Charlesworth and a dog named Cowslip. Every answer is cited to a page we checked and comes with a short explanation, so you learn something even when you miss. Play solo or print it for a dog-lovers' night.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01In which country was the Golden Retriever developed?
Scotland
It was bred in the late nineteenth century at a Highland estate in Glen Affric, Inverness-shire.
Q 02Who bred the first Golden Retrievers?
Dudley Marjoribanks
He was a Liberal MP and brewery partner who was later made Baron Tweedmouth.
Q 03What was the name of the Scottish estate where the breed was created?
Guisachan
The laird also built an entire village, Tomich, on his Glen Affric lands.
Q 04Which breed was crossed with Tweed Water Spaniels in the foundation matings?
Flat-coated Retriever
A sandy Bloodhound, a Red Setter and two Labradors were added later in the programme.
Q 05What was the name of the dog, whelped in 1864, that started the breed?
Nous
He was the only yellow pup in an otherwise all-black litter whelped in June 1864.
Q 06Belle, the spaniel mated to Nous in 1868, produced a litter of how many pups?
Four
They were named Primrose, Ada, Cowslip and Crocus.
Q 07Which pup from the foundation litter was kept and bred on to build the line?
Cowslip
She was later mated to a dog called Tweed and a Red Setter called Sampson.
Q 08One romantic tale claimed the breed descended from dogs bought from what?
A Russian circus
The stud book showed Nous was actually bred by the Earl of Chichester at Stanmer Park near Brighton.
Q 09Who bred Nous, according to the stud book, on his Stanmer Park estate near Brighton?
The Earl of Chichester
Henry Pelham, 3rd Earl of Chichester, was the breeder; the stud book disproved the cobbler, gypsy and circus stories.
Q 10Which library holds the Marjoribanks stud book, covering 1868 to 1890?
The Kennel Club library
It was studied in the 1950s by the breeder's great-nephew and Elma Stonex, whose findings were published in 1960.
Q 11Under what name did the Kennel Club first register the breed in 1903?
Flat-coated Retriever, Golden
They were treated as a colour variety of the Flat-coat until a separate register opened in 1913.
Q 12In which year did the Kennel Club give Golden Retrievers their own breed register?
1913
The name 'Yellow or Golden Retriever' lost its 'Yellow or' in 1920.
Q 13Which enthusiast drew up the first breed standard and founded the breed club in 1911?
Winifred Charlesworth
She bred the first Show Champion and pushed to keep the breed's working instincts alive at field trials.
Q 21What do untrained Golden Retrievers commonly do that reveals their gundog heritage?
Bring owners toys or objects
The breed keeps an excellent sense of smell and a strong urge to retrieve.
Q 22Compared with other retrievers, the Golden Retriever is notably slow to do what?
Mature
A Labrador of the same age may have finished a hunting season while a Golden is still in basic training.
Q 23Why is the Golden Retriever not a strong swimmer compared with other retrievers?
Its long coat makes it sit low
The dense coat still suits cold, wet fieldwork, giving insulation and water resistance.
Q 14The American Kennel Club recognised the Golden Retriever in which year?
1932
Canada had recognised the breed five years earlier, in 1927.
Q 15Which coat colour did the Kennel Club add to its standard in 1936?
Cream
It is now the dominant show colour, though North American standards still do not permit it.
Q 16Which coat colours does the Kennel Club standard prohibit?
Red or mahogany
A few white hairs on the chest are allowed, and coats usually grow paler with age.
Q 17Which two countries' kennel clubs do not follow the British Golden Retriever standard?
Canada and the United States
North American standards call for a slightly taller dog.
Q 18Roughly how much does a healthy adult Golden Retriever weigh?
25–34 kg
Dogs stand 56 to 61 cm at the withers and bitches 51 to 56 cm under the Kennel Club standard.
Q 19What type of fur does the breed have?
A double coat
The outer coat is long, flat or wavy with feathering on the forelegs, giving weather resistance.
Q 20Which instinct is so weak in most Golden Retrievers that it is often absent entirely?
Guarding
Their affable nature makes them poor watchdogs but excellent family pets.
Q 24As a gundog, the Golden is used mainly to retrieve which kind of game?
Land-based gamebirds
Grouse and partridge rather than ducks; Labradors dominate waterfowl work.
Q 25A 2024 UK study found what median life expectancy for Golden Retrievers?
13.2 years
That beat the purebreed average of 12.7 and the crossbreed figure of 12.
Q 26A US study found which disease caused roughly half of all Golden Retriever deaths?
Cancer
European studies found a much lower rate, hinting at genetic divergence between the populations.
Q 27Which organisation runs the long-term Golden Retriever Lifetime Study?
Morris Animal Foundation
Goldens are especially prone to haemangiosarcoma, with an estimated lifetime risk of one in five.
Q 28A 'soft mouth' in a retriever means the dog will do what?
Carry game without biting into it
A 'hard mouth' is a serious fault that renders game unpresentable.
Q 29Which now-extinct breed from the Scottish Borders helped found the Golden Retriever?
Tweed Water Spaniel
The brown, athletic dogs were little known outside the Borders and died out in the 19th century.
Q 30Which US president kept a Golden Retriever named Liberty?
Gerald Ford
She was a gift from his daughter Susan and photographer David Hume Kennerly in 1974.