<P> The first three dogs ever to achieve the AKC Obedience Champion title were Golden Retrievers; the first of the three was a female named' Ch. Moreland's Golden Tonka' . </P> <P> Since Golden Retrievers are so trainable, they are used for many important jobs, such as guide dogs for blind people, drug or bomb sniffing at airports, or helping to rescuing people from earthquakes and other natural disasters . This breed is also used in water rescue / lifesaving, along with the Leonberger, Newfoundland and Labrador Retriever dogs . </P> <P> The Golden Retriever was originally bred in Scotland in the mid-19th century . At that time, wildfowl hunting was a popular sport for the wealthy Scottish elite, but the existing retriever breeds were inadequate for retrieving downed game from both water and land . Retrieving from both land and water was necessary because the hunting grounds of the time were pocketed with marshy ponds and rivers . Consequently, the best water spaniels were crossed with the existing retrievers, resulting in the establishment of the breed today known as the Golden Retriever . The Golden Retriever was first developed near Glen Affric in Scotland, at "Guisachan", the highland estate of Dudley Marjoribanks, 1st Baron Tweedmouth . For many years, what breeds were originally crossed was disputed, but in 1952, the publication of Marjoribanks' breeding records from 1835 to 1890 dispelled the myth concerning the purchase of a whole troupe of Russian tracker sheepdogs from a visiting circus; instead it details a careful line - breeding program . Commonly, the breed is said to have originated from the Russian tracker . </P> <P> Improvements in guns during the 1800s resulted in more fowl being downed during hunts at greater distances and over increasingly difficult terrain, leading to more birds being lost in the field . Because of this improvement in firearms, a need for a specialist retriever arose, as training setter and pointer breeds in retrievals was found to be ineffective . Thus, work began on the breeding of the dog to fill this much - needed role . </P>

Where does the golden retriever breed come from