Do not adjust your screen and don’t be concerned that somehow you ended up on the "Goldens with bad heads site". Yes...Duncan is a yellow Flat Coat. As some of you may be aware, yellow is a recessive gene in Flat Coated Retrievers. If the sire & the dam happen to carry this recessive gene, there is the possibility that yellow puppies will be produced. The problem with yellow Flat Coats is that it is NOT an acceptable color for our breed.

For some reason, when our breeding forefathers were creating what would make "the perfect gundog" they decided only black & liver colored Flat Coats would be acceptable. My guess is that they felt the darker colored dogs would hide better under the type brush they had in England at that time (makes sense to me.) Rumor has it that the yellow dogs produced in the early breeding processes were pulled aside to be part of the foundation in establishing the Golden Retriever.

Regardless, once in a while yellow Flat Coats are born. While it is not something anyone should purposely produce or seek out, on rare occasions, even our very best breeders have ended up with a couple of yellow puppies in a litter. The possibility of producing yellow puppies can be avoided completely by DNA color testing through "VetGen." Many Flat Coats carry the yellow gene. The problem arises when both the sire AND dam carry the gene.

My first Flat Coat, "Nicholas", was a yellow dog. There is a page devoted to him on my website as well. He was sold to me to train for my son as a wheelchair service dog. After a short period of having a dog go everywhere with him, my son decided that while he loved Nicholas dearly, he wanted people to see that he could do things for himself. So, Nicholas retired at about 2 years old and became our house dog, puppy raiser and probably the dearest dog we’ll ever own. He died in May of 2003 from cancer.

Duncan was born a few months after we lost Nicholas. When I heard about him & saw his sweet puppy pictures I knew he was meant to be our new family member and his breeder was kind enough to agree.

It is not my ambition to change anyone’s mind about whether yellow should be an acceptable color or not. I strongly discourage anyone from purposely seeking out a yellow Flat Coat. Duncan & Nicholas are on my website because they are my dogs and I am proud of them. Just as proud as I am of my black & liver dogs. I can tell you, as can other owners of yellow dogs, that not everyone is kind and receptive to yellow dogs. You should never own a yellow Flat Coat if you are not thick skinned. While many people are supportive and kind, some would prefer to never have to see a yellow and have on occasion made their opinions clear to me.

My hopes are that people could become kind and understanding of each other. Consider the true purpose to owning dogs. We want companions. All dogs deserve love, time with their owners and respect for their accomplishments. It is not fair or kind to anyone or any dog to discriminate because of color. Those of us who have yellow dogs have no intentions of trying to enter the show ring with them or breeding for yellow dogs. We just want to be out there with the rest of you having fun with our dogs.

"One reason the dog has so many friends: he wags his tail instead of his tongue." - Anonymous

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