Can a Golden Retriever Be Black?

There are a lot of benefits to owning a Golden Retriever. They are friendly and loyal and tend to get along with everyone. They have an easy temperament that makes them great with kids and families. And they have the energy to keep up with everyone. While you are taking a look at whether you bring this dog into your family, you may see that some breeders are offering black Golden Retrievers. 

Can a Golden Retriever Be Black?

A purebred Golden Retriever can’t be black. The genes that define their fur color are red and yellow, so if you breed purebred Golden Retrievers, you will never get a black dog. Unless another dog breed is in the mix (which takes away the purebred status), Golden Retrievers will always be a shade of gold.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the coloring options for the Golden Retriever and explore why a purebred Golden Retriever can never be black. 

There are different genes that are going to help determine what color a dog can be. 

Golden Retrievers are going to have two recessive genes that they will be able to showcase to the world, either yellow or red. 

Even if they have some black ancestry somewhere in the line, a purebred Golden Retriever is never going to be completely black at all. 

There needs to be another breed that is added into the mix, and that takes away the purebred status of this dog. 

There are some dogs that will look like a Golden Retriever but will have black fur. 

These can still be perfectly healthy dogs that will have a lot of fun around your home. 

But they are not purebreds. 

There will be some other mixture in there that gives the dog the black fur that you see.

Their fur may fade to white as they get older, but this is unrelated to their genes.

It is important to know who the other parent is in case you would like to breed or so you can watch out for some of the potential health issues that could show up. 

How Do I Find a Black Golden Retriever?

While you will not be able to get a Golden Retriever who is black, at least not a purebred one, you can crossbreed several types of dogs in order to get a dog who has a lot of the characteristics of the Golden Retriever while also having a dark black coat. 

This will be a mixed breed. 

If you are planning on showing the dog and doing AKC registration, you will not be able to mix the breeds and get a black coat. 

If you just want a fun companion to have in your home to get along with everyone and have the good characteristics of more than one breed, then you have a few options. 

The one parent will need to be the Golden Retriever. 

This can give you a loyal dog who will be with you until the end, one with lots of energy and a smart brain that is easy to train as well. 

This dog is only able to give you the golden coat, so the other parent will need to be a darker color if you want to get puppies who have black fur. 

One option that is popular is the flat-coated retriever. 

These dogs already have some of the similarities of lineage to the Golden Retriever, which can make them a lot of fun to keep around and can add a bit more energy and more to the mix.

Both of these dogs have great temperaments to keep around the family, so it can be a good decision if you want. 

If you do choose the flat-coated retriever as the other parent, make sure that you get one in a darker coat. 

It is not going to help you get a Golden Retriever with a black coat if you have the gold color from the Golden Retriever and a red or light cream color from the flat-coated retriever. 

You need to go with a flat-coated retriever who has dark hair to help you get a darker puppy in the mix. 

Another breed that you can consider crossing with the Golden Retriever to get them a darker color is the Labrador Retriever. 

These two dogs have a lot of similarities with one another, which can make them a good match to end up with a darker dog. 

This is another crossbreed so you will need to keep that in mind along the way, but this can result in a darker Golden Retriever who will provide you with a lot of love and affection through the years. 

Can the Golden Retriever Be Really Black?

It would take a lot of years of crossbreeding the Golden retriever out of the mix in order to get a dog that is truly black like you see with the flat-coated retriever or the lab. 

The bright gold coat likes to show up and is the only gene that the golden retriever is able to share with their offspring. 

As you start to mix some of the other breeds in, you will notice that some black will show up, but it is not going to be a pure black or even brown. 

They are more likely to start out with some small patches of black and sometimes it is as small as a dot, but can be bigger. 

Sometimes they will have a face that is half black or a black tail.

It is not uncommon for the coat color to be a little darker in this dog compared to the standard Golden, but the coat will still be gold. 

They could have a black snout, but the exact color of the dog will depend on the parents. 

They will still have the same brown eyes that the Golden Retriever has, rather than the black or blue that some people claim. 

What Shades Do Golden Retrievers Come In?

The next thing that we can look at is what shades the Golden Retriever breed is going to come in. 

Since we know that they are not going to be black unless they are a crossbreed of some kind, you may be curious as to what shades are considered normal in this kind of breed. 

The Golden Retriever is going to come in different shades of gold. 

This means that it is not uncommon to find them in cream, light gold, gold, dark gold, and even red in some situations. 

The color that you get in this breed is going to depend on the parents, though you can find the goldens in different shades, even in the same litter. 

There is a breed standard from the AKC for the color that the Golden Retriever will come in. 

When it comes to the color, the Golden Retriever will have a rich, lustrous golden of various shades. 

If there is some gold in the fur, there is a high chance that this is a purebred Golden Retriever for you to take home. 

But if the dog is black, then you do not have a purebred Golden Retriever. 

What If a Breeder is Offering Black Golden Retrievers?

It is possible that a breeder will try to sell a dog that they label as a black Golden Retriever. 

They may have a crossbreed of some kind and they want to get some hype going in order to sell the dog for more than it is worth. 

It is not uncommon for them to try to sell this dog as a rare Golden Retriever in the hopes of making the dog sound like a bigger deal than they are. 

This is a similar problem that can happen with the mini Golden Retrievers and the English Cream Golden Retrievers. 

The difference is that the English Cream Golden Retriever is still going to be one of the Golden Retriever breeds, they just have a lighter gold coloring and a fancier name than before. 

The problem is that the black Golden Retriever is just not something that exists. 

If someone is stating that they have one of these dogs, then they are just lying to make money and you need to be careful when trusting them. 

They may have a different breed that went with the Golden Retriever, but they do not have a purebred Golden Retriever if the dog has black fur. 

Choosing the Right Golden Retriever

There are many different types of dog breeds that you are able to work with. 

The Golden Retriever is an active dog that gets along with everyone and has a great level of energy and love to share. 

When you are looking to add a Golden Retriever to your home, make sure that you are choosing one from a reputable breeder and one that has the right appearance for this breed of dog.