Golden retrievers to gather at the breed's ancestral Highland home

A mass gathering of golden retrievers and their owners is to be held at the ancestral home of the breed in July 2028.

The event will mark 160 years since the first golden retriever puppies were born at Guisachan House in Glen Affric, near Cannich, in the Highlands.

Meetings to celebrate the breed have been held in different formats by the Golden Retriever Club of Scotland since the late 1990s, with larger events taking place since 2006.

A gathering held at Guisachan in 2023 involved almost 500 dogs from 12 countries .

The Golden Retriever Club of Scotland said a date for the 2028 gathering would be announced later.

Golden retrievers were bred by aristocrat Sir Dudley Marjoribanks, who wanted a gun dog suited to Scottish Highland terrain.

The first litter was born in 1868 to a Tweed water spaniel, a breed now extinct, and yellow wavy-coated retriever.

The puppies were called Primrose, Cowslip and Crocus. Some histories of the breed report the litter having four pups.

More than 40 years later in 1913, the golden retriever was officially recognised as a breed by The Kennel Club, the UK's largest organisation concerned with dog health, welfare and training.

Guisachan House had fallen into ruin by the 1960s.

A dogs' tale: A brief history of Guisachan goldens