Windmill Farms Golden Retrievers

05/14/2026

I plan to keep one of these two males from the Ailsa x Mac litter.
https://k9-data.org/test-breeding/26554

This is our second time using Athollridge Gael lineage of Scotland with a US performance male.

The last time I used this line was on Oakley which produced our highest genetic diversity for an F1 cross yet.

Tests:
VGL
Embark

Rick will keep a male and work him into agility like his father. We have another person working agility in CA. Ailsa offers a very athletic body at ~ 50 #.

On the US side this ties back to Red River Ruckus. They idea here is to retain all the talent and split the US pedigree in half, lower COI, kinship and add UK haplotypes. This male could be used in the future with 3 of our popular sire-less girls. Providing a three way cross. The F4 cross would be back into a DDHF pedigree.

05/14/2026

Putting together a concentrated breed preservation strategy included collecting genetics from the breeds origin, Scotland. At first, it was more about nostalgia, but now, its genetic. With F1 puppies between US field breed goldens and UK working goldens the genetic haplotype results have been surprising. In an effort to understand the genetic data I'm getting from these crosses, I've been looking for supportive research regarding the genetic differences between UK & US goldens.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4654484/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23084740/

UC Davis published their haplotype research. Golden Retriever haplotypes specifically groups of genes inherited together are critical to health because they directly influence cancer susceptibility, immune system regulation, and overall lifespan. Specific haplotypes, particularly around the ERBB4 gene, are linked to significant differences in cancer risk and mortality in this high-risk breed. Building a better golden must encompass haplotype knowledge and structure.

The three main genetic issues of our breed are:
Cancer - 60% +
Recessive Deleterious Mutations
Dysplasia and Skin (atopic dermatitis/environmental allergies)

A prominent Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) published in PLOS ONE performed multidimensional scaling (MDS) plots on a cohort of golden retrievers.

The genetic data showed that American and European Golden Retrievers form two completely distinct clusters.

This data shows significant genetic differentiation between the continents. The study noted that a hereditary disease predisposition in one group could have completely different genetic causes in the other due to this split.

Genomic research reveals that the UK and US Golden Retriever populations form distinct genetic subpopulations with clear haplotype divergence. While both lines trace their ancestry back to the same foundation stock developed in Scotland during the late 19th century, geographic separation, strict kennel club barriers, independent breed standard modifications, and intense artificial selection have physically split their genetic architecture.

Data from the UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory (VGL) indicates that two DLA class I (1065, 1066) and two DLA class II (2046 and 2048) haplotypes make up 45-56% of the total haplotypes in the American Golden Retriever population. I have not found any haplotype research from the UK goldens.

Every US field golden I've purchased over the last 7 years and tested all have the same haplotypes and many are homozygous at one or both Class I & II. I have data on over 10 US goldens from the East -West. Many of the well known titled field competitors.

So, when I crossed UK goldens and tested them, I saw haplotypes that are not in the US goldens. Heterozygosity is natures antidote for health issues.

Cora tested DLA Class 1
1237 376 379 277 178 0.0004 (Extremely rare)

I was amazed at what the potential of these crosses offered for a genetic rescue. Sage and Pepper added two new haplotypes that Cora didn't. I'm discovering as I go that I can rebuild the haplotype structure of our goldens in multiple ways. This is why its so important that I have multiple genetic lines simultaneously. Right now I have 7 different lines. I've introduced 3 of the 5 UK lines.

Second thing I've discovered genetically is that the popular sire-less goldens I've collected from the SE & NW certainly help with the kinship (bottlenecks) but they are not unique in their haplotypes. Each genetic gain IE COI, Kinship and haplotypes will ultimately be joined into one golden. This golden will have DDHF, CH, QA2 and AFC in addition to the 3 main genetic forces. The AFC has multi generations of 16 year old goldens. I think he carries the longevity gene.

As my own genetic database grows, I'm getting a clearer picture of how to proceed with our pairings. I have UK semen that has not been used in the USA yet. I'm looking forward to those combinations that will add health and talent to the breed.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4654484/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23084740/

05/11/2026

Ailsa x Mac litter

UK/US

05/11/2026

One day he'll be "All Field"

05/09/2026

Ailsa Mac Litter

05/09/2026

Ailsa x Mac puppies

Our neighbor is a veterinarian so, she brought her family over and gave the puppies their six week health check.

Clean batch

Very convenient to be in our backyard rather than drag them to the clinic.

05/08/2026

WM Farms Golden Retrievers US x UK cross.

💛🐾 Frankie Friday 🐾💛

Yesterday, Frankie, Harley, and our amazing team member Sofia attended Law Day at the Coconino County Courthouse! ⚖️

The event welcomed students from Kindergarten through 12th grade for a day of learning, including a mock trial experience and community resource fair. Frankie loved meeting students and helping educate them about her important role as our Canine Advocate. 🐶✨

Thank you to everyone who stopped by our table to learn more about the support and comfort Frankie provides to survivors in our community. We’re so proud to have her representing Victim Witness Services of Northern Arizona! 💛

05/08/2026

COI, Kinship and Haplotypes?

Why I have a 3 tier approach.

Golden Retrievers are specifically recognized for complex genetic factors that affect their immune response.

Low IgA Levels: Goldens are among the top four for low levels of Immunoglobulin A (IgA), a protein that helps the immune system fight infections. This deficiency can predispose them to recurrent infections, allergies, and autoimmune disorders.

Genetic Susceptibility: Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) gene variants in goldens increase their baseline susceptibility to autoimmune reactions.

Haplotype heterozygosity particularly within the Dog Leukocyte Antigen (DLA) region is generally protective against autoimmune deficiencies in golden retrievers.

How Heterozygosity Helps Protect Goldens

Heterozygosity means an individual has inherited two different versions (haplotypes) of a gene complex from its parents, rather than two identical ones. This diversity offers several key advantages for the immune system:

Broader Recognition: A heterozygous DLA system can recognize a wider variety of "foreign" antigens, making the immune system more efficient and less likely to misidentify "self" as "non-self".

Reduced Disease Risk: Studies across various breeds, including Goldens, show that homozygous dogs—those with two identical haplotypes often face a significantly higher risk of autoimmune disorders.

In some cases, homozygosity can increase the risk of specific conditions by over four to eight times.

Survival Advantage: Higher genetic diversity in the MHC region is associated with a "survival advantage," helping dogs better clear infections and adapt to environmental stressors.

05/08/2026

Selective Breeding - What we know and don't know?

In 2014, Vox News published a popular article called, “Chickens have gotten ridiculously large since the 1950s,” accompanied by an image comparing a slim chicken from 1957 and one four times as heavy from 2005. This change has been accomplished not only by feeding the chickens more, but through selective breeding. One of the most sought-after traits by chicken breeders is their “breast conversion rate,” or the ratio of how much breast tissue the chicken can grow compared to how much he or she eats. Breeders also value how fast the chickens can put on weight, with slaughter dates decreasing from 112 days to 47 in the last century.

Different lines of chickens are bred depending on whether the animal’s meat or her eggs are being sold. Hens who are selectively bred to lay eggs almost always fail to meet industry standards for meat, due to the two types of chickens belonging to different lines. Therefore, when hens are no longer able to lay eggs, their bodies are sent to landfills or processed into other products. Similarly, when dairy cows can no longer produce industry-standard quantities of milk, their bodies can only be used for ground beef or other processed meat because of their inferior quality to consumers.

Due to an increase in demand for pork, selective breeding in China has led to a new line of pigs that can weigh over 1000 pounds or 454 kgs. In addition to growing large fast, female pigs are also bred to have as many offspring as possible. Since traits related to fertility are hard to pass down, scientists have used computer-based tools such as “best linear unbiased prediction” to increase litter sizes.

Achieving a "very specific phenotype" through selective breeding is a double-edged sword. While it allows for the stabilization of desired traits—such as high milk yield in dairy cows or specific coat color/patterns in dogs—it often triggers a cascade of biological, physical, and genetic trade-offs that can compromise the organism's health and long-term viability.

What We Know
We have a deep understanding of the mechanics and history of selective breeding, which has fundamentally altered our food and companions.

Core Mechanism: It relies on natural variation, inheritance, selection, and time. By repeatedly choosing the "best" individuals for breeding, humans can shift the genetic makeup of a population much faster than natural selection.

Historical Impact: Most of our modern food did not exist in its current form. For instance, corn was developed from a Mexican grass called teosinte, and common vegetables like broccoli and kale were all bred from wild cabbage.

Economic & Utility Gains: We know it can dramatically increase yields. Modern dairy cows produce four times more milk than they did a century ago, and broiler chickens are four times larger than they were 50 years ago.

Domestication vs. Breeding: While domestication is the initial taming of a species, selective breeding is the ongoing process that refines those animals into specific breeds, like the hundreds of distinct dog varieties.

Known Risks & Drawbacks: The precision of selective breeding is limited, often leading to unintended biological consequences.

Genetic Bottlenecks: Repeatedly breeding for specific traits shrinks the "gene pool". This makes entire populations like the common Cavendish banana highly vulnerable to a single disease that could wipe them all out.

Inbreeding Depression: Breeding closely related individuals increases the risk of recessive genetic disorders. Examples include hip dysplasia in German Shepherds and severe respiratory issues in Pugs due to their "cute" but dysfunctional facial structures.

Reduced Survival Fitness: Traits beneficial to humans (like massive muscle growth in Belgian Blue cattle) are often detrimental to the animal's survival in the wild.

What We Don't Know
Despite its ancient roots, there are still major gaps in our understanding and control of the process.

Complex Genetic Interactions: We don't always know which "hitchhiker" genes are being selected alongside a desired trait. For example, selecting for white coats in Dalmatians unintentionally led to a high rate of deafness.

Long-Term Evolutionary Outcomes: It is unclear how some selectively bred species will adapt to rapid environmental shifts like climate change, as their reduced genetic diversity limits their "evolutionary toolkit".

Limits of "Intelligence" Breeding: Ethical and scientific debates remain about the theoretical limits of breeding for cognitive traits. We don't know if "elevating" other species to human-like intelligence is possible or where the ethical line into eugenics would be crossed.

Imprecision vs. Gene Editing: While we know selective breeding is slower and less precise than modern tools like CRISPR, we don't fully know the long-term ecological balance of replacing traditional breeding entirely with lab-based genetic modification.

05/08/2026

Jeffrey Bragg is a key figure in the conservation of the Seppala Siberian Sleddog, a working breed descended from the dogs of legendary musher Leonhard Seppala. For over half a century, Bragg worked to preserve this lineage as a functional, healthy working dog distinct from the more common Siberian Husky show lines.

Summary of Sled Dog Work:
Bragg’s work focused on maintaining the traditional working qualities of the Seppala strain, moderate size, docility, and high endurance.

The Markovo Rescue (1970s):
In Ontario, Bragg founded Markovo Kennels to "sn**ch the strain from the jaws of oblivion" during a critical period when the lineage was near extinction. He meticulously bred and documented pedigrees to stabilize the bloodline.

The Seppala Siberian Sleddog Project (1993–Present):
Bragg and Isa Boucher established the fourth historic Seppala Kennels to continue breed development. This project aimed to integrate diverse foundation bloodlines while ensuring breeding only followed proven performance in work.

Advocacy and Education:
Bragg published extensive historical and technical articles, including The Seppala Siberian: A Breeder's Manual (1976), which became a foundational text for breed conservation.

How He Saved the Breed:
Bragg's most significant contribution was addressing the genetic bottleneck that threatened the breed's survival. He saved the breed through two primary strategies.

Formal Recognition as a Unique Breed:
To prevent the strain from being assimilated into the Siberian Husky show-dog gene pool, Bragg petitioned for separate recognition. In 1997, he successfully gained recognition for the Seppala Siberian Sleddog as a distinct "evolving breed" under Agriculture Canada charter.

Genetic Diversity and Outcrossing:
Recognizing that the breed suffered from extreme inbreeding, Bragg advocated for and implemented judicious outcrossing. Most notably, he introduced a yearling sled dog imported directly from Siberia into his lines in the 1990s to deepen the gene pool and reduce the coefficient of inbreeding.

The Windmill Farms Golden Retrievers breed preservation initiative is modeling its long-term strategy on the pioneering work of Jeffrey Bragg, who applied population genetics to save the Seppala Siberian Sleddog from extinction. Central to this approach is the shift from "exploitative" breeding which focuses on short-term traits like appearance or immediate performance to "developmental" breeding that prioritizes the health of the entire available gene pool. At present we have 6 genetically unique pools via live or frozen from 1975 to present. Windmill Farms aims to achieve a genetic coefficient of inbreeding (COI) of 10% or less by integrating diverse subpopulations, including the importation and use of Scottish bred working goldens. The breed's genesis. Along with UK working and "popular sire-less" lines, to effectively reverse the narrowing of the gene pool. By monitoring mean kinship, we can identify how closely an individual is related to the rest of the population, ensuring that every mating contributes to a more balanced and sustainable genetic foundation.

A critical technical component of this initiative that Bragg didn't have involves monitoring Dog Leukocyte Antigen (DLA) haplotypes, which are the primary genetic regulators of a dog's immune system. Extensive research has shown that a loss of diversity in these MHC (Major Histocompatibility Complex) haplotypes often caused by inbreeding and the "popular sire" effect directly correlates with increased susceptibility to autoimmune disorders. I've taught 2 webinars on the subject to date.

While the general consensus from researchers agree that the golden retriever breed is not "compromised" by default, they do have a high genetic predisposition to several immune-related issues. Goldens are particularly known for lower-than-average levels of Immunoglobulin A (IgA), an antibody that protects mucosal surfaces like the respiratory and digestive tracts. This deficiency can leave them more vulnerable to recurring infections, allergies, and certain autoimmune conditions. Follow an FB forum and note how many people are posting pictures and asking questions to unknown FB PhDs.

Consider this
Major Research Investments
Morris Animal Foundation (MAF):
The cornerstone of this effort is the $32 million golden retriever Lifetime Study, which has tracked over 3,000 dogs since 2012 to identify risk factors for cancer and other major diseases.

Golden Retriever Foundation (GRF):
This organization has awarded more than $3.5 million in health-related research grants since its inception.

AKC Canine Health Foundation (CHF):
Through long-standing partnerships with the GRF, the CHF has co-invested over $1.7 million specifically in golden retriever health research and educational grants.

By utilizing advanced DNA tools to track DLA Class I and II haplotypes, we seek to increase heterozygosity and rare haplotypes thereby strengthening the breed's natural disease resistance. This scientific vigilance approach coupled with the proving grounds, is intended to reduce the incidence of modern health crises in the breed, such as cancer and systemic inflammation, ensuring that future generations of golden retrievers are not only high-performing athletes but also genetically more resilient.

Windmill Farms Golden Retrievers initiative establishes a multi-generational "roadmap" for sustainable breeding. Following Jeffrey Bragg's methodology, the F1 generation serves as the initial "genetic rescue," where unrelated sub-populations such as UK working lines and popular sire-less US pedigrees are brought together to maximize heterosis and immediately "reset" the coefficient of inbreeding (COI) relative to the parents. This first generation acts as the foundation for broader diversity, breaking existing bottlenecks that have historically fixed deleterious genes within the breed.

As our program progresses toward F2, F3, and F4 crosses, the focus shifts from simple outcrossing to stabilized preservation. By the F4 generation, the goal is to have blended the four distinct sub-populations including Scottish imports and gun dog lines into a consistent working type that remains genetically vibrant.

Throughout this process, every generation is monitored for mean kinship and DLA haplotypes to ensure the gains in autoimmune resilience are not lost. This structured approach allows us to refine performance traits, such as prey drive and endurance, while maintaining a low COI and kinship across the entire lineage, effectively securing the breed's future through 2036 and beyond.