# head shapes



## Oaklys Dad

The only terms I've heard in describing dogs heads are Domed and Blocky. I'm sure there are other terms.


----------



## gold'nchocolate

I love a _blocky_ head on both labs and goldens.


----------



## sophiesadiehannah's mom

i don't know the technical names, we just call them blockheads or long nosed.


----------



## Sunshine Goldens

gold'nchocolate said:


> I love a _blocky_ head on both labs and goldens.


 
Oh me too! I love a big ole block head on a dog!


----------



## MisterBailey

what exactly is the difference? I have noticed that some have larger, broader faces, but for some reason I thought it was often the males had larger heads than females. Another Golden owner picked Bailey as a male because of his head shape.


----------



## DanielleH

I love the "teddy faces" and the boofy heads ..( I probably have boofy spelled wrong.. )


----------



## vrocco1

Some people also refer to heads and muzzles with little stop as "Collie" heads, because Collies typically have little or no stop.


----------



## Scorpio118

Big Ol Block Heads Here!!!!!!


----------



## Jo Ellen

Daisy's definitely a blockhead .... she defies all gender stereotypes


----------



## Maggies mom

Daisy's blocky head is beautiful......


----------



## vrocco1

Wow! Daisy does have a beautiful head.


----------



## Suzie Simoneit

Where can I found a Big Block headed golden?

Suzie


----------



## Jige

I know I love BaWaaJige's blocky head.


----------



## gold4me

I love blockheads. Gambler is a block head. He was also having a bad hair day in this picture. ha ha ha


----------



## Lilliam

I love Max's smoochy blocky head...


----------



## Deber

Suzie, I too prefer the block heads on our males for sure. Feel our females should have the same, but look more femine. I am not a pro (on anything) but from what I have observed it seems to be determined by their ear placement. If ears are higher then you get the more flatish skull and head looks larger, if ears are lower, then you see the more rounded, softer head. But there are much more learned people here who could tell you much better than I. 

Think your best bet is to go see the parents of the pup you are thinking of. If the parents have good physical attributes that you like, then your chances of them producing this in their pups is greater. Speak to the breeder and tell her what looks and temperment please you. Goldens in the shows I have gone and watched had beautiful heads...so these breeders are where I would start my journey.


----------



## MercyMom

I have a blockhead girl too! She looks like a male! I think blockheads are bred more to the GRCA standard vs. long nosed.


----------



## RShea

Blockheads seem to be part of the breed atleast from the confirmation/show side of things. I doubt this is by accident as a blockhead seems to fit the breed well.


----------



## MercyMom

Suzie Simoneit said:


> Where can I found a Big Block headed golden?
> 
> Suzie


Through a reputable breeder who does all 4 clearances hips, heart, elbow and eye and who has proven their dogs through some sort of competition whether confirmation, obedience or other sport.


----------



## Wyatt's mommy

Suzie Simoneit said:


> Where can I found a Big Block headed golden?
> 
> Suzie


Visit breeders and their dogs. Some will be blocky and some will be domed shaped. Depends on the breeders stock. I had one of each


----------



## Tayla's Mom

Tayla has the narrower head, sad eyed expression of a badly bred field golden. I've fallen in love with the narrow head shape. Blocky heads are nice and they say good breeding, but Tayla just says "Yep, I'm your reject kind of dog, love me."


----------



## Wyatt's mommy

Tayla's Mom said:


> Tayla has the narrower head, sad eyed expression of a badly bred field golden. I've fallen in love with the narrow head shape.* Blocky heads are nice and they say good breeding,* but Tayla just says "Yep, I'm your reject kind of dog, love me."


Blockheads and domed are both breed from reputable breeders.


----------



## Tayla's Mom

Maybe, but not my Tayla. We adopted her and I'm sure she is pure backyard breeder, bad hips and all. I just love her head and face. People tell me her ears are too big and she does have bad hips.


----------



## Selli-Belle

The Golden Standard reads:

_*"Head*_ -- broad in skull, slightly arched laterally and longitudinally without prominence of frontal bones (forehead) or occipital bones. Stop well defined but not abrupt. Foreface deep and wide, nearly as long as skull. Muzzle straight in profile, blending smoothly and strongly into skull; when viewed in profile or from above, slightly deeper and wider at stop than at tip. No heaviness in flews. Removal of whiskers is permitted but not preferred."

Two points from this I see is that a really domed head or a dog with a prominent occipital bump are not to standard and that there needs to be a clear stop and the muzzle doesn't really slope at all. The rest is rather up to interpretation.


----------



## Wyatt's mommy

Tayla's Mom said:


> Maybe, but not my Tayla. We adopted her and I'm sure she is pure backyard breeder, bad hips and all. I just love her head and face. People tell me her ears are too big and she does have bad hips.


She's a sweety! Look at that face

Just wanted to point that out as someone else said that blockheads were a sign of a good breeder LOL!


----------



## kwhit

Just wanted to add that Chance has a very blocky head and he is definitely not well bred.


----------



## Tayla's Mom

She can be a demon and she can be sweet. At 11 months she is more demon than sweet. She is holding my husband's pizza for safe keeping. It should be noted that she did not eat that pizza. She gave it back in tact at the end. If it was our 15 year old golden, that piece would have been gone.


----------



## Sally's Mom

A golden should not have a blocky head like a rottie.


----------



## golden_eclipse

I generally don't describe head pieces with one word, "blocky" doesn't really get at the finer details, like the stop, position of the ear, the muzzle shape ect...a dog might appear to have what people call a "blocky head" but generally have an incorrect head piece if you were to compare it to the standard.


----------



## Tucker's mommy

Tucker's a blockhead all the way. Although, the point at the top of his little noggin has earned him the nickname "Conehead".


----------



## MercyMom

kwhit said:


> Just wanted to add that Chance has a very blocky head and he is definitely not well bred.


 That can happen too. The blocky head is not the only thing one should look for in a breeder.


----------



## yvonneb

I am looking for a block head, sturdy male Golden to adopt, purchase. A puppy would be fabulous but we can keep an open mind to any dog. Does anybody know of anything in Southern Cal? We have a 14 month old Golden, Porter, who is desperately missing our 11 year, Mango. We just lost Mango to cancer. Our Porter and our family really needs another beautiful Golden.


----------



## ArchersMom

If you're in need of a dog soon, I'd check out any local golden rescues. There may be one outside your state that allows adoptions to out of town adopters too. If you'd really like a puppy, you'll likely be waiting a few months at least to find a puppy. Almost all reputable breeders have wait lists well in advance of a breeding. You could get lucky but if you want a puppy, I suggest you take your time and find a good breeder who's going to give you a dog with the best chance of living a long, healthy life.


----------



## acw

Hi! New to this website. Am currently buying a 'Goldador' puppy, and have been sent pictures of their parents. I'm really no expert with Golden Retrievers, so wondered if you could tell me if there's anything unusual about the look of this one, as it appears to have a long face. Not whether you like the look, i think it's gorgeous. Just whether it looks like a 'poorly bred' dog. I'm fairly certain it's not, as they are family dogs; I'm just such a novice I thought I'd check. NOTE: Have removed photo now. Thanks for your replies


----------



## carolinehansen

Nothing unusual! My boy has a long nose like that too!


----------



## ArchersMom

acw said:


> Hi! New to this website. Am currently buying a 'Goldador' puppy, and have been sent pictures of their parents. I'm really no expert with Golden Retrievers, so wondered if you could tell me if there's anything unusual about the look of this one, as it appears to have a long face. Not whether you like the look, i think it's gorgeous. Just whether it looks like a 'poorly bred' dog. I'm fairly certain it's not, as they are family dogs; I'm just such a novice I thought I'd check. NOTE: Have removed photo now. Thanks for your replies


A "Goldador" isn't a breed, so technically any one is poorly bred IMO. Only backyard breeder and puppymills are going to intentionally breed cross breeds. They can look like anything, be any color, they're a mixed breed.


----------



## acw

ArchersMom said:


> A "Goldador" isn't a breed, so technically any one is poorly bred IMO. Only backyard breeder and puppymills are going to intentionally breed cross breeds. They can look like anything, be any color, they're a mixed breed.


Maybe you should do your research on pedigrees and cross-bred dogs and basic genetics. Human's obsession with our dogs looking a certain way has led to horrible inbreeding. Inbreeding greatly reduces the gene-pool of a dog breed, leading to genetic diseases, such as hip and elbow joint problems in Labs and Golden Retrievers. And Goldadors and many other cross breeds have been specifically bred to avoid these inherited diseases, and as a result are used as dogs for the blind, as well as bomb detection dogs. And seeing as they are bred from Labradors and Golden Retrievers, both of which I have seen, they will look like a cross between those two. You only need to look at sick dog pageants to see what genetic inbreeding, through only breeding with other dogs of the same breed. German Shepherds with horrible bent spines, pugs that can barely breath.


----------



## Megora

acw said:


> Maybe you should do your research on pedigrees and cross-bred dogs and basic genetics. Human's obsession with our dogs looking a certain way has led to horrible inbreeding. Inbreeding greatly reduces the gene-pool of a dog breed, leading to genetic diseases, such as hip and elbow joint problems in Labs and Golden Retrievers. And Goldadors and many other cross breeds have been specifically bred to avoid these inherited diseases, and as a result are used as dogs for the blind, as well as bomb detection dogs. And seeing as they are bred from Labradors and Golden Retrievers, both of which I have seen, they will look like a cross between those two. You only need to look at sick dog pageants to see what genetic inbreeding, through only breeding with other dogs of the same breed. German Shepherds with horrible bent spines, pugs that can barely breath.


Hey,

I know this is just a passing troll post so probably no reason to respond.

But the advantage of purchasing a puppy from a good breeder - who breeds to breed standard, does not breed dogs unless all the clearances are there on not just the parents but going back for generations.... you have dogs who have been bred away from really bad health issues. 

With golden retrievers being such a "big breed", the whole "in-breeding" issue is not exactly an issue with golden retrievers. You have more and more breeders who are able to keep the COI's low in their breedings, because there is so much diversity to choose from. 

Other breeds which are not as common... they have issues as far as breeding without really tight in-breeding. You would be surprised though that this does not always produce health issues. It does depend on the breed. One breed I can think of - you have really bad cancer issues very early one. Another breed I can think of they have dogs who on average have healthy joints, low cancer rates, and usually live into their teens. 

People who deliberately breed mixed breeds are starting off with dogs who they can get their hands on. Many cases, these are cwappy dogs who have no health history behind them. So you are starting off right there with a stronger than most tendency towards severe health issues.

And generally speaking there is no such thing as predictability when you are constantly breeding mixed breeds. A lot of people get really ugly and unhealthy dogs through these types of breedings. 

And we are talking about mixed breeds produced by your usual "junk breeder" who breeds anything they can their hands on and they talk a good "used car salesman" talk to get people to buy those creatures that they have produced. We are not talking about service dog organizations, many of which have very careful breeding operations. You are talking about really careful breeding as far as health with a lot of work put into clearances and selection. It's very different than your usual cwap breeder who is marketing mixed breeds for profit.

Beyond that - lab mixes are a dime a dozen at animal shelters. If you want one, you don't have to purchase from a breeder. Just go down to the shelter and adopt a nice puppy or young dog who needs a home. 

If you want a mixed breed dog - adopt.


----------



## bixx

a blockhead doggie here too. fits the description to a T.


----------



## Lilliam

acw said:


> Maybe you should do your research on pedigrees and cross-bred dogs and basic genetics. Human's obsession with our dogs looking a certain way has led to horrible inbreeding. Inbreeding greatly reduces the gene-pool of a dog breed, leading to genetic diseases, such as hip and elbow joint problems in Labs and Golden Retrievers. And Goldadors and many other cross breeds have been specifically bred to avoid these inherited diseases, and as a result are used as dogs for the blind, as well as bomb detection dogs. And seeing as they are bred from Labradors and Golden Retrievers, both of which I have seen, they will look like a cross between those two. You only need to look at sick dog pageants to see what genetic inbreeding, through only breeding with other dogs of the same breed. German Shepherds with horrible bent spines, pugs that can barely breath.


No such thing as a goldador. It's a mix breed. If you want a mix breed there are shelters full of them. 

It's greed that started the fashion trend of charging two thousand bucks for mixed breeds. 

A head on mixed breed will look like any **** thing it wants to look like because it's nothing more than a mix. The look and temperament haven't been set. Neither have there been diseases bred out of these mixes. It takes generations upon generations to breed anything in or out. 

You want a mix go get a mix. But don't get on a high horse about it.

Interesting reading. 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...s-breed-dogs-raises-disturbing-questions.html

And the idea of hybrid vigor has not been proven to be true for all diseases in all instances. As a matter of fact, for the majority of inherited diseases, there is no difference. 

http://www.instituteofcaninebiology.org/blog/health-of-purebred-vs-mixed-breed-dogs-the-data

And by the way, shelter dogs of completely unknown parentage have been used in the work you mentioned. And nobody paid 2K bucks to pull them from a shelter. 

https://houndandthefound.wordpress.com/2011/05/05/what-dog-is-right-for-search-and-rescue/


----------



## acw

Woof Woof Woof


----------



## Lilliam

Actually, picked the wrong indefensible argument from atop a very high yet lame horse.


----------



## Jeffvd

I was always a Lab guy....and we called the broader heads "Bearheads". I always preferred the Bearheads over the noseys....LOL


----------



## Lilliam

Jeffvd said:


> I was always a Lab guy....and we called the broader heads "Bearheads". I always preferred the Bearheads over the noseys....LOL




I like that the bearheads have smoochy faces. I LOVE THAT!!!!❤❤❤


----------

