The Friendly Golden Retriever

Dog breed info
Golden Retriever
Weight: 65 — 75 lbs
Height: 23” — 24”
AKC Rank 2008 #4
Lifespan: 10 —13 yrs
Group: Sporting
Origin: England

• Breeders And Rescue Groups
• Dog Health, Dog Illness, Medical Problems

Dog Breed Info – The Golden Retriever

A Golden with her puppies

Breed Overview

This majestic canine was registered by the AKC in 1927.

Golden Retrievars are fine companions for hunters, with their natural love of the water and retrieving game. They are an ideal family dog and get along quite well with children and other pets in the house. This is a gentle breed, not at all aggressive.

The breed can be traced back to Scotland in the early 1900’s when it was a hunting and retrieving dog on land and water, something favored by hunters.

In the USA, Golden Retrievers have become highly popular and have ranked high on the popularity list, staying in the top 10 breeds for a long time.

Golden’s are highly intelligent. They have found their way into working as guide dogs for the blind and handicapped, therapy dogs in nursing homes, and so on. This is a dog that can truly “lower your blood pressure” and the elderly, disabled, and less fortunate all appreciate when the “Goldie” comes to visit in their ward, room or hospital bed.

Very intelligent, easy to train, eager to learn. Use clicker training along with positive reinforcement. The dog will respond and you’ll see a difference in how fast she learns.

Crate Training

Want to crate train your Golden Retriever puppy? It’s easy and if you’re interested, take a look and you’ll see what to do. Crate training your puppy will save many headaches and problems.

Potty Training

Golden Retriever puppies pick up pretty fast and are relatively ease to house train, potty train, toilet train, housebreak or whatever you want to call it. If you have a puppy, decide if you want to crate or paper potty train it. For the best results, we have a page at Crate vs Paper Potty Training which will help you decide and from there you can get all the information you need to get the job done. Always praise the pup profusely when she goes potty in the RIGHT PLACE so she knows she has done a good thing. Either method will work for this breed.

If you have an older dog, take the dog outside every two hours until she gets the idea which door leads to her potty area. Older dogs catch on to the potty or housebreaking pretty fast once they are shown what to do.

Golden Retrievers are
beautiful, gentle dogs

The Golden Retriever is known for it’s devoted and obedient nature as a family companion. Ignoring this dog’s active nature and powerful physique can lead to behavior problems, and this breed needs daily physical and mental exercise. Poorly bred Golden’s may be overly exuberant and boisterous. Well trained and exercised Golden’s are calm and mannerly at home, and always enjoy a good play time. The Golden Retriever especially enjoys games that involve retrieving things it can carry in it’s mouth like sticks, balls and Frisbees.

If you happen to get a Golden with a separation anxiety problem, that can be dealt with by investing a few hours of work on your part and some “tough love.”

Friendly Toward Other Dogs

Very. enjoys company of other dogs as a rule.

Friendly Toward Other Pets

Golden’s Get along with other pets in the household.

Friendly Toward Strangers

Likes people. Bring on your relatives and guests.

Playfulness

Very playful, loves to have fun. A kid at heart.

Very affectionate. A real loving dog.

Yes. Keep toddlers at bay. Teach all children how to behave around a dog. They must learn what to do and NOT to do to a dog. 6 years old is a good age for a child to have a dog.

Good with Seniors over 65?

Yes. The Golden Retriever makes a great companion for seniors. As long as the senior is active, can walk and drive his dog to the vet, he will have a fantastic, loving companion. If longevity or training are issues, find a Golden Retriever Rescue groups or kennel and get a 2 or 3 year old dog that is house trained and knows a few commands. This will save a lot of headaches.

Living environment

A house with a medium size fenced back yard is ideal, or a wide open farm.

Apartment living is possible for a Golden Retriever as long as the she can get out for exercise and has room to stretch.

You can play ball with your Golden Retriever – a good game of fetch is great exercise. Top

Energy level

Moderate energy. Lively, but not boisterous.

The Golden Retriever needs daily exercise and human interaction. Challenging obedience lessons, active games or retrieving sessions are all good ways to exercise the Golden’s mind and body.

A routine of two good walks and a game of fetch will work too.

Not the best. May bark at the doorbell.

Likely to alert in case of fire or storm damage.

Poor. Some training might help, but not really his nature.

Brush every other day. Golden’s love the attention and it keeps their coat smooth and looking neat. No need to see a groomer. Top

Third book from the left, “A Dog Who’s Always Welcome” goes beyond ordinary obedience training and your dog learns therapy- dog work so you can take him anywhere and he’ll focus on you and behave like a perfect gentleman.

In the event you decide to go looking for Golden Retriever puppies, be SURE to find reputable breeders that really know what they are doing. Be sure the puppy has been well socialized and started in obedience training. Check your local dog pound or kennels first.
Golden Retriever Breeders with puppies for sale.

Golden Retriever Rescue

In the event you are seriously considering the adoption of a Golden Retriever and are looking for a rescue group or groups in your state, here are several links that might help:
Petfinder – Golden Retriever Rescue
Adopt A Pet This is an interesting site but you can also go online and search for Golden Retriever Rescue groups or kennels and see if you can fins a place closer to you.

This is basically a healthy breed. Don’t let the list below scare you! Your own dog will probably never have ANY of these problems. These are medical issues this breed is prone to that have been listed by various veterinarians at different times over the past decade or so and some pertain to puppies and very young dogs that a breeder would deal with.

The information contained herein has been gathered from numerous books by veterinarians and is intended as general information only. Every dog and situation is different. You must see your vet. Our information is for general interest only and not intended to replace the advice provided by your own veterinarian.

Progressive Retinal Atrophy—An inherited, untreatable disease of the retina affecting both eyes causing blindness. It’s in the genes of the dog and is not painful. Starts with night blindness and progresses as the retina gradually deteriorates.