Please Tell Me Everything You Know About Golden Retrievers...

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superpony

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I am looking at getting a golden retriever in the future after I finish uni (in about a year - 18 months) but I want to do my research first!!

Theres already a cavalier king charles spaniel in the house so obviously the new dog will have to fit in with her, looking to get a bitch I think as the cavalier is one too.

Will get lots of love, attention and walking.

So please tell me everything I need to know about them! Pictures of course would be great too so I can aww at all your gorgeous dogs! :)
 
katielou said:
Make sure you find a 100% wonderful breeder because the bad breeders have caused the breed to be full of health and temprement issues.
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This.

The nastiest dog I've ever met was a golden retriever. Totally unpredictable and would fly at anyone or anything with no warning.


Why a goldie? What attracts you to the breed and have you met many?
Why not a Flatcoat or a Welsh springer for instance?
 
i help with the guide dog assoc. so have had a few ret in my house. they do suffer with there hind legs and are quite slow to mature. but are lovely ive never met a bad one.

yes i still have tumbleweed from when the last one was in my house lol....


good luck
forgot to say they are soooooo clever and i found the one i had needed brain training as well as exercise
 
My in-laws have two (10 and 4) who are nice dogs that moult for England if not groomed regularly....

the 10 year old is a male from a good breeder but is on treatment for arthritis and the 4 year old bitch is a rescue - we think originally from a puppy farm with very bad confirmation and wiggles as she walks, probably paving the way for future joint problems.

Oh and she was brought into the vet as a 10 mth old for biting a child and being food aggressive. The family who had her originally didn't have a clue about handling a dog and the in-laws managed to turn her around within a few months. She's now very well behaved but is nervous outside of her regular routine

All in all, nice dogs but they both come across as being a bit bimboish....
 
Thank you everyone for your replies as I said want to do my homework and didn't realise there were so many aggressive ones around that worries me.

S4sugar I have always wanted one. I would also be interested in doing abit of obidence and agility and yes have met a few and all been lovely dogs. I also loved their temperaments bu
 
Sorry I'm on my phone and it's playing up!!

As I was saying would find the best breeder I could all health checks etc as we did with our cav and would be brought up properly go to training classes etc. Is the aggression thing partly how they are brought up?

Also thank you for other suggestions flat coat maybe a breed I may be interested in if I decide a goldie isn't for me.

Thank you for all you advice everyone please keep it coming!
 
I would be willing to put money on the aggression being poor breeding. Breeding from dogs with poor temperaments.

If you find a breeder spend some time with them, watch them at shows, get to know their dogs you will soon know if they are breeding the correct temperament.
 
I have a coming up to 12 years old Golden Retreiver, she is the softest, most playful & loving dog i have ever owned, yep she moults soooo much and yep she has got arthritis in her back legs but she was really easy to train, intelligent, loyal and has been a pleasure to own.

I would advise like everyone else to get from a good breeder and to health check.

I am dreading the day our Golden is no longer with us and i wouldnt hesitate to getting another.
 
Forgot to add that our girl has never shown any sign of aggression what so ever, she is a little grumpy with young dogs if they are jumping all over her when we are out for walks, but she just 'tells them off', and to be honest at her age i dont blame her.
 
I only know a couple from the shooting/working world - they don't really seem to be very popular anymore - but I echo what has already been said, my God they moult! :eek:

But the ones I know are very good tempered and would actually make wonderful family pets if given the right exercise and stimulation (as you intend to do).

Make sure you buy from a breeder that has had all the hip/elbow scoring done on both parents though. It seems that as they are not so popular anymore, and therefore not in the limelight as such, you do need to becareful who you buy from :)

Can be lovely family dogs though :D
 
Definitely do your research on breeders! They can turn their paws to most things. All of the goldies I've met have had lovely temperaments. Been very friendly. Can be boisterous and bouncy if energy not channelled or trained well/consistently.

Not so good things - moulting and skin allergies.
 
Agree with above comments re moulting and need for health tests and a decent breeder.
As for flatcoats if they're another option - lovely but bonkers! And sadly quite prone to developing cancers :(
 
My first dog was a goldie. I got her at six months and I spent all my savings to buy her before taking her home and introducing her to my parents. I was 13 at the time - luckily they loved her too. I'd never heard of health tests, hip scores etc (she did have excellent breeding we later found out) but Bear was the best dog I ever had. She was pts aged 15 last may.
My parents now have Sandy another goldie. She's a bit of a cut and shut dog but has the most amazing temperament - puts up with anything :)
Like most pedigrees that have been fashionable there are some dodgy ones out there but in general theyre amazing dogs :)
 
As with GSDs, another popular, large, weightbearing breed which has been damaged by indiscriminate breeding....hips, elbows, eyes, ears, skin and most importantly (IMO) character.
Go to a breed society for recommendations of a good breeder, or rescue, feed well and keep the weight off, whatever you do.
Don't buy a pup just because the sellers say the mother and father are 'nice' - ask to see all the paperwork and health test certificates - a good breeder will be forcing them on you, not the other way around.
Friends say the aggression is often a throwback to old Russian lines?
Lots of John Wayne types around here :(
 
A note to the OP - a few peoplen on here have mentioned flat coats and I am sure you know, or done your homework, that an awful lot of flatcoats are infact almost a breed unto themselves nowadays but unfortunately they do not live long.

Infact you can almost link them in with Afghans and the like - they never come back ;)

LOL - flatcoats really do take on a new training level ;) I have one friend who works flatcoats and they are lovely dogs and a friend who had one as a pet and again he is the most adoring loving pet - but you mustn't compare them with long coated golden retrievers :)
 
Retreivers-Bad points-Can be aggressive. Particularly around food/toy-i.e possessive.
Can be daft as a brush, i.e forget their training as soon as you turn around. REcall moderate. Shed.
Good points-get a nice temperment and they are lovely, obviously they retrieve so fun to do all that with. Not as many health problems as some other breeds, hips, eyes, elbows main things.Go a bit senile in old age.
 
The one who lives down the road from me is a totally nightmare to walk- he wants to stop and say hi to every single person or dog it meets- and if you are very lucky you get a "woooooooooooooooooooooooooooo" to go with it- DAFT as a brush!!
 
Having lost our wonderful rescue Golden New Years Night to cancer. He was daft as a brush right up until the end. He had a horrid start to life. Given to a woman who was an agoraphobic he lived in a small flat above a carpet shop for the first 18 months of his life not going out at all!! he was unhouse trained, no words of command, still a boy. It took a little while to work through his issues but he was a wonderful loving boy with not a aggressive bone in his body. But he had bad hips, a problem with his soft palette so he snored. Training was made very easy because he was very food orientated. A dustbin on 4 legs. Weight was always a problem but with careful diet and excise we kept it under control. But with his hips at the end it was a struggle. Could hear a crisp packet at 100 yards but getting him to come when called not a chance!! He moulted all the time! I had him neutered 8 weeks after we got him.

He housed trained in about 2 weeks
Walked to heal in about a month.

I would have another rescue Golden anytime. When you are ready why not have a look at http://www.retrieverrescue.net/

Please make sure if you get a puppy you see both parents and check the health checks carefully. Good luck
 
When I was growing up, the GR's I ever met (which were a lot, my sister bred them) were lovely in temperament and very sweet and docile. They lived for splashing about and were justthe most fun loving dogs.

When I moved over here, I found that many were of a more nervous disposition than those that I had met in the US.

As a groomer I have seen zillions and really like them as a breed. I've groomed many throughout their whole lives and still can't fault them as a first time dog owner's breed of choice. You definitely get problem ones, but I attribute that to our INSTANT society and training and time must be spent with them in order to have them be the nice sociable dogs they WANT to be.

Daft and hairy, not for the house proud.
 
I had one, and she was the most amazing family dog. East to train, very affectionate, fantastic with the children, good with other dogs and visitors, would come out with us when we were riding etc.

The downsides .... she moulted like CRAZY, and took a long time to dry off after a muddy walk.

Like any dog, they need good handling and training, as a big bouncy GR can be quite a handful!

I do know of a very good breeder, pm me if you are interested.
 
A friend had 2 mother & daughter that she bred and they had a lovely temperment and no mobility problems they lived to 14 and 15yrs.

The younger one would bu**er off hunting in the woods but apart from that they were absolute sweeties. The hair though is a different thing and looked enough for a small pony.:D
 
Thank you everyone! I really appreciate each and every comment. :)

Will definately look into a rescue and if I do get a puppy I will be very careful when picking a breeder.. you guys have really opened my eyes up to what I need to look for so thank you!

Sprout - I will send you a PM. :)
 
I look after one sometimes, she is really good natured a bit on the tubby side and a mud and water magnet, she is also a thick bet so sweet
 
Speaking of golden... one attacked tassy in the country park today. It threw itself through a fence to get into the field I was training my two in and just went at tassy teeth first.... I hope it hasn't ruined two years of socialisation with tassy now. I thought they were placid dogs...
 
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