My friend is considering getting a Golden.
I have one, and he is everything a Golden should be. He’s high energy (2+hrs a day off the lead which is 8-10 miles at my walking speed) and still ready for more, high mental stimulation needs, expensive to insure and feed, boisterous and quite needy. He’ll grow out of the last two as he’s still young, but he’ll always be high energy and need lots of mental stimulation. I knew this when I decided to get him. I also have another high energy dog. The Golden is everything his breed should be in much the same way a Jack Russel is instinctively going to be a destructive (including digging holes) if it’s also not exercised given its instincts.
IMO she is in no way capable of giving a Golden the exercise or stimulation it needs.
I have always viewed dog ownership as ‘A responsibility not a right.’ I would never get a dog breed that I wasn’t capable of meeting the needs of (I.e I’d love a collie but outside of the v. select few families who do have the right lifestyle, they are not appropriate family pets for the majority).
So, wise people on mumsnet - tell me;
YABU - everyone has a right to a dog of any breed, regardless of whether having a dog fits with their lifestyle choices. You should beak out.
YANBU - It is a responsibility to own a dog and people should get breeds that fit their lifestyle. You should be a good friend and explain the risk she is running if she gets a high energy/high stimulation dog like a Golden and gentle steer her away to something less energetic like a Chinese crested or even a guinea pig.