Golden Retriever or...?

[ElenaSummer]

So we are looking to get a puppy in the next year or so and have spent time researching and think a golden retriever would be a good fit for our family - 3 young children, one of us will be in the house except for school runs , like long walks and being out doors , currently have an older cat and would consider a kitten to grow up with the puppy!

We have had rescue dogs in the past before kids although would want a puppy this time to know its history and be brought up with the kids.

However , DH can be ocd about the house , and while used to fur from the cats the only thing putting us off is the shedding with a GR.... is there any other breed similar in traits and as lovely , but with less fur?!

Thanks Raaah! She's an absolute darling, we love her to bits (and she reciprocates, she is so affectionate).

Margot, I have been asked many times if she is a beardie, even when we were at Discover Dogs at Crufts on the Catalan sheepdog stand

Good luck OP, sounds like you have your heart set on a goldie, so just buy a good vacuum cleaner and invest in some pale coloured clothes!

I have goldies and labs. Both shed equally, to be honest. Our goldies are more laid-back. If your heart is set on a goldie, go for it!!
Incidentally...I know loads of springers, they're absolutely rampant round here. They're all fucking mental quite highly-strung and very, very hard work.

Oh, and a Dyson Animal will be your very best friend

A house proud person would go insane with a golden retriever.

Luckily I wasn't very house proud before acquiring dog, but now... just forget it! The hair drifts round like tumbleweed. There is hair in your food, all over your clothes - you have to rethink your wardrobe - black is out! Every so often there's a shower of slobber, and round the bottom of the walls there's a sort of brush effect left by one very bushy tail.

The hair has put paid to three vacuum cleaners. The Dyson is winning, though!

TheCrow your dog is beautiful :)

We already have a Dyson Animal due to the cats and mess of 3 kids so that is sorted.

Rhoda thats a good description ! DH standards have thankfully taken a back seat since the kids have arrived so while it would obviously create more work waiting another year or so until our youngest is a bit older and middle one is at school hopefully will make it manageable.

ItsNot good point we are not in a rush I am spending time researching now so we are prepared . We are up north in Scotland so most breeders I have found all seem to be down south , travelling is not a problem but the closer the easier it would be to fit in around shifts & school runs.

A neighburgh has a GSP who is impeccably trained, trots along on the school run without moving from their side but I dont know much about the breed in comparison to the GR .

OP
Have a look on Gundogs Direct... There are Scottish and North-based breeders on there, but it isn't the prime time of year for gundog breeding. They tend to time their litters to be born in summer. www.gundogsdirect.co.uk/
They will obviously be mostly the working strain, and the breeders will want assurances that you are an active household that will commit to training. But to be honest, any breeder should do that before selling you a pup

Champdogs is also worth looking at, if you haven't already. A mix of working and show lines on there

Thanks for the link, I saw champdogs recommended before and have signed up to their waiting list alerts which is very helpful.

Agree re the breeder looking for training & being active , we have already found local puppy classes for socialising with training and I have read lots of threads for advice on mental stimulation and games to do at home .

Luckily we live in an area with lots of forest walks and semi private beaches which are perfect for dog walking.

Nothing substitutes for a GR. But yes the shedding is an utter nightmare.

I feel the need to repeat my much-repeated caution on puppy classes.

They are seriously, seriously over-rated for training and especially socialising puppies. Like humans, puppies learn an awful lot of their manners from the world around them.
So if you mix a bouncy young puppy with other bouncy young puppies, it thinks that is how all dogs behave. Then you go to the beach or park, and it replicates that behaviour with an older dog, who tells it off for being so rude and bad mannered, and you have a problem on your hands.

Puppies need to be socialised with dogs of all ages. Older dogs won't hurt a puppy, but they will tell it when it is over stepping boundaries, thus teaching it the dog manners it needs to get along with the wider doggy world. While it is very cute to watch a village hall full of puppies all piling in on each other, it is counterproductive to training and creating a good dog citizen.
And when you are training, the puppy needs to focus on YOU, not have half an eye on the playfighting going on next to it, or wondering what the barking is about
It is pretty easy to stand in the park and pick out the dogs who were taken to puppy classes!

If you live in a highly dog populated area, that should be quite easy, but it is great if you have some friends with older dogs who can bring the dogs over for play time and walks together.

And my other over-repeated recommendation - buy a copy of 'The Pet Gundog' which should become your bible for training. It is full of practical advice and step by step guides, so you can use it for training on your own. Personally, I would avoid the puppy classes and use the money for a couple of sessions of one-to-one training with the whole family plus a trainer, and stick to the advice from them and the book...

Great advice thank you sparechange I will add the book to my list to buy.

OP, bear in mind rescues have pups in constantly. If you go through the hurdles of the home check etc ahead of time, you can be on a waiting list ready to pounce. That's how we got our dog at 9 weeks old, from the Dogs Trust. A rescue pup is the best of both worlds and the world is already full of irresponsible breeders - why give them money?

I'd just keep an open mind and see what goes in. We got a staffy/jrt cross but around the same time, the rescue got a huge litter of black lab pups, ditto of gsd crosses, ditto a terrier cross pup (looked like a Patterdale) and a couple of others.

The shedding from our GR is ridiculous. Even after I've hoovered/swept there is hair! The hair gets everywhere. Kids go to school with blonde dog hair on their jumpers. Wearing black and staying dog hair free is a difficult feat. The GR only has to be in the car five mins and their ha hair everywhere and it has this amazing Velcro sticking ability.

Poor thing suffers from flea dermatitis which is no longer a problem as we no longer have cats. Hotspots have also been the bane of our lives. So painful for her.

Our GR is a lovely dog however is also bloody bonkers and not the calm serene family canine that the breeders would have you believe. Number of times the kids have been knocked over, the desire to bog snorkel, the poo rolling addiction is something else and we won't mention the habit of foraging for cat poo as a mid walk snack. Often get comments about our GR not acting her age.