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Original poster

Tell me all you know about golden retreivers pretty please

66 replies

Hairydogs · 17/09/2018 15:19

As the title says really! Would really appreciate the lowdown on golden retrievers, the good the bad the ugly, specifically realistic exercise needs and separation anxiety. Our ideal dog is a whippet but I have many cats and we have decided on balance and advice to very sadly rule them out. If it helps we are looking for a family dog with an excellent temperament, we have 3 small children and 4 cats! We are active but not madly so and I work from home 2 days a week and 3 days from 9 - 2, with flexibility. We have a small garden and don't want a dog who needs hours upon hours of exercise. Considering a goldie! Thanks v much in advance.

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bunnygeek · 17/09/2018 15:26

FUR. FUR EVERYWHERE.

skintnotskinny · 17/09/2018 15:28

There’s a huge difference between the show-type retrievers and the working ones. The show ones are enormous, usually very pale cream, tend to be quite lumbering and not that bright but very sweet-natured. They’re usually good with cats and children but because of their size and weight can easily knock or pull over a small child.

The working ones have much darker coats (properly golden) and are much more slightly built - very athletic dogs with much more drive. They need more stimulation than the show types as they are bred to have a job to do. Personally I much prefer the working type but it is a matter of personal preference

tryingtocatchthewind · 17/09/2018 15:29

Haha I was going to say the exact same thing - fur!!!!

Have you considered a cocker spaniel (show type). My previous dog and current one are both very lazy, happy with a couple of walks a day. Very friendly. Much less hairy than a golden retriever.

bunnygeek · 17/09/2018 15:30

Now I've never had a Goldie but we've got a few office-dog Goldies and a family friend has had a few. They look beautiful but they are active dogs that need decent walks every day. The friend's one loved jumping in the muddiest of ditches, so would turn from a Golden Retriever to a very brown and smelly Retriever instead.

Of our office ones, they are BIG foodies, nothing is safe. We've had a desk ninja Goldie, if there was food it would be gone if you didn't keep an eye on it. Another is um, a chunky girl, and always on a diet, but the sweetest and softest of things, in a big fluffy daft way. Another is just a puppy and bouncy, very very bouncy, I wouldn't recommend a young dog or puppy based on how he would DEFINITELY knock a toddler flying. Another one at the office (I said there were a few!!) goes running with his owner every day.

Nesssie · 17/09/2018 15:31

Goldies are amazing. But, FUR.
And as retrievers they are quite clever and do need stimulation/exercise. They are large dogs, not particularly suited to small garden/houses.

Whippets and cats can live with each other absolutely fine, especially if you are getting a puppy.
Whippets don't shed a lot and are pretty lazy in the house. They are a lot smaller and don't need as much exercise or space.

From what you've said, out of the two, a whippet seems more suitable. Both have good temperaments on the whole and are suitable for children.

Original poster
Hairydogs · 17/09/2018 15:38

Thanks so much! Seems they are good shedders! We all really want a whippet but I googled mumsnet threads etc and all said no go with cats! I breed occassionally so we would also have kittens sometimes. I was freaked out by horror stories of whippets living for years with their cats and then killing them. Whatever breed we are looking for show lines only. Thanks again!

OP posts:
Vallahalagonebutnotforgotten · 17/09/2018 18:53

A rescue whippet would have been cat tested so you would know before you got the dog if that was an issue.

student26 · 17/09/2018 19:23

Loyal and wonderful. I miss our dog very much. He died at age 9 though of a common heart disease we didn’t know about. But they are sweet, patient and loving. And I think one of the best type of dogs.

Usuallytootiredbuthappyanyway · 17/09/2018 19:33

We had a family golden and he was by far EVERYBODY’s favourite family member. He was the gentlest, sweetest, softest thing ever. Full of character, definitely half human. Good with kids and cats. They love to get filthy in mud puddles and can get themselves into mischief. Totally 100% motivated by food. If I didn’t work full time I would get one again in a heartbeat

Original poster
Hairydogs · 17/09/2018 19:35

Thank you, really heart warming to read!

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barleysugar · 17/09/2018 19:42

We have two! As for fur, ours don’t shed fur continuously but about twice a year they have a moult.

Such sweet natured things but they have no idea of their size, quite often try and climb onto my lap!

basquiatfan · 18/09/2018 08:13

My current golden retriever is from working lines. I can't say I have noticed a lot of fur but perhaps I have got used to it over the years. Fantastic temperament. On offlead walks is inclined to roll in everything particularly mud and is a terrible scavenger. She likes a lot of exercise but will settle for much less if necessary on the odd occasion.

foxotterhare · 18/09/2018 08:15

Keen to please. Very keen on children. Big dog placid. Only drawback is that they're so very keen to please you have to keep congratulating them... AND they shed quite a bit.

foxotterhare · 18/09/2018 08:16

And check the hip score.

TheHuntingOfTheSarky · 18/09/2018 08:19

My baby is 4 and the best thing that ever happened to our family! She’s loving but not crazy-all-over-you like a spaniel. Bit dim - loves to chase her tail then doesn’t remember it’s attached to her bum so she hooks her front leg over it and pulls then wonders why she fell over. And yes, there’s lots of hair! But she’s gorgeous and a big old thumpy-tailed bundle of gorgeousness. Brilliant family dog. Placid, patient, never in a bad mood. I just love her!

foxotterhare · 18/09/2018 08:21

I have to say, my dog was properly trained before we had children and she has been a real nanny to them, modelling road safety and the same commands now work for them all :) My experience of parenthood has been much more companionable with her. She is hands down the goodest member of the family. Not a malicious bone in her body. Even when the toddlers go through that provocative stage.

Beautifulpretty · 18/09/2018 08:23

Our golden retriever lived until he was thirteen and a half. He was kind, patient, funny and just perfect. He did produce a lot of fur but I didn’t care as a quick vacuum round solved that. I felt honoured to have had him. He was great with children and cats.

penguins18 · 18/09/2018 08:24

We had a golden retriever from when I was a toddler to about 11 years old. She was my best friend and all I can remember is constant cuddles and love. She was nothing but a sweetheart. I would absolutely love to have another

bumpsadaisy11 · 18/09/2018 08:34

Our golden retriever is the most perfect dog in the world & we all adore her. She is 12 1/2 years old & she still thinks that she is a puppy!!
She is a rubbish retriever, if you throw a ball, she just stands & looks at you, as if to say 'why have you done that!!'
Her nickname is 'pig bag' because she is always around when there is food about.
She is perfect with other dogs, adores children, not bothered by our cats ( in fact our cats used to bully her!) & is perfect to walk
She uses her sad face to get absolutely anything that she wants.
As you can tell, she has us completely wrapped around her fingers (well paws). She is our baby & we love her 💕💕

IthinkIsawahairbrushbackthere · 18/09/2018 08:42

We rescued a golden when our son was 2. We had two terriers that we had for years - I had mine when I was at school and the other was my husband's. Then this lovely girl needed a home and my husband fell in love with her. Our son was very slow to speak but he immediately said "My dog now" and that was the way it stayed.

She was poorly bred with very loose hips - NEVER consider a dog with a poor hip score - but we kept her on the thin side and encouraged her to swim rather than walk or run.

She was incredibly gentle and so obedient. As a toddler our son didn't walk her on the lead but if she could be off lead she would walk to heel with him and would respond to him when he called if she was running/playing at a distance.

She ruled our two terriers with an iron paw but you never saw her curl her lip in anger. She would wrestle with them, curl up with them, sleep with them, but they wouldn't eat until she did, wouldn't go through a door before her.

I love terriers (particularly Jack Russels and any small terrier mix) but Judy was the perfect dog.

The negatives I would say are that she shed her coat all year round and she was an opportunistic food thief. That was a small price to pay for having such a good natured companion!

eurochick · 18/09/2018 08:44

I grew up with one as the family dog. She went through a nippy stage as a puppy but grew into the most lovable, well-behaved dog. She never put a foot wrong as an adult.

I agree about the fur. You need to have a good hoover and be prepared to do a lot of grooming. I remember we used to get 8-10 football sized balls of fur out of ours each time we brushed her in the spring. We used to stick the balls in bushes in the garden and the local birds would rush to collect it. It was clearly highly prized nest lining!

Mum2OneTeen · 18/09/2018 09:07

Golden retrievers are the classic "dumb blonde bimbos" of the dog world! Incredibly good natured, gluttonous, and hairy, I think that they're the perfect family pet. I've not owned one, but my parents had three females at one time. They had bought one as a puppy, then my dad kept getting rescue/rehomed ones (much to my mother's consternation as they only had a small house & golden retrievers are big dogs).

My parents' dogs loved everyone, and at one time my dad used to take them to visit schools & nursing homes. One by one, my parents' dogs succumbed to old age, until there was just one faithful one left who never left my dad's side as he slid further and further into dementia. When my dad was finally hospitalised, the dog sat in his bedroom only leaving the room to eat. My dad died after a couple of weeks, his faithful golden retriever died a few weeks later. So loyal! We buried his ashes together with those of the last golden retriever.

Apart from the brushing (did I mention that they are hairy?) I think they're probably pretty trouble free, this is speaking as the owner of a Border Collie who is anything but easygoing (but loved nonetheless).

Hoppinggreen · 18/09/2018 09:11

I’m on number4 now
Friendly
Cuddly
Loves company
Good looking
Healthy
Quite chilled
Real part of the family
BUT
Muddy
Hairy
Clumsy
Big
Can resource guard
Over friendly
Wouldn’t have any other breed though

AmabelleOnabike · 18/09/2018 09:14

Beautiful, mellow, gentle dogs. I got mine from a breeder who gave me the (fattest) most mellow from the litter. We went on to have two children and she was so patient and gentle with them, and their friends. We rarely heard her bark. She moulded like crazy but we now have a JRT x who moults just as much if not more. Birds collected the GR's hair for their nests so it provided cosy bedding in many nests, even after she died.

They are big and therefore their poo's are big. Need walking and are capable of walking miles and miles but very bidable. My dog could walk without a lead and keep in when I said "car coming".

Wonderful wonderful dogs all in all. Mine was demoted to just a Golden as she rarely retrieved anything ❤.
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