Tell me all you know about golden retreivers pretty please

[Hairydogs]

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.

My dc would happily have sent ours back at age 4 months, he though dd was a chew toy!
They love him to bits now and it’s mutual.
DS played football last night and let a goal in (he’s 9) he came home very angry with himself and teary and didn’t want to talk about it. He sat on the stairs and Ddog put his head on his knee and they stayed like that for about 5 minutes until DS was ok again
Recently a really awful thing happened at DD’s School ( classmate died). With The Heads permission and at DD’s request I took Ddog down to the playground and dd and some of her friends ( who all love him) came out and cuddled him.
We jokingly call him the therapy dog
He’s still a shit Head sometimes but compared to the bitey evil puppy he was he’s awesome

Don't worry, hang on in there, summerisonitway . No dog was as bad as mine! The biting, thieving (at one point I saw my white kingsize duvet cover had disappeared from the washing line and dog was zooming around the garden wrapped up in it; he'd been all round the shrubs so it was covered in mud), general madness...

I have several items of clothing with rips and tears in. He'd hang on the bottom of skirts or any loose clothing. He was boisterous, pulled on the lead, swallowed anything...

Speaking with other gr owners, there are some rogue mad ones in amongst the generally calm grs. And it's not just boys, either. I know some pretty bonkers girl grs.

After parting company with two training establishments, I found a personal trainer, and dog is now an extremely polite young man. Still mad as a hatter, but follows every command and is the most wonderfully friendly dog in the world.

Re extra commands - I had a man in to lay a carpet, and he was most impressed when I said to dog, "Wake up ds!" and he goes and opens ds's door, and then, "Wake up dd!" and he opens dd's door. He won't fetch anything, though...

Ours as a pup constantly stole. A whole batch of homemade pretzels cooling off (I cried as I'd been so proud of them and hadn't even got to taste them), a straight out of the oven jacket potato from my plate as I was carrying it to the table, a dozen eggs were demolished - raw. It didn't help that it was summer and the garden door was constantly open. She would race with anything coveted straight into the garden and it would be a massive game for her to see if we could catch her.

Socks, shoes, any clothing. The worst bit was when we were in the garden and she came racing out with a massive breadknife in her mouth. I quickly learnt not to leave ANYTHING on the work surface and still do not although she is so much better now. All our tops had holes in where she clung on with her teeth and nipped mine and my DC's bums. It was a horrific time. But now, it seems like a distant memory!

Oh yes, the evil bitey puppy stage. That's normal! It doesn't last.x

Our golden is 18 months old and we all love him more than we ever thought possible. He is active with my active 10 yo, calm with my more bookish 9 yo and very patient with DD who is 7. He is determined to please DH and he loves me the most. Every morning is like Christmas with cuddles and him bringing toys and talking to us all. Sure, we had to buy a stick vacuum and wearing black is a questionable decision but he is the BEST dog ever.

Our GR was a wonderful dog. She was a beautiful pale colour and not lumbering at all. She was a smallish build for GRs and was slim and agile. She especially loved children and playing with them. She was very loving and obedient. She loved to bring you things, especially knickers if she could find a pair she was made up. She had her own soft toys, which she would carry round very gently, looking very pleased with herself. She used to play cricket with us and was an excellent fielder on the boundary. If I felt sad she would know and would cuddle up and we would have a hug.

The only downside to our amazing dog was her voracious appetite. She was a forager and she sometimes raided the bin.

Apart from that she was amazing.

OK OK first let me placemark so I don't lose this thing!

I have two of the little darlings and I adore them. I have OCD so find mess hard sometimes but the fur is manageable it's really not that bad. We have lint rollers in the dressing room and by the front door (and I may have one in the car and one in my drawers at work!).

My two are so different. I have a dog and a bitch. One is 10 one is 2. They are the best dogs in the world. They are harder than labs but more rewarding also. Goldens are more likely to take the piss but they're a bit more spatially aware and so wise. One of mine I swear is more lab than golden, bit of a clumsy oaf my other isn't at all. My youngest is from dual purpose lines and is just wonderful. I personally wouldn't get a show bred golden. I would want one with both sides in, they're not that tricky to find these days.

Reading some of the other replies, I think you get used to the way of life. No food out (including fruit bowls). No crockery with food on left in the sink. No wearing black. No coffee tables at swishy tail level/careful mug placing skills if you must. Eldest ate our mortgage offer when that came through the post despite not eating the post ever before! And petplan insurance for sure...I could right a book on my eldest I NC'd for this because my dogs are rather identifiable, they are called Rupert and Rosalie and I love them far too much. They get left for 3 x weekdays in total but we come home at lunch for them, literally all they do when we are home is snooze. They don't require a crazy amount of exercise at all, Rosalie being the baby needs more but mental stimulation goes a long way it's good to use their brain. They're the kind of dogs you can stick in the car and take with you to most places as well, train them well and you reap the rewards.

I too am a proud owner of a stunning goldie called hugh (named by guide dogs) he was a bit dopey didn’t like traffic so no good as a guide dog so we kept him (he did have plenty exposure to traffic etc but was irrationally scared)

But now at 9 he is perfectly trained - traffic doesn’t bother him so much, kids love him my kittens climbed all over him without him batting an eyelid - the cats snuggle in to sleep sometimes with him. He’s placid and friendly and my kids can take his lead, my 8 year old loves walking him (with me). Wouldn’t have any other dog

He does shed - get a good hoover, does like his food too, have a lockable bin. We adore our boy, he absolutely loves the kids (I have 4)

Another one shedding a few tears because I miss our Goldie boy (only been a few months). He was a big, soft, loving teddy bear. The house isn't the same without the tumbleweeds of hair all over the place.

Sweet, gentle a bit thick and friendly, they are also generous with their hair, not good when you have a navy blue school uniform - well that was ours anyway when I was the one with the uniform

She also used to walk around apparently not knowing there was a cat hanging from her tail. Loved the car - was happy to sit in while my mum washed the car.

Her favorite treat was an egg that she would walk around holding in her mouth and then drop on her favorite spot to eat.

She was not allowed on the furniture, she knew this, she ignored this.

She once ate an entire birthday cake.

She did swish a small child to the floor with her tail, fortunately small child loved dogs and was highly amused.

The thick thing - as a puppy she would sleep on the , it had two stone squares at either side of the fireplace. As a new puppy she curled up and fit, she didn't seem to know she was growing, so as she got bigger she would curl up to sleep, once she was asleep her head would fall off the stone, she would get of the stone bark at it and get back on.

As an adult she would occasionally still sit on the fireplace with her bum and two back legs, two front legs on the floor and a puzzled look on her face.

She also thought she could still fit under the cottage suite sofa, which she did as a puppy but as an adult only her head and shoulders would go under.

She would raid the bin and occasionally the laundry basket, she had a real thing for knickers and would chew them.

She liked to take a cushion to new people and retrieve anything, even if it didn't need to be retrieved, boxes of matches, toys, shoes etc.

Aww, my childhood dog was a Golden Retriever called Ben. Such a friendly dog and lived to 14. He loved eating his own poo towards the end, though

Weirdly, ours is not at all a gannett. You can put food on a coffee table and he will just ignore it. I grew up labs and so I know about normal food behaviour from dogs so was seriously amazed at his disinterest. Sounds like he is a freak amongst golden retrievers though

DH and I have a 9 month old working golden retriever and he is so much fun! He's interested in everything, enjoys attacking the brush, removing the washing from the machine (and running away with it), following me around the house wanting to "help", oh and stealing the washing from the line.

He is water obsessed! He will sniff out any water or muddy puddle to lie in, LOVES the hose (prefers chasing the hose around the garden than fetch!) Loves baths, DH ran himself a bath, forgot to close the door and returned to find puppy in it with his happy look on his face!

He needs loads of exercise and gets 3 good walks a day, play time with other dogs, play time and scent work and training classes. We have to do alot of training with him to stop him getting bored, especially leadwork and recall just now!

Is a counter surfer so can't leave anything out, sneaky devil tried his hand at enchiladas the other week!

Despite the adolescence phase just now, he's great fun and always happy to play and be with you!

Mudpuppy - they're proper mud puppies!

I have had five. Disagree that they are stupid, very quick to learn and can be quite stubborn. Only one of my five has been food orientated, which has been great for training.
Very loving, but often on their terms! fantastic with children, although have to be aware of their size.
Do moult, and love mud and water.
I honestly think they are the best dogs ever! So beautiful and wonderful to watch whether that be curled up at your feet or running through the fields.
the biggest draw back in my opinion is that they are very prone to cancer.