Do Golden Retrievers make good family pets?

[animallover22]

Hi, does anyone have any experience with Golden Retrievers? What are they like with cats,dogs,small furries?

See that's completely different with my area all the ones I have met are really friendly. I guess it depends on how they've been brought up as well.

I meet loads of doodle crosses on our local park. I’ve never yet met a vile one and that’s the honest truth. On the other hand, the Staffordshire Bull Terriers are generally nasty towards other dogs. Just last week I saw one savage a Border Terrier, it was horrible.

If you get a cross it could be 99% Retriever or 99% poodle in terms of temperament etc so you need to be prepared for both
We have a GR (my 4th) and he’s great but clumsy around small children, muddy, hairy and used to resource guard so not ideal with a young family

I meet loads of doodle crosses on our local park. I’ve never yet met a vile one and that’s the honest truth. On the other hand, the Staffordshire Bull Terriers are generally nasty towards other dogs. Just last week I saw one savage a Border Terrier, it was horrible.

I suppose it's different in different areas because I've seen many, many Staffies (I grew up in a rough area where it was almost exclusively staffy) and apart from 1 nasty (to dogs) one in the fairly affluent area I live now I have never come across a dog aggressive staffy and every single one I've met has been soft and gentle with people.

My DS's old school had two mums with border terriers that were absolute bastards, I had to stop taking my dog on the school run there because they were so aggressive towards her the second the sighted her.
The others I have met have been lovely

They are bouncy AF, which can be a problem with people who don’t like dogs. Mine is 2, his relationship with my one year old is so lovely, they are the best of friends and the dog is v gentle. But he resource guards over food so cannot be fed in the same room as the baby, or the cat for that matter.
The cat and the dog reached an uneasy truce after a year or so.

@frostedviolets you still can say that one breed makes a better family pet than the other. There are breeds that are more trustworthy around children and breeds that are not, for example.

If you buy your golden from a reputable breeder and raise him right, he most certainly will make an excellent family dog. That´s a fact.

Oh, and from my experience it´s myth that they need a massive amount of training and stimulation.
They are extremly adaptive: they love to go for long walks and play are fine with sleeping the day away.

Mine has way more patience than I do for example. And no matter how hard I think the only downside I see in them is the fact that they do shed a lot. But I don´t mind!

We bought a corgi cardigan recently as well as our kids and DH wanted him so badly. He´s a nice dog and I do like him but I doubt I´ll ever love him as much as I love my golden girl. She´s golden in every possible way and if we ever take another dog in this life it´s gonna be a golden.

are fine with sleeping the day away.

• but are fine with sleeping the day away.

Goldens are lovely family dogs but do need a lot of training and stimulation. As a gun dog their energy level can be high, but that can be managed with good walks.

Whats your living situation like?

Personally i dont think there are "bad" breeds, just illsuited ones. Eg a toy dog bred to thrive on companionship is likely to be a good pet for someone home all day, but might be an awful pet for someone who expects it to be home alone 9-5. Same with dogs like goldens who are expected to cope on a half hour walk to the school each day, and not mouth things.

I will always comment that the issue with "doodle" dogs is that they are a mix of two breeds. Thus for you might get a poodle non shedding coat and the balanced temperament of a retriever, but you might get the flipside all of the moulting coat with a poodles intelligence! Ive met ones from one extreme to the other. Ignoring the breeding concerns, Its difficult to anticipate what the outcome will be. If you aren't able to manage that eg. Allergies to coat, cant handle poodles temperament then you need to find a dog that isnt such a lottery

Poodles and collies are often the example i use for "be careful what you wish for". We all think we want a clever dog but when its figured out to riffle through your bins, and is climibing the walls from being home alone then we realise that a lack of intelligence isnt always a bad thing!

@Fallofrain We can give any dog at least an hour a day. The problem is Monday's,Tuesday's and Thursday's when we could be leaving it for up to 6 six hours. I can pay for a pet sitter, but I just don't think it would be the same. It's fine on every other day because we can give a dog all the time in the world, but on others just not as much and dogs need companionship.

The problem is Monday's,Tuesday's and Thursday's when we could be leaving it for up to 6 six hours.

You can't leave a young dog that long - it's just not fair on them. Even for an adult, six hours alone is pushing it I'm afraid.

Puppies need companionship, regular toilet breaks and most importantly, supervision! I also think an hour of walking a day might be fine for a puppy (who can't walk far) but for a young retriever (as in, 2-3 years old) and hour a day isn't really enough.

Do you have the finances to pay for daycare or a walker? I think planning to leave a puppy for six hours, three days a week is simply not okay. If I'd gone out and left my pup for that long I'd return home to mess (wee and poo everywhere), destruction (through boredom, loneliness and anxiety) and probably complaints from the neighbours thanks to all the barking!

He's nearly two now and three hours would be the absolute maximum I could leave him, and even then, that's only after a good long walk (90 minutes minimum). If I tried to leave him without tiring him out first, I'd have no sofa when I got back!

The problem is Monday's,Tuesday's and Thursday's when we could be leaving it for up to 6 six hours. I can pay for a pet sitter, but I just don't think it would be the same.
So for half the week you'd be leaving a dog alone. That's not fair on the dog, especially for a breed like a golden who needs the exercise and stimulation.

They'd need to be in doggy daycare or have a reliable pet sitter.

I don't leave my dog more than 2-3 hours and it's rare they are alone more than 2 hours because it's not fair on them.

you still can say that one breed makes a better family pet than the other. There are breeds that are more trustworthy around children and breeds that are not, for example

Mm, I don't think I agree with you.
I think it comes down to breeding from good, solid temperament dogs and a good upbringing.

Dogs are domesticated, social animals, living with people of all ages is what they are bred for.

My own dog is a very good family dog, very bombproof around children.
She isn't a breed well known for 'family pet life' yet she is very safe.

I have known people with dogs of breeds stereotypically thought of as friendly family dogs who just aren't.

I think it's unwise to label whole breeds as 'safe for children/family dogs' because it encourages buying from bad breeders without checking extremely carefully the temperament of the dogs because the assumption is they will grow up to be friendly and I also think it means people are more likely to let children clamber all over and pester said dog expecting it to just lie there and take it because it's a 'child safe breed'

If you buy your golden from a reputable breeder and raise him right, he most certainly will make an excellent family dog. That´s a fact

I agree.
A dog of good breeding, brought up right should indeed make an excellent family dog.

@LolaSmiles @adaline
I think it also depends on the breed as well. Some suffer with separation anxiety more than others. I used to leave my cavapoo for up to 6 hours and once or twice even more. It can't be helped when your circumstances change, when their at an older age. I understand that it probably wasn't fair, but from an early age she just adapted to our lifestyle. She was never destructive (only when teething), so I think it can come down to the breed quite a lot of the time and your own lifestyle.

What i always preach in these sort of threads is to think realistically of what period on those days.

So for example if you work 6 hours eg 9-3 are you actually out more than that? Eg a decent commute might make it 8 hours a day. If you're actually leaving at 8, dropping the kids off, then chatting at work when you put your coat on, picking kids up, ferrying them to after school things, picking up something from the corner shop etc then its amazing how that adds up.

One of my previous fosters came from a family who had good intentions, only worked school hours etc but once they had the dog realised what other commitments they had eg. Couple of hours watching kids play sport etc during the week, food shopping etc

I agree that when your circumstances change its hard, however you are getting a new dog into these circumstances which is different

6 hours is a very long time for a puppy, i would recommend an older dog with a dog walker in middle

I think it unwise to label a whole breed as 'good family pets' to be honest.

Agree, very unwise, there is no such thing as a safe breed. I've worked with dogs for 25 years and personally I wouldn't have a retriever with young DC, I've met many aggressive retrievers.

Can't be helped as in emergency is different to getting a dog knowing it will be spending 6 hours alone for half a week.

Petsafe suggest no more than 4 hours.

We didn't get a dog for years because we weren't in a position to provide the stability and care that it deserved due to our lifestyle and commitments.

What you're saying with your last dog adapting to your lifestyle and it not being ideal is essentially saying the dog had to suck it up because it was convenient for you and now that same attitude is being used towards the potential new dog.

@Fallofrain
I thought about a rescue but I have 4 cats and 2 guinea pigs, so I think there's already too much going on to bring one in especially when you don't know their background a lot of the time.

An older dog adapting to a change in circumstances isn't the same as purposefully planning to leave a puppy alone for six hours a day, though.

Puppies shouldn't be left like that - it's cruel. You know you're going to be out six hours per day, therefore you need to plan for that. Either cough up for daycare on those days (puppies are too young to go with a walker) or find someone to come and sit with the puppy - a neighbour, or family perhaps. If you can't arrange something suitable then it's not the right time for you to get a dog.

No rescue would rehome to you under those circumstances. I'm afraid I agree with the PP who said this:

What you're saying with your last dog adapting to your lifestyle and it not being ideal is essentially saying the dog had to suck it up because it was convenient for you and now that same attitude is being used towards the potential new dog.

@LolaSmiles A little harsh. I wouldn't say she had to 'suck it up'. Thankfully though my circumstances changed, so it didn't last too long but she was just an adaptable dog. It's hard for people to understand not knowing her or the situation.

Some suffer with separation anxiety more than others. I used to leave my cavapoo for up to 6 hours and once or twice even more

Your cavapoo sounds like she was really lovely but I wonder how typical she perhaps was as I thought that both poodles and cavaliers were prone to separation anxiety.

Though to be honest, I think most dogs would struggle with being left alone 6 hours a day, irrespective of breed.
They are social animals after all

Some suffer with separation anxiety more than others. I used to leave my cavapoo for up to 6 hours and once or twice even more

But you don't know what your dog will be like until you bring him or her home. You plan on leaving a puppy for six hours a day - what if said puppy cannot be left because it pees/poos/barks/cries/destroys your house?

You can’t leave a puppy 6 hours a day and shouldn’t leave any dog alone that long really.
FFS don’t get a retriever if you have allergies.
A crossbreed will likely be puppy farmed and you have no idea if you will or won’t react to it. No dog is hypoallergenic. No decent breeder would let you have a pup if you planned to leave it that long.

@Wolfiefan Lol you commented on my last thread months ago. Is this where you spend all your time?