Golden Retrievers

[ComeTheFuck0nBridget]

DH has agreed that we can get a Golden Retriever! I'm over the moon excited, they're a breed that I've always loved and I'm so happy that he's okay with it too.

We are experienced with dogs, and I have some experience with Golden Retrievers though I haven't had one of my own before.

They seem to be a very popular breed, a lot of waiting lists are full even, but I'm okay with this as although I'm excited, I'm not in a rush.

In the meantime, I just thought that I would pop onto Mumsnet and ask on here of any of you who already have one, if you have any tips, advice, stories or photos of yours to keep me going in the meantime??

Did I mention I'm excited??

We don't have one anymore. We rescued a beautiful girl when she was about 18 months old. Our 2 year old decided from day one that she was his dog and she agreed. She was incredibly gentle and affectionate with us but ruled our two terriers with nothing more than body language.

My advice would be get a dog with a good hip score - the vet told us that she had the weakest hips he had ever seen. Even though she loved food we were very careful with her diet and exercise - very little running/jumping but all the swimming she wanted. She lived until she was 16, falling asleep one night in her basket and not waking up again.

Although I love terriers and that would be my first choice I can not recommend Golden Retrievers too highly. The only downside is the shedding - lots of shedding - all year round. But worth every push of the vacuum cleaner!

Goldies are the absolute best! We have a 7 month old pup and she’s very sweet, great fun and so far has been a pleasure to train.

My first dog, also a golden retriever died a year ago at almost 15 years old and I was heart broken. They are very different personalities but both dogs have been really gentle, best friends to the kids and very much in tune with how everyone is feeling.

We have a border collie too and the two of them get on great.

You have made the best decision ever, you won’t regret it!

Thanks @IthinkIsawahairbrushbackthere for sharing, sounds like you had a lovely dog there. We have two Terriers already as well.

My best friend used to have three when we were young, I can well remember the shedding, and having to brush our party outfits off before we went out 😂

I know that there's no getting around it but did you find that anything helped at all?

Oh my gosh @MyView2 she's such a cutie! Sorry to hear about your previous one. Can I ask, how hard was it getting your puppy? I'm wondering if such long waiting lists are normal, or is it a side effect of lockdown and everything happening at the minute?

I think reputable breeders often have waiting lists. I emailed some people who were advertising on the kennel club puppy lists and also joined a Facebook group which is where we found our lovely golden girl. As the pp said the hip scores are really important and I think proper registration too as I saw some advertised that hadn’t been hip scored and were not going to be kennel club registered which I deemed was too much of a risk. We were on a reserve list and got lucky as there were seven bitches in the litter and some people pulled out so we moved up the list. This is the Facebook group that you may find worth registering with m.facebook.com/groups/1969317269978941?group_view_referrer=profile_browser

Thanks @MyView2 , I'm actually in that group already. I'm definitely going to be careful about hip scoring etc, and will make sure to go with a KC and council registered breeder.

I have a golden retriever, she has just turned one and is the best dog I have ever had. She is beautiful, very intelligent and shockingly stupid. She constantly has that smile they all seem to have and just seems happy all the time. My little boy is 4 and autistic so I wanted a breed that would be good as a family dog. The shedding is none stop but she is worth all the hoovering and mopping. She does these silly falls where you are sitting and she flops back so you have to catch her. I love her loads, she has made such a difference to mine and my little boys lives.

We never found anything to stop the shedding although she always loved being groomed. We now have a husky and his spread of husky glitter puts the retriever in the shade.

I forgot to mention we also have a retriever cross - he's 50% golden 50% labradoodle. He looks like a very skinny lab. As he's grown older - he's 9 now - and although he is jet black with a short straight coat - he is becoming more and more retriever like. He wants a lot of affection, has to bring something in his mouth to greet everyone and is really sweet.

I’ve found the best thing for shedding is a decent hoover I agree with everything said above... brilliant family dogs, so gentle and soppy. We didn’t have to wait too long for ddog but we were flexible about location and ended up getting him from a breeder that involved a 4 hour round trip (and visited him twice before we got him!)

We are due to collect a Golden pup in June.We also have an 11 year od Trieve. There are so many unscrupulous breeders out there, charging thousands. Go onto the Kennel Club website and approach this breeders first. We literally tried everyone after almost being shafted by someone puppy farming in Manchester! Good luck, they are wonderful dogs.

Oh I have one and he is the absolute best dog in the world ever!

Apart from the hair! OMG the hair! It’s the only bad thing. It’s everywhere. The past 10 years of my life have been lived through a cloud of golden fuzz.

Get a decent hoover. Accept you will be hoovering all the time. And sometimes eating dog hair. Dc now refer to getting a “free bonus” with their dinner.

We are just getting our 4th, last one aged 13 had to be put to sleep. Best dogs, we just love them. We have a decent sized garden and husband at home, lovely walks from the back gate. Will be suitably spoilt, but you have to watch their weight.

I have two. The best quote about them I've ever seen is "Golden retrievers think life is a party thrown just for them! They are such fun dogs.

Expect manic puppy biting, it's a good thing they are cute as the biting stage can feel like you own a wild beast. They grow out of it eventually!
Most of them love mud and water. One of mine will lie in the road if I try and go home without him paddling in the stream nearby.
Retrievers will retrieve. One of mine is a tennis ball nut, the other likes to 'help' by carrying in shopping bags, the post or shoes.

I have heard there is a sudden demand for puppies at the moment. Hope you can find a good breeder and get on a waitlist op.

We went onto the Kennel Club site and approached all of the breeders on it. Then they grilled us on the phone when we found one having pups .Do be careful there are some really unscrupulous people out there. x

Have a look on FB Golden Retriever puppies in the U.K. from health tested parents

Please can more GR owners post some stuff about their lovely dogs on here as we are thinking of getting one!

We have two and I love them.
Our oldest is now 4 years old, he is the most calm and gentle dog you will ever meet (although he had his moments as a puppy and a teenager). He has passed his pets as therapy assessment to visit hospitals, care homes, etc.
Our youngest is 18 months and a completely different beast! She is related to our other dog, and we deliberately went through the same breeder as we hoped for the same temperament, which didn’t work. But, while she is much higher in energy and mischief, she is also so incredibly happy and the best cuddler. So between them, there is always a dog that suits your mood!

I think with big dogs, training is so important. Behaviour (like jumping up or ignoring recall) that people will tolerate with a small dog is much less acceptable when your dog can reach peoples’ faces and knock them over. We did weekly training classes with our older dog for 18 months, our younger one is still going. It paid off yesterday, when the younger one was trying to drag my husband (on lead walks only due to COVID) into the river to catch a water vole, and I managed to call her back up the steep river bank to me at the last moment.

There are pros and cons to all dog breeds. The cons are definitely the constant hair shedding (I’d had a long haired dog before, but they only did a big shed twice a year) and they are quite stinky dogs.

The pros are that they give great hugs, you can lean into a big dog and really feel reassured. They are fairly easy to train, and other than the teenage period I don’t think I’ve ever met a Golden that didn’t want to make their owner happy. They are really beautiful and friendly.

I had one. She was so gentle and sweet. She was two when my DD was born and was always good with her. She used to play hide and seek with DD. She was very biddable and good on the road. She lived to almost 14 and there will never be another like her 😭.

We have a rescue JRT since who is totally different. Also a sweet dog but different as though a completely different species!

Someday I will have another GR. They are big dogs with copious amounts of (beautiful) hair and huge poos! They need a lot of grooming and love water. And mud! And they have sweeping waggy tails. Our GR was very aptly described as "eagar to please".

We got ours through the Kennel Club.

@BarbeDeMaman I agree about the water and mud thing, and then as soon as they dry it falls off onto your floor!

They are the best dogs, I have an ex guide dog pup who didn’t make it. Awesome boy, friend and family member love him to bits
We are also getting a pup in January but sadly my current dog isn’t well so won’t be here by then but you’ll not regret getting one

Muddy, hairy, clumsy, large beasts but absolutely the best dogs in the world.
I’ve had them on and off for 40 years and couldn’t ever contemplate another breed

Just the best. Adoring, biddable, kind....

Thirty three years of this breed. Family members absolutely x