I have a golden retriever. Shes soft, soppy,easy to train and calm even as a puppy. She is absolutely fantastic with my young children and loves all people. Easiest dog I have even known/owned.
She loves most dogs but has snapped and been a bit aggressive to two dogs, both of which were extremely boisterous and would not leave her alone. I have had to be brave and take her to meet dogs again after those incidents and she has been fine. Shes only a teen though so I think with more positive experiences she will be fine. She is not reactive at all just a bit weary after those negative experiences.
She is so eager to please.
Softest most loving dog I have owned.
Having her is like therapy. You cannot be sad with a golden in your life.
The only other issue we have had is her instinct to chase rabbits, birds and squirrels. She can spot them miles away and if she decides to chase she forgets recall and does not care about food and will just shut down and run and run after whatever it is. I lost her for 15 minutes the other day as she chased a rabbit under a fence. I was in such a panic.
If there is no small animals around her recall is amazing and she responds to my movements, hand gestures and voice without needing to even use her commands.
Again shes a teen so we are working on the rabbit issue.
Mine is a show line but still requires lots of exercise.
Mental stimulation is important too so you need to make time for that.