Golden retriever owners - can I ask a simple question?

[EbbyEbs]

What is their recall like and how much training have you put into this?

My GR is almost 2 and we consistently work on recall using high value rewards (Turkey works best).

To sum up his recall is ‘I have heard you mum but I’m just deciding if and when I want to come back and if there is another dog I want to speak to, you don’t have a chance of me coming to you’

Your main issue is that they love everyone and think it’s mutual.
Plus if someone has better treats than you you may be onto a loser.
Ddog has pretty good recall now at 5 but it did take work and constant re enforcement. He always comes but often does it in his own sweet time.
They are smart though so will realise pretty quickly what you want them to do (even if they don’t do it)

Take that stubbornness and mix it with mr super intelligent collie and you’ve got me recall 100% when she wants to 0% with 2 fingers (paws) up if she doesn’t. mum was GR. BUT you couldn’t get a more loving dog.

Pretty good. Bit you have to train train train. The first 18 months of his life I trained the poor thing into oblivion but it has really paid off. Now we just revisit the training every now and again. If you can find a good (positive re-enforcement) trainer, consider the first level gundog training.

@Billybagpuss - she is gorgeous

My 15 month old is the same. Pretty good when she wants but any distractions and she wont bother. We keep working on it and i carry treats always. I also only allow her off lead in quiet areas where i can keep an eye on what is ahead to quickly pop her back on if needed

Beware the over eager retriever recall , she forgot to stop running and skittled me .

Yes, I echo the above. She is almost 8 and I went to a gundog trainer with her (he told me she was the most wilful dog for her age that he'd ever worked with 😱) so I worked REALLY hard on it.

9 times out of 10, she will return instantly. The other 1, she will turn, look at me, look at the higher value target, and then it is a race between me and her to catch up with/warn the target respectively. I only let her off lead when I have good line of sight and where I know there are no children/picnics/food because she cannot be 100% trusted - even after 8 years and a lot of work.

Ah this has put me off goldens 😞 I need a dog with a brilliant recall

Don’t be put off they are brilliant loving dogs! But like any intelligent breed, you need to put the hours in training. It definitely pays off, but is hard work. With any similar type dogs you would have the same training requirement anyway.

What is your specific situation, and what other breeds have you considered?

We have a gr/bc mix..thankfully he got his brains from his mother (border collie) and looks from his dad (the g retriever)
His recall is pretty good. As with most retrievers, he thinks everyone is his friend but will (reluctantly) come back every time when called.

He's a very clever dog, easily trained but with very little common sense!

No dog will unless you train train and train some more

I want a big dog that isn’t too hyper that I can take for long walks in the woods. I’ve considered Dobermann, German Shepherd, Golden Retriever and Leonberger. I do like to do obedience training so the dog would be trained but I don’t want a dog who is difficult to train solid recall

Yeah I understand that but some breeds will never have a solid recall no matter how much you train.

My friends German shepherd has 100% recall but I’m not sure I have the energy for a GSD

They are no harder than average if you put the work in

I had a Goldie and he had brilliant recall.
Apart from the stage between 6-12 months.
No particularly different training than with any other of my dogs. No excessive bribing and no telling off ever. They seem to just want to please all the time.
However he could smell any kind of food from a distance and I could tell when he was about to take off in the direction of a far away hedge to find that week old mouldy sandwich. The body language was distinctive. As long as I called him before just as he was starting to leave, he'd come back instantly. If he already started on his adventure, success rate was only about 70%. We some embarrassing picnic incidents because of this.
We had a few 'critical' incidents, mostly getting terrified by a certain event or noise or if he wasn't allowed near another dog or person, child. It was imperative he came back and I was amazed how consistently reliable he was. As if he was relieved I took charge and called him to me. Even on full on squirrel chases, he'd get really into it and turn around and run back as soon as I called.
I miss that boy.

Mine has brilliant recall. We use whistle and voice. Four years old. We worked hard literally from the moment we got him. He is very food driven and we exploit this. We also recall him just for the hell of it, when we don't need to, waiting for opportunities when he's interested in something then whistling. He always comes. I LOVE HIM!

Our current Goldie has perfect recall. I took her to training class and we did a lot of practice which has paid off. Her older sister also had good recall, as did our other goldens.
We have only had one with absolutely no recall- but that was when the kids were little in the late 80's and was absolutely our fault as we just didn't do much training with her at the time.

My goldie and border collie had the best recalls. The difference was my goldie always wanted to please, my collie could be a bit 'hrumph' when it came to being sociable! Goldies are absolutely my favourite dogs as they are have incredible emotional intelligence. But they do need a huge amount of training as they are seriously exuberant (you can never feel miserable with a goldie at your side!)
I currently have a lab, she has good recall but only if I have treats on me! My goldie always had good recall even if I left the treats behind, because she thrived on praise!
I fully intend to go back to goldies once I retire!

In terms of training a solid recall I would expect golden retrievers and labs to be at the easier end. That's not saying it's easy, but would expect 99% of them to get there with consistent training.

Problem is a lot of the time, the breeds with the higher potential for immaculate recall tend to also be the greedy breeds - we have a spaniel and her recall is excellent but if there's food on the ground its game over.

Our GR is a little like pp has said. Brilliant recall most of the time. But they can be very wilful. We have found a great compromise in a "wait" command.

On walks he knows well, you can almost see him thinking "what's the point in me coming to you, you are walking along here anyway". But using "wait", he stops dead (even if investigating a smell) 100% of the time. As a command it is much more palatable to him and has the same effect, particularly if combined with "down".

I find that GRs generally are very good readers of people, and when you actually need them to do something will oblige completely. It's when you'd like them too that they can be stubborn!

We had a GR, and I know several others. Not yet met one with even reasonable recall...ours was impossible. Gorgeous breed with many qualities but far too stubborn and wilful for me.

The only real breakthrough I ever had with him was when my husband pointed out i should be ''telling'' him what I wanted him to do rather than ''asking'' him. Might sound obvious...but the change in tone of voice worked. For a while. Ultimately the only one that dog wanted to please was himself.

He was, on the positive side, very loving and amazingly patient with the kids and faultlessly good natured with everyone and anyone. However we now have a WCS...different animal entirely. Was able to teach him recall from the day we got him, exceptionally intelligent and willing to learn.

She's 2.5 and has brilliant recall. We have 3 acres and if she takes herself off ( to roll on Fox shit ) I call her and she comes straight back.

I do agree about them being stubborn but the trick is to keep them interested and we had an array of high value treats to train her with.

It took till she was about 18 months and it was touch and go until that point but she's pretty bombproof now.

We have horses and livestock in the fields around us so she needed to have good recall.

I love retrievers and I'm considering another ( I have labs and yorkies ) they are really lovely loving dogs.

I've attached a photo of Tally, I highly recommend the breed.