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Original poster

Golden Retriever?

92 replies

WolfieWolfie · 15/03/2023 19:22

Considering getting a show line golden retriever. A few things putting me off …

“endless energy” … are they really bouncing off the walls 24/7?

“Can never let them off lead as they’ll want to play with every dog they see despite training” - so you really can’t train them reliable recall?

“difficult to train as so stubborn”

Can anyone in the know shed any light?

OP posts:
dfkdfc · 15/03/2023 19:29

I have a GR that is the best dog I have ever had. He is stubborn, playful, greedy, lazy and affectionate. He loves sitting on our laps, all 36kg of him.

Yes we can't let him off the lead but I know plenty that can.

He loves water and mud.

Energy.....he is the laziest dog I know and sits down for a rest during his walk....sometimes even gets up and sits next to me on the bench

Hair.....don't even start me off. You need a good hoover.

But, we wouldn't change him for the world.

Original poster
WolfieWolfie · 15/03/2023 19:30

dfkdfc · 15/03/2023 19:29

I have a GR that is the best dog I have ever had. He is stubborn, playful, greedy, lazy and affectionate. He loves sitting on our laps, all 36kg of him.

Yes we can't let him off the lead but I know plenty that can.

He loves water and mud.

Energy.....he is the laziest dog I know and sits down for a rest during his walk....sometimes even gets up and sits next to me on the bench

Hair.....don't even start me off. You need a good hoover.

But, we wouldn't change him for the world.

Thank you for your reply

How much work did you put into recall training? Just curious as I intend to really focus on it ?

OP posts:
lifeturnsonadime · 15/03/2023 19:32

Hair. Really never underestimate this.

It's everywhere. The shed is immense. Think a dog a day. You will be constantly sweeping or hoovering.

I can't let mine off the lead either. She won't come back.

But she's lovely, goofy and affectionate.

I'm not sure I'd have another one because of the hair. But she's a great dog.

Citygirlrurallife · 15/03/2023 19:34

I’m very very new to this so caveat it may well all change but we have a show line GR puppy, 8.5months old and he is WONDERFUL. I was 100% cat person before but dear god I love this ridiculous dog.

we let him off the lead all the time, in appropriate places of course, and have trained and continue to train him to sit whenever he sees another dog or human or bike or whatever and be given permission to say hello so it is doable (he does NOT do this half as well when on the lead interestingly). We’re half heartedly training recall because generally we don’t need to.

yes he has a lot of energy but also has very lazy chilled time too - I’ve found working him mentally wears him out as much as a long walk. Though we have had a lot of people say he’s more chilled than most puppies his age - no idea if it makes a difference but his dad is a stud for guide dogs so some might be genetic.

he ridiculously easy to train because he bloody loves treats and food, I honestly thought that was the perception anyway - trainable dogs because so food motivated.

im waiting for awful adolescence to hit though so come back to me in a month or two!!!

biscuitcat · 15/03/2023 19:35

Goldens are my very favourite dog!

Mine has plenty of energy and loves a walk, but after he's more than happy to curl up on the sofa or his bed and have a good snooze.

He's also brilliant off lead and has great recall (though the less said about his on lead behaviour the better...) - because they're so food motivated I didn't find training too bad, as he'll do most things for a snack! We didn't try for any advanced training as I basically just wanted him to be a good family dog - it might have been harder if I was trying to get him to do agility type stuff.

There really is hair everywhere, and drool too, he leaves a puddle on the kitchen floor while waiting for dinner to be ready, but just so worth it for how brilliant he is.

Also great with kids and cats - we have a toddler and had lots of friends round with theirs the other day, he was more than happy snoozing in the middle of the chaos and getting the odd stroke.

mondaytosunday · 15/03/2023 19:35

My mother had one - gorgeous reddish colour. She was a bit hyper, but had excellent recall and hung out outside in an unfenced garden. But yea the shedding - Wowsa.

lifeturnsonadime · 15/03/2023 19:38

Oh I'm so jealous of all of these excellent recall GR's.

We took our GR to a gun dog trainer for months who told us our girl's hunting drive is too great, it is, she's off and doesn't come back. Food not enough to coax her.

We have to use enclosed fields. Guess it's just luck at the end of the day.

LBF2020 · 15/03/2023 19:41

I have a nearly 2 year old, he's half working so a bit more fired up than a purely show bred GR. I think the reason they can get a bit of a bad rep is because they stay puppies for so long, I've heard it said the teenage bit lasts for years 🫣

-endless energy He definitely could go ALL day if he was allowed. However, he has always been pretty good at chilling at home. We have another dog so I think he learnt this from her.

  • can't ever let them off the lead
^There are some places I don't let mine off lead as I cannot guarantee he won't do something stupid. Basically if there is lots of people around .I can recall away from other dogs, but he would say hi to everyone given the chance. He does well with whistle recall.

- difficult to train, stubborn he's my first GR but he isn't difficult to train. I find the biggest issue is distraction. Although he can be stubborn, but not lay down in the street stubborn 🤣^ He wants to please, not quite in the way a spaniel or collie does though.

I will get another, they are goofy and fun

DrMeredithGrey2023 · 15/03/2023 19:44

I had no idea that GR's had a rep for poor recall!

Is this as un 'won't come back at all' or 'if there's a distraction you may as well be invisible until they decide otherwise'

Original poster
WolfieWolfie · 15/03/2023 19:47

lifeturnsonadime · 15/03/2023 19:38

Oh I'm so jealous of all of these excellent recall GR's.

We took our GR to a gun dog trainer for months who told us our girl's hunting drive is too great, it is, she's off and doesn't come back. Food not enough to coax her.

We have to use enclosed fields. Guess it's just luck at the end of the day.

Is this a working line GR?

OP posts:
Citygirlrurallife · 15/03/2023 19:48

I would imagine the latter @DrMeredithGrey2023 they're incredibly
loyal dogs who adore their owners and don’t want you to go anywhere!

lifeturnsonadime · 15/03/2023 19:48

WolfieWolfie · 15/03/2023 19:47

Is this a working line GR?

Show quote history

No she's a show line.

StandUpForYourRights · 15/03/2023 20:01

This reply has been withdrawn

This message has been withdrawn at the poster's request

dfkdfc · 15/03/2023 20:02

DrMeredithGrey2023 · 15/03/2023 19:44

I had no idea that GR's had a rep for poor recall!

Is this as un 'won't come back at all' or 'if there's a distraction you may as well be invisible until they decide otherwise'

Definitely the latter!

dfkdfc · 15/03/2023 20:11

WolfieWolfie · 15/03/2023 19:30

Thank you for your reply

How much work did you put into recall training? Just curious as I intend to really focus on it ?

Show quote history

Oh he knows his recall, and to be fair, he can be pretty good (when we are alone) but if there is something else better on offer, he'll come back when he chooses to, not necessarily when we want him to!

ilovesushi · 15/03/2023 20:16

I had never heard that poor recall was associated with Goldens. There are a few that live round us and their owners let them off lead all the time and I've not noted that they don't come back to them! One is an escape artist and always makes a bee line for our house because he's in love with our dog. Our dog is half working Golden Retriever and half working lab. She is super bouncey, very loving and loyal and very intelligent. Recall is only an issue if she gets the scent of a deer or a rabbit.

Timeforachangeisitnot · 15/03/2023 20:17

Gosh , I have 2 labs now, but previously had a GR and have several friends with them . Recall was not a problem, but my dog was very focused on retrieving - balls, sticks, whatever.
My labs are the same. Want to say hello to everyone, but turn back instantly , when I blow my whistle .
The GR was way more chilled than the labs, ( and they are fairly calm) but oh the hair 😱

Nooyoiknooyoik · 15/03/2023 20:18

We have a working line. In retrospect I wouldn’t have got one as they are highly intelligent and need a lot of exercise and stimulation. Off lead - on lead would not be enough.

He is very food orientated and was easy to train. His recall was pretty good until he went through an adolescent phase of chasing everything, eg bikes, joggers. During this phase we could no longer go to parks, we had to drive miles away every day which was an utter pain.

Recently, aged almost 2, his recall has improved again and he has stopped chasing bikes, thankfully. I can see us walking him in the local park again very shortly.

The real downside now is that he needs a minimum of 2 hours off lead every day and we can’t go off out and leave him alone for too long. It’s very restrictive.

He also does very smelly farts.

The upside is that he is extremely gentle and loving.

Manybeards · 15/03/2023 20:19

They are the best dogs, loving, friendly and good with kids. Mine is getting better at recall and loves her long walks. They love water and mud though !

franglais123 · 15/03/2023 20:22

None of those statements apply to ours. She has been very calm in the house from 6 months, and very reliable out of the house off lead from two years old.
Very easy to train as so food oriented- she’d do anything for a bit of cheese!
We all adore her and I genuinely can’t think of any faults. 😍

franglais123 · 15/03/2023 20:24

Oh yes I’ve thought of a fault - your house will be filthy from the hair and mud but it’s worth it!

MSJK · 15/03/2023 20:26

I have a 2.5 year old show line GR gal and she’s the best. Loves a good walk but is pretty lazy on the whole and will spend 90% of the day snoozing. Her recall is pretty good, the key is good treats (chicken/ham/cheese) and lots of praise. Our main issue having her off lead is that she scavenges so will eat any discarded food she can find. The greediness did make her relatively easy to train though, she will do almost anything for some cheese.

Hoppinggreen · 15/03/2023 20:30

Ours is pretty chilled, when we get home he likes to say hello but then he just takes himself off and lies down somewhere.
He likes to say hello to people while out and prefers people to dogs (people may have treats) but follows us when we move on.
Having said that it’s taken a lot of training to get to this stage and we worked very hard on recall and he still has his moments now.
He is very hairy and muddy but very loving and GR ate the best breed in the world as far as I’m concerned - I have had 4!!

Saddogmum73 · 15/03/2023 20:34

We had one from puppy until we had to have him PTS at 11.5. He was not stubborn, very chilled and good with recall. He did need lots of training but he was very food/treat motivated that it was easy. He was an absolute joy and I miss everything about him everyday.

CosyFanTucci · 15/03/2023 20:35

We’ve had a couple of Goldens so all this is in my experience .your Golden May vary. They’re among the easiest dogs to train being very bright and very motivated by food and to please their owners. You can train them as thoroughly as you like. Recall was no issue but as ours aged they got a bit more independent. The only time they ignored recall was when they’d spotted a deer.
Stubborn is not a word I’d associate with them. But they do need a couple of hours of off-lead exercise daily and a big garden. They’re not toy dogs.
They’re very loving, very gentle, very easy. But by heck do they shed hair!

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