Golden Retriever Information
Basic Information About Golden Retrievers.
Golden Retrievers are one of the most beloved dogs in America. The reasons for their extreme popularity are many and they are all great reasons. Golden Retrievers have an innately gentle disposition and a need to please that makes them ideal guide dogs and wonderful family pets. They are good with children and careful around handicapped and elderly people. Golden Retrievers are excellent hunting dogs and love to spend time outdoors, making them ideal companions for hikers, sportsmen, and anyone who loves nature.
The most famous characteristic of the Golden Retriever is his happy personality and love of human beings. Golden Retrievers are not aggressive dogs and their need to make their owners happy makes them easy to train. In spite of this stellar personality, Golden Retrievers are also active, rambunctious dogs that need plenty of exercise and lots of attention. They don’t like to be left alone and they have to be walked and played with regularly or they can develop behavior problems. A Golden Retriever is definitely not the right dog for a city dweller who works all the time and isn’t home very much.
Golden Retrievers are very attentive when it comes to their owners and small children, which is one of the reasons they make such good companion dogs for the handicapped and the blind. However, they do not make good guard dogs because they are indiscriminately nice to everyone. They simply love people. They also require regular grooming to look and smell nice, and their long fur can sometimes cause problems for family members with allergies.
Golden Retrievers live for up to 15 years, but like lots of other large breeds they are prone to certain health problems that other dogs are not. Purchasing your Golden Retriever from a reputable breeder can help to weed out genetic problems like hip dysplasia and other bone disorders, but even Golden Retrievers that are healthy at birth can develop problems later in life like cataracts, cancer, thyroid problems, digestive issues, epilepsy, and various allergies.
As a breed, Golden Retrievers are also prone to obesity, so careful feeding and regular exercise are a vital part of keeping them healthy. Table scraps are definitely out of the question. Letting your Golden Retriever pack on the pounds will shorten his life and make him more susceptible to arthritis and a host of other canine illnesses and conditions.
Golden Retrievers are enthusiastic sporting dogs, and will appreciate any hunting or fishing trip, camping trip, or excursion to a wildlife preserve or park. They can be taught to hunt and, as their name suggests, they can learn to retrieve birds and other prey from bodies of water. In fact, just try to keep them from doing that! Although many people now keep Golden Retrievers as companions, not as hunting animals, they were originally bred to flush and retrieve varmints and birds. When given a chance to do this they appreciate and are extremely helpful.
Golden Retrievers are happy, energetic, active dogs with a keen intelligence and a deep love for human beings that is bred right into them. If a Golden Retriever is right for you and you have the space and the time to spend with this wonderful dog, he will reward you many years of friendship and fun.
