Is a Golden Retriever Right for You?

Golden Retrievers have a high profile in the media, but they’re not for everyone. This is an athletic breed, and these high-energy dogs require training. However, Golden Retrievers are easily trained and love to learn, so training can be a fun but very busy experience.
Here are a few reasons why you might think twice about life with a Golden Retriever:

• Hair and hair are everywhere. The Golden Retriever has what’s called a double coat, which means it has a silky smooth coat to insulate it from cold and heat and a longer outer layer of protective bristles. These hairy creatures shed their downy coat in droves every spring and drip a few dog hairs throughout the home all year long. The resulting dog clouds around the house can also make you tear your hair.

Brushing will help keep pesky dog ​​hair to a minimum. Daily cleaning is best – twice a week is a must. If you use a professional groomer, expect to pay $15 to $25 per grooming session. Being beautiful has a price.

• Goldens need space, and plenty of it, both inside and outside the home. A yard is a must, and a good fence is preferred. If you want to live with a Golden Retriever, make sure you have room for one. These sprawling big fellows easily occupy at least one sofa cushion or comfy chair. Everything is big, including their muddy footprints on your kitchen floor and their nose prints on the window. This happy golden tail can easily wipe down the coffee table.
• Daily dose of exercise. Plain gold usually creates a bit of a happy mess, which is part of its irresistible allure. These lively dogs have a good sense of humor and love to retrieve, play, chase and chew. They need exercise to put all that athletic energy into, or they’ll just enjoy themselves in a typical canine way. (Think of the devastation!)

A typical Golden Retriever home usually has a few coarse chew marks on the legs of the chair, dog toys strewn about the living room, piles of ripped sticks in the backyard, and a big stick or two in the front or back door, which he handed to you as his prize own.
Gold will not train you without you. You motivate him to have fun and play. Daily walks, jogs, Frisbee, and bumper chases (those big cloth shaped hot dogs or plastic items sold at pet stores to retrieve dogs) can help maintain your gold content.

• Wherever you go, I go: if you’re on your way and you’re never home and he’s alone most of the day, your golden will be very stressed and unhappy. This is not fair to the dog and could be disastrous for you. Goldens have to be with people, and a lonely and lonely Golden person can easily suffer from separation anxiety, which will lead to destructive behavior. It is a natural stress reliever for dogs.

If you are an active family member who loves the outdoor life and plan to take the gold to soccer and baseball games, then both of you are probably a good fit.

• on the guard. . . Not! If you are looking for a guard dog, look for another breed. Most Goldens are total love sponges that happily lick an intruder’s shoe. You can encourage them to bark at people who come near your house, but you cannot – and shouldn’t – teach them to scare or bite. Its size may deter home invaders, but anyone familiar with the golden love stance knows that a scratch behind golden ears means instant friendship.