Dogs are considered as best companions to spend quality time with. They are the faithful, friendly, loyal, and loving animals that are liked by almost everyone.

Talking about the Golden Retriever, it is a sturdy dog of the muscular body and medium size. It is famous for its beautiful and dense coat of golden color. It has a broad head, straight muzzle, intelligent eyes, short ears, feathery tail, and tolerant attitude.

There are more or less 196 well-known breeds of dogs with distinctive features and traits. After the Labrador retriever and German Shepherds standing at the first and second positions, the Golden Retriever holds the third position amongst the 196 dog breeds. Let’s learn about the Golden Retriever Dog breed in detail.

About The Golden Retriever Dog Breed

Golden Retriever Breed Information

The Golden Retriever, holding the third position is quite famous amongst dog lovers, especially in the USA. Their friendly and tolerant attitude makes them one of the best dog breeds to keep as pets at home. They are active and intelligent enough to work for hunting, sniffing, detecting, tracking, and searching. Their athletic body also makes them ideal for dog sports like competitive obedience.

Golden Retriever is a lively dog that loves to socialize and play. It carries on with its playful attitude until the 3 to 4 years of age. For some people its cool and for some, who like to have a mature dog, it is quite irritating. Some Golden Retrievers continue with their puppy hood nature in the senior age as well.

This Golden Retriever is a family dog that loves to be with his ‘pack’ all the time. So, if you are planning to keep a Golden Retriever as a pet, make sure that you have enough space at your home to keep it.

These are active dogs that are used to retrieve ducks and other waterfowls for the hunters. For this purpose, they need to have an active and athletic body. Such an active body can be maintained by regular exercise including some physical activities like a walk, running, or fetching, etc.

Golden Retrievers are the descendants of the Russian Sheepdogs bought from a circus. The purpose was to breed a talented retriever. The purpose was aimed by Sir Dudley Majoribanks of the highlands of Scotland during the reign of Victoria. He was later known as Lord Tweedmouth.

The American Kennel Club recognized the Golden Retriever breed in 1925 and this is the 78th breed of AKC.

History of The Golden Retriever Dog

The most important and known person in the history of Golden Retriever is Dudley Majoribanks. He belonged to the Scottish Highlands and was later known by the name of Lord Tweedmouth.

The Golden Retrievers are the descendants of the Russian Sheepdogs that were bought from a circus. Their breed came into existence after several experiments that Tweedmouth (a waterfowl hunter) made in search of getting a perfect breed. He tried for a quiet long time getting a perfect breed from 1835 to 1890.

Tweedmouth himself was a passionate waterfowl hunter and aimed to get a talented retriever that would be more alert, curious, and alert than a human hunter. Tweedmouth wanted a family dog breed that would be loyal to his owner and would have an even temper.

At first, Tweedmouth took Nous to his home at Scottland. Nous is a wavy coated retriever. It was bred with Belle, a Tweed Water Spaniel between 1868 to 1871. Belle is the eager hunter and shows attributes like calmness and loyalty when kept at home.

The breed got from this experiment was later bred with another Tweed Water Spaniel that was a wavy and flat-coated retriever. Tweedmoth wanted to have a yellow or golden colored retriever, therefore he used to keep the ones with yellow color and gave away the others to his friends.

One of the breeds of Tweedmouth that was closest to his aim was Don of Gerwyn. It had the attributes of an eager hunter and showed calmness at home. It was a liver-coated descendant of one of the breeds of Tweedmouth. In 1904, this dog won the International Gundog League Trial.

This dog was first recognized by England Kennel Club in 1911 as ‘Retriever- Yellow or Golden’. In 1920, it was given the name of ‘Golden Retriever’.

The American Kennel Club recognized this breed in 1925 and is the 78th dog breed of AKC.

Personality of a Golden Retriever Dog

The Golden Retriever is a hunting dog when left in a field, but it is also a loving, socializing, calm, and friendly dog that loves to be surrounded by family members all the time. A sweet and loyal nature is the hallmark of a Golden Retriever as a family dog.

People who are obsessed with the Golden Retriever, love the golden coat and how the Golden Retriever tries to please his owner by doing silly and innocent actions. It loves to cuddle and can remain near the family in the living room for a whole day.

The Golden Retriever is a trustworthy dog breed. It has a friendly nature and remains away from the quarrelsomeness and hostility towards people or other pet animals.

Nervousness or timidity is not the problem while keeping a Golden Retriever at home. It displays a kind expression and possesses a personality of eagerness, alertness, and self-confidence.

Health Care of a Golden Retriever Dog

The Golden Retriever is a healthy dog breed in general. But, like other dogs, it can also have some issues related to health like Hip and Elbow Dysplasia, Cataracts, PRA, Epilepsy, Gastric Dilatation-Volvulus, Osteochondrosis Dissecans, Von Willebrand’s Disease and many kinds of allergies.

If you are planning to buy a Golden Retriever puppy, make sure that you buy it from a good and well-known breeder who will ensure the good health of the puppy’s parents.

You can take your Golden Retriever for regular checkups to a veteran. It will help you to keep an eye on the health of your dog and you will get some useful suggestions from the veteran to maintain the good health of your dog.

For example:

  • A walk of 20 to 30 minutes, twice a day will keep your dog active and away from many diseases.
  • Do not let your Golden Retriever jump or play or hard surfaces before it turns 2 years old. Otherwise, the weak bones are vulnerable to hip and elbow dysplasia.
  • Daily brushing is required for grooming the dense coat.
  • Check the eyes weekly. They should be clear with no redness or discharge.
  • Bathing once a month is essential to smell and look clean and good.
  • Brushing teeth twice or thrice a week will be enough to keep the tartar away from building up.
  • Trim the nails once or twice a month.
  • The ears of Golden Retriever are prone to get bacteria and fungus causing ear infections. Check their ears weekly for redness or bad odor and clean them with a cotton ball dipped in an ear cleaner.
  • Regularly check the skin and take notice of every redness or rashes.

Physical Needs of a Golden Retriever Dog

The Golden Retrievers are quite active dogs that love action, playing, and outdoor thrills. A walk of 20 to 30 minutes will keep them happy and active. They will love to accompany you if you are planning to go for hiking or jogging.

As their name suggests, they love to retrieve. If you throw a ball in the backyard, they will be quite pleased to bring it back to you.

Golden Retrievers are mouthy dogs. They love to hold things in their mouth. That’s what makes them love fetching things like ball, a dog toy, bone, newspaper, frisbee, or a sock.

Adaptability of a Golden Retriever Dog

A Golden Retriever can adapt to any place where you take it along. It can adjust with its beloved owner at any place or apartment.

The Golden Retriever has a thick double- fur coat that keeps it warm and it can survive in the harsh cold weather. A Golden Retriever will not only go out in the cold cheerfully, it will also do the activities that it likes the most, like running, playing fetching, etc.

However, being in the harsh cold weather for a very long time can be dangerous for your dog and can cause frostbite or can leave your dog paralyzed.

Feeding of a Golden Retriever Dog

The food requirement for a Golden Retriever depends on its age, size, and metabolism. Like humans, every dog has individual food needs.

The Golden Retriever is a dog of medium height and weight so it requires food like a normal dog. 2 to 3 cups of dog food of good quality are enough for one day. However, high-quality dog food will groom your dog better and will be used in less quantity.

Divide the meal into two and do not leave the food in front of the dog for the whole day.

Breeding Cycle of a Golden Retriever Dog

Like all other dog breeds, a Golden Retriever has a gestation period that lasts for 63 days. A female Golden Retriever goes into her first heat cycle when she is 10 to 14 months old. Next season may vary depending upon the individuals. Usually, a Golden Retriever breeds twice a year. Some have a gap of 7 and a half months and some go into the heat cycle after 9 to 10 months.

The heat period lasts for 3 weeks. A female Golden Retriever may show some changes in behavior due to hormonal changes. They can become dull, lazy, and depressed. Some Golden Retrievers can be found fighting with each other during their heat cycle.

Life Span and Growing Cycle of a Golden Retriever Dog

A Golden Retriever has a life span of 10 to 12 years.

A newborn Golden Retriever puppy weighs about 14 to 16 ounces. In the 7th week, its weight becomes 10 pounds. At 4 months, the puppy weighs about 30 pounds and at 8 months it becomes 50 pounds heavy.

The average weight and size of an adult Golden Retriever at the age of 12 months is 23 to 24 inches for a male with 65 to 75 pounds of weight. For a female Golden Retriever, she is 21.5 to 22.5 inches tall and weighs about 55 to 65 pounds.

Coat and Colors of a Golden Retriever Dog

The possible color coats of a Golden Retriever lie between the light and dark shades of yellow and golden colors.

The coat of a Golden Retriever is dense, firm, resilient, not too silky, and water repellent. It lies close to the body and can be wavy or straight. It contains a good undercoat as well.

It has moderate fur on the back of forelegs and underbody and has heavy feathering on the back of thigs, front of the neck, and underside of tail.

Friendliness Level of a Golden Retriever Dog

The Golden Retrievers is a cheerful, friendly, calm, and loving dog. It loves to be loved, cuddled, and kept at home. It is extremely loyal to the owner and the family and can do anything to please its owner.

It can be a good watchful dog to keep an eye and play with the children of the family. It is also friendly with other dogs and pet animals.

Dr. Annie Spencer

Annie Spencer is a certified Dog Health Expert Veterinarian and holds a masters degree in Dog Emotion & Cognition from the Duke University, USA. She owns a private clinic and shares knowledge of her 30+ year experience at PetsBeast.com - helping worldwide people with their queries and recommending them with best dog health care products to purchase.