GOLDEN RETRIEVER

APPEARANCE
The Golden Retriever is a powerfully built and well-proportioned dog, whose looks bring to mind a breed designed to hunt and retrieve.The coat is dense and waterproof, and may be straight or moderately wavy. The coloring of the coat can be in one a variety of shades of cream and gold. In terms of the weight these dogs are around 55-65 pounds for females and 65-75 pounds for males. Females are around 21-23 inches in height, and males are around 23-24 inches.

PERSONALITY
The temperament of the Golden Retriever is a hallmark of the breed and is described as kindly, friendly and confident. The typical Golden Retriever is calm, naturally intelligent and biddable, with an exceptional eagerness to please. Golden Retrievers love to work, and have a keen ability to focus on a given task. They will seemingly work until collapse, so care should be taken to avoid overworking them.

TRAINING
Golden Retrievers are exceptionally trainable—due to their intelligence, athleticism and desire to please their handlers—and generally excel in obedience trials. They are also very competitive in agility and other performance events. Harsh training methods are unnecessary, and that Golden Retrievers respond well to positive and upbeat training styles.

EXERCISE
Golden Retrievers are moderately active dogs, and require a reasonable amount of exercise each day, although exercise needs may vary depending on the individual dog and its age. They enjoy play sessions with their family, retrieving balls and other toys.

SOCIALIZATION
Golden Retrievers are compatible with children and adults and are good with other dogs, cats and most livestock. Golden Retrievers are particularly valued for their high level of sociability towards people, calmness, and willingness to learn. Because of this, they are commonly used as guide dogs, mobility assistance dogs, and search and rescue dogs.

LIVING CONDITIONS
They will do okay in an apartment dwelling provided they are sufficiently exercised. It is equally at home in both urban and rural setting but would prefer to have some water to go to as it loves swimming.

GROOMING
Goldens should be groomed at least once a week, and every day during heavy shedding. Their coats shed somewhat during the year, but are known to “blow coat” twice a year when they shed profusely. They also need to have their ears cleaned regularly, or otherwise an ear infection might occur. The Golden Retriever is a very heavy shedder and is not suited to those with allergies.

HEALTH ISSUES
The life expectancy of the Golden Retriever is around 10-14 years. Golden Retrievers suffer obesity because they like to eat, so you must watch how much you feed him. Major health concerns include canine hip dysplasia, allergies, lymphoma, ear infections and hemangiosarcoma. Less common conditions seen in this breed include elbow dysplasia, entropion, seizures, mast cell tumors and hypothyroidism.

HISTORY
The Golden Retriever was first developed in the British Islands and was bred as a water retriever and a hunter. The breed was registered with the AKC in 1925.

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