Golden Retriever: Your new Pet
The Golden Retriever is a big dog, strong, beautiful, friendly, intelligent, loyal, kind, and other many things.
It is an animal that has enter into the families favorites’ lists, due to its characteristics that are the most popular around the world.
In those characteristics some to mention are that it is an excellent worker, as collector, hount, water spaniel, hunter, therapy or searcher.
Definitely, the Golden Retriever face reflects sympathy, confidence, and serenity in such a way that many publicities have chose it as the perfect dogs for its advertisements, highlighting in their as a company dog, specially for those advertisements about families.
This big dog was raised in its origin as a hunter, because of its activity, energy, love for sports, and the life outside, it is a dog that definitely loves to play from searching the ball, bones, sticks or any other game where it has to bring stuff with its mouth, besides that it is apt for families and kids, most even if they live close to field, or have a big backyard where they can easily develop.
This dog’s origin finds close o the middle of the XIX Century in Scotland.
Where riches had as a custom the hunt of every kind of birds and required dogs which could take them off from water and land without damage them with a strong teeth because the Scotch land is in its biggest part covered by lakes and rivers, also the dogs they had by the time couldn’t bring the birds because once they bring them, they were destroyed by its bite.
Was then when a man decide to cross a Labrador Retriever with an already extinct dog called Tweed Water Spaniel to try to obtain the perfect dog.
But there were other crosses after that with dogs as the Ireland Setter, the Bloodhound or the San Juan’ water dog, to finally have the Golden Retriever breed as the perfect breed for the birds’ hunt.
In 1903 the breed enter in the United Kingdoms’ Kennel Club and after that, among 15 years later, it got popularized as one of the favorites breed as a hunter and pet because of its faithful and fun behavior.
The Golden Retriever is a well proportionate and beautiful dog which weight is among the 30 and 34 kg and its length is among the 56 and 61 cm in males, while females weight is among 25 and 32 kg and its length is among 51 and 56 cm.
It has to be mentioned that is a very long dog and that the reason why its head and body is big.
Its head is proportional, big and squared with a powerful jaw, resistant but at the same time is soft, capable to keep the objects inside its mouth without making so much pain. Its big body is thick and muscular, just as its feet and chest.
The Golden Retriever’s eyes are brown and very separate, reflecting a friendly and intelligent sight; its ears are funnily shorts and falls from both sides of its head. This big dog’s tail is muscular and thick at the base.
Also, it’s thought that these breed live hope is among the 10 and 12 years, but with a good feeding and exercise it can live until 14 years.
Its color is golden, but it can variant with the cream and a light sand color, but the dog’s that aren’t accepted are red, mahogany, or black.
Its fur is semi-long, very resistant to water, due to the double layer that covers them.
The Golden Retrievers are very friendly, confident, happy, loyal, sweets and affective with is family and society in general, are big dogs but aren’t aggressive or dominants.
Aren’t dogs classified as guardians because aren’t close with a specific person, they are everyone’s friend.
Are very smart dogs, submissive to train and with an infinite patience with kids, especially if since they are pups are trained and socialized.
Are playful, actives and even get a little bit playful when they are in the young chapter.
Loves to play outside, at the camp, open spaces where they can walk, run, jump, swim in water or mud.
It is necessary for big dogs as the Golden Retrievers to keep busy, playing, making exercise and being next to someone to avoid they got hyperactive, doesn’t matter if the game is just about searching the ball once and over again.
These big size dogs has the ability to get concentrated in a task that has be commended to them when have been trained, such a way that if they are hunting or in learning, they can spend hours waiting quietly the order to action, just if they know they will make one specific task.
Golden Retrievers’ History and Origin
The Golden Retriever is one of the most beautiful and a young breed between the hunting dogs, and it was a dog developed to hunt water birds. Besides of keep being a perfect dog for hunt, nowadays the Golden Retriever has became into a family dog.
Frequently considerate as an ideal dog to share, go hunting, live with it, or just hug, is why this big animal always have something to offer to its owner, from the hunter to the breeder which enjoys dogs and working.
The Golden Retriever is a big dog that follows its ancients’ line until get to the first yellow Retrievers’ couple, called “Golden” because of its color.
In the XIX Century it was atypical to have an enthusiastic water birds’ hunter as the Tweedmouth, that hunting passion was equalized exclusively for the dedication to hunting dogs, having and raising dogs as the Pointer, the Setter, and other hunting dogs, called Retriever.
In the 50’ years of the XIX Century the whole attention was pointed to the variety of medium size hunting dogs, because by the time they were the “water dogs”. Those dogs had the known of being waiting crosses between the Spaniel and the Setters dogs with other worker breed dogs.
Its brave, strong, SAGACIDAD, behavior and superior smell was which made them so especial. Even tough the less important that was the color for hunters, the Tweedmouth showed especially moved to the raise of yellow dogs.
For a long time it was believed the myth about the first Tweedmouth yellow dos were made from a group of a Russian circus’ dog, however, this myth was cleared by Elma Stonex from Somerset, Golden Retrievers’ a death breeder and judge, character which was a truly authority who researched and unveiled the authentic and truly breed’ history.
In the records from 1835 to 1890 aren’t found any reference about Russian dogs, and are registered that the first Golden Retriever acquired in Brighton by Tweedmouth was in 1865 and the dog was called Nous (which means wisdom in Greek), and it was precedent from an Retriever’s animal litter where they were totally black and curly haired.
Nous was registered by Chischester as breed in 1870 as a big dog and with a beautiful fur, appearing in pictures with a very curly fue and in colors that weren’t too dark or too light, with a look very similar to the nowadays Golden Retriever.
From the famous litter between Belle and Nous 4 yellow puppies resulted and Tweedmouth kept with one of them for itself in order to continue with the goal of raising gold hunting’ dogs, giving the other 3 pups with friends which had the same dream of having a higher category yellow dogs.
The offspring and crosses of these dogs were what gave rise to the current Golden Retriever. Subsequently two new puppies called Prim and Rose were born, which names are considered to be from the previous generations, where the first two Golden Retrievers to be enrolled in the Kennel Club.
Mrs. Charlesworth spent 50 years of her life raising, training and campaigning in favor of her Golden Retrievers breed’ dogs, and was the responsible of creating the clubs in 1913, also being the Honorary Secretary of the Club for many years. That same year thanks largely this lady efforts, the Golden Retriever were assigned their own category being registered in 1920 as Golden Retriever or Yellow, allowing himself to use the term «Yellow» in 1920.
For the Golden Retriever breed lovers, Mrs. Charlesworth is legendary. The crosses with the Lord Harcourt’ famous dogs appear in all the current pedigrees of the Golden Retriever.
The dynamic personality and the beautiful dedication this woman had for the breed, established it as one of the first class breed dogs in the hunting dogs British world, she also dedicated to keep the Golden Retriever’s working qualities. The energy and enthusiasm in beauty exhibitions led this canine to fame.
Beginning in the 1900s, a competition started between all the Retrievers colors in the field and the hunting dogs’ International Open League was won by a dog that had a liver color and a smooth coat. That great triumph marked this breed history, it is also important to remember that many of them were great competitors in canine beauty contests and winners in the field, obtaining excellent qualifications and merit’ certificates. From there the breed became into a very popular breed.
From that moment the Golden Retriever continued to grow throughout the world, setting a certain standard in different countries to be able to be formally registered in the canine society. Currently, the American Kennel Club requires that only the male and female were enrolled in their breed origins book so that the puppies could also be register and obtain certain benefits.
Breeds characteristics
There are two types of Golden Retriever dogs that although their differences are not very obvious, they are recognizable by every lover of this breed. Among the variations of this dog there is the British Golden Retriever and the American Golden Retriever, of which we will give you the characteristics and the differences from each other.
First of all we have that the British Golden Retriever is found in bigger proportion in the European and Australian areas.
The different characteristics of the Golden Retriever are framed in its standards, especially by the time of them to be used in competitive activities.
The British-type Golden Retriever has short legs compared to those of the American-type Golden Retriever; also, it has a short tail and its chest is remarkably deep, a difference that somehow shows when you compare both dogs. The snout of this British breed variation is shorter, wider and with a forehead whose shape is quite squared.
Other of the many diversities that the British Golden Retriever has in comparison with the American Golden Retriever, is in the heavy that its characteristics use to make it; in fact, the existing rules in the English KC emphasize that the back and hindquarters of this breed must have a demanding straight leveling, so that the slight rear annulment that the American Golden Retriever possesses in the lines, should not be shown in the British Golden Retriever.
Another important feature in this British dog breed is its eyes, which agree with the European type, standing out for being round and dark, being a complete contrast with the American dog breed, which is a bit more triangular. It is necessary to emphasize that the shades of these fur varieties are very important, since they can be found in any cream or gold color, but the colors mahogany or red are prohibited.
At first the cream color was not at all considered among the United Kingdom’ rules; but, in 1936 there was a revision of the British Golden Retriever standard and it was decided to accept cream shades.
This change was made because the Retrievers of the XIX century, that is, the originals had a much lighter color than the mistaken standard which was allowed by the time. In the same way it happened with the American variations, being unacceptable the white dogs’ appearance in the canines’ activities.
The British Golden Retriever standard is accepted and used in all countries belonging to Europe, except, of course, of the United States and Canada. Another important feature of the British Retriever is its fur, which can’t be too long, because by the time of catching some prey, it could be a hindrance.
About these dogs measures, we have to know that the American Retriever is much bigger and taller than the British Retriever. So, the American male is between 58 cm and 62 cm tall, while the females are between 53 cm and 56 cm tall. They also have a fairly dense coat which supports water.
This American specimen fur has shades in a dark gold and a lighter gold color, whose mantle has two types of fur: one (the outside) is very resistant to water and also slightly undulated, while the other (the inside) is softer and helps keep the dog cool in hot climates and warm in cold weather.
This inner layer is usually quite attached to the belly and is therefore short, and tends to change in the spring and autumn seasons.
The Golden Retriever standard, as mentioned above, is a gold color in its different shades, being extremely light or extremely dark colors unacceptable, as well as the color red, pure white and black; being accepted only the cream color by the UK KC.
However, in a competition, judges can reject canines of this breed which have a pink nose or one that lacks of pigmentation.
Other shades that aren’t accepted in those dog shows, especially in the British ones, are the mahogany color, considering that depending on how the dog develops, the coat can change, becoming very dark or very light; this, in addition to a remarkable whitening of fur around the less sun exposed areas during the growth process.
What is the life hope for a Golden Retriever?
A golden retriever can be a beautiful dog, but it doesn’t escape the average life of big dogs, which is a little bit reduced compared to medium and small dogs. A golden retriever has an average life among the 10 to 12 years, although several specimens of this breed have exceeded 15 years.
In big sized dogs the risk of death increases from the 6 years of age. Dogs that aren’t properly cared, the one which have had diseases throughout their lives or have suffer from any chronic disease, have a lower life expectancy due to the risks of death increase more from this age than in healthy specimens.
Age not only affects bones and organs resistance due to physical activity, it also affects the neuronal part, making it susceptible to mood swings, anxiety, nervousness or aggressiveness. The decrease in defenses is another problem that attacks the immune system, making it more likely that those diseases that were easily overcome after that age became difficult to overcome.
Knowing this, not from 6 years of age you will begin to take care of your golden retriever, but throughout its life, from birth until it becomes old, stage where we must double the measures of care to ensure it many years of life.
To ensure more life years tor your golden retriever when it enters the old age stage you must:
- Do not play sharply with it, do not invite him to jump from moderately high places.
- Clean the area where it lies down daily.
- Change its water daily.
- Give croquettes for elderly dogs.
- Double the annual veterinary visits.
- Give him lots of love.
Of course, it is time for every living being has to leave eventually, but make that last moment be while you are by its side, do not leave him alone with the veterinary.
Health and necessary cares
The adoption of a dog as a pet is a responsibility that many owners should be aware of when they make that decision, because when it starts to belong to a family it will require a lot of care, as much as a child may need.
The adoption of a canine animal goes far beyond of just feeding or caring for it; but also to provide care, affection and all the things he requires for his well-being, including his vaccinations and his trips to the doctor as many times as it need it.
There are many people who currently live campaigning on the good care of a canine pet, since although for many it could be a burden, a not pleasant responsibility or even an obligation without benefits; for many others it could then be a pleasant company, a living being more within the family or even a beautiful decision for the home core.
That is why every person who wishes for some reason to adopt or live with a Golden Retriever in any of its standards must also know their strict personal care.
First, we must know that if we incorrectly grant something as important as feeding our pet, this could cause great damage; therefore, it is advisable to give the canine its food, at specific times and guidelines to avoid it get overweighed.
Secondly, it is necessary to remember that they are quite active dogs and that is why they need to exercise daily with a reasonable amount of activities and without exaggeration. However, these activities may vary depending on their development and age. It should also be considered that they require socialization at a very young age to avoid some destructive behaviors that can cause discomfort over time.
This big dog breed called Golden Retriever in any variety, needs a great mental stimulation, which is provided with a correct training and well-adjusted constant exercise; In fact, these dogs are characterized by being very good athletes capable of winning countless competitions and also contain a mixture of anxiety and restlessness for which you will see them walking from a side to another, every day.
On the other hand we have its brushing, which should be done once a week at least; however, when it is in its season of moving hair, this activity would have to be done daily, since only this way it could ne eliminate all the dead fur, making its coat much brighter and healthier.
In fact, these dogs tend to shed their fur about twice a year.
When the Golden Retriever in general has serious hair loss or some patches are noticed, these can be indicative of some disease or a simple stress problem, so you have to be quite aware in normal seasons in case this reaches occur. The ears of this dog also have to be cleaned regularly to prevent them from getting an ear infection.
The average life according to statistics made by many Golden Retriever lovers is approximately 12 years; but it will depend on the care and attention this canine receive from its owners, since they are responsible for making its pet healthy for the years of life that can last.
This breed is quite susceptible to some diseases that are very specific, which is why it will be the responsibility of its breeder to minimize the risk through constant visits to the veterinary and also performing a professional evaluation of the health of their partners; so the dogs’ selection is based on some complementary features.
One of the many diseases of which this dog suffers is the genetic disorders, in addition to occasionally presenting hip dysplasia, overweight, a common cancer in this breed called hemagiosarcoma, some cataracts in its eyes or even progressive atrophy of the retina (preventing it from having a healthy vision in adulthood); and also presents some other quite common diseases called dislocation of the patella, osteochondritis, panosteitis, among others.
There are some diseases that are not as common but they are also very important to know just as the heart diseases that a Golden Retriever can suffer if it is not well exercised, cared or fed, and can even suffer from some allergies that can be caused by some flea bites ending in acute dermatitis.
This is why it is necessary that each owner and person responsible for its pet, especially the British or American Golden Retriever, really commits to work so that this canine has an excellent healthy state, which will have an impact on its appearance and physical activities.
How long is the Golden Retriever’s zeal?
Golden Retrievers are beautiful, smart dogs, excellent pets and home guardians, so there is no reason not to want more, but first you must know some basic aspects about zeal, such as how long does golden retriever’s zeal last.
The zeal of the big breeds, as in the case of the golden retriever, arrives early between the 4th and 6th month of age, in small breeds it is almost certain that it arrives during the 4th month, but in the bigger sized breeds this process takes longer.
However, although the female may get pregnant, it is completely discouraged to let her ride a male since she still lacks maturity of her uterus and body in general as to support the load of between 6 to 12 puppies growing inside her.
From that first time, zeal will appear after 5 or 6 months (even more) if the dog did not become pregnant.
zale as such begins with pro-estrus, a stage that lasts 9 days and has as a typical differential vaginal bleeding, although this has nothing to do with that of women, since this bleeding is a product of swelling of the vulva, which causes the blood vessels in it to rupture and leave a pale trail of blood.
Sometimes it is difficult to see, since some golden retrievers are too neat and lick the area until it is clean, but you should also be able to notice the swelling of the vulva and the sudden interest of male dogs in it.
Then, in the estrus, the dog will allow the male to mount it. This period lasts 9 days. After these 9 days of estrus is that the males will stop harassing her.
If you add the days of pro-estrus and estrus the entire golden retriever’s zeal would last between 16 to 20 days.
How long does the Golden Retriever pregnancy last?
The Golden Retriever’s pregnancy lasts the same as the general average of the dogs; from about 58 to 70 days, however, most of the Golden Retriever puppies’ birth occurs between the days 60 and 64, which means, the Golden Retriever’s pregnancy two months.
For the golden retriever to have a pregnancy without complications, it is necessary to keep in mind several tips such as:
Not to pregnant the Golden Retriever in its first or second zeal
The golden retriever for its first and second zeal is still too immature to have a large number of puppies inside of her.
Remember that they will feed on the mother’s calcium and all the vitamins the mother consumes, but this would be a problem if the golden retriever does not have enough muscle mass and a solid state of health to withstand this constant drain of energy, calcium and nutrients In any case, all these elements should be used to grow her healthily.
Veterinarians recommend the third heat as the ideal for the golden retriever to get pregnant without any danger to their health and growth. Therefore, you should take care of it and prevent male dogs from approaching it, since it is almost completely certain that they will be interested in riding it when they are zealous, which is much sure to happen if they are unknown dogs (a precise factor to the time to know that our golden retriever is going through heat).
Set a space where you can give birth quietly.
This dogs are wise mothers, they will curl up in a place that they themselves believe to be able to give birth calmly, but to prevent this place from being dangerous and they do not know it, it is better that you create the place yourself. Arrange rags and pillows that you no longer use so that the golden retriever has good space and this is safe and soon you will see her settle there to give birth.
Golden Retriever’s diet and food
One of the most important aspects that you must control so that our pets have a healthy and prolonged life, is food, which, coupled with regular physical activity, a harmonious environment and a lot of love, will make your faithful companion happy in all stages of its life.
Also, the diet should be carefully studied and chosen according to the breed, size, weight, age, most common health problems and, in general, to all the factors that surround your pet’s life.
In this sense, a basic rule that is used with all dog breeds to calculate the food amount they should eat is the following: veterinarians have determined that the normal food ration for a dog is equivalent to 2.5% of its weight; therefore, you must multiply its weight by 0.025. For example, if your pet weighs 5 kilograms what would be 5,000 grams, your ideal food ration is 125 grams. It should considered that, in the case of those dogs that have more physical activity, this dose can be increased a few more grams.
Now, as regards the Golden Retriever specifically, as with other races, its main foods have three presentations, dry, semi-wet and canned food.
In general, the most recommended is dry food (croquettes), since it contains less preservatives and fats that can cause allergies or stomach upset to our dogs. In any case, the most important thing is to choose the best quality and although it is mostly the one with the highest cost, it will allow us to maintain the health of the dog.
On the other hand, in addition to the weight, another element to consider is dogs’ age, because depending on this they will have different nutritional requirements. With regard to Golden Retriever puppies, they should be fed with breast milk at least in the first 3 weeks of life; once the month is reached, it should be alternated with food (preferably canned food).
In the coming months, the diet will be dry or semi-wet food, with portions 3 times a day; this will be maintained once the puppy turns 1 year old, and then is when it can be fed twice a day.
As for the Golden Retriever adults, their diet must be modified, this due to over time the dogs’ metabolism slowing down, also, they perform less and less physical activity; therefore, a large amount of food can cause obesity in our pet and severe digestion problems. To avoid it, food rations should be reduced and adapted to the dog’s rhythm; in turn, we must follow all the indications offered by the veterinary in this regard.
Also, if you have a Golden Retriever at home, there are several factors that you should keep in mind when feeding it, some of them are:
Avoid giving him leftovers: there are foods that humans consume that could poison them and even cause death, for example, chocolate, garlic, onions, among others.
Food Amount: The Golden Retriever is a very greedy dog and loves to eat, so it is important to control the amount of food it eats in order to avoid obesity and bone diseases, common in big dogs.
Say yes, to croquettes: Also known as dry food, this is the best option to provide all the nutrients your pet needs in all stages of its life. However, when buying them you should make sure they don’t contain cereals such as corn and wheat, they aren’t harmful to the dog, but they do not provide great nutrients.
Diet components: The main ingredients of a Golden Retriever’s diet are water, sugars, fat, vitamins, minerals and digestible proteins in good quality products.
Continuing with our theme, the schedule is also a matter of study when it comes to feeding your Golden Retriever; the most common is related to owners’ activities and preferences, but, the most important thing is that it is respected, due to this will create in the dog a habit and will make it more disciplined, in addition, to help and facilitate training to do your needs.
In another order of ideas, water is also very important for our pet and there are many owners who have doubts about this. When they are puppies, we must frequently monitor the place where we place the water container, especially in those cases where the pet stays inside to do his needs.
Already in the adult stage, it needs to have water available all day, it must always be fresh and in a comfortable place for the pet.
Finally, our best advice will always be that you must follow the veterinary’s instructions and that you keep in eye out for any changes your dog may present. Remember that a balanced diet, physical activity and lots of love, is the perfect combination to give your Golden Retriever a full and happy life.
Golden Retriever’s behavior with humans
These dogs, called Golden Retriever in any of their diversities, British or Americans, are quite smart, and many people consider that this breed intelligence no comparison with any other, since the years have shown that the capacities and abilities they have are incredible.
Many people, when they begin to think about adopting a dog as a pet, especially if it’s for the first time, they ask quite normal questions about how the animal’s behavior will be with people, children, and strangers, and even with other pets. That is why there are some curiosities about this beautiful breed to mention.
In the first place, it is necessary to recognize that no dog, not even the Golden Retriever, was created to please human beings in everything he wishes. One mistake is to believe that this breed or any other dog breed will obey the rules and orders given to it, only to please its owner and even worse that it will do it immediately. In fact, for this to happen there has to be a rigorous training followed by a prize for obeying so they will know it is worthy to do it.
Secondly, this breed has a slight inclination towards the search for objects but it doesn’t mean that it comes in its genes and that it has an intuition to take the prey in its mouth and deliver it. The activity related to the objects collection is an activity that is carried out with a previous exercise in this task; so, despite the fact that this breed does have a slight inclination towards collecting dogs, it doesn’t become significant, it would not have results if it is not through progressive teaching.
Thirdly, it is necessary to keep in mind that all dogs have a big and strong bitten; perhaps some more than others, but all in turn has powerful bites. The Retriever is not an exception, so that for this dog animal not to damage the pieces or objects with which they play constantly, it has to be trained since it’s in its puppy stage, teaching it to have what is known as a soft mouth.
It is also important to know that the development of a soft mouth is directed by a constant socialization, keeping in mind that this dog is not born with that quality of slight bite, so has to be taught from an early age.
On the other hand, it is important to highlight that these dogs are quite laborious; they can work in any activity, from pet guides with people with visual disabilities or can be incredible hunter dogs, being these activities to which a Retriever dog gets used.
However, the great work activities don’t refer to the Golden Retriever not getting tired, because as living beings also want to have their space and time to rest, loneliness and reinforcement, so that they can help to have time exclusive to themselves.
It is important known that Golden Retrievers despite of being immune to cold, due to the thick blanket that protects them, it’s also not right to expose them to strong cold temperatures and much less to bathe it with frozen water because it can cause serious damage to the dog with consequences such as hypothermia and in the worst case the death.
Therefore, each owner have the responsibility of the actions he made to take care of its dog, and in any way do his best because for it to have the best living conditions.
In the same way, this dog loves water, due to the capacity it has to support it, and although it is careful that it does not suffer with extremes of cold weather, in the hot seasons take it to the beach or maybe to a river, this would be a great idea, and this dog can take care of the children in those places and make sure that nothing happens to them.
The Golden Retriever has a very easy training capacity; his intelligence will help you to make its teaching-learning time optimal and beneficial, but due to it is important to its coach uses positive reinforcement instead of punishment for it to learn. Among other very powerful features is its smell, which has very well developed, and if its owner helps and teaches it, this dog could have great abilities to search and find lost or hidden objects, helping people to find what they lost. This has helped this dog a lot and has also been used by many humans in the security area for the search and find of explosives, truffles or narcotics.
With children, this breed is quite affectionate, patient, friendly and relaxed, if this dog has received a correct social education and their basic needs for exercise and food have been met, it can have the perfect abilities to play with the little people of you home.
Golden Retriever behavior with other dogs
More people are deciding to adopt a dog to have them as company, some because they are alone, and some others because they just love the idea of have dog animals. However, there is a specific thing that has been of concern for those who not only want to have a dog but want to have the company of many other dogs or pets and that is precisely, as will the behavior of each with reference to the other.
It is necessary to start by saying and remembering that the Golden Retriever is a beautiful breed which over the years has became into a very popular one and also quite dear, due to one of its greatest virtues (which is its intelligence), but also it has a character that couldn’t be improved with humans and also dogs. This is because to its great sympathy, how friendly the Golden Retriever is, and some peculiarities such as how affectionate and obedient it can be.
In addition the behavior of this big breed is quite exemplary even with the presence of other dogs or animals, in such a way the Golden Retriever has been considered the 3rd most familiar breed of the world. This has undoubtedly placed this cute and lovely dog to be among the most desired dogs by families.
It is very important to consider the character of the breed. Since despite of being very calm and even trusted with strangers, it’s its intelligence which makes it stand out, being sure that it isn’t a very good dog to be guardian but they are excellent to be a guide or also to be competitors.
The intelligence that this breed has is what makes it a perfect dog to share with other dogs or pets, as it will help them in whatever is necessary without hesitation. Considering in the same way his training and obedience that although it isn’t totally easy, it is possible to obtain from this dog animal.
On the other hand, the patience the Golden Retriever shows for both children and other dogs or pets is one of the characteristics that makes easy to train them without hesitation. However, it’s necessary to know the aspects regarding the intelligence that characterizes this beautiful dog and with which you could share a space with another dog without troubles, even if it is not of his breed.
Somehow one of its intelligence characteristics could be found in its verbal capacity, memory, reasoning, and in numerical ability, among others. However, dogs don’t work that way, but their intelligence is directed towards other areas, such as:
In first place, they have instinctive Intelligence, which is related to those skills and abilities the Golden Retriever possesses since it has been bred, among which is being a guide, rescue or even a competitor dog, also measuring its ability to be able to play each role.
Secondly, there is the adaptive Intelligence, which means or is related to the ability this breed has to learn and fix things by itself, which makes it capable of adapt to any situation and environment.
And in third place, there is the obedience and work intelligence, which shows an incredible ability to understand and to perform an activity that has been ordered by its owner, reason why it will not to be a problem for it to join playing with other dogs, because if its owner decides to be quiet, he will not hesitate to obey.
However, in order for this doggy obedience to be given, even with the company of other dogs, there are some characteristics that must be well known. Firstly, we find the repetitions the Golden Retriever needs to be able to understand a new order, and unlike other dogs which need 30 to 40 repetitions to be able to comply with an order, the Golden Retriever just needs only 5 repetitions and will be able to agree to obey.
There is also the ability to remember those thing that were already taught and he learned without needing to practice it continuously, unlike other dogs, which if the exercises are not repeated, they will forget them. This big and lovely dog does not forget it, and can easily remember all for much longer.
On the other hand, it been seeing that is difficult to call or keep the attention of other dogs from other breeds, they last a long time before abiding, and their response is slow, being their reaction below the 25%, and some others even reaching ignore the call. But it’s not the case for the Golden Retriever, which 95% of the time responds to the order of its owner on the first time.
In fact it is scientifically proven that the beautiful and smart Golden Retriever in general can understand the humans, and also help reassure other dogs if they need it, becoming in an ideal dog for almost anyone.
How to train or educate a Golden Retriever
The Golden Retriever surely isn’t a dog that by the time of its creation was accepted, but it’s characteristic to collect animals or objects on the ground and water had its recognition a time later.
This breed was first accepted in the United Kingdom, specifically by the Kennel Club as a Golden and was exhibited for the very first time in 1908 according to the records that have been founded; after that it was recognized as Retriever and 14 years later the breed reached the recognition in the United States.
This helped to make this breed known with the past of the time and also to carry out studies to determine how to train it rightly, standing out for having quite good behavior and temperamental characteristics which helps to have an easy teaching-learning profile.
The Golden Retriever is characterized for being a very kind pet, it is also very friendly so it isn’t very good as a guard dog, and it is very confident. These dogs are characterized for being very familiar pets, being patient with children and a good example for other dogs that live with them.
But an important point to consider is the correct teaching and socialization training that these dogs must have since their puppy stage, from the fact that it’s a dog with very quite attractive qualities, this doesn’t indicate that it doesn’t need socialization training.
In fact, these dogs aren’t those that are given with just its owner, but are given to everyone who approaches them, reason why they aren’t considered aggressive or dangerous.
Moreover, obtaining an aggressive, imposing, hostile attitude towards other people and even other dogs in the community or where they live is unacceptable, since it goes against the characteristics of the breed. Thus, shyness or nervousness isn’t seized by this breed either. So go walking to parks is perfect to find a fun time between family and dog.
In the main characteristics of this dog it can be mentioned the tranquility, its intelligence, and the easy that is to train it.
So yes, the Golden Retriever, British or American, have a patient behavior, so they don’t despair if they have to wait a time to leave, and its patience is an attribute that many humans admire, especially if it have to wait sitting for hours and hours during a hunt.
The adult Golden Retriever have the ability to be capable to get deeply concentrated on a task that has been assigned to it, without changing until it’s done, so this is why it’s very important not to overload the dog with daily work activities so it can have a correct performance in their work.
Also it is important to say that the Golden Retriever hereditary instinct is in the hunt, they have a size quite adequate to enter and leave the vessels responsible for transporting the hunters.
That refers to the high training and learning abilities these dogs of this have, since they have also quite remarkable athletic potential, standing out in obedience tests in multiple competitions because of their incredible intelligence gifts.
These dogs are quite competitive, and have been in the first places of different sports, such as agility events and objects search. Isn’t necessary to train it with hard and aggressive methods, because these dogs respond in a better way and more quickly to the positive reinforcement training where the motivation and rewards are their main goal.
Its sociality level has also made it of the favorite breeds in the world because everyone who knows this dog knows that there will be no problem in approaching or caring, regardless of whether you are known or not, this dog will receive the entire good things you can give it with pleasure.
Anyway, it is necessary to say that the Golden Retriever should receive a dedicate training in its puppy stage, because when it is small it is quite restless, messy and curious, so it could be for any area of the house destroying shoes or toys, or whatever you find in its path.
Its environment
Just as every human beings needs to be in a place which we consider comfortable, quiet and that also meets the needs each of us have to be happy, in the dogs cases or any animals is the same thing, they also need to find themselves in an environment where they can feel comfortable, calm, and feel like their home.
According to their size, their breed and its characteristics, each dog will need a different place, so that some may find themselves comfortable in a very big and open courtyard while others will do them in an apartment.
In the particular case of the Golden Retriever, its known that it isn’t a dog considered territorial, but quite the contrary likes to be around all over the house sharing with everyone and playing with kinds.
It’s necessary to keep in mind how affectionate, playful and patient this breed can be, however according to its size, the most recommended place for this dog breed is a very big house, where it can easily move, especially in the case of the American Golden Retriever, that are much bigger than the Golden Retriever British, for which you will need to be in an open place in its entirety.
The Golden Retriever, as we have mentioned, is a very patient dog, calm and manageable, but it also requires moments of peace, so it must be enabled an exclusive space for it and has to be respected when it wants to be there alone.
It should be noted that this dog is quite tolerant, kind and patient with kids, and Golden Retriever due to his intelligence can recognizes that they are very delicate and don’t understand many things, but for this same reason, you must teach children to respect the pet from small to avoid some bad times when they grow, not so much with this breed but probably with another one.
When you adopt a Retriever, you must be aware of having a good family environment, loving, warm and safe inside the home where the dog will grow and be trained.
Despite its energy, when it gets faced with a very harmonious social environment, this dog is quite obedient, loyal, sweet and loving with everyone who approaches him.
In addition to being in a home environment as a pet, the Golden Retriever can also perform functions in a work environment. This is why he will not be very quiet spending his life in the living room of the house, lying at the feet of his owner, it will need daily physical exercise, walking to the park or mountain, where it could develop other skills than just taking care of children.
Being this dog breed capable of being used to rescue people with the nobility it has, play and release all that energy that have in their body, and also find lost objects or just play with their impressive abilities. The Golden Retriever must be close to a place or an open space where it can run and feel free when it wants to.
There are many places for adoption or purchase pets that take the right to evaluate the place and the family that wishes to get a dog of this breed very seriously, holding new owners responsible for giving it a safe home and giving it all the welfare they will need.
This also gives the agency some calm about the pet will not be hurt or abruptly abused, constantly monitoring some families, ensuring the dog’s happiness and safety.
It is necessary to remember that when you have a Golden Retriever the possibilities that you have to play with it and dedicate it time, since despite being a big animal also requires signs of affection of its owner, it will be the main counter of affection and love for its people.
The abilities and skills that this great dog has for sports are emphasized, making jumps, games and especially in the obedience competitions in which he could easily win, in addition to its incredible tenderness with people who will fall in love in every place where this dog is found, proving why it is a favorite for many dog lovers who have been familiar with this breed for many years.
The Golden Retriever will undoubtedly adapt quickly to any place where it feel peace, harmony and love, since those are the main values that this lovely dog possesses. Therefore, its owners must dedicate themselves to raising him full of affection as if he were another child in the family.
How much exercise should a Golden Retriever do?
The Golden Retrievers are dogs which need a lot of exercise, love and constant company from their owners, and without any of these things they would feel empty and without encouragement, thing that could can trigger behavioral problems in the long run, which can trigger stress attacks, aggressiveness or repetitive and destructive behaviors.
Fortunately for you, there is a very simple way to avoid any of these problems with your golden retriever, through frequent exercise, with which you will let it know how much you love it, since you will spend quality time with it while exercising to keep its state mood and health in optimal conditions.
Golden Retrievers dog will always enjoy the experience of going for a walk with their owner, but if these walks are in family they will feel even much happier because they are dogs that not just want their owner to interact with them, but also the entire, these are much attached dogs.
Combining the frequent family walks with exercises that the dogs need you will spend an incredibly fun time. Teach your children to treat the golden retriever in a very respectful way, and also show them some games they can play with it, so if you are not at home you can make children play with it.
The need for golden retriever exercise is medium-high, because it is a dog that enjoys sedentary lifestyle at home, but daily it must have their right dose of adventure and playing time, which we know as exercise.
If you put together the rides with games like searching for the ball (always in safe environments, where there are no cars nearby) or catching the disc, it is sure that then the experience will be more than fun for you and for it. If you are an active and healthy person, you can jog daily for half an hour with it, trust us, it will love to walk by your side.