Golden Retriever: Complete Petting Guide

When you are out in a park, or even in your neighborhood; there is a 100% likelihood that you will encounter a shiny yellowish brown dog, that holds the biggest smile; and positive demeanor that lights up everyone’s day away. This dog is the beloved, golden retriever. With the validation of the American Kennel Club; the golden retriever holds the place for the 4th spot on their annual list of most popular dog breeds; this is for all around the world. It’s insane, and they are deserving, for a long list of excellent reasons. If you are eyeing to get your very first dog or an addition to your pet dogs; a Golden retriever is a perfect first dog or the next perfect dog for you. Then this article is for you!

Breed Information 

The Golden Retriever holds the title of exuberant Scottish gundog of great charm; who has been standing among America’s most popular dog breeds for a very long time now.  They are a great standard family pet dog; with them also being serious workers at hunting as well as fieldwork; guides for the disabled blind persons, and extremely helpful in search-and-rescue. These dogs are versatile, competitive, and obedient that have an endearing love for both work purposes and life. 

Discussing their physical characteristics, Their broad head, with their mesmerizing friendly and intelligent eyes, short ears; and the straight muzzle is what they have known for; it is what stood out for their breed. Golden retrievers are a sturdy, muscular dog that is medium in size and they are dense. Shiny coats of yellow-brown color that project as gold, hence their name. They are considered to be one of the dog breeds; that are easy on the eyes because of how attractive they are, with overflowing cuteness when they begin to show their smiles. 

When moving, you will notice how harmonious they are. They have a smooth, powerful gait and their feathery tail is carried; as most golden retrievers like to say, with a merry action. They are very active; like to keep their body moving by playing, running, and conducting silly movements that are a sight to see. 

History of Golden Retrievers 

The Golden Retriever’s history originated from the Scottish Highlands. Scottish Highlands primarily use golden retrievers as their helpers when they are out hunting, they are called hunting dogs, originally. The Scottish owners are in need of a dog that could retrieve birds whether it is in the water; or land because the usual hunting grounds in Scotland are full of ponds and marshes; and these obedient dogs fulfilled the excellent task. 

The ideal golden retriever to exist was done by the Baron of Tweedmouth, Dudley Marjoribanks; wherein he crossed a Tweed water spaniel together with a yellow-colored retriever. It gave birth to four pups that were then used in further breedings with lines comprising the Irish setter; bloodhound, St. John’s water dog, and lastly, black retrievers. He kept all the records throughout the years of the 19th century, revealing the goal of creating a dog with a soft mouth; that is effective and efficient in retrieving games but a dog who is also strong and active. It was a success; and the golden retriever breed gained popularity in England and was acknowledged by The Kennel Club of England in 1911. 

Moving forward to the 20th century; golden retrievers were brought to North America, advertising as both an effective hunting dog and a lovable companion. It was also a success as they never fail to win the hearts of all dog lovers; and those who effectively use their breed for work purposes. They were officially recognized by the American Kennel Club in 1025; amazingly impressed by how many people have their own golden retriever in their homes; and how many work environments they are in demand.

Now, Golden retrievers are winning the internet, because of how genuinely lovable; and caring they are, famous for their loyalty, outgoing friendly demeanor, with thousands of people admiring who they really are both inside and outside of work; and their original purpose for hunting, because really, they are so much more than that. 

Personality and Temperament of Golden Retrievers 

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They are skillful and active reliable workers

Golden retrievers do not become hunting dogs for no great advantage. They have a great retrieving game, they have a great sense of sight and smell; which is generally perfect for hunting and tracking. Golden Retrievers are famous guard dogs for sniffing out contrabands for law enforcement and great therapy and service dogs. These dogs are known to be natural athletes, that are best in agility, obedience; with great body coordination and reaction time to everything, they are very competitive as well. 

Intelligent Creatures

Golden retrievers love to explore and stimulate their minds, either with their intended work or if at home. By discovering and solving escape routes. They can easily be taught dog tricks and are very disciplined as well. You would not be having a hard time potty training them. 

They are very sweet and lovable

All golden retrievers can swear by how golden retrievers are manifestations of angels. They love to shower their owners’ love and affection. That is why they are great family dogs because you can really bond with them. Their sweetness and lovability will always make your day. 

They are very caring

Oftentimes, when scrolling through social media you can easily search for the best golden retriever videos and you’ll be shown videos of them caring for children and babies. This is another reason why families opt to buy or adopt them. They bond well with children, wherein they serve as their friends and protector. In adults, you can also be protected, as they will not hesitate to bark when they see and feel threats near you. 

They are cheerful and fun

Golden retrievers are not high maintenance. Generally, all of the seemingly mundane things will make them laugh out loud and happy. Simple games, they really love, as well as gentle petting and of course, giving them food. They are foodies as well. Their goofiness will make you laugh out loud and happy as well. 

They are great with people, as they are social butterflies

They can be easily pleased by strangers, so you do not have to worry as your friends and family will get along easily with them. For other dogs and animals, especially cats? They can easily be friends. 

You have a faithful companion with them

Yes, and with their long life span? You will sure have lots of memories to build and treasure with them.

Raising your own Golden Retriever 

Now, let us cover how you can care for your very own golden retriever if you are convinced enough by what I am preaching so far.

Expectations on Golden Retriever’s Health

Golden retrievers are generally healthy dogs, however, owners should still screen their breeding stock for various health conditions that are considered risky for golden retrievers. Such as elbow and hip dysplasia, juvenile cataracts, and subvalvular aortic stenosis. Vaccinations are a must, a bare minimum health requirement as vaccines protect and mitigate the risk of acquiring lots of dog diseases. Veterinary consultations are to be done regularly, to check for an optimum health condition, and to treat ongoing diseases, or underlying undiagnosed diseases or health conditions. 

Expectations on Golden Retriever’s Grooming and Hygiene

Golden Retrievers heavily shed their chunky, water-resistant shiny double coats more than thrice a year, and they also shed in moderation every day or every other day. With this, it is important that you have a good brushing out with a dog-appropriate brush once or twice a week to help aid in removing much of the dead hair before it gets the chance to inconveniently ruin your day. 

Baths help to loosen your golden retriever’s dead hairs, and they must be bathed once a week or every two weeks. As for their dental care, their teeth should be brushed as frequently as three to four times per week, their nails should be cut every two weeks, and lastly, for their ears, it should be checked weekly to be certain that there are no signs of infections arising.  

Expectations on Golden Retriever’s Exercise 

As they are a very active and sporty breed, your very own golden retriever will be subjected to daily exercise, plenty of it. Without adequate physical stimulation, they might engage in undesirable behaviors and negatively impact not just their physical health but their mental health as well.

Do not worry because, if you are a busy person, they will make great companions for long runs and bike rides, while you are getting your own physical stimulation for the day as well. They love playing active games such as fetching, hunting trips, or field trials, you can also buy them a ball, and they will be happily chasing it. You might consider getting them to participate in canine sport, they perform well in agility, obedience, and tracking. 

Expectations on Golden Retriever’s Training

As with all the other dog breeds, you must engage your golden retriever to early socialization and puppy training classes. You are encouraged to gently expose them to people, places, and situations as early as seven weeks to four months. Why? Because this will help your dog to grow into a well-adjusted and well-mannered adult.

Their training as part of the socialization process will help you as an owner to recognize and correct if your dog is manifesting any bad habits. In addition to that, you might also be interested in conducting obedience training, as it will strengthen the bond between your dog and you, as its owner. Do not worry, as we have covered that this dog breed is very intelligent, all you need to provide is the proper guidance and surely, you will succeed in training it. Remember that they want nothing more than to please his owner. Moreover, they are very outgoing, loyal, and eager to do your bidding, making them 101% easy to train. 

Expectations on Golden Retriever’s Nutrition 

With securing their nutrition, as much as your love and care will make them healthy, the foundation will still lie on how well you effectively feed them. 

Golden retrievers mainly eat dog foods, but you are encouraged to find your very own dog with high quality and nutrients packed dog food. Make sure that the product is made to be a completely balanced dog diet, as it means that the dog food itself has passed all the tests needed to ensure its effectiveness in providing your dog all the necessary nutrition it needs to be healthy. 

You can also cook their own meals using meat. The best meats for golden retrievers are lean beef meat, pork tenderloins, and chicken breast. These three hold lots of protein, with vitamins that can effectively supplement your dog. Of course, these meats should be cooked as they are not the type of other dog breeds that thrive well on raw foods. Doing so might put them at risk of stomach issues, and others that can harm other systems of their body. For their treats, you might consider giving them fruits and vegetables as they are full of vitamins and minerals as well, with lots of antioxidants to top off.

Below is the list of healthy fruits and vegetables your golden retriever will love eating: 

• Kale
• Carrot
• Broccoli 
• Beets 
• Cucumber 
• Mango
• Watermelon 
• Pineapple 
• Orange
• Pear

Do not feed your golden retriever toxic human foods as well, as they have the capacity to make them ill, weak, and even kill them. These toxic foods are: 

• Alcohol
• Avocados
• Chocolate
• Grapes
• Raisins
• Walnuts, almonds, pecans, and macadamia nuts
• Onions, garlic, and chives
• Yeast
• Xylitol

Give your golden retriever plenty of drinking water and store it everywhere in your house, to keep it accessible at all times. Change it every day to avoid contaminations of bacteria. 

Lastly, you are encouraged to give your dog vitamin and minerals supplements in between their meals to aid more with their nutrition. Doh supplements are really provided to emit health benefits and a much more healthy mental state for your dog. For the specifics, usually, your veterinarian will know what is best for your dog as it will effectively assess and rule out what will work best on your dog and target areas you need to enhance and aid.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Golden Retrievers 

For added clarity, let us go over and discuss if a golden retriever is the best suitable dog breed for you by exploring what are their raising advantages and disadvantages. In this way, you really ought to yield the best, and rational decision for owning a Golden Retriever of your own. 

Advantages of Petting a Golden Retriever 

They have lots of positive traits that will enhance your life.

Who does not want to be surrounded by a sweet, lovable, caring, easy-going, goofy, friendly, and everything except bad and boring dog? Believe me, golden retrievers do not just get their name for their golden coats, but as well as their top golden personality traits, that literally is a treasure to have. 

Golden retrievers love, amongst every other thing they adore, being with families.

They will selflessly live their lives caring for other human beings. Your family will have a guardian, protector, and a friend in them. They are very good with kids, as well as in forming companionship with adults, and with the oldies? These dogs adore the oldies. They will generally enhance and will give your family the opportunity of getting closer to each other. 

Golden retrievers are skillful and intelligent.

This is an understatement already as they both excel be it in being a working dog or a human companion, they really have lots of potential and wonders stored in them. 

Golden retrievers do not need much to be happy, they are fairly low maintenance.

As we have covered, as simple as giving them a ball, they can sustain their daily need for physical stimulation, and if you are too busy at work, just allowing them to observe you will actively wag its tail because of happiness. They do not need a lot of health maintenance as well as long as you provide all of their needs and occasionally give them their wants as a reward. 

Golden retriever’s bark is not loud, annoying, and frequent.

Golden retrievers are moderate barkers and do not engage in barking situations besides much-needed situations, unlike dogs that bark when they are hungry, happy, sad, frustrated, angry, and annoyed. They wear their emotions on their sleeves, and to help you know what they are feeling, it easily manifests in their body language, which is also fairly easy to learn.

• They are social butterflies, with both humans and other animals. Your dog will not harm anyone, they are not aggressive, you will not have to worry, even in the tiniest sense. 
• These dogs are good for hunting, sniffing, and a great companion for finding lost things. 
• Goldies are very lively, and at the same time, calm.
• They are very faithful and value companionships.
• They can make you a better person. 

Disadvantages of Petting a Golden Retriever 

Golden retrievers shed their coats a lot.

This is a fair disadvantage if you are not ready to constantly brush their hair. Their hair will be on your furniture, floors, and clothes, and sometimes can join your food as well. 

Golden retrievers need a lot of grooming maintenance.

 Grooming tasks should be done on a regular basis, although at different intervals. They need to maintain their hygiene by brushing their teeth, brushing their coats, clipping their nails, inspecting their ears, and regularly engaging in baths. If you are a busy person, it might be a burden as you are risking your dog’s health postponing these grooming tasks, and it also costs extra money to hand these tasks to someone. 

They are mischievous

As their intelligent and skillful nature gets the best of them, they like to pour it occasionally on getting themselves into trouble, they might steal your things and make you look for them, they might misplace your things, and many more occasionally uncontrollable chaotic moments. 

They are not cheap.

Their breed, on average buying, costs $500-3000. If you are looking at adopting them, you might need to have $200-0 to make it possible. For their maintenance cost for health and other essential things, you might be expecting $2000-3000 in their first year, and in succeeding years, you might be looking for $1000-2500. 

Conclusion

It is definitely fun to have got to discover another fascinating dog breed. Golden retrievers sure fit the definition of golden.  These angels manifested in dog forms are something worth petting, and fighting for. I bet, you will have a great and lovely time if you are to get one for yourself and your family, together, they will have fun with your friends and your other existing pets as well.

With this, I hope you take this as your much needed sign to own one, and responsibly take care of it with all your heart. And with a golden retriever? You will never get to be wrong, of course, if you are both on the same length, and are same to some extent. Anyway, have a thought for it, and advance. Happy pet parenting!