The Adventure Of Living With Golden Retrievers
What is life with Golden Retrievers like? Because of their personalities, quite good if you are willing and able to properly care for your Golden Retriever. The puppies are notorious for being hyperactive and more than a handful so don't get a puppy if you can't handle the mess and the time needed to properly train them. This is one breed where it is definitely an advantage to adopt an adult from a rescue center rather than get a puppy.
But Golden Retrievers are not born wonder dogs. They need time, effort and lots of praise in order to fully blossom into the great dogs they can be. You also need a good sense of humor and a willingness to let the house get a bit messy. You need to learn as much Golden Retriever information as you possibly can before, during and after you bring your dog home. The best places to get Golden Retrievers with great personalities are from breeders and Golden Retriever rescue centers. Never get a dog from a pet store.
Golden Retriever puppies are a bit notorious for being hyperactive and destructive. This breed does settle down, but usually not until they are at least two years old. If you are not used to puppies, then you might find Golden Retriever puppies exasperating. However, you can usually find trained, sensible and healthy adult Golden Retrievers from animal rescue centers. You need to give them exercise every day to keep them sane.
It has been said they have more of a doggy odor than other breeds. They also were bred to be Retrievers (hence the name), which means they have a compulsion to pick things up in their mouths and carry them to your home. This can mean they find a big dead rat and carry in into your living room, fully expecting to be showered with praise.
Golden Retrievers, because of their popularity, have been victims of their own success. Some unscrupulous breeders more concerned about how many puppies they can sell as opposed to how healthy the puppies are have over bred them. There is an effort of Golden Retriever breeders to try and reverse health problems that can be passed on through genes. Just to be on the safe side, expect your Golden Retriever to have skin problems, hip dysplasia, eye problems and heart problems.
You can also help sweeten a Golden Retriever's naturally sweet disposition by getting your dog spayed or neutered. This helps reduce your dog's chances of getting in fights, wandering off to find a mate or getting cancers of the reproductive organs. Golden Retrievers also become more interested in paying attention to you instead of their hormones. Still, even a mature Golden Retriever usually does not make a good guard dog, as they want to make friends with everyone.
If you look in the media or in advertising, a lot of times when a dog is needed to play a part, that part is played by a Golden Retriever. This shows you what these dogs are capable of.
Golden Retrievers tend to even like their vets and do not stress out as much as other breeds at the thought of going to the vet's or a groomer. They also are very good about taking pills, because they love food. Just slip the pill in food.
