Best selling author Lisa Scottoline has four Golden Retrievers and one Welsh Corgi. She writes about them like this, "When you have a house full of Goldens, you think to yourself, You know, we need a dog". And which dog causes all the trouble in her home? The Corgi. Which dog literally ate part of her finger? The Corgi. Which dog is on doggy Prozac? The Corgi.
This shows the big contrast between Golden Retriever temperaments and the temperaments of most other dog breeds. Although every dog is an individual, for the most part Golden Retrievers are calm, trainable and submissive. However, they need proper nutrition, grooming and exercise to get this good-natured and stay this good-natured. Golden Retrievers arent the perfect dogs, but for many they are worth their weight in gold for their personalities. If you are ever saddled with a Golden Retriever, you could do a lot worse.
There are some negatives to living with Golden Retrievers that you should prepare yourself for. These will be mild for some people and calamities for others. Golden Retrievers need daily grooming, or they get matted. They shed more than other breeds. 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 greatly help your Golden Retrievers behavior, trainability and health by getting your dog spayed or neutered. The dog will already be neutered if you adopt from a Golden Retriever rescue center. Neutering makes the dog more relaxed, more willing to accept people as the ones in charge and less likely to run away in search of love. Neutered dogs also tend to live longer and get less cancer.
Golden Retrievers are prone to some health conditions, so you should be prepared for such a possibility. They are often prone to eye problems, hip dysplasia, heart conditions and itchy skin problems. However, a Golden Retriever will usually not be so terrified of going to the vet like other dogs. There is a big effort by responsible Golden Retriever breeders to weed out all unhealthy Golden Retrievers from the breeding population. On average, Golden Retrievers live to be between ten and twelve years old.
A dog-lover and professional breeder, Carol Matthews has extensive experience in raising and caring for the dogs. The Golden Retriever is the perfect combination of action with beauty. It is widely accepted for its intelligence, obedience, golden shade and liveliness. This article offers all the basic the Golden Retriever information including its history.
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