Is the “Golden Retriever” the right dog/pet for you and your family? Golden Retrievers are stated to be great family pets and therefore fall into the category of the ideal pet where many people are concerned. This is not always the case though, they are not the perfect family pet always and, before you can answer if one would be the perfect for you and your family, the best thing you can do is research the breed thoroughly! Golden Retriever Rescue In Naples, Inc. highly recommends everyone considering the addition of a pet of any kind to their family, RESEARCH IT FIRST! In doing research, you are doing yourself a BIG favor and very importantly, you are doing the pet a BIG favor at the same time!

To assist you in researching the Golden Retriever breed, the following information has been provided for you by our organization. There are many books and other sources of information available on the breed, but by reading the following information you will gain a general idea of what they are all about.

Golden Retrievers are large dogs and carry weights from approximately 55 to 80 pounds on average, depending on their gender. Heights of the breed range on average at the shoulders from 22 to 26 inches tall, again depending on the gender. Please keep in mind ~ unless they are laying down resting their heads are carried much higher than their shoulders making them even larger.

Goldens are known for being very social and faithful to their humans enjoying constant interaction and contact with them. They are commonly known as Velcro Dogs by many whom are familiar with the breed. What exactly does that mean? It means that if you select a Golden as your family pet you could easily have a large dog following behind you wherever you go, meaning you will have a large dog under foot at all times.

Goldens are large shedding machines from the word go! In fact, many Goldens are surrendered to rescue organizations for this very reason. Their coats are in need of constant maintenance, meaning proper brushing and combing and even with that they are still constantly shedding and leaving hair all over their home. It is not uncommon to see hair literally fly from a Golden Retriever when it shakes vigorously. Owning a Golden will mean that you and your vacuum cleaner will be very well acquainted. It also means that you don’t need to reside out west to come in contact with “Tumbleweeds”, in this case balls of tumbling golden hair that finds it’s way to almost every corner in every room.

Touching on proper maintenance above brings up the next matter of proper maintenance, bathing and skin care. Goldens, especially residing in Florida, are in need of regular bathing and skin conditioning. Without proper care in this area most Goldens will be prone to skin issues and irritations that are often very expensive and difficult to treat. To help ensure that you do not promote unnecessary skin problems, regular bathing with a quality shampoo, brushing and combing of a Golden is necessary! Given the size of the breed and the type hair they have, this is not an easy task. The care will require a large amount of time and effort on your part.

Proper maintenance of a Golden also means feeding a quality dog food typically meaning you will have a healthier dog, but a larger expense for food along with trips to a special store to purchase it. To feed a quality food you can plan on spending approximately $250.00 to $300.00 annually. Feeding a quality food helps to ensure you don’t promote skin irritations that are often brought on due to allergies from feeding a less quality food and helps to ensure that other health concerns are avoided. Grocery store and discount store brand food is made from a less quality base and enhanced with products that are known to be harmful to your beloved pet. Many products result in your pet experiencing skin allergies and irritations, which are costly to treat, and unable to be cured with continued feeding of the food, as well as other health concerns including organ destruction and failure, cancer and numerous diseases including obesity. While on the topic of providing a proper diet for a Golden you must also know about the drinking habits of a Golden. Goldens require a fresh and abundant supply of drinking water at all times, especially while living in Florida with the extremely warm climate. Water ~ water ~ everywhere, slopping here and there! Goldens are known for being sloppy drinkers. Often times they will drip water all around their water bowls and even leave a path when walking from their bowl. It is important that you know and understand this especially if your family has an elderly person or a small child. Water can be very slippery and dangerous on floors.

Proper maintenance of a Golden also and very importantly means regular health care provided by a veterinarian. It is important that a Golden receive regular check-ups, vaccinations and other treatments as necessary. This care can be costly and will average $100.00 annually. In addition, it is important that your veterinarian address any illnesses or other issues that should surface, which will be at an additional fee per occurrence. Furthermore, you will need to provide heartworm preventative to your golden and proper flea, tick and parasite control medications. Again, these items will be provided to you from your veterinarian, but at an additional fee over and above the annual check-ups and treatment of other conditions. While speaking of veterinary care, it is also important to address an issue that is common in large breed dogs including Goldens ~ Hip Dysplasia. Due to their size and the rapid pace of growth a Golden puppy makes in its early stages of life Goldens are prone to this health issue. If your Golden should be one of the many effected, it is a very costly condition to treat. Other common medical conditions that effect Goldens are eye defects, heart defects and thyroid illnesses.

Goldens are considered by many the perfect family pet, great in homes with children. They are referred to as being calm and mannerly, which is not the case at all! Goldens are very active and exert a large amount of energy and need to receive regular exercise, especially in their early stages of life accompanied with proper obedience training. Without this they in fact can be very dangerous around small and younger children. Though not meaning any harm, their regular manner of play can easily cause it, if they are not properly trained. Goldens are a breed that commonly mouth things during play including arms and legs of small children. They also have razor sharp teeth and claws as puppies adding to their being able to cause harm. They are very eager to retrieve items thrown or tossed, often knocking down and running over anything and everything within their path to get it. Furthermore, they tend to use their entire body when at play, including their very long and powerful tail. So, are Goldens a great family pet? If you are committed to providing proper obedience training to the Golden and, more importantly, committed to teaching proper pet handling and etiquette to your children, you should be able to achieve the goal of having both and doing so very nicely.

Goldens and the great outdoors, many people think they walk hand-in-hand and that is definitely not the case at all! Though Goldens enjoy safe play outdoors as to be addressed in the coming paragraph, it is not the proper place for a golden to live! Goldens are very susceptible to outdoor conditions. Living outdoors makes them prone to skin issues and irritations, along with many other problems including the development of undesired behavioral patterns, stress, anxiety, thunder phobia and many other conditions that will make their life extremely uncomfortable. Due to their social personality, Goldens desire and need to live with their family and be an active part of it, not be excluded and made to live separate from it. One of the biggest dangers an outdoor golden faces is being stolen. Many Goldens are stolen each year! Goldens stolen from their home often times meet with very awful deaths!

Goldens do enjoy the great outdoors as they are a sporting breed and especially enjoy being allowed to exercise and play outside, but they must still have special precautions taken to ensure their safety when doing so. Leashed walks and play within a secure and safe environment, such as a fenced yard, is the best choice with Goldens. The instinct of the breed makes them eager to take chase after birds, cats, other dogs, critters of all kinds, other people outside, and you get the idea, pretty much anything that moves. If they are walked off lead during their walks or allowed to play outside in an open area, you are asking for and inviting danger into their life no matter how well trained and obedient your dog is! Please consider this at all times and in all situations because if you do not provide proper and safe conditions outdoors, ultimately you are putting their life at risk!

Swimming is an indoor and outdoor activity found appealing to most Goldens, but dangerous if they are left to do so unattended and without proper owner supervision! Indoor dangers with swimming include Goldens being left unattended in pool enclosures and accidental death due to their falling in the pool. Even though they are avid swimmers in most cases, they are just like small children and need constant supervision when around a pool. Please also know and understand that Florida is known for having an extremely large population of alligators, most of which enjoy residing in ponds, lakes and canals in developments where humans live with their Goldens. This is a very dangerous situation as Goldens are known for taking advantage of any opportunity to swim. It only takes a split second for an alligator to kill a dog, including large breed dogs such as Golden Retrievers. Golden Rescue In Naples, Inc. recommends that you not allow your Golden to swim in areas that are unfamiliar to you or that are not known to be totally and completely alligator free. Further dangers with swimming in ponds, lakes and canals that need to be heavily considered are chemicals in the water (especially around golf courses), fungus and bacteria which can both cause infections of the skin and internal damage from drinking the water.

For more information on whether or not a Golden is right for you, click HERE.

updated 06/10/09
Golden Rescue In Naples, Inc. is a 501c3 Non-profit organization.

For more information, please call 239.514.2715