Golden Retriever

What a golden retriever is like to live with

Goldens are gundogs that most people now keep as family dogs, and the temperament mostly lives up to the reputation. They are sociable, gentle and keen to please, and usually easy with children and other dogs. Many greet visitors with something in their mouth for their whole lives, which is the retrieving instinct rather than a party trick.

They are not a low-effort dog. The Royal Kennel Club lists them as needing more than two hours of exercise a day, and a young golden that gets much less tends to find its own work: chewing, digging and jumping up. They are drawn to water and mud in equal measure, which matters for the ears and for the floors.

Expect a long puppyhood. Goldens are slow to grow up, and the bouncy, mouthy stage often runs well past the first birthday.

Origin

The breed was developed in Scotland in the nineteenth century. The Royal Kennel Club credits the first Lord Tweedmouth as its founder, breeding a yellow dog from black Wavy Coated Retrievers crossed with the Tweed Water Spaniel. The Kennel Club recognised the breed in 1913, and the name Golden Retriever was settled in 1920.

It was bred to fetch shot game from land and water and bring it back undamaged. That is where the stamina, the soft mouth, the love of swimming and the dense water-resistant coat all come from.

Exercise, food and weight

Two proper walks a day with off-lead running and something to fetch or find suits most adults. Swimming is excellent exercise, as long as you dry the ears afterwards.

Weight is the quiet problem. A VetCompass study of overweight dogs in the UK found golden retrievers had 2.58 times the odds of being overweight compared with crossbreeds, behind only pugs and beagles. Extra weight loads the hips and elbows, which are this breed's weak joints to begin with.

The calorie calculator gives you a starting figure. After that, feed to what you can feel: the ribs should be easy to find under a thin layer of fat. Treats and training rewards count towards the day's food.

Grooming

The cost section covers what grooming costs. The practical side is brushing right through to the skin a few times a week, paying most attention behind the ears, on the feathering of the back legs and on the tail, where mats form first. Expect steady shedding all year and two heavier moults on top.

Ears and skin

Drop ears, a thick coat and a love of water add up to a dog prone to ear infections. Check inside the ears weekly for redness, smell or discharge, and dry them after every swim. Head shaking and scratching at one ear are worth a vet visit sooner rather than later, because ear infections left alone tend to become chronic.

Cancer, and what it means day to day

The cost section explains why cancer drives this breed's premiums as it ages. The practical response is simple: run your hands over your dog regularly, and have any new lump, or a change in energy, appetite or breathing, looked at promptly rather than watched. Many lumps turn out to be harmless, but finding out early is what gives the options.

It is also the strongest argument for lifetime cover from the start. A cancer claim often runs across more than one policy year, and a policy with a per-condition time limit can stop paying partway through treatment.

Health tests to ask a breeder for

The Royal Kennel Club sets out what responsible golden retriever breeders should test for. Ask for results for both parents, by name.

The essentials:

• Hip score under the BVA/RKC Hip Dysplasia Scheme. Each hip is scored 0 to 53, and lower is better. The BVA advises breeding only from dogs scoring below or close to the breed median, so ask how the parents compare.
• Elbow grade under the BVA/RKC Elbow Dysplasia Scheme. Graded 0 to 3, and the BVA advises breeding only from grade 0.
• Eye certificate under the BVA/RKC/ISDS Eye Scheme, including gonioscopy. Gonioscopy checks the drainage angle of the eye for pectinate ligament abnormality, which is linked to glaucoma. Eye examinations should ideally be from within the year before the mating.
• DNA test for GR_PRA2, one form of progressive retinal atrophy, an inherited condition that causes blindness.

The Royal Kennel Club also recommends DNA tests for GR_PRA1, a second form of progressive retinal atrophy, and for ichthyosis (ICT-A), a skin condition that causes scaling and dandruff-like flakes.

A breeder who has done the lot will usually show you the paperwork before you ask. You can check registered dogs' results on the Royal Kennel Club's Health Test Results Finder.

Before you buy

See the puppy with its mother, and ask what both parents are like at home as well as in the field or the show ring. Goldens come from working and show lines as well as pet breeding, and the working lines tend to be lighter in build and busier in the head. Pick the one that fits your week.

Put insurance in place from the day you collect the puppy, because anything noted by a vet before cover starts is usually excluded as pre-existing. Our UK pet insurance comparison explains lifetime cover and which providers offer it, and the harness sizing tool helps with a strong adolescent that pulls.