Facts about Golden Retrievers and Golden Retriever Puppies

Points of Conformation for Golden Retriever

Golden Retriever is a muscular, balanced, and powerful dog which have a free smooth gait. Heaviness is not present in the flews of dog; the skull of the Golden Retriever is broad; stop is well defined; the square strong muzzle of Golden Retriever blends with the skull smoothly. Eye set of Golden Retriever is moderately wide and its pigment is brown. Eyelids fit closely on the eyes of Golden Retriever and have dark margins. Ears of Golden Retriever are moderately short and triangle while the nose is darkly pigmented. The neck of the Golden Retriever is of medium length and much muscled.

The topline of the body of Golden Retriever is slightly sloped to the croup. The tail of the Golden Retriever is slightly curved and generally horizontally carried. Abdomen shows a little tuck up, the thorax is deep, and ribs are well sprung. The tail bone of Golden Retriever reaches to the tarsus of limbs. Limbs are straight and the dewclaws are usually left on forelimbs. The feet of Golden Retriever is round-shaped, well knuckled, and compact.

History of Golden Retriever

Dudley Marjoribanks, The first Lord Tweedmouth is the person who introduced this breed. He experimented from 1840 to 1890 to introduce an ideal gundog for Guisachan estate of Highlands in Scotland. Tweedmouth crossed his “Yellow Retriever” with “Tweed Water Spaniel” (now this species has gone extinct), and repeated it for many generations. The first Golden Retriever was seen at a British dog show in 1908. Golden Retriever was first recognized by the AKC in 1925.

Types of Golden Retriever

One of the most confusing questions is about types of Golden Retriever. This question is due to their coat colors, eye shapes, and sizes. The breed is ALWAYS the same but there are Three different types of Golden Retrievers are there that vary a little bit from each other as Canadian Golden Retriever, British or English Golden Retriever and American Golden Retriever.

Canadian Golden Retrievers have shorter hair and coat is not as feathery as the other Golden Retrievers. Beside this Canadian Golden Retrievers are much taller than other cousins, they may reach up to 2 inches higher than other Golden Retrievers. Counter to Canadian Golden Retrievers, British Golden Retrievers are smaller. However, British Golden Retrievers have broader skull than other two Golden Retrievers. Along with this feature, British Golden Retrievers have much stronger fore paw then other Golden Retrievers. American Golden Retrievers are fragile from all, also they have a darker coat than other Golden Retrievers. As far as eyes concern, American Golden Retrievers have triangular or slanted-shaped eyes that are different from other round eyed Golden Retrievers.

Coat of Golden Retriever

There are two coats of fur in Golden Retrievers. The inner coat is dense and light-colored which helps in temperature regulation in Golden Retrievers. Whereas outercoat concern, it is slightly coarser and darker in color. The other feature of the outer coat is that it is waterproof. The thickness of both coats depend upon the environment in which a Golden Retriever is living. Seasonal shedding also occurs in these dogs. Golden Retrievers shed more in the spring and fall.

Golden Retriever’s Uses

Golden Retriever is a versatile breed and could perform well in the hunt of upland game and waterfowl. As they were introduced as Gundogs so, their main function is the same. Other uses include hunting trials, tracking, search, rescue and as a guide dog. They can also be used as a therapy dog. Due to all of this, it is a very popular breed in relative fields.

Golden Retriever as a Guide Dog

A guide dog is a dog that guides blind or partially sighted people outside their houses. A pure breed of Golden Retriever is one of best dog for this work. This is due to size, strength, and intelligence of the Golden Retriever. Due to its gentle behavior and family-friendly temperament, it is liked by many special people.

Golden Retriever as a therapy Dog

When comes to therapy dogs, Retriever family is one the best suitable family for this job. Golden Retrievers are also very popular in the list of therapy dogs. Due to their size and affectionate behavior for families, they are suitable for old people, as they need someone’s help for different works. Golden Retrievers can also help people in hospitals due to their strength. The important thing for Golden Retriever is its gentle behavior for people which make it one of the best therapy dog.

Temperament of Golden Retriever

They are very gentle dogs. A Golden Retriever is one of the best family dogs. Golden Retrievers are playful, gentle for your children, and even affectionate with strangers. They are the least aggressive dogs after whippets and Papillion. They are even less aggressive to the family then Labrador Retrievers and get the love for the family very soon. They are also least barkers. Due to their gentle behavior and family friendliness, they can’t be used as watchdogs. However, a Golden Retriever can alert you when a stranger comes with proper training.

Grooming in Golden Retrievers

Golden Retriever is a double-coated dog. There is only need of moderate grooming in Golden Retrievers. The double coat of this dog is useful for it in all seasons so, don’t shave it. Combing your dog once a week is more than enough for your Golden Retriever. Combing the dog not only helps it to get the dead hair from out of its coat but also, beautify Golden Retriever. Bathing is also essential for your dog. Along with coat care, trimming of the nails of the dog is also necessary. Trimming nails of dogs make them comfortable.

Exercise needs for Golden Retriever

Despite their family affectionate and friendliness behavior, they are also very energetic dogs. They need a large amount of play daily. Exercise of at least 45 minutes in a day is essential for Golden Retriever. Without this exercise, their body may breakdown which is not good in any sense. You can use different types of exercises for you Golden Retriever like running, swimming, jumping etc.

You can also use different toys for your Golden Retriever. Along with physical exercise, mental exercise is also essential for your Golden Retriever. You can give a mental exercise to your dog with the help of love.

Health Concerns for Golden Retriever

The Golden Retriever is a fragile breed. Cancer is more common in this breed than other breeds. You should ask about the history of your Golden Retriever Puppy’s family. Along with cancer, Hip Dysplasia, Patella Luxation, Hemophilia A, Spectrin Deficiency, Heart issues and Elbow Dysplasia are most common issues in Golden Retrievers. A proper checkup is very essential for your Golden Retriever.

Life Expectancy in Golden Retrievers

Due to the high rate of cancer and other issues like inbreeding, the life expectancy of Golden Retriever has been reduced to 10-13 years. Most of Golden Retrievers have the age of 12 years and it is also average life in this breed.

Best age to get a Golden Retriever Puppy

There are a lot of answers on the internet for the question “What is the best age to get a Golden Retriever Puppy?” The answer to this question is, you can get a Golden Retriever Puppy about at the age of 8 weeks to three months. It is also noteworthy that there are different best ages to get Golden Retriever Puppy for different types of this breed.

Separating a Golden Retriever Puppy from its mother at a younger age leads to many problems. Problems like over-reactivity, fearfulness, anxiety, aggressiveness, difficulty in learning, and possessiveness for food and toys are the most common problem. If you’ll separate a Golden Retriever Puppy in a younger age it’ll miss lessons that can only be taught by the mother and siblings. As a result, a separation in Golden Retriever Puppy at a younger age can cause serious mental and physical problems.

Vaccination of Golden Retriever Puppy

One of the important thing that should you do for your puppy’s health is its vaccination. Vaccination of your Golden Retriever Puppy should be done at a younger age. As Golden Retrievers are very fragile dogs so, vaccination is very important for Golden Retriever puppies.

Training of Golden Retriever Puppy

Golden Retriever puppies are very intelligent and they learn training very quickly. Love for people is also an important thing that plays a vital role in Golden Retriever Puppy’s training. You should start the training of your Golden Retriever Puppy at a very younger age, like, a few weeks of age for Golden Retriever Puppy is enough to get training for it. With the help of proper training, your Golden Retriever Puppy can encounter difficult situations in a better way.

Bite inhibition is also a very important part of its training. It should be thought to a Golden Retriever Puppy properly because it’ll not only helpful for your dog but also, for you in extreme situations.

Socialization of a puppy is also a part of the training of puppy that can’t be neglected. Socialization of a Golden Retriever Puppy should be started at the age of 8 weeks to 16 weeks. According to experts, it is very difficult to socialize a Golden Retriever Puppy in elder ages. You can socialize your Golden Retriever Puppy with different ways: allow positive people to come to your Golden Retriever Puppy; allow your puppy to play with other healthy and joyful companions; engage in with your puppy.