Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2007 8:02 pm Post subject: Golden retrievers.... (owners please read)
Hello me again....
If your a GR owner im wondering if you could give me some info, about them but mainly how different/similar they are to our labs? not so much physical but more-so in their personalities
OOOOOooooohhh do I sense the possible pattering of tiny Trevie paws to keep Bailey company??!!!
Cant do any comparisons as my lab has only just been born! But I worked with Goldens for 5 years and we had Monty the best dog in the world for 14 years so I could tell you a bit about them! Water mad springs to mind, very loving and loyal, not quite so food mad as labs, ones that I have known have generally been quite calm and steady, would do anything to please you, very easy dogs to live with ( though I'm sure others may have differing opinions!!)
Its tough to write a list of things, I know that they were all absolutely lovely in their own way, Monty was just the best dog ever. He was just a big lovable bear and it is only this that stops me from having another one, he was one in a million and I miss him loads, I feel that any other Golden just couldnt come close! Sorry gone off topic slightly!
Dont know if thats much help, if theres anything specific you've got in mind just yell!
Zorro is a sweetheart! Very sensitive, very loving, very tuned into Dave and I and a lovely sense of humour. I don't think he's particularly typical of Goldies as he is a bit of a big girl's blouse about a lot of things but to Dave and I, he's perfect!!!
I would say on the whole, they are maybe less 'in yer face' than labs but they can be a bit cheeky!
Rocky is almost 2yrs old and very much a clown! I find him to be a lot like a lab, but sooo different too (helpful huh?)! He's loyal, loving and much more of a cuddler than my Yorkie! I'd say he was as cheeky and in-yer-face as a lab, but when it comes to telling Rocky off, one stern look and he's looking at you with eyes that say "I won't EVER do it again, please forgive me" and he means it! Whereas Yorkie, well his eyes just sorta say "are you talking to me?" before he trots off to get upto some other kinda mischief! So yeah.. I'd say Goldies are pretty sensitive when comparing them to labs, though just as much fun!!
I love Goldens, but gotta admit.. I think I love labs that little bit more!! We spent ages deciding whether to get a lab or a golden next and we've decided we'll always have a Golden in our lives, but we only want one at any one time!! I'm not sure if we just have a super-sensitive Golden, but I have more confidence in myself with training etc. when working with the "ballsy" personality of my lab - he copes with everything 10x better.
Hope this helps, though I've rambled a bit and it probably won't!
I haven't owned one (a GR) but someone in our street got one a month before we got Simba and have chatted to them loads about it. They seemed to have a bit of a nightmare but could be the owners. They carpeted their house just before getting Paddy and he took ages to toilet train! He ate a mobile phone and was a real chewer so quite similar to what labs are like really. He barks a lot, I can hear him when I walk past their house. I don't know the owners that well so don't know what they are like for walking/training him etc.
A rather more sensitive dog. Easy to destroy if handled heavily. Certainly not as forgiving of a mistake in training. Take a little longer to mature than a Labrador and from point of view of such things as gundog work I would start a few months later and bargain in being out in the field probably a season after a Labrador but just before a Flatcoat.
One of my mums neighbours owns a goldie so i can only go by my experience of that one, as we encounter it A LOT when i go visit my mum. lol
The one who lives close to my mum is really very hyper and excitable. When it first met Leo, Leo was only about 10 months old. The GR was about 7 months old. I would have thought being similar ages and both happy-go-lucky breeds they would get along really well, but the GR was to hyper even for Leo's standards!! Don't even go there when Megan met the GR. lol! She took an instant dislike to it. She's not really overly interested in other dogs as it is tbh... She's much more focused on her master (me of course lol) she gets very focused on her ball or myself when out so when she met the GR she just screamed, cried and balled her head off, as it was going nuts about her. (not in a nasty way, the goldie was only trying to be friendly)
Speking to the owner of it, who is a really nice woman and does do her best, she does find him a lot of work. Of course, all pups are hard work, but i think she took on more than she barganed for with him.
This is only one experience though!! I'm sure there are plenty of dogs of other breeds like this too, i highly doubt this is how all goldies act
I'v met lovely goldies when in the woods etc and they were very mellow too, but then iv only met these ones for a few seconds in the passing, the one i see near my mums house, i see about 2 or 3 times per week. It's now almost 2 years old and still the same old nutty pup
thanks for all the info guys, i havnt ever met another goldie other than carrolls dex at the main GT and the few hunderd i saw at crufts!
lol Trina - i sure hope i hear the pitter patter of tiny feet soon!! the OH is up for another once we can afford it better (i need another job lol) and im starting to wonder weather to go for another lab or a goldie, OR to foster or raise a pup for the blind/disabled etc.. OR even to just get a rescue/older lab/goldie
If i do get a goldie he wont be used for working though, do you get many working GR's John? ... i thought, just for meeting dex that GR's were probably much more cuddles and hugs than labs....
My best friend has 2 GRs (both bitches) and they are sweethearts! I love them to bits! They are very enthusiastic in greetings and such but not quite as OTT as labbies. Fern and Willow are quiet, laid back and just love cuddles! Fern fell asleep with her head in my lap the other day whilst I was stroking her head lol! And Willow is just coming up a year old - she was a crazy gal as a pup but I was amazed at how quickly she has settled down. She still has a lot of maturing to do and is very much a pup at heart but is definitely much gentler and more sensitive than Toby! (by miles!)
They also have a cocker spaniel...she rules the roost and bosses Willow round like an annoying older sister. I love multiple dog houses!
There are quite a few working Goldens around, (Never EVER Goldie!) in fact the winner of this year's IGL Retriever Championship was one! I also have several friends who work then, and for that matter even more who show them. A friend of mine breeds and shows them and her husband works them. Add to that I've twice stewarded the Obedience at one of the Golden breed club's open show.
Be careful of hips, the Golden BMS is rather worse than Labradors at 19, and they have one more eye condition than Labs.
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me again....
We spent ages deciding whether to get a lab or a golden next and we've decided we'll always have a Golden in our lives, but we only want one at any one time!! I'm not sure if we just have a super-sensitive Golden, but I have more confidence in myself with training etc. when working with the "ballsy" personality of my lab - he copes with everything 10x better.
