# Golden retrievers



## Cinnamontoast (24 October 2017)

I admit, I'm a gun dog type fan. I met a goldie today and I was immediately in love. She's as mad as a hatter, beautiful to look at,  moves beautifully, held a piece of concrete concealed in her mouth and was determined to find it again once it was removed (youngster). Who has one and can I see pictures?!


----------



## conniegirl (24 October 2017)

We have 2, softest, soppiest dogs ever. 
One has a thing about smelly socks, he will collect them and hoard them. The other has a teddy bear that he carries everywhere and is desperately in love with.

Both are water mad and any excuse, even In a couple of inches of water.

Both utterly batty but the most loving dogs. So brilliant with kids as well, both are rescues but both are happy to be ragged round by small children and used as climbing frames.

Weve always had goldies including one who when the back garden flooded 6ft deep had a brilliant time swimming and was left to get on with it, untill he came back in with a live duck in his mouth which he promptly dropped at my fathers feet. Duck was unharmed and exploded into action!

Will post photos for you tommorow


----------



## Clodagh (25 October 2017)

Runtoearth has them and of course MOC.


----------



## MotherOfChickens (25 October 2017)

I completely adore mine-working bred, extremely athletic, loves to work (whatever it is he does it with 100% enthusiasm and preferably at 100mph), loves people, very smart dog as far as problem solving, hilarious and high energy. Awesome with the kids. Hands down the most amazing dog I've ever had. Can also be described as slightly stubborn and a very 'male' male.



















https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10155237922747866&l=81b1ab2d5b

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10155344848852866&l=8f7ac4e048

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10155684926542866&l=b43e6f32e9


----------



## Moobli (25 October 2017)

My friend has a working bred boy and he is wonderful.  If I were after a gundog I would be researching working goldens.  He is friendly to dogs and people, loves to work and is as smart as they come.  Lovely dog.  I will ask if she minds me sharing a photo or two.


----------



## Moobli (25 October 2017)

The breeder is in Scotland and my friend said she wouldn't hesitate to go to her again for another gundog in the future.


----------



## Asha (25 October 2017)

Heres Wallace, I think his mum was working, but his dad a show type. Hes the most loving and genuine dog ive ever ad. Totally safe with young children, and fabulous in the house. He must have been born house trained, as other than a couple of accidents when he was a pup, hes never messed in the house. Hes never destroyed anything either. He always welcomes you with a shoe or a sock. The horses and cats love him. In fact the horses regularly groom him over the fence.
As for a gun dog, I couldn't see him having the stamina, he sleeps a lot, and is very chilled out. Just a wonderful happy dog. Show him water though, and you will never get him out, he makes a beeline for it

1st photo was when we picked him from the breeders, and the other must be 4 years ago.


----------



## conniegirl (25 October 2017)

Photos of mine:

the 2 of them






Youngest one:
















older one:


----------



## Mahoganybay (25 October 2017)

Not sure how to post photos. But will dig some out & try. 

We researched the breed and brought home our goldie when our daughter was 4 years old, we specifically choose the breed due to their gentleness with children and she didn&#8217;t prove us wrong. She was my daughters playmate, dressed up, sat on, fed various goodies at my daughters &#8216;tea parties&#8217;. Enjoyed sleepovers when my daughter was a teenager and waited up for her when she started enjoying college life.

She was loving, loyal, playful, loved water, lazy and just the best dog ever.

She was a pleasure to own for 16 years and the day she was put to sleep our little family was incomplete.


----------



## Cinnamontoast (25 October 2017)

Dying laughing at your boy slumped on the sofa, MOC! What was he doing?! And conniegirl, was yours just rolling round ecstatically?! 6ft of flooding? Dear god, that sounds horrendous! Great for ducks, obviously....

None of them look like the bitch I saw yesterday, she was little and had a much snubbier head. She was very pale. My sil had a very white bitch about ten years ago, really pretty but untrained and a bit mad. 

I'll have to stalk RTE some more for pics.


----------



## Chiffy (26 October 2017)

Just seen this post CT. As you know, I took on Finley the obese Golden this time last year. What a gorgeous kind loving gentle dog he was . It broke my heart that he had been allowed to get so fat. I will never know if his crumbled hips were entirely due to how he was fed or if he was born with the problem.
About 40 years ago, I decided to have a change from my whippets and lurchers and thought I wanted a Golden Retriever, then I found flatcoats and the rest is history.
Golden have a heavier coat , moult more and mature more quickly. Otherwise both breeds are super to train. 
I am not sure about all this talk of either breed being mad and excitable, they dont need to be. Both breeds are highly trainable. I belong to a flatcoat Facebook page that is lovely, but the number of posts of the naughty things their dogs do is unbelievable, stealing food, chewing up things in the house, sitting on all the furniture and beds. None of it is necessary, I just have to keep quiet as none of mine do these things, even my 5 month old pup.
I meet a few goldies out walking and they are all a delight. If I was younger, I would have one to join my flatcoat crew.


----------



## conniegirl (26 October 2017)

Yep, the old lad has a love affair going with the sand, he always legs it, pretty much does a forward roll as he dives into it and then will not continue the walk down the beach untill he has spent at least 5 mins rolling in the sand. You wouldn&#8217;t think that beach walks happen 2 to 3 times a week!

Chiff non of mine do any of that either, mine are just a bit eccentric! See above about the love of sand, or the young lads love of smelly socks, or his belief that despite being hugely overgrown (much taller than breed standard and weighs 40kg none of which is fat) that he is capable of curling up in your lap! He also has a tendency to try and play football with the horses and is most disappointed when they won&#8217;t play, yet he tries almost everyday


----------



## Clodagh (26 October 2017)

I see them out shooting occasionally and they seem lovely dogs. A friend who walks pups for the guide dogs association says they are easier than labs to train.
I wouldn't have one solely because I couldn't cope with the coat, at the end of a days shooting they look quite amazing!


----------



## MotherOfChickens (26 October 2017)

cinnamontoast said:



			Dying laughing at your boy slumped on the sofa, MOC! What was he doing?!
		
Click to expand...

just sleeping-once he crashes out for the night he's done-and unmoveable lol.he is very trainable and energy wise will go all day.

its probably a relative thing-his coat really isnt bad although I appreciate its probably not quite a full adult coat yet and I am not working him. Fitz is far, far worse when shedding-like, far, far worse than almost any other dog I've had. He loves the water and mud but equally loves being hosed off and towel dried-which is one of his favourite things. Fitz not so much!

He had some show-bred playmates before we got Fitz, most of the owners were struggling tbh but a couple were first time dog owners. He was a very easy pup, had a bit of a full on teenage phase but is a lovely dog to have around now and tries so hard at everything I ask him to do.


----------



## Cinnamontoast (26 October 2017)

Chiffy said:



			Just seen this post CT. As you know, I took on Finley the obese Golden this time last year. What a gorgeous kind loving gentle dog he was . It broke my heart that he had been allowed to get so fat. I will never know if his crumbled hips were entirely due to how he was fed or if he was born with the problem.
About 40 years ago, I decided to have a change from my whippets and lurchers and thought I wanted a Golden Retriever, then I found flatcoats and the rest is history.
Golden have a heavier coat , moult more and mature more quickly. Otherwise both breeds are super to train. 
I am not sure about all this talk of either breed being mad and excitable, they don&#8217;t need to be. Both breeds are highly trainable. I belong to a flatcoat Facebook page that is lovely, but the number of posts of the naughty things their dogs do is unbelievable, stealing food, chewing up things in the house, sitting on all the furniture and beds. None of it is necessary, I just have to keep quiet as none of mine do these things, even my 5 month old pup.
I meet a few goldies out walking and they are all a delight. If I was younger, I would have one to join my flatcoat crew.
		
Click to expand...

That must drive you nuts! I'm on a springer page and had several puppy owners asking how to calm down their naughty puppies, another asking how to stop her dog yanking off her coat when she walks in the door! I mean, ok, some pups are more full on than others, but the lady with the coat was given several suggestions, logical ones too, nothing stupid, then complained about asking! I don't know what these people want? Ready trained pups? Then be prepared to spend the money on a part trained dog!


----------



## conniegirl (26 October 2017)

cinnamontoast said:



			That must drive you nuts! I'm on a springer page and had several puppy owners asking how to calm down their naughty puppies, another asking how to stop her dog yanking off her coat when she walks in the door! I mean, ok, some pups are more full on than others, but the lady with the coat was given several suggestions, logical ones too, nothing stupid, then complained about asking! I don't know what these people want? Ready trained pups? Then be prepared to spend the money on a part trained dog!
		
Click to expand...

Its the same with the beagle group i'm on, except some of those dogs are beyond out of control and regularly destroy whole kitchens etc. If I'd looked at the page before buying a beagle I'd have never got one, however my beagle is beautifully behaved and apart from the occassional accident in the house (which is always on the tiled floors never on the carpet. and tends to be once in a blue moon) we've never had any bother with him.


----------



## MotherOfChickens (26 October 2017)

conniegirl said:



			Its the same with the beagle group i'm on, except some of those dogs are beyond out of control and regularly destroy whole kitchens etc. If I'd looked at the page before buying a beagle I'd have never got one, however my beagle is beautifully behaved and apart from the occassional accident in the house (which is always on the tiled floors never on the carpet. and tends to be once in a blue moon) we've never had any bother with him.
		
Click to expand...

its funny because I was seriously thinking about a beagle but when you look online there are so many with problems with them-mainly because they are kept as only dogs, locked up and unstimulated etc etc. Its not why I didnt get one in the end (actually couldnt find a littler at the right time) but the only other breed to seemingly rival them in the bad press stakes online was (male) dalmations.


----------



## conniegirl (26 October 2017)

MotherOfChickens said:



			its funny because I was seriously thinking about a beagle but when you look online there are so many with problems with them-mainly because they are kept as only dogs, locked up and unstimulated etc etc. Its not why I didnt get one in the end (actually couldnt find a littler at the right time) but the only other breed to seemingly rival them in the bad press stakes online was (male) dalmations.
		
Click to expand...

mine is awesome. Happy to be left alone, totally non destructive and brill with kids, happy to be left whilst we are at work, recalls beautifully for my OH and mostly for me (particularly if I yell at him).
However mine is well walked at least 2hrs a day and we play with him in the evening after his walk.


----------



## RunToEarth (27 October 2017)

cinnamontoast said:



			I'll have to stalk RTE some more for pics.
		
Click to expand...

You'll regret requesting retriever photo spam &#128556; 

I was always a springer fan until my OH wore me down and we got a retriever pup, I just thought they were fat, smelly and mostly for old people. Fury is working bred and was easily one million times easier to train than any spaniel I've had, she isn't motivated by food which can be tricky but also means I don't have to worry about her snaffling things out of the kitchen! 

She's lovely to work and comes on most shoot days as OHs peg dog. She isn't quite as steady as she should be and tends to bound about when she's picking birds in a rather comical gait. The one downside is the coat, she's fluffy and after a day shooting I usually stick her in the bath- she's a pet first and a gundog second and because she lives inside I can't have her smelly and dirty! 

We had a litter from her this summer and I've kept a bitch back. She is proving slightly more adventurous and a bit more tricky to get the measure of - im thoroughly enjoying the journey but would not recommend puppy training with a newborn!! 

Never say never and I always said I wanted a vizsla HPR but... I'd be hard pushed to get another pup that wasn't a retriever. The pup, Fox, has a very different personality to Fury but they are both mega. 

Retriever spam! 
Fury 




















Fox


----------



## Chiffy (27 October 2017)

Fab pictures RTE, definitely my second favourite gundog breed!


----------



## Cinnamontoast (28 October 2017)

Dear lord, RTE, the colour of that bath water! My lot are Teflon coated, all the filth just disappears by the time we get home, although Brig used to be hosed before leaving the yard cos he used to roll round in the run off from the muck heap! 

The puppy sounds like a handful, you're brave doing baby and puppy together! Your girl has grown into a gorgeous adult.


----------



## RunToEarth (28 October 2017)

To be fair to Fury, she had been in the duck pond and it's clay sludge and duck poo! Thank you - she's the apple of my eye - the pup has big shoes to follow!


----------



## Cinnamontoast (28 October 2017)

Duck poo ranks only slightly below goose poo in terms of nastiness.


----------

