Breed hub
Golden Retrievers
The gentlest of the big dogs, and still a big working retriever. Everything we've learned about living well with a Golden, from the first thirty days to the senior years.
New · interactive handbook
The Complete Golden Retriever Owner’s Handbook
The articles below answer one question each. The handbook puts the whole breed in order: the velcro heart, the coat, the joints, food and weight, the mouth, the soft teenage years, jumping and pulling, water and the outdoors, the cancer conversation and health by age. Twelve chapters with tools you tap, slide and tick, an alone-time check, a joint sign checker, a portion calculator, a true-or-myth test and a certificate.
Before you get one
Honest answers for the thinking-about-it stage.
Are Golden Retrievers Good for First-Time Owners? The Honest Answer
Gentle, clever, eager to please, and a big working retriever who sheds by the bag, hates being alone and carries a high cancer rate. The honest pros, cons and costs of a Golden as a first dog.
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Your Golden Retriever Puppy’s First 30 Days: What to Do, in What Order
The first month sets the next twelve years. A week-by-week plan for a new Golden puppy: sleep, toilet trips, alone time, the swap game, brushing as a game, protecting the joints, and the jobs to do before day one.
Read more →The coat, the joints and health
The three things that decide how comfortable a Golden's life is.
Golden Retriever Shedding and Grooming: Brushing, Mats, Ears and Hot Spots
The coat is the breed’s glory and its biggest daily job. How much Goldens shed, the brushing routine, the three mat zones, bathing, never shaving, and the ear and hot-spot trouble that starts damp.
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Golden Retriever Hip, Elbow and Joint Problems: Dysplasia, Cruciates and Arthritis
Hips, elbows and knees are the breed’s weak spot. What dysplasia, cruciate injuries and arthritis look like, the exercise rules by age, why neutering timing matters, and when a limp means the vet.
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Golden Retriever Health by Age: Puppy, Adult, Cancer and Senior Care
Goldens live ten to twelve years. What to watch at every stage: puppy growth and neutering timing, the adult weight, skin and thyroid years, the cancer signs to know, and the senior changes that are not just age.
Read more →Training and behaviour
The velcro heart, the mouth, the soft teenage years, and the manners.
Golden Retriever Separation Anxiety: Why They Can’t Cope Alone, and How to Help
Bred to work beside a person, and it shows. How to tell velcro from distress, prevent it from puppyhood, teach independence, and the step-by-step way to help a Golden who panics when you leave.
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Golden Retriever Puppy Biting and Chewing: The Mouth Guide
A retriever needs something in its mouth. Why Golden puppies mouth so much, how to stop it kindly, the chewing phases, the swap game that prevents guarding, and why door-frame chewing is a different problem.
Read more →Golden Retriever Adolescence: The Soft Teenager (Six Months to Two and a Half)
The recall wobbles, the energy doubles, the fear periods arrive. Why Goldens need patience rather than pressure through adolescence, what to do, and the mistakes that make a soft dog worse.
Read more →Golden Retriever Jumping Up and Pulling on the Lead: The Two Manners Every Golden Needs
Thirty kilos of love launched at visitors and a lead that pulls to every dog in the park. What actually rewards jumping and pulling, and the kind fixes that work on a soft dog.
Read more →Not a Golden question?
Our Dog Language Handbook reads any dog’s eyes, ears, tail and posture, and the plan finder matches one problem to one step-by-step plan.