Quick Links: Table of Contents
- Golden Retriever Breed Overview
- History of the Golden Retriever Breed. Where Golden Retrievers came from
- What the Golden Retriever Looks Like
- How Much is the Golden Retriever Puppy?
- Best Golden Retriever Breeders
- Adopting or Rescuing the Golden Retriever
- Golden Retriever Growth
- What Colors do Golden Retrievers Have?
- The Temperament of the Golden Retriever
- How Long Golden Retrievers Live
- Golden Retriever Litter Size
- How Fast Golden Retrievers Can Run
- Good Names for Golden Retrievers
- How Intelligent are Golden Retrievers?
- How Popular are Golden Retrievers with New Dog Owners?
- Health Problems in Golden Retrievers and How to Prevent Them
- How to Take Care of Golden Retriever
- Dog Breeds That Are Similar to Golden Retrievers
- Other Things to Know About Golden Retrievers
Golden Retriever Breed Overview
The Golden Retriever is a medium-sized dog.
The adult Golden Retriever stands 21 to 24 inches tall at the shoulder.
The Golden Retriever belongs to the Sporting Dogs group.
Dogs in the Sporting Dogs group, like the Golden Retriever, were bred to help hunters catch and retrieve feathered game. Some sporting dog breeds such as Retrievers, which were built for swimming, were bred to hunt waterfowl in water.
Whereas sporting dog breeds like setters, spaniels, and pointing breeds were bred to hunt quail, pheasant, and other game birds nest on grasslands.
Many Sporting Group breeds have thick, water-repellent coats that protect them from harsh hunting conditions.
The fact that the Golden Retriever belongs to the Sporting Dogs group is one of the reasons why Golden Retrievers have the personality and temperament that they have.
The temperament of the Golden Retriever is generally described as:
- Confident
- Friendly
- Intelligent
- Kind
- Reliable
- Trustworthy
History of the Golden Retriever Breed. Where Golden Retrievers came from
This lovely dog is said to have been created during the Victorian era and may have ancestors from the Tweed Water Spaniel, Yellow Retriever, Wavy-coated Retriever, Flat-coated Retriever, and Red Setter.
After many years of breeding various breeds together, Dudley Marjoribanks, Lord Tweedmouth, is widely regarded as the person who produced the first dogs that became known as the Golden Retriever.
However, historical documents indicate that the Golden Retriever existed before Lord Tweedmouth began breeding them on his estate in Scotland.
The Kennel Club of England began classifying these dogs as Retriever – Yellow or Golden in 1911, and the name was officially changed to Retriever – Golden in 1920.
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What the Golden Retriever Looks Like
The Golden Retriever has a dense, water-repellent coat with a thick undercoat.
The outer coat must not be coarse or too silky when shown in conformation.
It must be close to the body, not puffy, with a straight or wavy outer coat.
The forelegs and underbody should have moderate feathering.
The front of the neck, back of the thighs, and underside of the tail must have heavier feathering.
A show retriever should have lustrous gold coloration in various shades.
The cream is a suitable color.
Their feathering may be a different color than the rest of their coat.
Never let your Golden Retriever be white or have white markings.
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How Much is the Golden Retriever Puppy?
The average price of a Golden Retriever puppy is $1870. The price of a Golden Retriever puppy ranges from $1500 to $2200.
A lot of factors determine the price of the Golden Retriever. These factors include what health records the Golden Retriever puppy has, the lineage of the Golden Retriever puppy, the US state the breeder is located in, etc.
To estimate how much you can expect to pay for a puppy Golden Retriever based on the many factors that determine the price of the Golden Retriever puppy, check out our calculator that lets you estimate how much you should expect to pay for the Golden Retriever puppy based on what you want in the puppy.
When looking to buy a puppy, look at buying a puppy only from well-established breeders that breed puppies primarily for the love of the Golden Retriever breed, and secondarily for profit. Do not buy a puppy from a puppy mill. Puppy mills mass-produce puppies in bad living conditions for maximum profit.
You may also consider adopting instead of buying a puppy. Adoption costs are very low compared to the price of a puppy.
Best Golden Retriever Breeders
We have researched reputable Golden Retriever breeders that you can buy a puppy.
Go to this page for our complete list of reputable Golden Retriever breeders in various states in the United States.
On this page, you will see how much these breeders sell their puppies for, and how many puppies they have available.
A few of these breeders are listed below.
Indiana Family Goldens
Puppy Price: $2000
julie Bradley
Puppy Price: $1250
Tiffany Blackburn
Puppy Price: $1200.00 with 300 additional for breedin
Kris Moran
Puppy Price: $1000.00
Lauren Whisenhunt
Puppy Price: $800
Adopting or Rescuing the Golden Retriever
You may consider adopting a dog instead of buying a puppy. Many dogs, Golden Retrievers included, are currently available for adoption in your local dog shelters.
These helpless but adorable dogs are waiting in dog shelters hoping that someday someone will rescue them. Dog adoption costs are lesser than the cost of a new puppy. Dog adoption costs are usually around $300 or even less.
In addition to your local dog shelter, another good place to find dogs that are available for adoption is petfinder.com.
Below is an adorable Male Golden Retriever named Simba that is currently available for adoption on Petfinder.com. You can find other lovely Golden Retrievers like Simba on pefinder.com.
Spencer Aug 22 is the name of another Golden Retriever (Male) on petfinder.com that is looking for a new forever home.
You can find more Golden Retrievers that are available for adoption on petfinder.
Golden Retriever Growth
New Golden Retriever owners need to know about the growth of their Golden Retrievers. This will help them plan their living spaces accordingly.
Also, knowing the typical growth pattern of the Golden Retriever will help new owners catch the abnormal growth of their Golden Retriever early.
See our calculator for predicting how big your Golden Retriever puppy will get. You will also learn about the typical weight of the Golden Retriever at different ages and how to catch abnormal growth in your Golden Retriever
What Colors do Golden Retrievers Have?
Golden Retrievers come in the following beautiful primary colors:
- Brown / Chocolate
- Golden
- Yellow / Tan / Blond / Fawn
- White / Cream
- Red / Chestnut / Orange
The Temperament of the Golden Retriever
The temperament of the Golden Retriever based can be summarized as in the table below.
The table shows the scores of the Golden Retriever for 13 important dog behavioral factors.
We obtained these scores by analyzing raw data from the C-BARQ dog personality survey tool. The higher the score of a dog for a factor, the worse the temperament of the dog regarding that factor.
The C-BARQ tool was developed by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, and it is a scientific tool that is used worldwide for reliably measuring the temperament of dog breeds.
See our complete analysis of the temperament of the Golden Retriever here.
| Factor | Score |
|---|---|
| Stranger Directed Fear | 8.8 percent |
| Attachment Attention Seeking | 51.7 percent |
| Energy Level | 51.5 percent |
| Excitability | 36.4 percent |
| Prey Drive | 30.7 percent |
| Dog Directed Fear | 29.4 percent |
| Dog Directed Aggression | 26.7 percent |
| Nonsocial Fear | 25.8 percent |
| Dog Rivalry | 18.6 percent |
| Separation Related Behavior | 16.0 percent |
| Touch Sensitivity | 14.5 percent |
| Stubbornness | 14.2 percent |
| Stranger Directed Aggression | 13.1 percent |
| Owner Directed Aggression | 11.2 percent |
How Long Golden Retrievers Live
The lifespan of the Golden Retriever is typically from 10 to 12 years.
Moreover, a few years back, veterinarian researchers performed a scientific study to determine the lifespan of the Golden Retriever. In this study, the scientists collected data on how long 927 pet Golden Retrievers lived.
From the study, it was found that Golden Retrievers have an average lifespan of 12.2 years. Furthermore, the study found that it is not uncommon for Golden Retrievers to live as long as 17.2 years.
Note that you need to put in some effort if you want your Golden Retriever to live long.
Golden Retrievers live long if they eat well, drink well, exercise well, and visit the veterinarian regularly.
There are also dog supplements that you can give your Golden Retriever to improve your Golden Retriever`s quality of their life.
Click here to learn more about how to make your Golden Retriever live long.
Golden Retriever Litter Size
Researchers from the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science did a study where they counted the numbers of puppies in 291 different Golden Retriever birth litters.
From this study, the researchers found that the average number of puppies that Golden Retrievers can have is 7 puppies. Also, the Golden Retriever can have as few as 1 puppies per litter and as many as 14 puppies per litter.
The number of puppies that the Golden Retriever will have depends on factors such as the age of the Golden Retriever, the method of pregnancy, etc.
Click here to see our calculator for predicting how many puppies your Golden Retriever will have and how the litter size of the Golden Retriever compares to the litter size of other dog breeds.
How Fast Golden Retrievers Can Run
How fast a dog breed can run is a good measure of how athletic the dog breed is.
The American Kennel Club (AKC) regularly conducts dog running competitions. The AKC records the running speed of competing dogs in these competitions. These competitions are open to all dog breeds.
Based on our analysis of the speeds of 751 different Golden Retrievers, the average speed of the Golden Retriever is 23.6 mph (37.9 kmph).
The fastest speed on AKC record that the Golden Retriever ran in a race is 35.52 mph (57.2 kmph) and the minimum speed on record in a race for a Golden Retriever is 9.57 mph (15.4 kmph).
Click here to see how the speed of the Golden Retriever compares to the speed of other dogs and other mammals such as cats, horses, humans, etc.
Good Names for Golden Retrievers
Here are some really good names that are typical for the Golden Retriever ranked by popularity:
- Rocky
- Cooper
- Bailey
- Red
- Bear
- Charlie
- Archie
- Tanner
- Easton
- Jinx
How Intelligent are Golden Retrievers?
| Golden Retriever | |
|---|---|
| Intelligence Rank | 4 out of 130 dog breeds |
| Trainability | Tend To Learn New Commands After Fewer Than 5 Repetitions |
According to Prof. Stanley Coren, a Canadian psychology professor/dog trainer, the total intelligence that a dog demonstrates is the addition of three types of intelligence. These intelligence types are:
- Instinctive Intelligence: This is the natural intelligence that comes from instinct. For example, dog breeds that have been historically bred to be guard dogs will have a high `guarding` intelligence compared to dogs that were not bred for guarding.
- Adaptive Intelligence (learning and problem-solving ability): This indicates what a dog can learn to do for himself or herself. Adaptive intelligence is specific to each dog, and not breed specific. You can improve your dog`s adaptive intelligence by investing time to train your dog.
- Working/Obedience Intelligence: This type of intelligence is breed-specific. Certain dog breeds tend to have higher working/obedience intelligence than some other breeds. This intelligence is the closest to what we might call school-learning ability and it is based upon what the dog can learn to do when instructed by humans. This type of intelligence can be measured for each dog breed and compared to that of other dog breeds.
Professor Stanley Coren measured and ranked the working intelligence of about 130 different dog breeds.
Prof. Coren found that the Golden Retriever has an obedience intelligence rank of 4 out of 130 dog breeds. Thus, Prof. Coren put Golden Retrievers in the `Brightest Dogs` category.
This means that Golden Retrievers tend to learn new commands after fewer than 5 repetitions.
However, we should mention that a dog should not be judged based on its intelligence alone. There are other important factors you need to consider when deciding on which dog breed to get. These other factors include sociability, adorability, and compatibility of the dog breed with your lifestyle.
See the intelligence ranking of some other dog breeds below:
| Breed | Intelligence Rank |
|---|---|
| German Shepherd Dog | 3 |
| Golden Retriever | 4 |
| Labrador Retriever | 7 |
| Miniature Schnauzer | 12 |
| German Shorthaired Pointer | 17 |
| Belgian Malinois | 22 |
| American Staffordshire Terrier | 34 |
| Cairn Terrier | 35 |
| American Foxhound | 46 |
| Boxer | 48 |
| Akita | 54 |
| Pug | 57 |
| Maltese | 59 |
| Dandie Dinmont Terrier | 62 |
| Great Pyrenees | 64 |
| Chihuahua | 67 |
| Beagle | 72 |
| Pekingese | 73 |
| Bloodhound | 74 |
| Borzoi | 75 |
How Popular are Golden Retrievers with New Dog Owners?
Every year, the American Kennel Club (AKC) publishes information on how popular a dog breed is in that particular year. The AKC gets the popularity information of a breed from how many dogs of that breed the owners register with the AKC every year. The AKC collects this data for about 200 dog breeds.
The graph below shows the popularity trend of the Golden Retriever.
The popularity of the Golden Retriever averaged over the years is Number 3 out of about 200 dog breeds.
Do not get a dog breed just because it is a popular dog breed. And do not reject a dog breed just because it is an unpopular breed.
Health Problems in Golden Retrievers and How to Prevent Them
Every dog breed has its own set of health problems that it tends to develop. There is nothing like a perfect dog breed.
The Golden Retriever is prone to certain genetic health conditions. The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) is an organization that keeps track of genetic health problems in dog breeds.
From the extensive records that the OFA keeps, the OFA knows what health problems each dog breed is naturally prone to develop.
Hence, the OFA recommends which health screening breeders should perform on a dog breed to make sure that the breeders won`t breed `defective` dog parents that can pass down defective genes to their puppy offspring.
If you want a Golden Retriever puppy that will grow up to be healthy, make sure that your Golden Retriever breeder screens your puppy or your puppy`s parents for the health problems that the OFA recommends for your puppy`s breed. This will increase the chances that your puppy is free from genetic defects.
The following are the health tests that Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) recommends that breeders should screen Golden Retrievers for:
- Cardiac Evaluation
- Elbow Dysplasia
- Eye Examination (evaluations annually for the dog`s lifetime)
- Hip Dysplasia
You can find out more about OFA`s recommended tests for Golden Retrievers here.
How to Take Care of Golden Retriever
To take good care of your Golden Retriever, you need to make sure that you groom your Golden Retriever regularly.
Secondly, you need to find a veterinarian in your area that will routinely check the health status of your Golden Retriever regularly, and give you appropriate recommendations on your Golden Retriever`s preventative care.
Thirdly, you need to commit some time to exercise your Golden Retriever daily. Regular exercise helps improve the health and quality of life of your Golden Retriever.
Also, you need to feed your Golden Retriever high-quality dog food, and the food should be of the right amount to prevent your Golden Retriever from getting overweight or underweight.
See our recommendations on what to feed the Golden Retriever and how much food to feed the Golden Retriever at different life stages.
Finally, you need to make sure that your Golden Retriever has access to clean water all the time. See our recommendations on how much water your Golden Retriever needs to drink at different ages.
Dog Breeds That Are Similar to Golden Retrievers
If you have not made up your mind on which dog breed to get, you may also want to consider some other dogs similar to the Golden Retriever.
We crunched the numbers and found that the following dog breeds that have similar behavior and temperament as the Golden Retriever:
- Aussiedoodle (74 percent match with Golden Retriever). Learn more about the Aussiedoodle here.
- Border Collie (71 percent match with Golden Retriever). Learn more about the Border Collie here.
- English Setter (71 percent match with Golden Retriever). Learn more about the English Setter here.
- Irish Setter (72 percent match with Golden Retriever). Learn more about the Irish Setter here.
- Labrador Retriever (75 percent match with Golden Retriever). Learn more about the Labrador Retriever here.
Other Things to Know About Golden Retrievers
Here are some of the very important characteristics of the Golden Retriever that you need to know about the Golden Retriever breed: