Golden Retriever Questions

[TheSiege]

So I am thinking of getting a Golden Retriever in a few months. I know about the typical personality but I have a few questions for anyone who has/had one.

Are they ok to leave in a backyard for extended periods? My shed has a doggie door so he could go in there. It would mainly be between 8pm - 8am 4 days a week while I am at work.

Do they dig a lot? I know terriers love to dig, how are retrievers?

I have a relatively small yard so I am getting a male in hopes of the urine not killing my lawn like a female would.

Do they like to mark their territory in doors?

How bad is the shedding?

Anything else I should know?

I am a single father, 2 kids, they are with me half the time, and I will probably have my sister and her kids living in my basement so the being left in the yard issue might not be an issue at all.

 

[Wyndru]

Check for hip dysplasia if possible, it affects a lot of them, but it's hard to detect in very young puppies (9-12 months is usually when vets can tell).

Our golden retriever had it and still had a good life, but it definitely affected her, and we paid a lot for meds later on in her life.

 

[TheSiege]

I probably wont get a puppy, maybe 1 - 3 years old. And my work has pet insurance thankfully, I was hesitant to get a dog until I signed up for it.

 

[datalink7]

Are you planning on getting a puppy? If so, at what age? No puppy should be alone for that length of time, particularly during the first month when they are bonding. If you aren't able to take time off don't get a puppy, get a rescue that is older.

edit: Answered while I was typing this.

 

[Wyndru]

I probably wont get a puppy, maybe 1 - 3 years old. And my work has pet insurance thankfully, I was hesitant to get a dog until I signed up for it.

Wow, that's really cool that your job provides that benefit to you. Definitely worth it IMO, even our cats cost us quite a bit of money just on regular visits.

 

[TheSiege]

Yeah its the first place I have been to offer it. And its only 45 bucks for insurance for me and my kids per month, and its 90/10 coverage. They offer awesome benefits

 

[holden j caufield]

please consider adopting from a shelter or rescue group, you'd be doing a good thing saving a life.

 

[TheSiege]

Well I am looking at shelters and on classifieds, but I will not buy from a breeder regardless.
And I do not want a puppy

 

[Jaskalas]

My experience is that a young golden will absolutely dig holes. They seem to lose interest by 2 years. They shed like a beast, just give one a bath and watch your floor change colors.

 

[SunnyD]

#1 - Goldens are prone, as mentioned, to hip dysplasia. Be sure to check pedigree and history.

#2 - Goldens are also prone to hemangioma, particularly hemgiosarcoma of the spleen and liver. This is cancer. It's a pretty aggressive cancer at that, with a fairly low odds of survival given the location (it spreads easy due to the location, which is basically in the circulatory system). I lost my golden to it.

#3 - Goldens are companion dogs. They're very loyal, and go out of their way to please. But honestly, if you're planning on leaving the dog alone for 12 hours a day regularly, do the dog a favor and don't get a dog. Dogs are social animals. Goldens, as I said before are particularly loyal and go out of their way to try to please their "people". That means they want to be around people. I'm not entirely sure how a dog would feel about being "banished" to the outdoors/outbuilding on semi-random nights.

#4 - Digging is something a dog will do out of boredom. If you leave the dog unattended, it may just fancy starting to dig. Goldens aren't typically diggers, but will dig if they're bored.

#5 - Any male dog will mark. It's their nature. Even after getting neutered, some will still mark regularly.

#6 - Shedding? I hope you like your new fur coat. It's been a couple years since my golden girl left us, and I'm still finding her hair on some of my stuff. Be prepared to brush. Often.

#7 - I hope you have time in your day to provide exercise. If you like your belongings intact, even with a golden, exercise the dog regularly. I'm not talking about a 10 minute walk around the block (though that won't hurt). An hour of running around, doggie park, fetch, throwing the ball (my golden was obsessed in an unhealthy way with tennis balls), etc. Preferably every day. But as often as possible.

#8 - Goldens are historically working dogs. Hunting companions to be exact. As I said, they're extremely loyal. You treat them right, they'll treat you right.

 

[thedarkwolf]

If you are going to be gone 12 hours a day 4 days a week maybe a dog isn't a great idea. Get a cat.

 

[Sinsear]

If you're gonna be one of those people that leave them outside all day without any attention, don't get one.

 

[alkemyst]

If you're gonna be one of those people that leave them outside all day without any attention, don't get one.

also in many places it is illegal to leave a dog outside during the day. It's never a good idea to leave them outside unattended anyway.

A dog probably isn't a good idea at this moment for you.

What would be wrong with them in the house during the day anyway? Worst case in a crate. 12 hours will be too long regardless though.

 

[Lemon law]

If you are going to leave a dog alone outside, for 12 hours a day, get two dogs that get along as each dog will keep the other dog with companionship. They don't even need to be the same breed, as our two latest pound puppies are a Lab and a Brittany spaniel that came from the same dog pound. Selecting them was fairly easy, as we picked the two dogs in the pound that did not bark their heads off, but responded well to human contact.

As they were replacements for our two previous two dogs who died of old age.

 

[CA19100]

As other have said, they're great dogs, but they need companionship. Also remember that a lonely dog is a loud dog, and a dog barking or howling all night will generate complaints from the neighbors. In my apartment, my upstairs neighbors would leave for 10 hours a day, and their little dog would bark and jump on my ceiling every minute they were gone. I didn't put up with it for long.

I'll second the suggestion of a cat; they can be very social, but they're OK left alone, particularly if you get two. I love dogs dearly, but with my job (pilot), I just can't give one the attention it needs.

 

[gorcorps]

Young goldens have a lot of energy. Not as much as maybe black labs, but it may be hard to tell because of personalities. Because of this it's entirely possible one would start to dig up a yard (though out of the 3 we've had they didn't do this because we always had another dog with them to play with). I would not recommend leaving them alone without another dog to play with. Neither of you will end up happy.

They're not overly territorial so while they may mark trees and such, they usually know that stays outside if trained.

They shed like mad. They have so much hair and it will shed a lot. When we brush our golden it seems like she loses 10 lbs in fur, and we do it relatively often.

 

[Kyle]

Most of what I was going to say has been said- I'll second the shedding part- your house will be covered in hair...accept it or don't get a golden (even w/ frequent brushing it's pretty impressive).

My golden never had any digging urge - or I may have detered her from it early on...that said I also never left her for 12 hrs outside by herself. I work from home so am able to be around her pretty much all day/night.