The Golden Retriever is a friendly, loving
dog, devoted to its human family. Intelligent and easy to train,
the Golden's kindly disposition means that it will mix in with other
household pets. The Golden Retriever's aim is to please use, and
to add sunshine to your family's life.
Bred originally as a working gundog, retrieving game over land and
water, the Golden Retriever is still widely use in the field. The
breed has also made its mark in Competitive Obedience and is a keen
competitor in Agility. The wonderful combination of intelligence
and gentleness also makes the Golden a first-class assistance dog,
and they are widely used as guide dogs for the blind, hearing dogs
for the deaf, dogs for the disabled, and as therapy dogs. An added
bonus is the breed's tremendous sense of smell, and many do important
work as 'sniffer dogs', detecting drugs, arms and explosives.
They are easy to look after, as long as you keep
to a regular routine of brushing and combing, particularly in wet
and muddy conditions.
A strongly-built dog, the Golden Retriever requires
a balanced diet of good-quality food, but they are not fussy feeders.