Golden Retriever Dog Breed Information - Full Profile

Golden Retriever becomes a part of our family as soon as we welcome them home. And, we want to live a longer and happier life with them. But, if we(owners) fail in Golden Retriever care, it will suffer from various health issues. Like: Constipation, Ear Infection, Hip and Joint dysplasia, Skin Diseases, Thyroid Disorders, etc.

As a result, the lifespan of Golden Retriever decreases. Therefore, proper grooming, bathing, diet, and exercise are vital for your Golden Retriever care.

Though caring for your Golden Retriever is vital. Yet, Golden Retriever care is not as easy as it may look. Starting from the day they enter your house, you need to create a safe and comfortable environment for them. Then, groom and pamper them by bathing and brushing them, cutting their nails, caring for the ear and teeth, giving vaccines, providing them proper nutrition, exercising and playing with them, and training them for emergencies.

We will discuss and explore all these caring processes further in this article. But before that, let me give you a little idea about the origin of the Golden Retriever.

What Is The History Of The Golden Retriever?

In general, the history of the Golden Retriever starts in Scotland in the 19th century. And the Lord Tweedmouth is the British aristocrat dog breeder who holds the sole credit of creating the Golden Retriever.

He wanted a pet that can help him work in both lang and water. Thus, he mated an unknown golden-colored dog with Tweed Water Spaniel. Finally resulting in the yellow-coated Golden Retriever puppies having different shades of gold.

What Are The Tools Necessary In The Golden Retriever Care?

Golden Retriever care may be troublesome and tiring. But, using various equipment in the caring process will save a lot of your energy and time. Some of the gadgets are:

Dog Water Fountains: They encourage your Golden Retriever to drink enough water and stay hydrated.
Dog Bathtubs: They make the bathing process easy and less messy.
Brush: The long fur of your Golden Retriever needs daily brushing to remove muds and dirt.
Lease: It helps to keep your pet in check and prevents them from running away.
Potty pads: They help in potty training your Retriever.
Dog house: It provides proper space and privacy for your Golden Retriever.

What Are Possible Ways For Your Golden Retriever Care?

Don’t you want only the best for your Golden Retriever? Best food, best exercise, best lifestyle, best health, and best caring techniques. Therefore, caring for a Golden Retriever involves more than just giving shelter.

The factors of the Golden Retriever care includes:

Quality and Quantity of Nutritional Foods
Proper Grooming
Regular Exercise
Providing the proper training
Taking them for health checkups

While I brief you about the Golden Retriever care using the following points, you will know more about the Golden Retriever.

What Should You Feed Your Golden Retriever?

The diet of Golden Retriever influences their growth and development. And if you want a healthy and active companion for your kids, you should focus on nutritional food for the Golden Retriever care.

Apart from the quality and quantity, there are many other points to consider while feeding your Golden Retriever. We will discuss everything in detail below.

Choose A High-Quality Food

Along with being tasty, dog food should be healthy and full of all necessary nutrition. Also, it must pass every quality test so that you can be sure that the product you are feeding your Golden Retriever is complete and balanced.

Therefore, you should focus on the following points while buying your food for your dog.

Look for dog food specific for larger breeds like Golden Retriever.
Take the food that includes meat as their first two ingredients and escape the one which contains grain within the first five ingredients. The Retrievers are carnivores so, the source of nutrition for them is meat.
Consider the age and the nutritional requirement for your Golden Retriever before you decide.
Seek advice from the Veterinarian when you feel difficult to decide on your own.

Make Feeding Schedules

Since the age of Golden Retriever influences the number of times you need to feed them. So, making feeding schedules will ease your job.

The Golden Retriever needs more nutrition in the early stage (growing phase). And as the Golden Retriever gets old, their nutritional requirement gradually decreases.

Thus, you should consult with the Veterinarian while making a feeding schedule to ensure it is effective.

Age	Number of times to feed per day
8-12 weeks old puppy	Four times
3-6 months old puppy	Three times
Six months to a year old	Two times
After one year	Once

Ensure Enough Supply Of Fresh Drinking Water

Hydrating your Golden Retriever is very important to energize and charge them. They require an enormous about of drinking water to be healthy and fit. Therefore, you should fill their bowl with fresh and clean drinking water all the time.

Some of the points you should follow while serving them water is:

Keep the water bowl in the area easily accessible for your pet.
Choose stainless steel that is durable and less prone to bacterial infection as a bowl.
Change the water in the bowl daily.
You can even use a dog water fountain to encourage your pet to drink more water.

Provide Healthy Treats

Apart from being a great way of rewarding your Golden Retriever, treats are also the best way of spoiling their health if we fail to focus. However, too many treats make your pet obese and invite various health issues.

Therefore, you should use healthy food as a treat for your pet. It helps to improve the health of your Retriever. Some of the best natural treats are:

Slices of Carrot
Green Peas
Green Beans
Blueberries
Cooked sweet potatoes

All these can be great natural snacks for your pet which would improve health along with motivating work.

Restrict Human Food In The Diet Of Golden Retriever

The digestive system of the Golden Retriever differs a lot from humans. Therefore, they cannot get the same benefit from humans as we humans get.

Besides this, your pet may have a problem digesting some foods that may lead to toxicity, constipation, and bloating. Thus, you should avoid serving your Golden Retriever human foods such as:

Yeast
Garlic, Onions, and Chives
Peanuts, walnuts, and macadamia nuts
Chocolates
Alcohol
Grapes and Raisins

How Should You Groom The Golden Retriever?

Grooming is the second most vital aspect of Golden Retriever Care after food. And, grooming your Retriever is much harder than it seems. You need to give a lot of your time and effort to that.

However, here are some of the tips that may help you in grooming your pet.

Brush The Coat Of Your Golden Retriever Daily

Golden Retriever has very long and dense hair. Therefore, to avoid matting and to prevent shedding of the fur, you must brush them daily. If you comb the hair of your pet daily, their wavy hairs feel softer and smoother.

The tips you can follow while brushing is:

Use a wire bristle and a greyhound comb to deal with the tangles of their hair. And comb the hair of your pet daily with a natural bristle brush.
Check for fleas and ticks while brushing them throughout their body from back, sides, top to bottom.
Observe the scabs, redness, bumps, and cysts you see while brushing for few days. And, if these problems last longer, then seek the help of the Veterinarian.
Avoid shaving or cutting their hair. The hair of Golden Retriever plays a vital role in protecting them from extreme weather.

Clean Their Ears

The floppy and long ears of the Golden Retriever are the best places for bacterial growth. Thus, they are prone to different ear infections.

Therefore, you should observe and clean the ear carefully while grooming your pet. And regularly cleaning the ears after exercise, training sessions, and swimming can help your Retriever a lot.

You can clean their ears in the following ways:

Wipe the inside and ear flap of your Golden Retriever using a damp cotton fabric.
Avoid using cotton sticks and swabs. But be careful that the cotton fabric does not penetrate deep into their ear.
Regularly check the ear of your pet to see whether there is any wax buildup or debris.
In case you observe foul-smelling fluid and debris discharge from the ears of your Retriever, consult with the Veterinarian as soon as possible.

Trim The Nails

Golden Retrievers are very active animals. And they run the whole day collecting different bacteria and germs in their nails. Therefore, you should trim their nails properly as soon as they get a bit longer.

If the Retrievers are active and exercise a lot, their nails break easily. Yet, you need to inspect their nails regularly. The tips for trimming their nails are:

The quick is a blood vessel of the nail of your pet. Thus, you should avoid cutting it. Trimming the quicks may be painful and can make your pet aggressive.
Therefore, to avoid cutting the quick start with trimming the small portion of their nails. And stop cutting if you observe a circle on the surface because this is where the Quick is present, just below that circle.

Clean The Teeth Of Your Golden Retriever

Like humans, you must brush the teeth regularly for good dental health. It is easier to make them familiar with brushing their teeth while they are puppies. However, with proper training sessions, you can also make the adults enjoy the teeth brushing process.

Though the tips and tricks of brushing your Retriever are the same as humans, you must use dog-specific toothpaste for brushing their teeth. Because the substance present in the human toothpaste is toxic for your pet.

Give The Proper Bath

Although the dirt-resistant and water-repellant double-coated dense fur of the Golden Retriever makes them dust and dirt-free. Yet, schedule baths mainly once a month is a must for the healthy lifestyle of your pet.

Some of the tips for bathing them are:

Use a dog-specific shampoo and conditioner when you bathe them.
Brush their hair and soak in water for few minutes before applying shampoo.
Massage and apply the shampoo all over the body. But be careful that the shampoo does not enter the eyes and ears.
Rinse the shampoo properly.
Use sinks and dog baths to make the bathing process easier and quicker.
Soak the excessive water with a clean and soft cotton towel.

Why Is Exercise Important For Your Golden Retriever?

Golden Retriever is an active breed. Thus, it requires daily exercise. You must make sure that your Retriever exercises about 30 minutes twice a day regularly.

However, lack of exercise disturbs the development of their bones and makes them obese. It further leads to many health issues. Make an exercise schedule involving different exercise routines and times to ensure their effectiveness.

The exercise routines for your pet may be:

Jogging
Swimming
Long walks
Hiking
Fetching

However, the type and quantity of exercise should differ according to the age of your pet. The older Retrievers have weaker bones. Thus, they need to exercise for less. On the other hand, the younger dogs need more vigorous exercises like hiking, swimming, and rock climbing to maintain their health.

Playing Fetch

As the name suggests, the Golden Retriever loves playing fetch. It is the simplest form of exercise which you can easily play with them inside the home. You only need a ball. And, you are ready to play.

However, since the Retriever is competitive, fence your playing area to ensure that they cannot run away.

Swimming

Swimming is the best exercise to relax the muscles of your Golden Retriever. Apart from this, it also heals internal injuries. And help to enhance the movement of muscles and stimulates the joint development of your pet.

There is no fear of drowning since the Retriever is a good swimmer. Thus, you should take your pet regularly to the nearby lakes for swimming. You just need to ensure that the water is safe and your pet is within your supervision range.

Giving Toys To Stimulate Their Intelligence

The Golden Retriever is an intelligent breed. They are sharp and have a good IQ. Thus, giving them stimulating toys will allow them to improve their problem-solving skills. The puzzle toys will enhance their intellectual capabilities.

Besides this, continuously changing their toys and swabbing them will make the Retriever happy, active, and entertained.

What Are The Different Training For Your Golden Retriever?

Since the Golden Retriever is intelligent, training them is comparatively easy. Training your pet will not only save you time. But it will also improve the interaction between your friends your pet.

However, the types of training routine that the Golden Retriever Care includes are:

Potty Training

You surely do not want a house filled with the potty of your Golden Retriever. And cleaning the potty and wiping of the foul smell takes a lot of time. Thus, potty training is the best option in Golden Retriever Care.

If you give potty training to your pet in time, you will save yourself from a lot of hard work. However, there certain things to consider while potty train your pet. They are:

Do not scold or beat your pet if he messes up in the house. You must have patience and should show him the appropriate place to potty.
Clean the mess as soon as possible and use an enzymatic cleaner to remove the smell.
Use potty pads and newspaper as an emergency potty place for your pet.
Make a potty schedule and take them to the same place daily for potty.
Praise and reward them with healthy treats if they poop and pee outside the house.

Crate Training

The crate is the home of your Golden Retriever. Initially, it ensures a safe place to stay and overcome its fear when the pet enters the house. Crate training helps your Retriever to interact and socialize with people. And it helps to retreat from their anxiety and stress.

Some of the rules that you should follow in crate training are:

Place the crate near to you at night. Never leave it alone. Continuously supervise it.
Put dog bed, blankets, and towels in the crate.
Make the crate comfortable for your pet.
Do not use the crate as a place to lock your pet.
Keep toys and pillows in the crate so that your Retriever can play with them.

Command Training

Teaching commands helps to enhance the intelligence of your Golden Retriever. Besides this, if your pet gets familiar with the orders, it will be easier to interact. And your bonding with your pet will be stronger.

The most basic commands you can teach your pet are:

Sit
Stand
Stay
Lay down
Shake
Follow

If you have enough time, you can teach your pet these commands yourself. Else, you can take the help of training groups and classes for this. However, while you teach them commands, you must consider the following points.

Have patience and don’t scold or hit them.
Make the training sessions short but frequent.
Praise and encourage them with treats if they follow your order.
Always maintain a friendly and safe environment for your pet while training.

After your pet learns basic commands, you can advance the training process. You should give them service training sessions like diabetic assistance training and blood pressure assistance training that might be life-saving. Apart from this, other training methods to discipline your pet are:

Importance Of Socialization Training

Golden Retrievers are lovely and beautiful dogs. They are great family dogs. And they know how to please people, so socializing with them will not be so hard. However, training the puppy at an early age will make the socializing process much easy.

For teaching the Retriever to socialize, you must increase their interaction with people. You should take them on walks, outings, invite people to your house and encourage them to interact with peoples. You can start slowly by first introducing them to few peoples, then masses and noises.

Besides this, you can also enroll your pet in a socialization class so that they can learn to socialize faster.

How Can You Protect Your Golden Retriever?

Golden Retriever becomes family as soon as it enters the house. So, protecting the family is very important. Golden Retriever is so lovely and beautiful that everyone loves and admires it.

But still, the loyalty and trustworthy nature of your pet may harm it in this cruel world. Therefore, you should take care of them.

The ways of protecting them are:

Keep Your Golden Retriever Under Supervision

You should supervise your pet 24/7. And if you are busy, you should ask for help but never leave the pet alone. Apart from this, keep your Retriever inside the house and prevent it from running away into the streets.

Also, use a leash when you take your pet out for walks and exercise.

Putt ID Tag On The Collar Of Your Golden Retriever

If you lose your Golden Retriever, the ID tag will help you. Therefore, you must ensure that your pet always wears the collar with the ID tag.

The information that must in the ID includes:

Name of dog
Type and Nature of dog
Contact Information
House and Street number
Name Of Parent

Regular Checkups For Golden Retriever Care

The regular appointments of the Veterinarian are very vital for the health of your Golden Retriever. They need frequent checkups and vaccinations so that they stay fit.

The reasons for the checkups are:

Need heartworm prevention medicine every month after they are eight weeks old.
Lyme disease vaccination at nine months and a booster at 12 weeks
Rabies vaccination at 12 weeks
Birth control operations
Booster of vaccination
Tests to detect different diseases

What Are The Common Disease Affecting The Golden Retriever?

The immune system of the Golden Retrievers is weak. Therefore, they are susceptible to various diseases. The most common are:

What Are The Points To Consider In Golden Retriever Care?

Being a parent, you want your Golden Retriever to live a healthy and productive life. Don’t you?

Therefore, I will summarize some important points of Golden Retriever care. They are:

Give your Golden Retriever lots of love, affection, and time.
Always be kind and have patience while training them.
Provide them with adequate qualitative food.
In the initial days, give them enough space to overcome their anxiety and stress.
Bathe, groom, and brush them regularly.
Take them on walks, social gatherings and introduce them to people.
Frequently visit the clinic and tests them for maintaining good health.
Provide them training for stimulating their intelligence.
Don’t make them a guard dog.
Make them exercise regularly.

Do you think you can raise and care for a Golden Retriever?

Where the points in this article helpful for you?

Is there any suggestion?