Always had a soft spot for Goldens, a Golden was my very first dog ever. But I had kind of gotten over the idea of ever wanting one again until a few months ago.
It certainly wouldn't be ANY time soon, and I'm not even sure when I'm ready for another dog still, and have another breed on my close radar.
Anywho, I don't really know that much about Goldens other than growing up with one, having relatives with them, and I've also dogsat for a few (two different pairs). But in terms of what to look for in breeders, etc, no clue.
From my understanding, there's a big difference between field bred lines and pet show dog lines? Is there anything somewhat in between? I really like the looks of the field bred dogs better (vs. the more stocky, bigger heads of a lot of show dogs).
There was a Golden in my agility class who was a bit TOO high strung for my liking. He was always pulling his owner in the door, and he WAS great on the agility course, but there was a few times he just decided to take off and he went 'after' the small 6lb papillon mix in class, not really aggressively, but it seemed like high prey drive to me? Anyway, I think a Golden like this would be too intense for me.
90% of Goldens I meet are not like this though. All of them have been great with small dogs, and really easy going in the house, but able to go go go when the time is right too. Goldens are a breed I've never been annoyed by, either. lol. The ones I dogsat I was just in love with, especially the male. He would play fetch for hours, but he wasn't annoying about it either, and when you would go inside, he would just lay down by your feet. Super easy going but still ready to play!
Anyway, any Golden experiences, differences between breeders, etc.
It certainly wouldn't be ANY time soon, and I'm not even sure when I'm ready for another dog still, and have another breed on my close radar.
Anywho, I don't really know that much about Goldens other than growing up with one, having relatives with them, and I've also dogsat for a few (two different pairs). But in terms of what to look for in breeders, etc, no clue.
From my understanding, there's a big difference between field bred lines and pet show dog lines? Is there anything somewhat in between? I really like the looks of the field bred dogs better (vs. the more stocky, bigger heads of a lot of show dogs).
There was a Golden in my agility class who was a bit TOO high strung for my liking. He was always pulling his owner in the door, and he WAS great on the agility course, but there was a few times he just decided to take off and he went 'after' the small 6lb papillon mix in class, not really aggressively, but it seemed like high prey drive to me? Anyway, I think a Golden like this would be too intense for me.
90% of Goldens I meet are not like this though. All of them have been great with small dogs, and really easy going in the house, but able to go go go when the time is right too. Goldens are a breed I've never been annoyed by, either. lol. The ones I dogsat I was just in love with, especially the male. He would play fetch for hours, but he wasn't annoying about it either, and when you would go inside, he would just lay down by your feet. Super easy going but still ready to play!
Anyway, any Golden experiences, differences between breeders, etc.