You can ask any golden retriever owner, and you will get the same answer to the question can golden retrievers sleep outside? How do we know? We asked them, and just about all of them answered the question like this.
No, golden retrievers are not outside dogs and they will not do well sleeping outside. They are pack dogs and you are their pack. They love being with their people. They are also emotional dogs and leaving them outside could be traumatic and cause emotional issues.
If you have read otherwise that it is okay to leave a golden retriever outside the author has clearly not owned a golden retriever. Golden retrievers are not tough guard dogs. Golden retrievers are soft-hearted people loving pups!
Let’s answer a few other questions you may have as a new golden retriever owner.
Table of Contents
Do Golden Retrievers like being outside?
Yes, and No, My golden loves being outside if one of us is outside with him. On a nice day when the weather is good, we leave the door open and let him go in and out as he pleases 9 times out of 10, he will be inside with us. If he’s outside, it’s right by the door. So although he loves to go outside and play with us, he doesn’t really care to out by himself for long periods of time.
The trait that makes golden retrievers great is their temperament, making them better at being inside dogs than outside dogs. They love people and are terrible at being a guard dog. They love the interaction with people and want to be with you all the time. In fact, if you force your golden to live alone outside, you can bet on creating a destructive, digging, barking machine.
How Long Can I Leave My Golden Retriever Alone?
Only 4 -5 hours. Golden retrievers bond deeply with their owners and if left alone for a long period of time it can be torture for them. They can become depressed or destructive.
This is something to consider before adopting a golden retriever if you have a full-time job. If you work 8 hours a day and have travel time, you will need to hire a dog walker or bring your golden to doggy daycare. Being alone for 5 days a week for 8 plus hours is not feasible for a golden retriever.
Can Golden Retrievers Sleep Outside In The Cold?
No, do not leave a golden retriever outside in the cold overnight. Golden retrievers enjoy short trips outside in cold weather; long exposure to extreme cold can lead to hypothermia.
Golden retrievers do well in colder climates because of their long double coat; however, that does not mean they can stay outside for an extended period of time in cold or for a short time in extreme temperatures. In fact, golden retrievers will not do well sleeping outside at any temperature because they are pack dogs and do not do well alone for long periods.
Should Golden Retrievers Be Inside Or Outside?
The answer is inside. They love being inside with their pack (you). Golden retrievers are known for being great family dogs because of their pack nature. They enjoy spending time with their family and they are eager to please this is why they do so well with obedient training.
Are Golden Retrievers Good Guard Dogs?
Golden retrievers do not make good guard dogs. They make good watchdogs but are too friendly to be a guard dog. They will not keep anyone out of your yard; in fact, they will be excited when someone enters your yard.
Golden retrievers make wonderful dogs for plenty of reasons, but a guard dog is not one of them. As a watchdog, yes, my golden retriever can hear when someone pulls in the driveway, and he alerts us with some barking. He will bark until whoever gets out of the car, then it’s all wagging, hugging, and play with me. He’s the definition of all bark and no bite! I don’t think this is the same as protecting their owners. Being a good guard dog means protecting the house or yard and this is not their personality. People mean playtime to them.
Will My Golden Retriever Protect Me? Yes, It’s Possible.
This depends on the dog. Some goldens are scared of everything but they are smart enough to know danger. They are also very in tune with their owners for that I do think if someone was going to physically harm their owner a golden would put up a some sort of fight.
If you have ever ‘wrested’ with someone in front of you, golden to do a test and see how they react. My golden gets into protection mode if we play wrestle in front of him. He starts barking, jumping, and will try to get in between us. He’s all pumped to protect me until I ensure him it’s okay. This is why I think he would try and protect us in the event of danger.
This is really about knowing your dog and giving them a chance to grow up a bit before making assumptions. A younger dog tends to be more timid and scared of stuff, which’s a good thing. You don’t want a puppy being aggressive right out the gate, but as your dog gets older and develops a bond with you, the need to be protective over you in a dangerous situation may be there.
Can Golden Retrievers live outside in the cold? No.
Golden Retrievers can not live outside in the cold. They can tolerate the cold better than some breeds; however, this does not mean they can live out in the cold.
Do golden retrievers have separation anxiety?
Golden Retrievers often suffer from separation anxiety because they naturally want to be with you. Golden retrievers love being with their family and can exhibit separation anxiety if left alone for too long. A golden retriever that has separation anxiety will drool excessively, destructively chew, bark and howl.
If you think about getting a golden retriever and have asked any of the questions above or believe a golden can live or sleep outside, this breed may not be for you. This leads to separation anxiety in a dog that is already sensitive to being without their family.
Even a golden retriever that doesn’t get tossed outside can exhibit separation anxiety. Imagine how worse it can be if they are locked in the backyard overnight or for long hours during the day.
My golden displayed some separation anxiety when he was younger, and I have to say it was entirely our fault. He is with us 24 hours because he is being trained to be my daughter’s service dog. When he was young, we tested the waters on leaving him out of his crate while we were gone for a short trip and decided to leave him in the garage. Big mistake. He chewed the door. Up until that point, he had never chewed anything in the house.
We were so surprised but recognized it was our fault. The garage was foreign to him. So not only was he alone, but he was also in an unfamiliar place. We focus on not putting him in a crate once he was completely potty trained and our space became his space.
He can stay alone in the house without any issues. So although we are gone, which isn’t the ideal situation for him, he is at least in the comfort of his home, not suddenly in the garage or yard where he hardly spends time alone. This has worked for us; he stays alone at home for short periods and has never chewed a thing inside.
Take Away
I really hope we have answered some of your question you may have when thinking about getting a golden retriever. We are currently training our golden for his public access test to be a certified service dog for my daughter. As of now, he can perform a handful of specific tasks that aids her throughout the day. Hope you enjoyed some of our tips we have learned along the way with training and raising a golden retriever.