Golden Retrievers is one of the most popular breeds of dogs. Suppose you have fallen in love with the face of a golden retriever and are considering inviting one to live with you. You also may be wondering if they need a lot of attention?
The answer is Yes, Golden Retrievers need a lot of attention. The golden retriever breed requires attention and daily exercise. On top of daily exercise for at least one hour a day, a golden retriever will want to constantly be with their humans and demand attention.
Golden Retrievers were bred to be hunting dogs that require them to be high energy, intelligent, and have longevity to hunt and retrieve fowl for hours. When you think about how to exercise your dog properly so they will tire out and be mentally simulated, think about what they were bred to do!
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Swimming
Golden Retrievers are natural swimmers bred to swim and retrieve waterfowl. Swimming is the number one exercise for my golden retriever. It comes naturally to him, and he loves to swim. Swimming is a low impact exercise for golden retrievers,, young or old. They will be adequately exercised after a good swim. Swimming also helps reduce shedding in the home since a lot of loose dead fur will come off in the water. This is a win-win! Be sure to dry your golden completely and ears when they are done swimming especially if they get wet often, to help reduce any chances of ear or skin infections.
Retrieving
These dogs were built and bred to retrieve, so don’t forget this when looking for good exercise or playtime with your golden. They love retrieving and carrying toys and other items in their mouths. You can teach your golden to retrieve an item on command. Your dog will absolutely thrive on this challenge, and it will also provide excellent mental stimulation.
Hide and Find
This is great mental stimulation for a golden retriever. They love it, and often, it will give them enough attention and exercise along with mental stimulation to tire them out. So it doesn’t always need to be physically running or fetch. Goldens love to be challenged, and playing this with my golden does the trick. You can simply hide your golden’s favorite toy and have them sniff it out and retrieve it for you. It may take a couple of tries until they get the hang of it but they will love it.
Owning a Golden Retriever Pros and Cons
Pros to owning a golden retriever
- Trainability
- Intelligent
- Fun
- Loving
- Make great companions for the whole family
- Good with kids
- Gentle Giants ( they think they are lap dogs at 65lbs)
- Playful Energy
- Golden have great personalities
- Guaranteed to make you smile daily!
Cons to owning a golden retriever
- Shedding, Shedding, Shedding ( Tips for controlling fur in your home)
- Messy Drinkers ( Dribble water on the floor)
- They like to gentle jump when greeting people its more like a hug
- Need frequent brushing
- Need Attention and exercise
- Velcro Dogs
- Not a guard dog
- Can be stubborn
Conclusion
Golden retrievers are family dogs and truly want to be with their humans, so even though you are properly exercising your golden, they still may aggravate you for attention. Or they will at least still follow you around or sleep at your feet. My golden gets plenty of attention and exercise, and he will occasionally go lay down and sleep on his own, but he doesn’t go far!
The majority of the time, he’s at our feet, snuggled with one of us, climbing in someone’s lap, and he pretty stealthy with following you to the bathroom and is in a full-blown nap right outside the door when you come out.
So if you are thinking about getting a golden retriever, hopefully, you understand the amount of attention they need. It’s not like you just play with them like a chore and put them up. It’s more like having a kid following your around. Mine doesn’t know he’s a dog! I think most golden owners would agree with that statement!