March Dog of the Month – Golden Retriever

Welcome to the ‘March’ Dog of The Month! What better way to kick off your month than learning about one of the worlds most popular breeds? The GOLDEN RETRIEVER.

Golden Retrievers are known for their bubbly personalities and friendly attitudes. Who would not love to have a peek at these guys often and enjoy a fun time. They also have quite the reputation for their intelligence and are eager to please, making them relatively easy to train. Golden Retrievers also hang on to their puppyish ways a tad longer than the average dog and don’t fully “relax” until around 3-years-old. They portray immense beauty radiating from their golden coloured coat which is a double coat and extremely water resistant. The Golden Retriever is a very loyal dog making them great family dogs. If you want, you can click for info on the best dog training.

These dogs were originally bred in Scotland by a man named Lord Tweedmouth, to be gun dogs and retrieve water foul. The Golden Retriever is a make up of a few different dogs. These dogs are; a variety of Water Spaniels, Irish Setter and Vizsla. Their colour comes from the Irish Setter, their love of water comes from the Spaniel and their sporty ability and loyal personality comes from the Vizsla. When these dogs were initially bred in the UK., they were a red golden colour but are now being bred in the USA and Canada as a lighter cream color. The Golden Retriever was bred to be a working dog and has evolved greatly in the kind of work they are able to do. These dogs have made themselves known in the doggy work force for doing jobs such as, therapy dogs, guide dogs, service dogs, and search and rescue dogs. But due to their generally friendly and bubbly personality they don’t make the best guard dogs. The private dog training in LA can help in molding them to a large extent.

Golden Retrievers are a very well built and sturdy dog. They are medium in size and can weigh anywhere between 55-75 pounds. They have over all good health and can live a very long healthy life of 10-12 years on average. They do have some common health issues that are seen in their breed. Some common health issues that are seen in Golden Retrievers are hip and elbow dysplasia which causes pain and inflammation in their hips and elbows making it hard to walk and get up, and heart disease such as aortic stenosis which is a narrowing in the valve in the heart causing the blood flow from one side of the heart to the other to be obstructed. Golden Retrievers are quite prone to skin disorders which are commonly due to allergies, their breed is known for developing allergies in response to their environment. Most health conditions developed or inherited by a golden retriever can be managed at home and with your vet. This breed has a high potential for living healthy and happy with a good diet, exercise and a whole lot of love from their humans.

From rescued to rescuer, Chi Chi a Golden Retriever, was found in South Korea in a trash bag with her legs bound. She had severe injuries but did not give up her fight to live. After a long trip to America and countless appointments to the vet, Chi Chi had all 4 legs amputated and a life time of challenges ahead of her. After finding an amazing family who gave her every ounce of care and love, Chi Chi received prosthetic legs. She was able to rise above her injuries from consistent veterinary care and endless amounts of love from her family thereafter becoming a therapy dog. She helped humans fighting the same battle as she was. Chi Chi was given an incredibly unfair and horrible start at life but turned it around and gave nothing but love and support to people in need and is now known as a HERO. Check out your local rescue societies and help turn a dog’ life around.