A Golden Retriever is a wonderful breed of dog, having many terrific qualities, including a love of people, particularly children. Making it a terrific family dog with loyalty and confidence and an uncanny sense of smell. They are great at hunting, tracking and locating narcotics, so they are also useful in law enforcement. Their breeding is responsible for these great qualities. Golden Retrievers are sturdy mid-size dogs, and have medium-length fur, generally ranging from white to honey-colored. They make a terrific family pet because they are so sociable and people pleasing. They take to obedience training well, especially as a puppy, and can be trained to hunt, track, retrieve, rescue and even as a guide dog. Golden Retrievers need several things from their owners. They need obedience training so that they learn good behaviors from the start. They need plenty of stimulus and exercise so that they don't get bored and misbehave. They need positive attention from their owners and plenty of time with their humans.

Many families consider getting a Golden Retriever for a family pet. This is understandable, considering the affable personality of the Golden Retriever. Golden retrievers are very people-friendly and great with children, which makes for a terrific family pet. The Golden Retriever was specifically bred for the qualities it has ? agility, hunting skill, confident, love of people, eager to please, loyal, strong sense of smell and tracking ability. It is a mix of various sporting breeds, along with some bloodhound to sharpen its sense of smell.

Officially, the history is that back in the 1800's in Britain, Sir Dudley Majoribanks, a Scotsman, created the breed by first crossing a wavy-coated Retriever with a yellow Tweed Water Spaniel. The resulting offspring were then crossed with an Irish Setter and a sandy-colored Bloodhound. Continuing the line brought us to the current Golden Retriever. It was officially recognized in Britain in 1913, and has been gaining popularity throughout the world ever since.

Best if they are a mid-gold color with no white patches, the Golden Retriever is a mid-size, well-proportioned dog. They learn easily, especially when young, and it is best to obedience train them from when they are puppies rather than try to fix bad habits once they are older. They can be highly trained, however, and that makes them very useful for law enforcement, with tracking or finding narcotics, but also very useful as guide dogs for the disabled. They are also being used more as a rescue dog.

They do have a lot of energy, but that energy must be guided, as Golden Retrievers will get into mischief if they are left alone for too long or if they don't get enough exercise. If they are trained while young, however, they can be taught to be gentle with people and to signal the approach of a stranger. They also love to swim and can be taught to do many tricks to please their humans.

Those who have Golden Retrievers need to keep in mind that their pet needs several things in order to be a happy pet. They need to remember their dog needs obedience training, plenty of exercise, and loving attention from their owner. The obedience training helps their pet behave. It is easier for the pup to learn good behavior right from the start than to try to unlearn bad habits, like jumping on furniture or barking at everything it sees. The exercise will help their pet stay actively stimulated by its environment, so that it doesn't exhibit boredom behavior, like digging holes and ruining furniture. The Golden Retriever also needs positive attention. As a breed, they are typically eager to please, and love to get accolades from their owners. They can be taught to do tricks fairly easily, which their owner can enjoy and encourage, along with encouraging other positive behaviors.