With proper training golden retriever puppies make wonderful companions. Families love the golden retriever as their family pet. These loving, gentle affectionate and very friendly dogs make a great addition to your family. Your children, even when they are young are rarely in any danger with a golden retriever. They rarely attack or are aggressive to people for this reason these dogs do not make good guard dogs. But they will alert their owners to intruders.

With obedience training and indoor training many golden retriever puppies and young dogs learn proper behavior and will rarely chew or scratch your furniture. Keeping these energetic pets exercised and brushed helps keep them healthy inside and outside. Golden Retrievers were bred to retrieve waterfowl and game. They love the outdoors and water. Their coats consist of a top coat and an undercoat. Good brushing weekly keeps their coats and skin in good condition. Their medium length coat needs trimming so it does not get too long and matted.

This breed is prone to allergies and skin conditions which should be kept treated if they crop up. The primary killer of Golden Retrievers is cancer in many forms. Other health problems do include: hip and elbow dysplasia, cataracts, and heart problems. There are screenings that many Golden Retriever breeders do to weed out genetic problems in their stock. Ask about the parents’ health when looking at a breeder’s stock and get conformation of a clean bill of health from them.

Training golden retriever puppies to do tricks and learn commands is not hard to do with positive reinforcement and reward training. You may want to progress as they grow since Golden Retrievers are capable of learning over 240 or more commands. This highly intelligent dog loves to perform in obedience training and agility trials. Having a medium to large fenced yard to run and play in daily helps them burn off energy and stay in shape. Overeating and weight gain can happen, so should be avoided. Any mischievous behavior should be curtailed immediately so they do not repeat it.
Many narcotics units have utilized this dog to sniff out drugs since they are wonderful hunting dogs. Keep this dog from overworking since they will work until they are exhausted.