Dog Breeders - Golden Retrievers

[LetThemGo]

My father lost his dog last week to cancer. Looking into getting him a mild-mannered family/hunting dog. Thinking a Golden Retriever would be a good match. Does anyone have experience with goldens?

Thanks much,

LetThemGo

[huntingmaxima]

I have my 4th golden and I would recommend it highly.

[ReelTimes]

I am not sure what your father's expectation would be in a hunting dog, % of hunting vs family pet time, etc., but would suggest being very careful about what breeding you select. I have had a few goldens over the years. I am not trying to offend golden lovers, as I love the breed myself. But I will tell you that personally for me it has been difficult to get one that met my expectation level, and mine have always been from excellent field trial and hunting lines. I first got into them because I wanted something different then what everyone else had (i:e labs) but in the end trnasitioned to labs for a number of reasons. There are definitely two breeds (show and field) within goldens, and then alot of backyard breeding too. If you want the dog to have a reasonable chance of being a good hunter, be sure you get one from solid hunt test and trial stock. To be sure, there are some wonderful goldens and they can be great hunters and pets. Good luck.

[Mike Wallace]

Check with RAGOM (Retrieve A Golden Of Minnesota) - they rescue and find homes for goldens. I had to give one up to them and they found a family and paid for his surgery as well.