Five Universal Personality Traits of the Golden Retriever

The golden retriever is one of the most popular dog breeds in the UK and worldwide too, and these large, beautiful dogs have a distinctive and handsome appearance and a lovely personality to match! Versatile, outgoing and friendly, the golden retriever has a real lust for life, and is also a real people-pleaser that will work hard to perform the tasks asked of them and learn new skills. Today, the golden retriever is most widely owned as a pet, but their working history as a retrieving gundog means that the breed is still used for hunting-retrieving today, and also within a range of other working roles as well.

Their kind natures, desire to learn and trustworthy temperaments make them the ideal choice as assistance dogs for blind and deaf people, and as therapy dogs for people suffering or recovering from illnesses and time spent in hospital.

The unique, individual nature of each golden retriever is one of the greatest joys of getting to know them, but there are also several personality traits that the vast majority of dogs of the breed also share as well, and in this article, we will look at five of the main universal personality traits of the golden retriever.

They are food obsessed

With the possible exception of the Labrador retriever, few dogs can be considered to be as enthusiastic about food as the golden retriever! They really do love their meals and have no concept of portion control, and so it is up to the golden retriever’s owner to ensure that their food is carefully measured out into appropriate portions for the size and activity levels of the dog, and that the dog is not overfed.

Golden retrievers also tend to be excellent at begging and scavenging for food, and will often wolf down anything they find without thinking too hard about what it is, which can cause problems if something doesn’t agree with them! Golden retriever owners often need to spend a reasonable amount of time working on training their dogs not to beg and scavenge, and also learn quickly not to leave food within their dog’s reach!

They are very active

The golden retriever is a large, active breed that was made for exercising, and they love being outside, going for walks, socialising and exploring. They need a significant amount of exercise to keep them happy and at a healthy weight, and will soon become both bored and fat if this need is not met!

They make excellent pets for active families that spend a lot of time outdoors, or for people that enjoy walking, jogging or hiking. They are also a good pick for canine sports such as agility, as their combined enthusiasm, high energy levels and intelligence can be channelled into sports of this type that will tick all of the boxes when it comes to fulfilling their needs.

Many people who don’t really like dogs or are nervous of them still have a soft spot for the golden retriever, as their kind appearance and natures soon win over even the coldest of hearts! Golden retrievers bond strongly with their families and are very loving with their human pack, but they also tend to be highly social and friendly with other people that they meet out and about too.

They love to play with children of all ages, and will happily join in with all sorts of games. But one of the nicest traits of the golden retriever is that they are very self-aware in terms of their size, and are excellent at moderating their behaviour to accommodate for people who are nervous, or dogs that are small and delicate, and can be very gentle with them.

They are very versatile

Golden retrievers have an excellent combination of traits including high intelligence, a desire to learn, a willingness to please and a love of new experiences, all of which mean that they are very versatile and can turn their paws to all sorts of things. Golden retrievers can fit into all sorts of homes and living situations, and also do well in working roles, canine sports, and all sorts of other activities too.

They are very trusting

Golden retrievers really love people and other dogs, and assuming that they have been well cared for and properly socialised, will assume that everyone is their friend when they meet, unless something happens to convince them otherwise. This makes them very loyal and trusting of people, and means that the dog will be willing to go the extra mile or step outside of their comfort zones when it comes to asking them to do something that they are uncertain about.

They are bold and will follow their owners into all sorts of situations, but their kind and trusting natures means that they do not make for good guard dogs, although they will usually be good alert dogs and bark to let you know if someone is coming!

The golden retriever is one of the most rewarding breeds of dog to own, assuming that you have the time to devote to caring for them properly, and vitally, ensuring that you can fulfil their need for lots of exercise.