The Golden Retriever

What about their origins? Apparently, Golden Retriever is quite a new breed, going as back in time as the 19th century. They started developing in Scotland and England, where they were used mainly for hunting. They are excellent hunters also because of their medium size, which enabled them to follow both game and water birds.

Its very brand name suggests that these dogs do have a very beautiful fur, with long nice plumes. But they are also said to have a great personality. For one thing, they are among the most popular dog breeds in the world and they are good not only for family pets, but also for hunting and for dog shows. They are sure to provide their owners loyalty, unconditional love and joyful company. Quite playful, they interact greatly with kids too. They are also excellent watchdogs. They do have a loud bark when strangers may approach.

If there is one thing these dogs love, it's the water. They love to take baths either in water ponds or simply in "mud pools". But besides that, they have wonderful manners and tend to be extremely friendly. In fact, they are so sociable that they hate to be left alone. So, if you are rather a cat person, and still want a dog, you should probably consider another dog breed because Golden Retrievers are crazy for attention and acceptance and may get even sick if left home alone for long time periods. They want to be around their owners as much as possible, all the time even, so it's best to adopt such a dog if you are able to stay a lot of time at home, or if you have children they can play with.

One can get either a full-grown dog, or a puppy. Some people would go for the puppy, because it can get used to them more easily and it can learn the proper behavior from its very owner. But since it requires a lot of time and special attention, owning a Golden Retriever puppy can get one frustrated. If such is the case, one should choose an older, trained Golden Retriever.

These dogs love outdoor activities and fun, such as hiking or long walks and they love to spend time out there with their owners. They simply adore taking part in family activities, becoming a smaller sized friend to all.

Another great thing about the Golden Retriever is that together with German Shepherd, Beagle and Labrador Retriever, they make excellent drug detection dogs. Generally, dogs trained for detecting drugs are chosen for their urge to search things, and their compatibility, their perseverance and willingness to cooperate with humans and work even for long time periods. Being so playful and energetic, they love doing things for which they can be rewarded with delicious treats or by playing with their favorite toys or tennis ball, and these rewarded activities may include searching for drugs. Regardless of their breed, many such drug detection dogs may come from animal rescues and shelters. They may have even been taken there due to their destructive behavior back at home. And thus they can find a really good purpose in life. Perhaps their ex-owners did not have enough time to spend with them. And since Golden Retrievers, as it has previously been mentioned, need a lot of physical and brain activities in order to be happy, this drug sniffing thing is the new deal for them.

This special type of dogs is generally extremely curious and very intelligent. And let us not forget their amazing sense of smell. According to some researches done by experts at the Auburn University's Veterinary School such dogs are able to sense a few molecules of odor/billion air parts. This ability can be compared to a human person being capable of locating a certain sand grain in a beach section of 30 square foot. Apart from perceiving small quantities of illegal substances, drug detecting dogs are also capable of separating different smells. Thus, just for comparison, humans can detect the odor of pizza, while drug detecting dogs can differentiate different smells out of that pizza: flour, pepperoni, cheese, onion, tomatoes, mushroom, etc.

These are but a few of the Golden Retriever's potential qualities. The rest is to be discovered by those willing to adopt such a dog breed.