When you and your family decide to adopt a dog, it is possible that a Golden Retriever is on the top of your desired list of preferred canines. First, though, you have decisions to make. What is the purpose of adopting the dog?
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As the parent of children, one likely reason for wanting a dog, especially a Golden Retriever, is to have the added protection in what seems to be a crazy world. When we just do not know who or what is going to happen to our families, knowing that you cannot be there 24/7.
It is not just for strange people or people who believe they have a right to take your belongings, your family. Having a canine, namely a Golden Retriever is the best idea as a family member, house pet and also the protection for your children as they play outdoors.
A protective dog will do everything in its power to protect your children from animals that are more like a predator. Most yards will have a snake or two at some point, there might also be a strange dog, or a bird that should not be there, and if you live in the country, you may have concerns in regards to wild animals. These include bears, coyotes, and maybe bobcats.
Of course, this all depends on where you live obviously.
Golden Retriever Temperament
The temperament of a dog is one of the most important considerations you have to consider. A Golden Retriever has one of the best temperaments you can find in a dog. The Golden Retriever is a loving dog, they are sweet and loving and they are quite obedient. As a matter of fact, the temperament of a Golden Retriever is so phenomenal that the Golden Retriever is also used as a therapy dog, a service dog and also as a search and rescue dog.
Golden Personality
Temperament is an important aspect in making a choice of dog breed, the personality is also a consideration one should look at before making a final decision. The Golden Retriever has one of the best personalities that can be found in dogs.
The personality of a Golden Retriever is one of animation, these dogs are eager to please, extremely smart and are not typically aggressive.
The Golden Retriever is a perfect pet to have around your children. The Golden Retriever breed seems to have a built-in sense of boundaries when they are around children. This is a truly admirable trait and is also very impressive.
As much as a Golden Retriever is willing to show love for its own human family, there is also a group called LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs. This group brings Golden Retrievers to locations that have been through serious tragedy, and these dogs just automatically know to go give comfort to victims, families of victims, first responders and possible bystanders who need to be comforted.
A Golden Retriever, the breed are dogs that show love, are able to play with kids, no matter what age, and keeps boundaries in the way they play. The Golden Retriever loves people, simply put, absolute love for people!
Are They Protective?
Once a Golden Retriever has bonded with their human family, it will automatically go into protective mode if they feel that there is danger around or near the human. This is not to say that your Golden Retriever is going to attack what they feel is the danger.
What they will do as a beginning action to protect their human is bare their teeth, growl or bark, or both. They will risk themselves and put their body between yours and what the Golden believes is the danger. Their body would be the shield to protect your body and your life.
Ways They Will Protect
There are at least five ways that a Golden Retriever will behave to show their protection. The Golden Retriever is considered to be a large breed dog. The size of the dog alone may prevent some forms of danger from being near their human.
As an example, if you were to take a walk in the evening when it is dark outside, taking your Golden Retriever with you on this healthy walk will likely deter the criminal type of person from choosing you as a victim.
Most the criminal types will seek out an easy target. When you are walking alone, this would make you an easy target. However, if you have a Golden Retriever walking alongside you, you are no longer that easy target.
The Golden Retriever has a loud and powerful voice. There is no mistaking the sound if you are near a Golden Retriever when it barks or growls. This loud bark and the booming voice could very well make the intruder change their mind as far as breaking into your home or threatening to attack you.
What is more, some Golden Retrievers can be trained to bark on command. Just the sound of a large dog, a booming and reverberating bark can stop a problem before it actually happens. This can also give you the chance to call Law Enforcement and ask for assistance.
The Golden Retriever, like most dog breeds, has fantastic hearing. If your Golden Retriever begins to growl, a low, deep growl, it is likely that it heard a sound that is not a common or normal sound for the home. The same can be said if you are out taking a walk, if the Golden Retriever lets out a low and deep growl, it likely heard something that you did not hear.
Known as an almost fearless canine, the Golden Retriever will place their body in the way of danger to protect you or to protect the little children. Golden Retrievers were bred to be hunting dogs, and as such, this is what makes them almost fearless. When the threat is a wild animal or even another dog, the Golden Retriever will do what they feel has to be done to protect you. It is of an instinctual nature for the Golden to place itself in harm's way to protect those they love.
Another way of helping to protect the human in its life is one that should not surprise anyone. The Golden Retriever will venture a short distance away from its owner to find help and bring it back to the one it loves.
This means that if you were out walking with your Golden Retriever and you fell down an incline during your walk and are then rendered unable to walk, the Golden Retriever will run off. However, he is not running off to get away from you, rather than super-smart Golden Retriever is running off to find someone to help you.
Can The Golden Retriever Actually Be A Guard Dog?
We have seen the ways in which the Golden Retriever will put himself in harm's way to protect the owner. Will a Golden make a good guard dog though?
This is answered quite easily by comparing the required needs of a guard dog to the characteristics of a Golden Retriever.
To be a good guard dog, the dog needs the following:
Large size: The larger the dog is, the scarier that would make him or her to the bad guy
High Intelligence: The dog needs to be smart to be considered a good working dog
Obedient: The guard dog must have the smarts to obey orders and commands given to him
Loyal: Your guard dog should be loyal to you and the family, rather than the bad guys
Aggressive: The guard dog needs to be aggressive if needed
The Characteristics and Traits of a Golden Retriever
As one of the most popular house pets in the world, Golden Retrievers do make one of the best family dogs and companions there are. They are loyal, friendly and loving, a good portion of the reason they make good service dogs also. The following are some of the characteristics and traits of the Golden Retriever.
- Loyal
- Easy to train
- Rarely Aggressive
- Loves people and kids
- Energetic
- Smart
- Great workers
- Seldom bark unless there is a reason
The Golden Retriever meets most requirements for a good guard dog, however, the fact that they are seldom aggressive tends to make people assume that a Golden Retriever does not make a good guard dog.
Again, this may be a little off centre. The Golden Retriever is a very loyal and protective dog, one which can be easily trained. They are aggressive if the need arises. How some can determine that a good guard dog is not the same as a dog that is protective, makes very little sense to many others.
To restate, the dog follows its instinct when it comes to people and children. They will insert themself between danger and those they love. They are one of the larger breeds of canine. They have a very low, yet deep growl, and a booming bark.
The bark alone is capable of making bad guys change their minds about the current activity they are considering. In other words, hearing the growl or bark is likely to change the mind of the person or animal that is considering some terrible deed.
