Does anyone have a Golden Retriever and how are they around your parrots? Also I've heard they can have medical issues. Does your have any medical issue and what are they?
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Golden Retriever
- Thread starter Mitzi
- Start date
Chomskypom
Walking the driveway
I don't personally own one, but I work with dogs so my sample size is pretty big 
Generally, goldens are:
ougoing, social, people-oriented, energetic, food-motivated, toy-motivated, biddable
but they are also:
huge shedders, eternally WET, not particularly healthy, may need regular grooming
I think they all have at least one allergy, ranging from easy to manage (just avoid one particular food item) to more difficult (chronic ear or skin infections caused by an environmental allergy that's either hard to identify or impossible to avoid, like a particular kind of airborne tree pollen).
Skin issues seem really common in general among goldens. I also see a lot of joint problems, many exacerbated by the dog being overweight. At my boarding facility we also use our special bloat prevention protocol for goldens because they tend to want to eat quickly and then go bounce around.
Goldens love water and seek it out constantly, as well as love people and seek THEM out constantly, so you may end up feeling like the dog's towel sometimes as they repeatedly rub their whole soggy coat all over you. And drool. And shed. Some people find this extremely worthwhile! It's a really popular breed for a reason.
As for bird interactions, this IS a retrieving breed. Their heritage is to be VERY INTERESTED in birds, and to want to put their mouths on birds. I would not personally choose to add that to my bird-containing household. I know retriever people love to talk about how their dogs have a "soft mouth", which is an inclination to carry things gently rather than biting down hard. That's wonderful! And the dog/bird household conversation is one with a ton of nuance that gets discussed here a lot. But it is NOT a perfect guarantee. Pigeons land in the dog yard where I work sometimes. Golden retrievers are sometimes the first dog to get to the pigeons. It hasn't ended well yet.
Generally, goldens are:
ougoing, social, people-oriented, energetic, food-motivated, toy-motivated, biddable
but they are also:
huge shedders, eternally WET, not particularly healthy, may need regular grooming
I think they all have at least one allergy, ranging from easy to manage (just avoid one particular food item) to more difficult (chronic ear or skin infections caused by an environmental allergy that's either hard to identify or impossible to avoid, like a particular kind of airborne tree pollen).
Skin issues seem really common in general among goldens. I also see a lot of joint problems, many exacerbated by the dog being overweight. At my boarding facility we also use our special bloat prevention protocol for goldens because they tend to want to eat quickly and then go bounce around.
Goldens love water and seek it out constantly, as well as love people and seek THEM out constantly, so you may end up feeling like the dog's towel sometimes as they repeatedly rub their whole soggy coat all over you. And drool. And shed. Some people find this extremely worthwhile! It's a really popular breed for a reason.
As for bird interactions, this IS a retrieving breed. Their heritage is to be VERY INTERESTED in birds, and to want to put their mouths on birds. I would not personally choose to add that to my bird-containing household. I know retriever people love to talk about how their dogs have a "soft mouth", which is an inclination to carry things gently rather than biting down hard. That's wonderful! And the dog/bird household conversation is one with a ton of nuance that gets discussed here a lot. But it is NOT a perfect guarantee. Pigeons land in the dog yard where I work sometimes. Golden retrievers are sometimes the first dog to get to the pigeons. It hasn't ended well yet.
I think I may just still to the mini and toy aussies. My small mini/large toy aussie is great around the parrots. I'm use to the shedding and allergy problem as my aussie has them.
