Everything To Know About Female Golden Retrievers

You won’t find an answer to whether female golden retrievers are better than males here. All golden retrievers are intelligent, obedient, friendly dogs perfect for families with kids and hunting.

However, even minor distinctions can affect how well a dog fits your household. When choosing a dog’s sex, consider your personality and lifestyle.

At the end of the day, you can’t go wrong with a golden retriever. Female and male goldens have more similarities than distinctions and will make you the happiest owner.

Female Golden Retriever Appearance & Size

Female golden retrievers look very much like their male counterparts – they have drop ears, elongated snouts with black noses, blocky heads, and dark eyes with an intelligent expression.

Female goldens are typically smaller than males, ranging from 21 to 22.5 inches in height. They are leaner and weigh 55 to 65 pounds. English female golden retrievers are shorter than American and Canadian ones.

Female golden retrievers have an athletic build but narrower chest than males. Overall, they have a delicate, elegant appearance – you can easily determine it’s a female even from a distance.

Like all golden retrievers, female goldens have a lustrous double coat with a dense undercoat. The fur can be straight or wavy, ranging from cream to dark gold.

Female golden retrievers have long, light feathering on the back of the legs, belly, tail, and ears, but they don’t have such a prominent mane as male goldens.

Female Golden Retriever Temperament

Like all golden retrievers, female goldens are intelligent, obedient, loyal, and friendly dogs. Because of their hunting heritage, they have excellent work ethics, communication skills, and high energy levels.

However, show golden retrievers have a low prey drive and therefore get along with smaller pets and kids. Female golden retrievers are very gentle and patient – they make wonderful nannies for babies and playmates for older children.

Golden retrievers are the extraverts of the canine world. They are outgoing, confident, and rarely aggressive, so they are quick to make friends with strangers. For this reason, they make poor guard dogs but excellent family and service dogs.

Golden retrievers are curios and fearless dogs, so they love exploring new terrains. It’s the best breed for travel and sports enthusiasts.

There are slight differences in male vs. female golden retriever temperament. Females tend to be more serious and independent. Males are goofier. Still, female golden retrievers enjoy a good play session.

Female golden retrievers mature faster than males, similar to how girls grow up faster than boys. For this reason, training a female golden can be easier than training a male.

Still, you should remember that a dog’s temperament largely depends on its genes and socialization. Some female golden retrievers can be goofy and playful, whereas some males can be very mature.

Are Female Golden Retrievers Better for Kids?

Female golden retrievers possess the same temperament traits as males, so all goldens make wonderful family dogs. They are friendly, caring, loyal, and have a low prey drive.

Golden retrievers make perfect playmates for older kids who can handle the dog and know how to behave with it. These dogs are affectionate and love cuddles. Plus, they keep secrets better than any human friend.

They are also gentle and patient, so they are unlikely to hurt a baby. However, all goldens are highly energetic and can accidentally knock over a child while playing.

However, female goldens might be better for young children than males because they are more mature and can assess the situation critically. They also aren’t as strong physically and have slightly lower energy levels.

A female golden retriever is a perfect companion for a child, but you should still supervise the dog to avoid accidents.

Are Female Golden Retrievers Protective?

Golden retrievers make poor guard dogs because they rarely bark and are friendly with strangers. They are affectionate and form strong bonds with their owners, so they cannot live outdoors.

However, all golden retrievers make great protection dogs because of their loyalty and fearlessness. Their intelligence enables them to quickly assess the situation and act independently when necessary.

A golden retriever will never let a stranger or an animal attack its owner and can even risk its life saving them. There are known cases of golden retrievers protecting their owners from armed burglars and venomous snakes.

Female golden retrievers are more protective than males, particularly of their younger owners and puppies. The reason for such protectiveness is their maternal instinct and overall maturity.

Sometimes, female goldens get overly protective, not letting anyone close to their favorite humans. Socialization resolves the problem. They can also get territorial, protecting their belongings from other dogs and people.

Are Female Golden Retrievers Easy to Train?

Golden retrievers are among the best trainable dogs because of their obedience and intelligence. Canine researcher Stanley Coren ranks golden retrievers fourth among 138 dog breeds in his working dog intelligence study.

So, goldens aren’t simply above-average intelligent dogs – they are in the top five of the most intelligent dog breeds globally. The rank is based on memory, obedience rate, communication, and problem-solving skills.

Golden retrievers memorize new commands from an average of five repetitions and have a 95% obedience rate. These dogs aren’t familiar with stubbornness and have top-notch work ethics.

Female golden retrievers mature early, so they are easier to train in puppyhood than male goldens. They are less likely to switch their attention from training to a squirrel on the tree or a stranger passing by.

However, no dog is born well-behaved, so even female golden retrievers need discipline. Their high intelligence can sometimes hinder the training because they easily get bored and need to constantly overcome new challenges.

Are Female Golden Retrievers Good Hunting Dogs?

Golden retrievers are natural-born hunters. In the late 19th century, Lord Marjoribanks bred these dogs to retrieve waterfowl, focusing on agility, swimming skills, stamina, and intelligence.

Golden retrievers excel at every parameter. They are highly intelligent, easy to train, obedient, and can effectively communicate with people, which is beneficial in the field.

Goldens have webbed feet, dense, water-repellent coats, and muscular build, so they are ideal for hunting waterfowl but also for tracking. The golden retriever is a great all-around hunting dog.

Because female goldens are more mature and obedient, they are easier to train for hunting purposes. On the other hand, males are stronger and have higher stamina.

It’s important to note that show golden retrievers have lost some of their hunting dog traits because breeders focus on appearance and family-friendliness.

If you’re looking for a hunting dog, consider field golden retrievers that are more agile, energetic, and have a higher prey drive.

Are Female Golden Retrievers Good Service Dogs?

Golden retrievers are among the best service dogs because of their kind personality, intelligence, and strong build. They are easy to train and can perform the most challenging tasks.

Goldens can also act independently when the owner cannot give a command, which can sometimes be life-saving. They are friendly with strangers yet can sense danger and protect their favorite human if necessary.

Female golden retrievers are good service dogs because of their maturity and caring nature. They are determined and focused.

Plus, golden retriever temperament is very predictable, so these dogs don’t pose a threat to people in public places.

Lastly, the medium size of golden retrievers enables them to assist people with mobility issues – for example, help them cross the road, push the wheelchair, or carry grocery bags.

Training a service golden retriever isn’t cheap – an adult service dog usually costs $20,000-$25,000, but it’s the best choice you can make if you need assistance in performing daily tasks.

Should a Female Golden Retriever Be Spayed?

Whether a female golden retriever should be spayed is controversial because research shows conflicting results. On the one hand, spaying, particularly early spaying, has many risks for golden retrievers.

If you spay a dog until its bone growth plates close, it can develop joint issues. Golden retrievers fully mature physically by 12-18 months of age. As a dog goes into puberty, its body starts producing sex hormones.

One of such hormones is also responsible for bone growth. Early spaying interferes with a dog’s hormonal balance and deprives bones of important regulatory input.

Another risk of spaying a golden retriever is a hypothyroidism. The breed is generally prone to hypothyroidism, but spayed dogs more frequently have problems with thyroid hormone regulation.

Now, to the most confusing part – cancer. Many studies show that early spaying increases the risk of osteosarcoma, bladder transitional cell carcinoma, lymphoma, and heart tumors three to four times.

On the other hand, spaying decreases the risk of mammary tumor development. Plus, spaying is the best population control tool and can help make a dog calmer.

Whether to spay your golden retriever is up to you, but if you decide to do it, wait until your dog is fully mature.

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