Golden Retriever Care Guide

A Golden Retriever needs about 1–2 hours of activity a day, brushing 3–4 times a week and carefully measured meals — they shed heavily and put on weight easily. They’re friendly, smart and great with families, and these are the habits that keep them healthy.

Golden Retriever at a glance

Size	Males about 65–75 lb (29–34 kg); females about 55–65 lb (25–29 kg)
Height	Males 23–24 in (58–61 cm); females 21.5–22.5 in (55–57 cm) at the shoulder (AKC breed standard)
Lifespan	About 10–12 years
Energy	High
Shedding	Heavy
Good with families	Yes — very

Feeding your Golden

Goldens are food lovers, and extra weight is one of the biggest health risks for the breed. Extra pounds put strain on joints that are already prone to problems — here’s how to tell if your dog is overweight.

• Choose a complete and balanced food that suits your dog’s life stage. Large-breed puppy formulas help puppies grow at a steady, healthy pace.
• An adult Golden at a healthy 60–70 lb usually needs roughly 1,300–1,700 calories a day. Use our dog feeding chart and adjust to your dog’s shape.
• Feed two measured meals a day — puppies need three or four.
• Count treats. Use part of the daily kibble as training rewards, or try low-calorie options like green beans and carrots.
• Large, deep-chested dogs can be prone to bloat. Avoid heavy exercise right before and after meals, and ask your vet about your dog’s risk.

Exercise: how much do Goldens need?

Goldens were bred to retrieve birds all day, so they need about 1–2 hours of activity a day. Mix it up:

• Brisk walks and sniff walks
• Fetch (it’s literally in the name)
• Swimming — most Goldens love water
• Training games and puzzle feeders for the brain

A bored Golden will find their own fun — usually by chewing your shoes.

Puppy tip: growing joints need gentle exercise. Avoid long runs, lots of jumping and endless stairs until your vet says your puppy’s skeleton has matured.

Grooming and shedding

Goldens have a double coat: a soft, dense undercoat and a water-resistant top coat. They shed all year, and “blow” their undercoat once or twice a year.

• Brush 3–4 times a week with a slicker brush and an undercoat rake. During heavy shedding, brush daily.
• Bathe every 1–2 months, or when they’ve rolled in something (bath frequency by coat type).
• Check and clean ears weekly. Floppy ears and swimming make Goldens prone to ear infections. Dry ears well after swimming.
• Trim nails every 3–4 weeks and brush teeth several times a week.
• Don’t shave a Golden’s coat for summer. The double coat helps protect against heat and sunburn — ask a groomer for a tidy-up instead.

Common Golden Retriever health issues

Goldens are generally healthy, but the breed is known for a few conditions. Being aware helps you spot problems early:

• Hip and elbow dysplasia — joints that don’t form properly, which can lead to arthritis. Keeping your Golden lean helps.
• Skin allergies and hot spots — itchy, red patches, often in warm weather.
• Ear infections — head shaking, scratching, a bad smell or a constant head tilt.
• Eye conditions — such as cataracts.
• Heart conditions — some lines can be affected; your vet will listen to the heart at checkups.
• Cancer — Goldens have a higher rate of some cancers than many breeds. Check your dog for new lumps regularly and show any you find to your vet.

See your vet at least once a year — twice a year for seniors — and keep vaccinations and parasite prevention up to date.

Cancer: what the research says

Cancer is the health issue Golden owners ask about most, and it’s the reason the breed has its own long-term study. The Golden Retriever Lifetime Study, run by the Morris Animal Foundation, enrolled 3,000 healthy Goldens aged six months to two years and follows them for life to look for causes. Its founding paper estimated that about 60% of the dogs in the group would develop cancer.

The cancer that worries vets most in Goldens is hemangiosarcoma, a tumor of blood-vessel cells that often grows in the spleen and can bleed inside the belly without a visible lump. The AKC lists Golden Retrievers among the higher-risk breeds and describes signs such as sudden collapse, pale gums, weakness and loss of appetite. Pale gums in a Golden that suddenly goes flat is an emergency — learn what normal looks like with our dog gum color chart.

What you can do at home:

• Do a lump check once a month. Run your hands over the whole body, including armpits, groin, tail base and between the toes. Note the size and place of anything new (a phone photo next to a coin works) and show it to your vet. Size alone doesn’t tell a harmless lump from a dangerous one; a quick needle sample often can.
• Know your dog’s gums and energy. Hemangiosarcoma is usually found when it bleeds, so noticing the change fast matters.
• Ask about a senior screening plan from about middle age. Your vet can suggest what fits your dog.

Hips and elbows: signs and the growth link

VCA Animal Hospitals names Golden Retrievers among the large breeds most affected by hip dysplasia. Signs can show in puppies a few months old but are most common between one and two years: weakness or pain in the back legs, a wobbly walk, trouble getting up, limping or avoiding stairs. Many dogs show nothing until they are older and arthritis sets in.

Growth matters. VCA cites a study in which puppies fed as much as they wanted developed hip dysplasia at about twice the rate (two-thirds) of littermates fed measured meals (one-third). That is the strongest reason not to free-feed a Golden puppy.

Elbow dysplasia often looks like a subtle front-leg limp that comes and goes, or a front paw that turns in more than normal. The OFA notes the lameness can stay subtle for a long time.

Heart: subaortic stenosis

VCA lists Golden Retrievers among the breeds most commonly affected by aortic (subaortic) stenosis, a narrowing below the heart valve that a dog is born with. Many affected dogs show no signs, and a heart murmur found at a routine puppy or adult check is often the first clue. In severe cases, signs include tiring easily, shortness of breath and fainting; VCA notes strenuous exercise appears to make sudden death more likely. If your vet hears a murmur, ask whether a cardiologist should do an echocardiogram before you start hard running or field work.

Health tests to ask the breeder for

“The parents were vet-checked” is not a health test. Ask to see results registered with the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA), which you can look up yourself on the OFA website:

Test	Who does it	What a good result looks like
Hips	X-ray read by OFA radiologists	Excellent, Good or Fair. Borderline, Mild, Moderate and Severe are not passing (OFA hips)
Elbows	X-ray, read by OFA	“Normal.” OFA won’t certify a normal elbow before 2 years of age
Eyes	Board-certified veterinary ophthalmologist	A clear exam; the certificate is valid for 12 months, so it should be recent (OFA eyes)
Heart	Ideally a veterinary cardiologist	Normal at 12 months or older. OFA’s advanced heart clearance requires a cardiologist and an echocardiogram (OFA cardiac)

Both parents should have these, not just one. Preliminary hip X-rays can be done from 4 months, but a final rating needs an adult dog — so be wary of a breeder whose dogs are bred before two years old with no final results.

Golden Retriever timeline: puppy to senior

Age	Focus
8–16 weeks	Puppy vaccines, 3–4 measured meals a day, gentle handling of ears, paws and mouth so grooming is easy later. Start puppy feeding on a large-breed puppy food
4–12 months	Fastest growth. Keep your puppy lean; short play sessions instead of long runs. Teach loose-leash walking before they weigh 50 lb. Heart murmur checks at vet visits
1–2 years	Hip dysplasia signs most likely to appear. Ask your vet when your dog’s growth plates have closed before starting jogging or agility. Switch to adult food when your vet suggests
2–7 years	Prime years. Two meals a day, adjust portions to body shape, monthly lump checks, yearly vet visit and dental care
Senior (later years)	Twice-yearly vet visits. Watch for stiffness, weight change, new lumps, lower energy. Softer bedding and non-slip rugs help stiff hips

When to call the vet

Call today or go now	Book an appointment
Collapse, sudden weakness or pale gums	A new lump, or one that grows
Swollen, hard belly with retching and nothing coming up (bloat)	Limping that lasts more than a day or two, or stiffness after rest
Fainting, or breathing hard at rest	Head shaking, ear smell or redness
Eating something toxic (US: ASPCA (888) 426-4435 or Pet Poison Helpline (855) 764-7661; elsewhere, call your vet)	Constant licking of paws, red itchy skin or hot spots
Not able to get up or put weight on a leg	Weight gain you can’t explain, or a dull, thinning coat

Common mistakes with Goldens

• Free-feeding a puppy. See the hip study above. Measure every meal.
• Buying on looks or price alone. A puppy from parents with no OFA results costs less up front and may cost much more later.
• Dismissing a murmur as “just a puppy thing.” Some are harmless; ask whether yours needs a cardiologist.
• Hard exercise in heat. Goldens will keep retrieving long after they should stop. Their thick coat and enthusiasm make overheating easy on warm days.
• Waiting on lumps. “It’s probably fatty” is a guess until your vet has sampled it.

Training tips

Goldens are smart and eager to please, which makes training fun. Use positive reinforcement (treats, praise, play). Focus early on:

• Loose-leash walking — a 70 lb dog pulling is no joke
• Not jumping on people
• “Leave it” — Goldens will eat anything, including socks
• Calm greetings with kids and visitors

Is a Golden Retriever right for you?

A Golden is a great fit if you have time for daily exercise, don’t mind dog hair on everything, and want a friendly, people-loving companion. If you’re away all day or want a low-shedding dog, another breed may suit you better.

Comparing retrievers? Read our Labrador Retriever care guide. Thinking about a smaller, lower-energy breed? Read our French Bulldog care guide.