My old man is looking at getting a bird dog but my mom has always loved having our Golden Retrievers so I'm guessing thats the route he may go. Hunting buddy of mine says they just aren't quite as tough as labs when it comes to water and cold etc (they do well upland hunting)...but he breeds labs and said he is biased lol. Do any of you guys have an opinion or experience with goldens?

I have had two, one of which I hunted for years on upland birds and he was excellent. He would retrieve ducks but really did not have the drive for waterfowl in rugged terrain. He was incredible around the house, with kids and had the best manners of any dog I have been around.
There are definitely goldens out there that can do the job but they need to be from field dogs not show or mixed show blood line
If they really want a golden (I am definitely golden biased!) then get in touch with Top Brass kennels. They raise dogs with drive enough to waterfowl and upland hunt. There are other kennels out there as well.
With all that said, labs are going to have a higher rate of success in the swamp.

i have a golden that is almost 6. he only duck hunts. he does great. super steady. great in the boat. i think goldens have a better nose. he has all the drive i need. sure he isnt some bottle rocket like an american field bred lab but he is pretty stylish. IT IS ABSOLUTELY TRUE that you have to get a golden from the right breeder to have an accomplished hunting dog. most bloodlines have been bred for pets but the good ones are awesome. look at topbrass goldens. gundogsonline to find the right breeder near you.

I hunted with one. Trained him myself. Was pretty good. But was a pain in the ass when there were cockle-burs. It took hours to clean them out.

Hahaha I can see myself setting there picking burrs out cussing and looking up and a wad of mallards hitting in the decoys and my gun is laying on the other side of the boat bahahaha

my cuz has owned 2 goldens. not bad hunting dogs but get used to the sloppy dripping dog that stays wet no matter how much it shakes itself dry

Burrs and water as not as big a problem on the true field dogs. Their hair is much shorter and thinner.

everyone always talks about the burrs. sure they get some. but my dog usually just gets them out by himself on the way home. the field bred goldens dont have the absurd coat that the bench bred ones do.

I have a 5 month old right now and are having no problems with his drive or motivation with water and training. Got him doing blind retrieves with signals. He's a field golden and going to be a great dog!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk