Your Golden Retriever ranks fourth in Stanley Coren’s book “The Intelligence of Dogs”, behind Border Collies, Poodles and German Shepherds for obedience command training. A mature Golden Retriever is active and fun loving, and their ability to sit quietly for hours in a hide when hunting has the happy side effect of making them exceptionally patient with children. Your Golden Retriever loves to work, but be warned because they don’t know when to stop, and can become exhausted, so take care not to let yours overdo it. Their size and agility gives them the ability to scramble in and out of boats (as well as over garden fences after that rabbit) and because of their hunting genes, they adore water and swimming. Brilliant in obedience trials and agility contests, your Golden Retriever responds well to positive, reward based training. Harsh methods do not work with these dogs, as they are very sensitive. Bitches make excellent surrogate mothers, and some have been known to nurse kittens, and even tiger cubs at zoos, producing milk despite not being recently pregnant or nursing. Your Golden Retriever loves everybody – you, your friends, your children, your other pets, other people’s pets. If it moves and breathes, it will be your Golden Retriever’s friend.