Do Golden Retrievers Have Separation Anxiety? -

One of the most friendly and intelligent breeds of dogs you can come across, the Golden Retriever was originally bred to sniff out hunters’ game and is still commonly used to sniff out contraband at airports and harbors all over the world.

But because the Golden Retriever is so smart and caring, they also make an amazing, protective pet and they have today been adopted into the homes of many, many people.

But modern families are busy, and often, someone can’t usually be at home all day. So does this doting breed mind being left alone?

Do Golden Retrievers have separation anxiety? This is what we’re going to explore in this blog post.

How Do Golden Retrievers Act?

What can you expect from a Golden Retriever under normal circumstances?

Well, When living as a pet, the Golden Retriever retains their past aptitude for quickly retrieving a hunter’s game from far away. This means that your Golden Retriever will need daily exercise that emulates this previous life.

A Goldie pooch will need a long daily walk, as well as a good romp in your backyard or an hour of playing fetch at the park every day. When a Golden Retriever is gently exhausted, they are likely to behave well.

When they live as a pet, the Golden Retriever will also quickly grow to become incredibly attached to you all, regarding you as their pack.

Ever seen those videos on YouTube or home video TV shows where a Golden Retriever does things like sitting up at the table with a family and interjecting into their conversations?

This is a pretty accurate depiction of what life with a Golden Retriever tends to be like – the Goldie is an intelligent, puppy-like dog, who needs to be given an active job in your family like retrieving your newspaper, waking you all up with a lick in the morning, or walking down to fetch family members from the bus stop, lest they invent their own more negative job out of boredom.

It’s true that the Golden Retriever is likely to protect you somewhat if they see you express fear. But, the Goldie definitely isn’t much of a guard dog. They might bark a bit but are more likely to just smile and offer their paw or roll over for anyone breaking into your house.

With their slow growth and mature rate, any owner will tell you about how the Golden Retriever tends to remain as a playful puppy until they are around four years old. Even then, a Golden Retriever often retains this youthful outlook and nature throughout their life, well into their old age.

The main trait of the Golden Retriever is that they are incredibly loyal, so being left alone can definitely cause separation anxiety in some cases if you’re not careful.

Are Golden Retrievers Good For First Time Owners?

Well, if you are already a highly active person and are prepared to give a Golden Retriever the hours of boisterous play and longer daily walk that they require, a Golden Retriever is the perfect dog for you, even if they will be your first dog.

Be aware that Golden Retrievers have great appetites and love to eat. This makes for great motivation to learn when you’re training them – a Goldie will do anything for a treat.

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But this also makes for your Golden Retriever to easily become overweight if you’re not careful about keeping track of how much they eat, or if you let their daily exercise slide a little.

So, with this breed, it is incredibly worthwhile to calculate how much kibble they should be having, and then measure it out. I have written a couple of articles that might be of interest bellow.

It’s not just exercise and eating though – as we previously mentioned, Golden Retrievers are highly intelligent dogs who need plenty of intellectual stimulation, too, or they may start to outsmart you.

You could take them to agility training, you can use my post best outdoor dog training gear for the backyard for inspiration where they would learn to listen to your verbal commands.

Or, Golden Retrievers also excel at and greatly enjoy obedience training, you can use my 8 dog obedience training tips, even just simple commands like learning to sit and stay.

They have the capacity to learn some really impressive things, and this is better than leaving them to make up their own tricks.

If you crate train your Golden Retriever from a young age, they are far less likely to develop separation anxiety from being left alone.

Do Golden Retrievers Like Children?

Golden Retrievers absolutely adore children! The breed loves games of all sorts, from fetch to tea parties, and will tolerate rough handling from younger children well, like having their ears or tail pulled, as well as being forced to wear fairy wings or a hat.

But when more active games are being played, be aware that a Golden Retriever can easily turn back into a pup again, getting overexcited, bouncing around, and easily knocking over a smaller child with just an accidental swipe of their tail.

When children have to go to school, a Golden Retriever can miss them, and pine for them, especially because the breed is so loyal.

If you have children, you will have to distract your Golden Retriever and keep them occupied, with a treat toy like a Kong, or an exhausting chew toy on Amazon.

Are Golden Retrievers Loud?

Unlike a Beagle, Hound, or Husky, the Golden Retriever does not have much of a reputation for being yappy or for howling.

However, like a friendly dog, they are prone to bouts of extreme loneliness when you are not home, sometimes beginning to whine and bark almost as soon as you go out the door, or just when you go into a different room or take a shower.

This is a pretty common behavior in puppyhood, but it can sometimes persist for years. Often, when your routine is staying at home with your Golden Retriever, but this suddenly changes, it is quite common for even a fully grown Golden Retriever to start whining or barking loudly when left alone if they are not used to being alone. Find out more here How To Stop Your Dog Barking At Night.

Because of this, it is important for a Golden Retriever to get used to spending progressively longer periods of time alone from a young age, even if this is not necessary.

Will a Golden Retriever Run Away?

As we previously mentioned, Golden Retrievers are incredibly intelligent, and the breed always greatly loves the people they live with.

So when you have to leave them alone, it’s not uncommon for this intelligent dog to find a way out of the house or garden.

They can spend all day teaching themselves to carefully climb the fence or open doors when they are bored and determined with energy to burn.

To combat this, try taking your Golden Retriever for an early morning walk before you leave the house. This will help to burn off some of your Goldie’s energy so that hopefully they will just chill out when you leave the house.

Do Golden Retrievers Chew Stuff With Separation Anxiety?

When left alone, Golden Retrievers chew stuff a lot. Due to their history of retrieving game for centuries, the Golden Retrievers of today are happiest of all when they’re carrying something in their mouth.

When they have to be left home alone and are stressed out about it, however, it is easy for them to discover objects that are a lot more dangerous to chew on.

To keep them safe, it’s worth investing in some good, sturdy chew toys that they can maul to their heart’s content when left alone. Sooner this than your new shoes or the easily-splintering firewood.

It’s also worth making sure they are properly crate-trained from a young age so that they are happy to spend time in a safe, confined space.

So, Do Golden Retrievers Have Separation Anxiety?

Yes, it’s easy for this friendly, loyal breed to become quite stressed when forced to suddenly spend long periods of time without their master.

This can easily lead to separation anxiety. But fortunately, there are easy steps you can take to make staying at home easier, safer, and more relaxing for them.

For more about Golden Retrievers see my other articles below

By Michelle McDaid