Tommy has been bad at leash pulling, but he was not worked with when he was a puppy before I got him. He learns so quickly and tries so hard though to do what I want. I think if I had had him from a baby, he'd be a lot better with the leash. I once knew a golden that looked a LOT like Tommy, named Cody. He was beautifully trained to walk at a heal without the owner even holding his leash at all. There is a leash law in town of course though, so he did wear a leash, but he held the leash himself! She'd take him for walks, and he'd trot along happily at her side holding his own leash. It was the cutest thing!

Doggie odor I don't notice being any worse/better than my rough collies. I didn't think either the collies or Tommy has a particularly strong odor. When I gave the dogs a bath, I actually noticed more smell with Tasha, but then she tends to be bad about rolling in stuff, more than Tommy. Also her coat has more tendency to be oily than Tommy's.

I think they tend to be fairly easily distractable, but it's also easy to grab their attention back, and train them to be focused on you too. The fact goldens are used widely as service and guide dogs should probably attest to that. I think distractibility can go both ways as a pro or con. If Tommy takes off after a rabbit, it's easy for me to say "Tommy!!" and grab his attention back. It can work in reverse too though . It probably really has a lot to do with how much time is spent training and teaching, which I don't spend enough I readily admit. When I do though, I'm always impressed with his quick learning and happiness while doing so

Sometimes it can be funny watching Tommy's distractibility at work. Jogging happily with a ball or toy and suddenly seeing another, then watching him stop and try to decide which toy he wants, sometimes trying to grab both. He has this kind of rubber, three-lobed toy that's easy to carry and tug, and he figured out how to push it down onto one of his balls so that the ball gets trapped inside and he can carry both toys that way... LOL. This is a picture of him holding it (without the ball in the middle).



If you like a cuddler I can almost guarantee a golden will make you more than happy in that area .

Hmm, trying to think of anything else that might be of interest. Maybe Julie will think of something I haven't thought of. If I do think of something else or if you think of more questions, I'd be more than happy to share what I know or have experienced