Special Needs of a Black Golden Retriever
Imagine you're a breeder, and you're about to watch your female dog give birth to her first litter of puppies.
One by one, small, wiggling golden bundles of fur come into view...
but what's this? Suddenly, one of the puppies is not gold at all, but a deep shade of black.
You start to panic, and wonder if something went wrong during the studding process - you have a black golden retriever.
Before you go off into a panic and start blaming the stud owner, hold your horses.
Black colored retrievers do happen, even if they are extremely rare.
This is simply the expression of the flat-coat, black gene of one of the golden retriever's ancestor dogs.
Black retrievers were originally bred as hunting dogs in the UK, and are still used today for hunting sports and activities.
Because they are built to swim after waterfowl and run after game, they have a lighter and sleeker build than other retrievers, such as their cousin, the European white retriever.
Since this breed is built for speed and outdoor conditions, it's no wonder that the black golden retriever has a shorter attention span and less patience for learning than other types of golden retrievers.
The black retriever is still very intelligent and does love to please its master; however, they are hot-wired to get bored with repetitive techniques easily.
Also, this breed has a bit of a stubborn streak, so if you resort to negative reinforcement such as hitting, shouting, etc.
, it just might backfire on you and make the dog even more uncontrollable.
This is the reason why training black retrievers is often more challenging, because you would be forced to find another method of training that is still fun and understandable for the dog in order to keep it interested.
This stubborn streak is also the reason why socialization and obedience training needs to begin earlier for the black retriever compared to other retriever types.
As early as the puppy stage, black retrievers can and do get into trouble because of their curiosity and strong personalities.
Even at this young age, you should keep an eye on these doggies, and make sure to start the reinforcement, i.
e.
, praise for things done right such as potty training and scolding for things done wrong such as chewing on your new slippers.
Black golden retrievers also seem to be more prone to some genetic diseases compared to other retriever types.
Apart from having a genetic disposition to the usual golden retriever diseases such as hip and elbow dysplasia, this breed seems to be more prone to getting other serious diseases such as cancer.
It has been noticed that this breed is particularly susceptible to cancers, such as osteosarcoma, fibrosarcoma and hermangiosarcoma, and that this susceptibility increases as the dog ages.
Make sure to have your black golden retriever regularly tested, as they grow older.
However, don't let these things about the black golden retriever get you down! For all their special needs, they are still a great breed of dog capable of giving you unconditional love, affection and years of companionship!
One by one, small, wiggling golden bundles of fur come into view...
but what's this? Suddenly, one of the puppies is not gold at all, but a deep shade of black.
You start to panic, and wonder if something went wrong during the studding process - you have a black golden retriever.
Before you go off into a panic and start blaming the stud owner, hold your horses.
Black colored retrievers do happen, even if they are extremely rare.
This is simply the expression of the flat-coat, black gene of one of the golden retriever's ancestor dogs.
Black retrievers were originally bred as hunting dogs in the UK, and are still used today for hunting sports and activities.
Because they are built to swim after waterfowl and run after game, they have a lighter and sleeker build than other retrievers, such as their cousin, the European white retriever.
Since this breed is built for speed and outdoor conditions, it's no wonder that the black golden retriever has a shorter attention span and less patience for learning than other types of golden retrievers.
The black retriever is still very intelligent and does love to please its master; however, they are hot-wired to get bored with repetitive techniques easily.
Also, this breed has a bit of a stubborn streak, so if you resort to negative reinforcement such as hitting, shouting, etc.
, it just might backfire on you and make the dog even more uncontrollable.
This is the reason why training black retrievers is often more challenging, because you would be forced to find another method of training that is still fun and understandable for the dog in order to keep it interested.
This stubborn streak is also the reason why socialization and obedience training needs to begin earlier for the black retriever compared to other retriever types.
As early as the puppy stage, black retrievers can and do get into trouble because of their curiosity and strong personalities.
Even at this young age, you should keep an eye on these doggies, and make sure to start the reinforcement, i.
e.
, praise for things done right such as potty training and scolding for things done wrong such as chewing on your new slippers.
Black golden retrievers also seem to be more prone to some genetic diseases compared to other retriever types.
Apart from having a genetic disposition to the usual golden retriever diseases such as hip and elbow dysplasia, this breed seems to be more prone to getting other serious diseases such as cancer.
It has been noticed that this breed is particularly susceptible to cancers, such as osteosarcoma, fibrosarcoma and hermangiosarcoma, and that this susceptibility increases as the dog ages.
Make sure to have your black golden retriever regularly tested, as they grow older.
However, don't let these things about the black golden retriever get you down! For all their special needs, they are still a great breed of dog capable of giving you unconditional love, affection and years of companionship!
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