The wiki on Golden’s says they are noted for their intelligence, but IIRC many dopers over the years have described their Golden’s as not all that bright. What’s the verdict, are they smart or not?
They’re extremely inbred. Your average puppy mill Golden can be smart in the way that the characters in Deliverance are smart. From a reputable breeder, you can probably get one that isn’t a complete retard.
It should be noted that just about everyone is convinced that their favorite breed is the smartest. As a diehard proponent of mutts, I can tell you that one of my favorite ever shelter rescues of indeterminate lineage was the dumbest animal to ever walk the planet. She was frightened of her own farts.
It’s really a crapshoot.
They tend to be eager to please, which makes them easy to train.
They can be both smart and extremely goofy. Sort of like the nerdy guys with no social skills.
I can’t claim any expertise on the subject, but why are Golden Retrievers so commonly used as seeing eye dogs, if they’re not intelligent?
We have a Golden Guide Dog breeder. You don’t want a guide to be too intelligent. Most of their time is spent sitting at their blind person’s desk, waiting to lead him or her somewhere. Goldens are good because they are so non-threatening. One problem with the German Shepherds that they used to use was that people were afraid of them. Totally unfounded, since a dog with any aggressiveness would never make it through the program. Our Golden, though, does school presentations, and she is quite happy to have the kids pet her.
She seems of average intelligence to me. We had some Labs as guide dog puppies who were dumb as bricks. Our pet dog is half Border Collie, and he’s a genius. He’d have made a terrible guide, though.
More of a general comment: part of the problem is that intelligence tests for dogs usually involve them understanding and obeying commands and the like, whereas a really smart dog would be more “Why the hell should I do what you tell me? It’s not like you’re going to stop feeding me”. The smartest dog I ever knew (seriously; he could plan in several steps and generally outperformed some humans I’ve known) wouldn’t obey a human unless there was Toblerone in it for him.
IME, I would have to go along with the obeys well crowd.
Chamois, the golden we had would do anything she was trained to do on command with a big, goofy, doggy grin. She was wonderful with the kids, as goldens tend to be perpetual adolescents themselves. However, she literally didn’t have sense to come in out of the rain on her own accord.
I would say that trainability is definitely the basis for calling them intelligent.
Our late Max was very smart. He was also a mix of Golden and Brittany Spaniel. He looked golden but was a little smaller, had a red nose, and had a lot of extra energy. Still, he was about the smartest dog I have ever known.
Labs and Golden Retrievers are** blondes**, yes?
They’re smart, but they hide their brains behind those big toothy grins and the soppy brown eyes. Apart from a kelpie-heeler mix dog that I adopted, my labs have been the smartest and soppiest dogs I’ve ever owned. Interesting combination really.
I grew up with a Golden, and I loved that dog … but not very smart. He was eager to please so he seemed trainable but even with that, he would start running to fetch a thrown ball and then forget he was looking for a ball and kind of wander off, confused.
He was excellent with kids, and seemed more smart when it came to being aware of where the kids where and he was also very protective, and would put himself between us kids and a stranger, for example. Of course, he would also put himself between us and the ottoman, which he seemed to believe was a grave danger.
If Goldens were people, I would think they would be the kind of people who were not so book smart, but instead have that emotional intelligence that makes them good at reading social situations and getting along with others.
He should have checked with his vet, chocolate in general wasn’t good for him.
Mine seems very stupid, but is *very *good at picking up the vibe of a situation. He’s rough with those who he knows like dogs, but he instantly picked up when my MIL had a sore knee. He pulls on the lead with us, but always leaves it slack when my 4 year-old takes it. He figured out why my Mum and sister don’t like dogs (pointless and scary respectively) and worked on them (showing involved affection and sitting quietly near respectively) until they fell for him.
But he’ll hold the burglar’s torch for him, I’m sure.
I’m on my second Golden in a row. Both show(ed) extreme goofiness in some ways and sparks of intelligence in others. But generally speaking, I really do question the whole claim of intelligence that I’ve read about all these years.
In my limited experience Golden Retreivers are smart but goofy. Golden Labradors are dumb as a bag of hammers.
My female golden is smart but stubborn. For instance, she knows how to “come” perfectly well, but when we were in obedience class and I’d tell her to come, she’d take off sideways down past the row of other dogs and taunt them until I chased her and caught her. She just preferred “mommy chases me” to “come.”
She also knows perfectly well how to fetch, but she doesn’t always go after the ball until I start to go after it. Or she gets it but only returns half way, so I end up going after the ball myself and then it ends up in belly rubs.
Definitely smart, and a total bitch. I always say she’s pretty and she knows it.
I also agree with friedo - goldens are extremely carelessly bred anymore. The golden I have now, born in 2002, is completely different than the one I had that was born in 1980.
We currently have our 3d golden in a row, and just today sent out a deposit to bring home our 4th on x-mas eve. Will be the first time we had 2 at a time. We must be nuts!
As others have said, to answer your question, you really have to define intelligence. They are very easy to train. Of course, their breed-personality somewhat limits what you can train them to do. Chances are you will have a tougher time training a golden to be a guard dog, than a retriever or guide dog.
Moreover, as the years pass they become very attuned to your moods and habits, and fit in with your household while still exhibiting their own personality. I’m sure other breeds do this as well, just saying goldens do it very much so. They are very attentive to their owners. As an example, my 1st golden, Bowser, went deaf in his old age. I did not realize it for some time, because he was so attentive to me that he responded to small gestures and body monements that I didn’t even realize accompanied my verbal commands - even tho I walked him off leash.
Within the breed, there can be considerable difference in terms of personality/intelligence. While most reputable breeders will breed for looks, temperment, health, and intelligence, you will find some who focus primarily on looks, and end up with dumb blondes. A lot of breeders of “field” goldens - generally smaller, redder, with sleeker coats - often stress their dogs’ intelligence.
In addition to doing well in shows, goldens have a history of doing very well in field trial competitions.
We had a black lab, Dutch, who was dumb as a brick, but he was an outstanding pheasant dog.
For instance, he was highly addicted to tennis balls, and was quite willing to fetch them until he collapsed. Not only willing, but he actively participated by continuing to beg for you to throw the ball even when he was wheezing and woozy from exertion.
Anyway, he hated going into the back room at night to sleep, and would never go when told. But this same dog would chase the tennis ball in there, followed by the door shutting… Every. Single. Time. For years.
But, he would also chase pheasants that had just been clipped 1/4 mile through brush, bring them back without anything broken(and the bird still alive). He would wait patiently by your side while hunting, awaiting a command to retrieve, and would follow ranging commands perfectly. He amassed 15 or 20 birds taken on his own, by alerting us to a nested bird that was nearby, then digging them out and grabbing them.
In fact, that was his most intelligent moment, I think… When he quite proudly(and deservedly so) brought a hen up, completely unharmed, held gently but firmly in his mouth, and we would grab it, and let it go… The look he gave me on the few occasions I did this was nothing short of sheer bewilderment that I would do something so stupid.
“Dude! Check it! I got one! WOOO!!! Here ya go! Hows that for skills, eh? eh? I totally sniffed that birds… Hey! What!? What are you doing? HEY! I just caught that! Are you retarded? You let it go!”
Edit: Oops… I just saw that the thread was specifically about golden retrievers… sorry. >_<
When I worked as a pet sitter, I had several clients with Goldens. One of them did exactly what delphica says - I’d throw the ball for him, and he’d not even get halfway to it before he’d see or smell something else that interested him and wander off. He was a beautiful dog with an exceedingly pleasant personality, but a retriever who can’t even retrieve? Yeah - he didn’t come off as very bright.
The others I took care of were also very nice dogs and seemed to be reasonably intelligent. If you were looking for a dog that’s just nice to be around, they’d have to be at the top of the list.
Smart dogs aren’t always the most trainable if no other reason than that their minds are active; they can’t stand sitting around doing nothing. They get bored easily, which can lead to mischief. A seeing eye dog has to be able to be content just watching the world pass by for long periods of time.
But in general, I agree that it’s mainly a crap shoot. I’ve seen smart labs, I’ve seen dumb labs, and so on.
One last point, we’re comparing them to human intelligence, which probably isn’t very smart. Whatever canine intelligence means, it’s different from that of primates.