anyone on here have a golden retriever. we are gonna be getting one after we move again and while i know they are expensive since they are pure breeds I was just curious as to how much to maintain one would cost. you know like vet bills, flea treatments, food, etc.... just wanting a heads up as to what we will be getting ourselves into. we have been doing lots of research on them too.

Golden retrievers will cost more (because they're big, not because of pedigree). The only variance in vet costs, etc, is because of weight. I'm not sure what kind of health issues GR's may have.

oh i have no doubt its gonna be expensive since when they are full grown they will eat more than a smaller dog. but we want one because of their great temperments and how good they are with kids.

oh i have no doubt its gonna be expensive since when they are full grown they will eat more than a smaller dog. but we want one because of their great temperments and how good they are with kids.

Oh, I understand that. Um, I think shots will be the same, but stuff like flea preventative, surgeries, and such will be more expensive because they vary by weight.

I have a Golden, it all depends on the vet. I know that you get the shots for your dog on base and they are fairly cheap. We then have that PETA van that comes to NN and they do spay and neutring for a a really good price. Plus they do other things like clip the nails,flee baths and stuff like that.

YEah our lab is I think mixed with golden... He has the same coat as them and he sheds a good amount so you definetly need to make sure you get em used to brushing them every week...I need to start getting in the habit of doing it more with him..lol. We get his nails done at the vets and it costs us about 8-12 dollars depending on if we go to petsmart or not. We only do that becuase he wont let us mess with his feet he gets really upset and pulls away and whines. We do pay a bit more for his advantix but he weighs 110lbs. I dont think getting him neutered was insanely priced..I think the most important thing is to find a good vet that has good prices..we were lucky to find one right across the street from our apt. complex and we love his dr. :) oh and his food..when it was just him we would buy the huge bags of dog food and it would last him a bit over 2 weeks..but we only feed him once a day in the morning.

My parents had one and Kara and I had one. They are awesome dogs, very sweet.. smart but ditzy!

Any pure bred can be expensive big or small when it comes to medical issues, they seem to have more than their fair share. Just make sure that you get one from a really good breeder and that the parents are tested for health issues as well.

Good luck!

Any pure bred can be expensive big or small when it comes to medical issues, they seem to have more than their fair share. Just make sure that you get one from a really good breeder and that the parents are tested for health issues as well.

Good luck!

oh yeah my hubby has definitely been researching Breeders and another friend of ours who is on TWH and was on here has a Golden and she recommended a very good breeder too.

Our golden is only about 5 months old. We spend maybe 40 dollars and the big bag of puppy food, and we mabye have to buy a new bag every other month. Shots arnt any different, but the flea and heart worm stuff is, because that goes by weight. Umm, other than that weve just spent alot of money on toys and stuffed animals to keep him from chewin on our stuff. We arnt nuedering ours though bc we think fixing dogs makes them fat and lazy, and he also has a champion blood line with no genetic disorders, so we are gonna stud him...but yeah i havent really found him too be very expensive

see if you can get a hip garuntee.. they get hip hisplasia(sp?) maybe a health garuntee entirely but definetly ask to see about the parents and grandparents hips.

oh well this one breeder up in PA that Reen recommended makes sure that they dont have hip dysplasia and she makes sure that they are completely healthy before selling them.

Our Goldens most expensive thing in his first year was probably the toys. He would chew anything so we were buying new toys almost every week. When he was under a year old he destroyed one of the big huge rope toys the biggest one they had in the store.

Other than that for flea medication we pay like $55 for a 4 month supply right now and his heartworm is about the same but for 6 months. One thing to look out for is not only their hips but Goldens can also sometimes have issues with their eyes as they get older. We got him neutured through one of those pet assistance programs so we got $50 back for his surgery. We had his surgery done right when he was 4 months old. He weighed less so it cost less. We only paid $46 for the actual surgery everything else is pretty much optional-pre surgery bloodwork, subcutaneous sutures.

Shots it depends on where you go for shots. We just had our Goldens go for his 1 year booster shots and we paid $110 for the fecal test, heartworm test, and all his shots for the next year.

We also had to spend about $16 every other month on ear cleaner because Goldens can sometimes develop allergies. The dog we fostered had severe allergies so she had constant issues with her ears-yeast in the ear plus debris. It took almost 4 months of medication, ointment, flushing of the ear and cleaning of the ear 3 times a week for it to finally go away. This can be expensive depending on how severe the issue is. In the 4 months that we had our foster it was probably around $800 just to take care of her ear.

I can't really tell you about costs, but I can tell you about having one around.

My parents/family had a golden for about 15 years before she passed away. She was an amazing dog - GREAT with all the kids, very friendly with kids, other dogs, and was even friendly and protective to our cats! She would cuddle up next to the kittens and keep them warm. She was trained, but less trainable than some dogs, but still a great companion to have around. I would highly recommend goldens just on personality.

We have a golden. I got him from a breeder here in jax. As far as costs go he costs the same as any other dog. It depends on the type of food you feed him we feed ours science diet so it's not cheap, shots and vet stuff are more b/c they go by weight. I just take Copper to Petco on their Sunday clinics for his shots so I get them half off. They will be big dogs. Around 80 pds Females will be smaller. The shed like crazy so you have to groom them often so they don't matt behind the ears and stuff. Their puppy stage is until the age of 2 so you'll have like I do a 60 pds puppy running crazy around the house. They have tons and tons of energy so they need a yard to run. Their breed needs acitivity or else they get into trouble. They are great with kids and other animals. Copper takes a beating from Ella but has never raised a lip at her just kisses. If she bugs him he just walks away. Def make sure you get a health garentee. I didn't know about that when I got copper. His hips pop when he walks. I've had him checked as of now he has no problems but he could get them in the future. Overall they are great dogs. Even though mine is pure bred he's alittle dingy. I did alot of research on the internet to find alot of information. Good Luck Cat.

oh well this one breeder up in PA that Reen recommended makes sure that they dont have hip dysplasia and she makes sure that they are completely healthy before selling them.


Displaysia is a roll of the dice, every breeder should make sure they arent breeding dog with it, but there is NO way to guarantee a puppy doesnt have it, their bones are not developed enough at 8 weeks to tell. 2 OFA excellents can throw displaysia, a large part of joint health is up the owner, also. But a good breeder should offer a replacement guarantee.


I train dozens of goldens a year, if you are inexperienced, I would recomend show lines over field lines. Field lines are typicaly fiestier and pushier.