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LargeSporting Group

Golden Retriever

The Golden Retriever originated in the Scottish Highlands in the late 1800s, bred for retrieving waterfowl across cold moors.

Calculate Golden Retriever age
Lifespan13.2 yrrange 13–14
SizeLargeSporting Group
Weight55–75 lb24.9–34 kg
Senior at6 yrgeriatric at 10

Gallery (3)

About

About the Golden Retriever

The Golden Retriever originated in the Scottish Highlands in the late 1800s, bred for retrieving waterfowl across cold moors. A consistent AKC top-five breed, it now sits third in US registration rank and tenth overall in UK VetCompass records.

Aging

How Golden Retrievers age

RVC VetCompass places median lifespan at 13.2 years (n=15,758), but the defining late-life pattern is lifetime cancer risk: hemangiosarcoma and lymphoma typically emerge after age 8. Elbow dysplasia (9.2%) leads orthopedic findings.

Lifespan deep-diveAvg 13.2 yr · range 13–14Senior careSenior at 6 · geriatric at 10Common health issues12 tracked conditions
Physical

Physical characteristics

Weight
55–75 lb(24.9–34 kg)
Height
21.5–24 in(54.6–61 cm)
Coat type
Double
Colors
Dark GoldenGoldenLight Golden
Temperament

Temperament

How Golden Retrievers tend to show up around their people, other dogs, and the world.

friendlyintelligentdevotedtrainable
  • Energy
  • Trainability
  • Good with kids
  • Good with other dogs
  • Shedding
Health

Common health issues

Full health profile
  • Moderatetypical onset ~7 yr

    Cataracts

    Description and veterinary guidance for Cataracts land in Phase 4. Prevalence and onset-age figures above are drawn from https://ofa.org/diseases/disease-statistics/.

  • Moderatetypical onset ~2 yr

    Elbow Dysplasia

    Description and veterinary guidance for Elbow Dysplasia land in Phase 4. Prevalence and onset-age figures above are drawn from https://ofa.org/diseases/disease-statistics/.

  • Low prevalencetypical onset ~1 yr

    Congenital Cardiac Defect

    Description and veterinary guidance for Congenital Cardiac Defect land in Phase 4. Prevalence and onset-age figures above are drawn from https://ofa.org/diseases/disease-statistics/.

Exercise
45min
per day

Golden Retrievers are satisfied by around 45 minutes of daily activity (energy level 3/5). Short, regular outings beat one long session.

Related

Related breeds

Breeds with a similar size and group profile, for readers comparing options.

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References

Sources

Lifespan and health figures on this page are drawn from the peer-reviewed and organizational sources below.

  1. AKC breed standardAmerican Kennel Club breed page

    Breed size, weight range, height, AKC group, origin, coat type, and temperament baseline.

  2. RVC VetCompassRoyal Veterinary College VetCompass life-table research (McMillan et al. 2024)

    UK primary-care records; source for the median-lifespan and mortality figures.