The Golden Retriever is a breed of dog. They were historically developed as gundogs to retrieve shot waterfowl such as ducks and upland game birds during hunting and shooting parties.[1] As such they were bred to have a soft mouth to retrieve game undamaged and have an instinctive love of water. The golden retriever has a dense inner coat that provides them with adequate warmth. The outer coat is sleek and water repellent, and lays flat against the body. The official colour of the breed is the varying shades of gold that are most often seen.[2]

The breed's intelligence and versatility suit the dogs well for a variety of roles including guide dog for the blind, hearing dog for deaf people, hunting dog, illegal drug detector, and search and rescue participant. Because of their loyal and gentle temperament, golden retrievers are also popular family pets.[3]

Golden Retrievers possess a friendly, eager-to-please demeanour, and are the fourth most popular family dog breeds (by registration) in the United States,[4] the fifth most popular in Australia,[5] and the eighth most popular in the United Kingdom.[6]