Do Golden Retrievers Protect Their Owners? 5 Facts You Can’t Ignore!
Do Golden Retrievers protect their owners or is this just a myth? In this article, we will explore the protective instincts of this beloved breed and discover if the truth lies in the rumors.
A Golden Retriever is a social dog. It gets along with anyone, even strangers. But, despite their loving nature, Golden Retrievers can get feisty.
Table of Contents
Will Golden Retrievers protect their owner?
Yes, Golden Retrievers protect their owners when they sense danger. A Golden Retriever isn’t naturally violent. It ordinarily won’t fight a stranger unless it is trained to do so.
But just like every other dog, they can sense danger. So when they feel threatened or feel like their owner is being threatened, they try to protect them.
You can train your Golden Retriever to protect you. With the proper training, your Golden Retriever will know what to do when it senses danger.
Can Golden Retrievers protect you?
It is more likely that a Golden Retriever would run towards a stranger to welcome it than to attack it.
Although Golden Retrievers are not used as guard dogs, they have the instinct to protect the people they love.
A Golden Retriever will defend you, but not as well as a German Shepherd will. The dog will only be as good as a German Shepherd in protecting you if appropriately trained. But you should always have it in mind that Golden Retrievers are not violent animals.
Are Golden Retrievers protective? 11 Signs
Golden Retrievers have some features that make them suitable for protecting people. They can use these features or actions to protect their owner.
Golden Retrievers can protect their owners through their size, loud bark, intelligence, loyalty, selflessness, athletic/active nature, obedience, overprotectiveness, aggressiveness, affectionate attribute, and strong prey drive.
1. Size
Golden Retrievers aren’t big dogs, neither are they small. They are medium-sized dogs. The size of a dog stands as a threat to enemies. People will rarely attack homes or individuals with big or medium-sized dogs.
There is this natural fear of big or medium-sized dogs. This feature makes Golden Retrievers seem dangerous and thus protects the owner.
2. Loud Bark
Golden Retrievers are known for their loud barks. This dog isn’t an aggressive animal, but it will bark whenever it senses danger.
A burglar would be too frightened by the bark of a Golden Retriever to continue on their mission. One can say a Golden Retriever makes empty threats. Its loud and deadly barks contradict its friendly nature.
3. Intelligence
Golden Retrievers are smart and intelligent. They are straightforward to train. Due to this fact, it’s easy to teach a Golden Retriever to be a guard dog.
It’s easier to teach a Golden Retriever to be a guard dog when it is younger than when it is old. That way, the dog grows up knowing what to do when certain things happen. And at a young age, their training sticks.
In addition, Golden Retrievers are intelligent enough to “get help.” When a Golden Retriever senses danger and feels it can’t handle the situation, it will call for help.
4. Loyalty
Golden Retrievers are very loyal and committed to their owners. They admire someone with authority and will stay faithful to that person. Also, because of their love for you, they will never want to hurt you and will do whatever seems to make you happy.
5. Selflessness
A Golden Retriever will put itself in harm’s way if it makes you safe. Golden Retrievers are intense lovers, and they will do whatever it takes to protect the person they love.
6. Athletic/Active nature
Golden Retrievers are very active animals and are always ready for exercise. This makes them fit enough to chase after possible threats or fight off danger if possible.
This dog is used to running, so it wouldn’t mind chasing a harmful person for a long distance to keep its owner safe.
7. Obedience
Golden Retrievers are very obedient dogs. They always do what they’re told so as not to offend their owner. If your dog loves you, it will do whatever you wish so that you can smile and cheer it.
This obedient trait makes Golden Retrievers easy to train and command, thus enabling an easy transformation into a guard dogs.
8. Overprotectiveness
Golden Retrievers are overprotective of their owners. They don’t want to see their owner hurt in any way and always follow them around to “protect” them.
Being overprotective, a Golden Retriever will fight off possible threats to its owner. This way, it can actually defend its owner.
9. Aggressiveness
Although Golden Retrievers aren’t naturally aggressive, they still flare up when they love being threatened or hurt. They are big in size and have a good bite force. With these, they can challenge threats and danger that is within their control.
10. Affectionate attribute
Golden Retrievers are very tender, loving, and cheerful. They love easily. This attribute gives them the drive to protect people. A dog will only protect someone it loves. It will be hard to protect someone it has no affection for.
But, with how loving Golden Retrievers are, they will definitely have the desire to protect their owner, who they surely love.
11. Strong prey drive
Golden Retrievers were originally bred for hunting. This trait has been passed down from generation to generation. As a result, Golden Retrievers have a strong desire to chase smaller animals.
This feature may not be helpful when you desire protection from humans, but it comes in handy when you need protection from snakes and other small dangerous animals.
