Miniature Golden Retriever Dog Breed

Although they are called Miniature Golden Retrievers, these hybrids are crossbred with either Toy or Miniature Poodles or Cocker Spaniels and in some cases may be Goldens with both Poodle and Spaniel in their genes. Golden Retrievers are working dogs that are also hunting dogs — although these days they tend to be workers more than hunters. Just as the smaller size of the Golden Retriever made the breed highly sought as hunting dogs in the early 17th century, so too does the smaller size of the Miniature Golden Retriever make it very appealing today as therapy and guide dogs as they can be easier to manage in small apartments and by people who may have difficulty with large dogs.

Due to their easy trainability, hardworking demeanor and friendly personality, Miniature Golden Retrievers are great for first-time dog owners and families, people who live in small apartments and people with impairments. The person noted to have first bred the Miniature Golden Retriever, Kathy Burgess. She did so by cross-breeding a Golden with a Poodle and coined (as well as copyrighted) the term Comfort Retriever® to describe the dog that she set out to produce: a smaller, healthier version of the Golden Retriever that retained its many qualities amenable to being a working dog that could fulfill guidance, companion and search-and-rescue duties.

PROS
Intelligent
Less shedding
Relatively small
Highly trainable
Fewer health problems
Gets along with children
Works well with other animals

CONS
Prone to hip problems
Not recognized as a pure breed
If crossbred with a Cocker Spaniel, may be temperamental
Can be very expensive (up to $6,000)
First-generation (F1) puppies may not turn out to look like Golden Retrievers
High demand prompts backyard breeders (BYB) to breed and sell inferior, over-priced puppies

Golden Retrievers and the two primary parent breeds that help produce Miniature Golden Retrievers — Cocker Spaniels and Poodles — are highly intelligent and highly trainable. The latter two, Spaniels and Poodles, dispense traits that can affect personality. In particular, nipping (light biting) may be more prevalent if one of the parents is a Cocker Spaniel, and clownishness may be obvious if it is a Poodle with which the Retriever is crossbred.

Golden Retrievers are pack dogs, and depending on which other pure breed is used to produce your Miniature Golden Retriever may affect how loyal, silly, territorial and / or independent your Mini may be. Since no breeder can tell for sure how any pup may turn out — even those in a single litter will almost always turn out looking and behaving differently — it will require a good amount of early socialization, training and family responsibility to determine how loyal, quirky and / or communicative your Mini Golden Retriever puppy will be.

In any case, most Mini Goldens will have the stamina and strength of the typical Golden retriever — especially if the other parent is a Poodle. Despite popular conceptions, Poodles are not as dainty as imagined; they come from a hunting, war and woodsy background that dates back to the Romans when they accompanied warriors, were deployed into water to retrieve fowl, and followed smaller dogs to the kill. Spaniels were not much different; they too were used in retrieving and hunting game in water in cold environments, but they are a bit more demanding and certainly more territorial. Your Mini will need more than a fair amount of daily exercise to burn off that energy, especially if they are indoor dogs.

Due to the ever-developing world of cross-breeding crossbred dogs to make even more exotic designer dogs, there tends to be a lot of variations. The Miniature Golden Retriever is typically the name of the hybrid dog that results from crossing a Miniature Poodle with a Golden Retriever. The lack of a standard, however, mixed with the experimental nature of some breeders has resulted in some Mini Goldens to also have Spaniel in them. Because of this, there are also Golden Cavalier King Charles Spaniels as well as different names for the other mixes. These others may be primarily Golden Retriever but have some Spaniel, some Poodle and sometimes even other Poodle hybrids.

The untamed and constantly expanding world of cross-breeding dogs basically allows for most any name, which in turn makes it difficult to identify varieties — save through DNA testing.

Golden Retrievers and Cocker Spaniels —the Mini's parent breeds — have a fair amount of health concerns, and so too do Miniature Golden Retrievers. The primary health problems tend to be osteoarthritis (which is somewhat common), heart issues, epilepsy, bloat, thyroid concerns, joint dysplasia, and skin and allergy problems. There are many tests that the breeder should undertake to determine your puppy's health standing, so be sure they have those vet and health papers for you when adoption day arrives!