# Labs vs. Goldens and why?



## puddles everywhere (May 13, 2016)

They are both wonderful breeds. They both shed like crazy. They are both crazy smart with soft mouths. They are both great companions. They both excel as working dogs.
Labs tend to be a little larger, sometimes heavier build. My lab pup was not a land shark.
I like the golden because it's tail swishes vs a lab that will clear a coffee table


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## Spencer10 (Aug 2, 2017)

I agree with Puddles Everywhere - I've had both and find them both to be wonderful and have similar temperaments/personalities. If you would like to keep your wine in your wine glass - go with the golden. If you don't want to look like you went on a date with Edward Scissor Hands- go with the lab.


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## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

There really isn't much difference. Just pick the one you like the looks of better. Before we got Jake it was between a lab and a golden. My sister is fostering labs. She is on her fifth. They have all been great. She has had no issues with any of her fosters. She also has a 13 yo lab.


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## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

I like them both but back around 1980 I was a newlywed and planning on having children. I read a book, CHOOSING THE RIGHT BREED (I think) and I felt that the Golden came up just a little ahead on being good with children.


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## ArchersMom (May 22, 2013)

I've never owned a lab, but I hang around a lot of them because everyone I train with has labs and most of the dogs our field trainer sees are labs. The labs seems to be more motivated by what's in it for them. Some of them can be very stubborn about getting what they want. Most of the goldens I know are more "people pleasers." If they understand what you ask of them, they'll do it. I know I'm biased because I love Goldens so much. The labs are mostly field bred too, I'm sure that makes a difference.


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## kelseypr95 (Jul 5, 2016)

My in laws are constantly telling me that goldens are a "womans dog" and labs are a "man's dog" and you can do stuff with them but not goldens lol! I obviously know this is not true but wanted to know other people's reasoning for choosing a golden. They are constantly trash talking goldens i think because they want us to get a lab like them but we will be golden owners for life. 

Their lab is actually at board and train right now for aggression issues and I know that not all labs are that way but it does make me wonder why they think they are better family dogs when they can't trust theirs to be pet by anyone lol!


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## alphadude (Jan 15, 2010)

I've always sensed a subtle bias toward Labs being noticeably more athletic than goldens. That may or may not be true in general, but I can positively say that Ax routinely out ran, out jumped, and out swam without exception, every single lab he competed against....and there were MANY.


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## rabernet (Feb 24, 2015)

In my 11 years as a volunteer with Canine Assistants, which trains service dogs, the labs took on average, six months to a year longer to be ready to be partnered than goldens, because they are so high energy. In fact, some were so high energy - they "failed" out of the program and were donated to our local Police Departments to become drug detection dogs instead. 

The labs were awesome dogs - quick to learn their commands, and the goldens were more like "yeah - I hear you - I'll get to it in a bit". But that energy in some of those labs - wowzers! 

Nothing bad at all about it - as long as you are prepared for it.


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## TheZ's (Jun 13, 2011)

The one area where I think labs may excel over Goldens (and other breeds) is their nose. I've had labs that I've never met run across a field (50 yds?) straight to the pocket where I have treats. I think Goldens are a bit friendlier than labs and to my mind a good looking Golden is beautiful.


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

I have only owned Goldens, but my sisters had a Lab and a Lab mix. I think they are all super friendly, can both be great working dogs, great obedience dogs, and great conformation dogs, depending on their pedigrees and training. For me, I HATE Lab fur. I hate how it needles its way into everything and lies flat all over the floor. Golden fur is light and fluffy and tumbleweeds itself off into corners or under tables. :smile2:


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## FosterGolden (Mar 10, 2014)

My personal perspective...and I've been thinking about this a lot as I decide between the two for my next puppy. 

I have Labs (I'm on my sixth). I also did rescue for many years, where we took in all retrievers including Goldens. I have fostered about 100+ retrievers throughout the years, usually for at least six weeks each. There was a great Golden rescue close by, but we often took in Goldens since our geography was larger and sometimes we had more capacity. I currently foster for the local Golden rescue.

In my experience, I have found that Labs, in general, have more stable temperaments. We had more resource guarding and fear biting with the Goldens, for example, dogs that nipped with collar grabbing, and most of our Goldens were at at least a one on a scale of one to ten on the anxiety level (separation anxiety, for example). On a percentage level, we had more Goldens with temperament issues than Labs. Goldens also have a higher rate of cancer than Labs. They both shed, but Labs are a wash and wear dog. 

But, then you have dogs that are field bred, moderately bred, conformation bred, pet bred (aka BYB). I've seen Goldens bred for agility that basically act like Border Collies -- snippy, barky, snarky with other dogs. And then you have Goldens who are amazing with other dogs and people, too. Labs, on the other hand, typically have similar temperaments when it comes to people and dogs regardless of type, even though there are some HUGE differences otherwise. There are certainly exceptions to every rule, of course. 

Working bred Lab puppies are for sure land sharks! People talk about sitting on the floor in ripped clothes, bleeding from puppy wounds, crying because their puppy shreds them every chance they get. A conformation bred or moderately bred Lab puppy can be mouthy also, but not quite as bad. You see the same questions regarding puppy biting on the Lab board as you see here. Fewer issues with puppies resource guarding, however, which is one thing that sort of shocked me coming to this board. If a Lab puppy resource guarded, it would be a BIG DEAL and one would assume it had a screw loose. 

I think they _are_ different in personality. The Golden was developed with water spaniel breeding while the Labs were not. If you've been around working spaniels, you can kinda see it in field Goldens, especially. I feel like Goldens are a littler bouncier like their spaniel cousins and the Labs are a bit more serious about their work. Labs certainly can be goofy, but when it comes to work, they often tend to turn that down a notch, which is perhaps why you see more Labs in SAR, bomb work, guide dogs, etc. Goldens are doing awesome in obedience and I see more animation from them than the Labs overall, though the Labs seem to be, again, more serious about the task at hand. There is probably not a lot of research to support it, but I feel like, generally speaking, Goldens are better heelers and Labs are better at the away exercises, which supports Goldens being a bit more handler/people focused (and great as comfort/therapy type dogs) and Labs being focused on the task (and great workers like SAR, bomb sniffing, etc.). Whenever I go to a hunt test, when a Golden runs with style, I'm to the point where I am surprised as in my area I don't see a lot of great Golden performances in my area. I saw a Golden last month at higher levels who blew my mind; wonderful dog and beautiful, too! 

IMHO, Goldens are much nicer to look at and Labs are sort-of plain or generic. Goldens are flashier and bouncier, and much more noticeable. They all look sweet, happy and expressive as well. Who doesn't love looking at a Golden?

Again, just my perspective, especially now that I have been in comparison mode for about a year and completely overthinking everything!


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## FosterGolden (Mar 10, 2014)

Sweet Girl said:


> I have only owned Goldens, but my sisters had a Lab and a Lab mix. I think they are all super friendly, can both be great working dogs, great obedience dogs, and great conformation dogs, depending on their pedigrees and training. For me, I HATE Lab fur. I hate how it needles its way into everything and lies flat all over the floor. Golden fur is light and fluffy and tumbleweeds itself off into corners or under tables. :smile2:


A conformation Lab's coat is much more like Golden fur as you describe here. My Labs even have slight "pants" that get tangled and need brushing during shedding season. Field Lab fur, though, is that shorter stuff that does get into everything. Not quite like a Dalmation, but close!


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

They are completely different breeds.

Golden retrievers are NOT the long haired variation of labs. 

Genetically, they are not even related. Golden retrievers are closer in relation to flat coated retrievers and curly coated retrievers.

^^^ Just getting the above out of the way, because the typical average idiot out there thinks they are basically the same thing. 

Both breeds share a few things in common.

They are water dogs.

They are companion bred dogs - and bred to be friendly, confident, outgoing, and needy (meaning they are not dogs who would fare well being kept alone all the time with little to no interaction with their owners or other dogs). 

They have similar health concerns and require the same health clearances. Labs have a few more health issues which require checks and clearances. 

The ways the dogs are not alike?

Goldens are softer in temperament and more focused on their owners. 

Labs are a bit harder in temperament and have independent streaks. 

The above two are reasons why golden retrievers are among the top breeds in obedience competition and labs are not as successful or prevalent in most areas around the country. They ARE great obedience dogs particularly because of athleticism and drive, but they are not as easy to train as golden retrievers. 

Also.

The above two reasons apply in many pet homes. Golden retrievers are not as likely to be full out runners as labs are. So much good breeders out there will not even consider any homes without fences... and this is a pretty big deal that I agree with. 

The exercise needs for labs are higher than with goldens. Similar to many nice sporting breeds out there. 

**** To answer your question in simpler terms though.

My grandma had drilled it into my mom's head that a dog needs to have a lot of fur to cover his junk.  I have to admit that going back a few years that was a huge reason why I did not purchase a pointer puppy. I love pointers (the regular or "english" ones).


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## Kalhayd (May 4, 2016)

The biggest differences I've noticed between my sisters lab and my Golden's are: 

1.wildness. My sisters lab took forever to calm down and lose the puppy phase. He's actually still petty hyper at almost 5!

2. Running. He will run like the wind if given the opportunity. Our girls never did this.

This could be more male vs female than breed. He's a fun, gentle, goofy, and super smart guy!


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

FosterGolden said:


> A conformation Lab's coat is much more like Golden fur as you describe here. My Labs even have slight "pants" that get tangled and need brushing during shedding season. Field Lab fur, though, is that shorter stuff that does get into everything. Not quite like a Dalmation, but close!


I didn't know that! Thanks for the info. My sisters' dogs definitely had that shorter, stiffer, oilier (??) stuff that got into everything. Grah. 

Here's a question: when I describe Goldens to people who aren't so familiar with them, other than their being a beautiful, friendly dog - and so they are surprised by my dog's athleticism - I always refer back to the description that a Golden Retriever was developed as "a gentleman's hunting dog." Meaning, they were developed to be a great hunting companion but to also be a fine dog to have living in the castle with the earl and his family. 

Were Labs similarly developed? Or was the primary goal a good gun dog, with no goals around their family companionship?


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## GoldenDude (Nov 5, 2016)

I have a Lab and four Goldens. 

I find that Goldens tend to be more family oriented, meaning they'll love every member of the family equally. Give them food and/or attention and they're yours for life. The Labs have been more people oriented, meaning they tended to favor one person in our family. They liked all of us but they definitely had a favorite family member. Since I have twin boys who are quiet competitive (as twins can be), I preferred the Goldens because of their tendency not to favor one family member.


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## FosterGolden (Mar 10, 2014)

Sweet Girl said:


> Here's a question: when I describe Goldens to people who aren't so familiar with them, other than their being a beautiful, friendly dog - and so they are surprised by my dog's athleticism - I always refer back to the description that a Golden Retriever was developed as "a gentleman's hunting dog." Meaning, they were developed to be a great hunting companion but to also be a fine dog to have living in the castle with the earl and his family.
> 
> Were Labs similarly developed? Or was the primary goal a good gun dog, with no goals around their family companionship?


Labs are supposed to be gentleman's hunters. The field Lab was developed for competition. In Europe, they do not exist nor does the field trial sport. This is an American bred dog. Field Labs, especially when bred for field trials, are bred to be tough, resilient, driven, even if that requires breeding certain standard traits out of these dogs (soft mouth, natural retrieve, biddability, conformation, coat, etc.). The goal is to win and field trials which are not a natural hunting "game". It's sort of like the overbred conformation Lab, it doesn't technically meet standards, but it wins in the ring, so they breed them to do just that despite the issues it may cause. 

A Lab should be bred with a natural retrieve (different than drive - a Lab should naturally _want_ to bring you the bird), moderate drive, ability to be very quiet and in the blind for hours and when the when sent drive out to the bird regardless of what is in the way, soft quiet mouth, calm, handler focused, biddable, not soft but not stubborn, confident in the environment with sounds, and I am sure there is more that I am forgetting. 

I train with field bred Labs and my dog is moderate. Those people are not used to moderately bred dogs who can do the work yet still maintain their sanity and composure. Many don't take their field bred Labs hunting because they can't sit still, they scream, deliver birds not fit for the table, etc. Conformation bred dogs can be really clueless, if only bred for looks and decent temperament, but a well bred conformation dog makes an excellent hunting companion. My dog fits into that category and I've been asked by field Lab hunters if they can borrow my dog for real life stuff (the answer is no way, of course). 

I would not actually call a field bred Lab a Lab. I refer to them as field retrievers because they can be so different from an actual Labrador Retriever. I'm not saying they are bad. They serve a purpose. But, if you know Labs, they do not resemble or represent the standard in many ways.


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## FosterGolden (Mar 10, 2014)

GoldenDude said:


> I have a Lab and four Goldens.
> 
> I find that Goldens tend to be more family oriented, meaning they'll love every member of the family equally. Give them food and/or attention and they're yours for life. The Labs have been more people oriented, meaning they tended to favor one person in our family. They liked all of us but they definitely had a favorite family member. Since I have twin boys who are quiet competitive (as twins can be), I preferred the Goldens because of their tendency not to favor one family member.


I agree with this. They are handler-focused for sure. They like people in general, but they are, at the end of the day, loyal dogs.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

GoldenDude said:


> I have a Lab and four Goldens.
> 
> I find that Goldens tend to be more family oriented, meaning they'll love every member of the family equally. Give them food and/or attention and they're yours for life. The Labs have been more people oriented, meaning they tended to favor one person in our family. They liked all of us but they definitely had a favorite family member. Since I have twin boys who are quiet competitive (as twins can be), I preferred the Goldens because of their tendency not to favor one family member.


I don't think this is true. And you can tell from some of the past posts on this forum with people getting upset because they do all the work and the dogs favor somebody else. 

A lot of companion bred dogs (goldens, labs, etc) DO have that reputation for being both family dogs (where they love everyone in their family or dog pack) and also they bond with their very special person. Retrievers, spaniels, etc - there are a lot of breeds that develop very strong relationships with their people.


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## Wolfeye (Sep 15, 2015)

I have both, right now, in one dog. Bagheera is 1/2 Labrador and 1/2 Golden Retriever. My two dogs prior to him were Fenris, a Golden, and Raja, a Lab. Back one more dog and we have Lupo who was supposedly 1/2 Lab 1/2 Golden too.

As might be expected, Bagheera is somewhat in-between on most things. He likes everyone in the family and I'm not "blessed" with a constant shadow. He does key on me, because I'm the dog taxi to fun things, and his daily morning walker, but he loves playing with my son too. Fenris was all about me and cared far less about the rest of the family. Bagheera is not as easily distracted as Fenris was. Both dogs loved swimming and fetching, but Bagheera is more of a player in that - he doesn't like to actually give up the retrieved object. Bagheera almost never whines, about anything. He seems more stoic than Fenris. A bit more reserved. But he can be WILDER than a chickenhawk. When he gets zoomies it's a sight to behold. He's so smart it's hard to keep him entertained - unless you're throwing sticks in water. I have yet to see him get tired of that.

Am I happy with him? Exceedingly so, yet, there's still a part of me that longs for the one man dog again. Fenris took part of me with him when he died, and I didn't want to "replace" him with another full Golden. Bagheera has benefited from my experience with the past dogs in my life and I am bringing him up kinder and gentler and he's flourished under such upbringing. I love him to pieces. I fear his greatness, and love it - as much as I love him now it can only mean the end will be all the harder. And I thought losing Fenris was bad enough.

Zoomies with my son:


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## GoldenCamper (Dec 21, 2009)

Sweet Girl said:


> I have only owned Goldens, but my sisters had a Lab and a Lab mix. I think they are all super friendly, can both be great working dogs, great obedience dogs, and great conformation dogs, depending on their pedigrees and training. For me, I HATE Lab fur. I hate how it needles its way into everything and lies flat all over the floor. Golden fur is light and fluffy and tumbleweeds itself off into corners or under tables. :smile2:


God bless the easy to clean Golden fluff. Lab's short hair gets stuck in everything. I once got a expensive rug from a Lab owner and the hair is still in it from 10 years ago, it is great for my workshop 

Hundreds of vacuum cycles and yep, they are still there, tiny little needles.


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## hahuston (Jul 5, 2017)

I love Labs and Goldens. I've never owned a purebred of either. I loved my lab mixes, and their wash and go fur, but not they way that same fur finds its way into everything. My Lab Akita mix has been gone for over 9 years. I am still finding his fur behind appliances, up high under the sinks, all kinds of weird places I wouldn't dream of finding dog hair. I just helped my friend move and found none of her golden's hair anywhere except on the furniture we moved and on the carpet. 

I went with a Golden this time because we wanted a pure bred Lab or Golden to ad to our famity of six with kids ages 2 to 12. After playing with a friend's Lab puppy, I was reminded that I react to pure bred Lab dander like I do to cat dander-itchy face, itchy and swollen eyes, sneezing. Ugh! No thanks. I can tolerate a Lab mix, but pure bred was too much. FYI, our vet says Lab dander is very similar to cat dander and thats why I react.

I apologize for any typos or grammatical errors. I can't figure out how to edit my posts.?


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## Goldens&Friesians (May 31, 2014)

Well, to me there is enough difference in Labs and Goldens that I love Goldens and don't like Labs. I honestly wonder how they always make the number one spot for most popular breed every year. (Of course, I am majorly prejudiced toward goldens!  ) I work as a professional groomer and I use caution whenever grooming a new lab because so many of them are biters-and it can be random-like they are happy one minute then they suddenly are trying to kill you. Basically, they rank up there with pit bulls for being cautious when handling them. (Maybe all the ones I groom are horribly bred though??) I have had my share of biter Goldens, too, but it is far more likely in labs. From a training standpoint, I tried to help a young girl with her lab puppy to train it to sit-never have I worked with a more stubborn dog! Their energy level-holy cow-and just when you thought hyper couldn't get any worse try adding obesity to that (since most pet labs are at least overweight if not obese)-talk about your arm being yanked out of its socket (and I'm not tiny, I'm 6 ft. tall and not overweight, but not skinny either-I work with horses too, so I'm not weak). Then there is the hair, you think a golden sheds bad, labs are worse and its sticky. Just way to much energy and stubbornness for my taste.


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## FosterGolden (Mar 10, 2014)

Goldens&Friesians said:


> Well, to me there is enough difference in Labs and Goldens that I love Goldens and don't like Labs. I honestly wonder how they always make the number one spot for most popular breed every year. (Of course, I am majorly prejudiced toward goldens!  ) I work as a professional groomer and I use caution whenever grooming a new lab because so many of them are biters-and it can be random-like they are happy one minute then they suddenly are trying to kill you. Basically, they rank up there with pit bulls for being cautious when handling them. (Maybe all the ones I groom are horribly bred though??) I have had my share of biter Goldens, too, but it is far more likely in labs. From a training standpoint, I tried to help a young girl with her lab puppy to train it to sit-never have I worked with a more stubborn dog! Their energy level-holy cow-and just when you thought hyper couldn't get any worse try adding obesity to that (since most pet labs are at least overweight if not obese)-talk about your arm being yanked out of its socket (and I'm not tiny, I'm 6 ft. tall and not overweight, but not skinny either-I work with horses too, so I'm not weak). Then there is the hair, you think a golden sheds bad, labs are worse and its sticky. Just way to much energy and stubbornness for my taste.


Interesting. Those Labs you deal with must be really poorly bred or something. They are pullers though, but only if you let them. They like to sniff and explore; you really have to rein that in and train them at an early age. I've never walked my Labs on anything other than a flat-buckle collar and I don't use corrections. Labs are very smart and they require consistency in training, for sure. Habits are formed easily, especially if it's self rewarding.


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## Carrite (Aug 8, 2017)

I'm on my third golden and own a store where employees bring their dogs and my friend and longest term employee is a lab guy, so I've been around three of those.

Our joke is that labs are the "smarter cousins" of golden retrievers. I think if there was such a thing as a dog IQ test, the average lab would score 10 points higher.

I think GRs are more personable than labs. Labs are somewhat more independent and aloof.

I would not trust my blind grandma to a GR, I would hope she had a lab — if I had a grandma and she were blind. Labs are more serious about their work, that point, made above, nails it.

If I were a hunter, I would own a lab, not a GR. GRs were a working breed until the invention of the tennis ball. (That's a joke, son, that's a joke...)

I trust both breeds with the children of strangers. Both of them have even temperaments and can "take a punch" (a pulled ear, a poke in the snout) from a little kid without reacting badly.

I think GRs are much prettier than labs.

Lab shedding is a catastrophic mess. GR shedding is entertaining. My friend's wife almost vetoed his third lab because of the Tail of Destruction™ that the breed has — she was sick of it.

Hope this helps,

tim


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## FosterGolden (Mar 10, 2014)

Tim Davenport said:


> I'm on my third golden and own a store where employees bring their dogs and my friend and longest term employee is a lab guy, so I've been around three of those.
> 
> Our joke is that labs are the "smarter cousins" of golden retrievers. I think if there was such a thing as a dog IQ test, the average lab would score 10 points higher.
> 
> ...


I don't think Labs are aloof, but they do like to explore! They don't glom onto the nearest human and hang out...at least not until they have checked everything out, sniffed every corner, etc. They are busy dogs. If someone comes to my house, it's embarrassing how much my Labs are all over them. If we go to their house though, they are checking out all the rooms, under the beds, etc. and completely ignoring the people, at least until A. food comes out or B. they are done searching every inch of the house...for what I do not know. I think that's why Goldens are better therapy dogs, they are incredibly people-focused.


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## alphadude (Jan 15, 2010)

Tim Davenport said:


> I'm on my third golden and own a store where employees bring their dogs and my friend and longest term employee is a lab guy, so I've been around three of those.
> 
> Our joke is that labs are the "smarter cousins" of golden retrievers. I think if there was such a thing as a dog IQ test, the average lab would score 10 points higher.
> 
> ...


Do not agree that labs are on average smarter than goldens. Maybe I've just had smart goldens. I also had a field golden that would focus and work circles around any lab he ever came into contact with...and there were many.


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## Goldens&Friesians (May 31, 2014)

Tim Davenport said:


> I'm on my third golden and own a store where employees bring their dogs and my friend and longest term employee is a lab guy, so I've been around three of those.
> 
> Our joke is that labs are the "smarter cousins" of golden retrievers. I think if there was such a thing as a dog IQ test, the average lab would score 10 points higher.
> 
> ...


Really, you think labs are smarter than goldens? Either the labs you know are smarter than most labs or your goldens aren't as smart as most goldens. (no offense meant.) I don't know ANY labs that I would rank smarter than most goldens I know. Also, goldens are usually rated in the top 5 smartest breeds and labs are not. Although, I'm not sure how much I trust the smartest breeds thing because poodles always rank up there and I just don't see them as being very smart-at least not the ones I groom. Also, I'm not saying I think labs are dumb, they are smart-most sporting, working and herding breeds are quite intelligent-I just think goldens are a littler smarter.


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## kelseypr95 (Jul 5, 2016)

I too would like to disagree that labs are smarter. Not that I don't think labs are smart, but in my experience grooming as well I have found that goldens seem to be slightly smarter. 

I also want to add that I know only one golden out of hundreds that we groom that bites. I would say nearly half of all labs we groom give us problems. They seem to be more high strung and nervous than most goldens. Not that all goldens are perfect to groom but we definitely have less problems with them. Maybe we just have poorly bred labs in this area. Not sure!


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## Goldens&Friesians (May 31, 2014)

kelseypr95 said:


> I also want to add that I know only one golden out of hundreds that we groom that bites. I would say nearly half of all labs we groom give us problems. They seem to be more high strung and nervous than most goldens. Not that all goldens are perfect to groom but we definitely have less problems with them. Maybe we just have poorly bred labs in this area. Not sure!


So true! I'm a groomer too, & you just can't trust the Labs. I have had only 1-2 goldens out of dozens that bite and probably at least half the labs bite.


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Well you can see from my login name that we couldn't decide. So we got an intentionally-bred cross. Mom was a yellow lab, dad was a golden. I grew up with a border collie mix from age 2 to 16. Then we got a yellow lab a few months later that I primarily trained and cared for until I went to college, then my parents took over. This time, I wanted a pure golden because they are beautiful but my DH didn't want the long fur (he had never owned a dog, and would never have if not for me.). We decided on the cross and figured we'd let fate decide on the coat length. He has long wavy porcupine lab fur down his spine and everything else is soft. His tail and back legs have short feathers. His face is definitely more of a golden face, which I think are consistently prettier than labs. Lab faces are hit or miss with he beauty. My only experience is that *in general* labs have more energy and take longer to mellow. My co worker (who had a lab and a Bernese Mount Dog) laughed hysterically for several minutes when I said we got a lab cross. Our guy is just mellowing now at age 2. He loves EVERYONE he ever meets with great enthusiasm. He does slightly favor DH even though I feed him, because DH will take him on daily leash walks. Our guy will resource guard a little, mostly when younger. The absolute worst he did was air snap at one of my kids when we were purposely testing him so I am overly cautious if any kids are in the house while he's eating or when he has a new toy. My kids know his limits. He goes belly up with random little kids petting him at the school playground, hands all over, so with the exception of the food/brand new toy situations, I have no concerns about his temperament. 
Their similarities are so much greater than their differences and it varies from dog to dog so I think people should get whichever they want to look at and put in the general work of exposure and training to get a dog with as good of a temperament as 'nurture' can influence.


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## ceegee (Mar 26, 2015)

I used to have a labrador, and my last two dogs have been goldens. As others have said, there's a difference in shedding. Lab hair is _awful_. I would brush and brush my labrador, and would get a pile of hair big enough to knit another dog, and just when you think there can't possibly be more, you get another brush full. When she was back-lit, you could actually see the hair falling as she walked. We sold our car and bought one with leather seats, so the hair wouldn't stick to it and we wouldn't look like smurfs every time we got out of it. Both my goldens have had nice wash-and-wear coats and don't really shed all that much.

In terms of activities, my lab would do agility because I asked her and because there was something in it for her, but my goldens actually like to work and just seem to enjoy the sport. With the lab, it was a constant battle to find the thing that would motivate her (it changed all the time), whereas with the goldens, once they understand what to do, they just do it. 

Physically, my lab didn't stand up to the rigours of agility as well as my last golden did. This was one of the main reasons why I switched breeds. My lab developed arthritis in her shoulders when she was about 6 years old. I had to drop her down to her minimum jump height and we reduced our activities considerably, with long periods of rest when she seemed uncomfortable. Ruby was still jumping her regular competition height at 8 years old and her joints were healthy. I'm hoping Duster's joints will also stay healthy.

My goldens were (are) more sociable with humans than my lab. The lab was friendly enough but would get bored with attention and move away. I would say she wasn't as patient with humans as my goldens have been. Duster is an attention junkie.

On the other hand, Ruby died at age 8 from cancer, whereas my lab lived an illness-free, active life until she was nearly 15.


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## FosterGolden (Mar 10, 2014)

It's hard to compare Labs and Goldens or any dogs, for that matter, especially when you have such vast differences in lines within the breed itself. You absolutely cannot compare apples to apples. For example, are we talking performance bred Goldens vs. conformation bred Labs? Field Labs vs. conformation bred Goldens? 

We can really only compare our own experiences. Part of that will be where you live (different regions favor different lines), your environment and what you are exposed to, etc. The general public has never seen a conformation bred Lab, at least not in my area, and lots of people have no idea that there are multiple different lines and types of dog within each breed. 

Personally, I think you have to let the results speak for themselves. There is a reason you mostly see Labs doing certain things and there is a reason you mostly see Goldens doing certain things. If one breed, as a whole, wasn't better at something than another breed, they wouldn't use that breed. 

At the end of the day though, they are different breeds, and comparing a Golden to a Lab is no different than comparing any of the sporting breeds to one another. Goldens are not long-haired Labs and every single dog is different.


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## Peri29 (Aug 5, 2017)

We fostered many goldens and labs in Istanbul and all I can say is that they are both love bugs, labs maybe need more excercise. They are all very friendly . However labs are even more naive than the GRs.
We rescue dogs out of the forests that shelters or owners left like a garbage in the middle of nowhere. So, we will analyze it in the natural environment.
What we can say is;
- the goldens have more empathy with other dogs or animals. They sense the danger and hide away from them. In a way they try to be invisible. So most of the Golden retrievers we find in the forest are dead skinny, malnourished, dehydrated, have mange and few have animal bites. They are afraid to share food with other dogs and tend to stick alone or with dogs similar to their temperament such as setters rather than the big gang.
- the labs though have maybe a little less sense of being aware of the dangers. They are over friendly. Even an animal growl, show their teeth, bites them they forget very quickly and still insists to invade their personal space to play or share food. At the end they are bitten again. They have more physical injuries than the golden retrievers we find. 
Based on our opinion, labs are over friendly & über naive (((


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## Edward Lee Nelson (Jan 2, 2017)

I had Labs my whole life competing in the field at a mid range level( MH,Derby points etc) and actually made fun of Golden's with bandannas etc and some of the ones I saw were not very good in the water. I then saw a very nice ad for a Golden litter. I decided to give it a go and try one. My 13 yr old Golden was the best dog I had ever competed with. (14 Derby pts,QAA before 2 1/2, Maryland Gun Dog Champion, OS) He actually thought he was a black dog, drive was unbelievable and actually too watery, always wanting the big swim. Competing at a high level in FT is a crap shoot, so many variables has to take place from breeding,training and ownership but I do believe a nice field bred Golden can compete with the best of them. I just hope my 6 month old alpha female pup will turn out. I will never go back to Labs.


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## Hazen (May 3, 2020)

puddles everywhere said:


> They are both wonderful breeds. They both shed like crazy. They are both crazy smart with soft mouths. They are both great companions. They both excel as working dogs.
> Labs tend to be a little larger, sometimes heavier build. My lab pup was not a land shark.
> I like the golden because it's tail swishes vs a lab that will clear a coffee table


Goldens rule. Smarter and better looking 


kelseypr95 said:


> In your opinion, what is the difference between labs and goldens? Temperament, personality, health, etc. And why did you choose a golden over a lab?
> 
> This is a conversation I am constantly having with my in laws who have a lab and I'm curious about other peoples reasons for choosing a golden too.


Labs are dumb and don't have hair or tails. Don't understand why you would have one. Goldens rule.


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## DevWind (Nov 7, 2016)

I have owned both. My lab was definitely not as smart as my goldens are. They both love the entire family (and most visitors) but are focused on me while we are working. Both have great field potential...their handler just doesn't have the time.  Especially Pilot! The lab was not a snuggler. One golden is a total snuggler, the other has gotten more snuggly since the stay at home orders gives us literally nothing else to do. Top scoring obedience dogs are almost always goldens.


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## alphadude (Jan 15, 2010)

Edward Lee Nelson said:


> I had Labs my whole life competing in the field at a mid range level( MH,Derby points etc) and actually made fun of Golden's with bandannas etc and some of the ones I saw were not very good in the water. I then saw a very nice ad for a Golden litter. I decided to give it a go and try one. My 13 yr old Golden was the best dog I had ever competed with. (14 Derby pts,QAA before 2 1/2, Maryland Gun Dog Champion, OS) He actually thought he was a black dog, drive was unbelievable and actually too watery, always wanting the big swim. Competing at a high level in FT is a crap shoot, so many variables has to take place from breeding,training and ownership but I do believe a nice field bred Golden can compete with the best of them. I just hope my 6 month old alpha female pup will turn out. I will never go back to Labs.


For the record I had a golden who always wore a bandanna, that outperformed by a WIDE margin, every single lab he encountered and competed with throughout his extremely active life, regardless of the activity. Running, jumping, swimming, retrieving, ANYTHING. His athleticism, agility, drive and stamina, were literally off the charts. Right up until his untimely death of hemangio a few months shy of 9, he routinely, and EFFORTLESSLY outperformed well bred, fit labs, a quarter his age, and it wasn't even close.


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