# Are male Goldens dumb?



## Kmullen (Feb 17, 2010)

My male is extremely smart and focused! I would say more than my females. I think it just depends. Could be the pedigree/genes.


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## DanaRuns (Sep 29, 2012)

My male is very smart and focused. Too smart for his own good, sometimes.


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## gold4me (Mar 12, 2006)

ALL of my male goldens have been very smart. VERY SMART


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## Max's Dad (Apr 23, 2012)

Max is our first male Golden. He is very smart--much brighter in every way than the two girls that preceded him.


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## murphy1 (Jun 21, 2012)

Murphy is very smart!!! All dogs are different even if they are the same breed. They are like a box of chocolates....you never know what you're going to get


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Well... even though I think the girls I've seen through dog training are smarter (or more focused) and mentally grow up faster than the boys..... 

I've only had boys. They are lovebugs and smart enough for me.


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## NewfieMom (Sep 8, 2013)

Here's what matters. My female Golden and my male Lab were rocket scientists compared to my (male) Newfoundland. It's the _breed_ that matters.

(By the way, Newfies are not so stupid that they cannot do search and rescue work. They are just not as quick as Labs and Goldens. It came as a shock after owning Retrievers to get a sleepy Newf.)

NewfieMom


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## Cats101 (Sep 5, 2014)

murphy1 said:


> Murphy is very smart!!! All dogs are different even if they are the same breed. They are like a box of chocolates....you never know what you're going to get


I liked the way you put it Lol thanks.


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## Cats101 (Sep 5, 2014)

NewfieMom said:


> Here's what matters. My female Golden and my male Lab were rocket scientists compared to my (male) Newfoundland. It's the _breed_ that matters.
> 
> (By the way, Newfies are not so stupid that they cannot do search and rescue work. They are just not as quick as Labs and Goldens. It came as a shock after owning Retrievers to get a sleepy Newf.)
> 
> NewfieMom


I have a Bernese Mountain dog and she can be a bit slow to learn and likes to be lazy but we love her to bits


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

I have one brilliant male and one not so bright male. The pedigree matters a whole lot more than the sex. (BTW, my "not so bright" male is the one in the Golden Retriever Obedience Hall of Fame. The brilliant one, not so much. Too smart for his own good).


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## Aleksandrina (May 27, 2014)

Theo is extremely perceptive. He gets new tricks within minutes (sometimes seconds.) 

He is only 3 months old, but he knows and follows commands which other, much older (usually non-Golden) puppies are struggling with.


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## cazzy (Jan 7, 2014)

I think it depends on the male. I have only owned 1 male golden and sorry to say he was kinda dumb or as we say the lights are on but no one is home. On the other hand he was great with kids and other dogs and was a big softy he was quite strange for a male as he never once tried to mate any bitch in heat he would clean them but that was as good as it got with him he did pass his blood tracking test but only just. Yet his brother from the same litter was smart, quick to learn new things and knows what he's suppose to do with the females.


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## NewfieMom (Sep 8, 2013)

cazzy said:


> I think it depends on the male. I have only owned 1 male golden and sorry to say he was kinda dumb or as we say the lights are on but no one is home. On the other hand he was great with kids and other dogs and was a big softy he was quite strange for a male as he never once tried to mate any bitch in heat he would clean them but that was as good as it got with him he did pass his blood tracking test but only just. Yet his brother from the same litter was smart, quick to learn new things and knows what he's suppose to do with the females.


That is a very cute description!

NewfieMom


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## Martin (Feb 21, 2011)

While Drifter wasn't as smart Dolce is, he knew at least 36 commands and picked up on new ones fairly quickly. He was far from dumb - just not the genius Dolce is.


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## thorbreafortuna (Jun 9, 2013)

Male or female, goldens want to be given direction, and no dog will know what you expect if you don't do the training. My male is very smart. He has always been the star at his training classes. The risk is that he is smart enough to quickly learn when he can get away with something, so he keeps me on my toes. 
I would love to find out what it is that you observe as "clueless". It is such a vague statement, and if based on casual observation you may just be witnessing an over excited young Golden or simply a Golden that has not been trained, trained with different words for commands, or is confused or fearful, none of which is a dumb dog. I wonder if you considered that a group of people on a forum of Golden Retriever lovers might find this statement shocking and offensive. I don't imagine that you thought we all only own females.


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

Cats101 said:


> I want a male golden and want to show him in Obedience & Agility but I met some pretty clueless males so I'm Worried that he Won't be that smart:uhoh: thanks,


I have never heard anything about male goldens being dumb! It has more to do with the temperament of the idivdual pup and the breeding behind it. My most motivated and intelligent dog is male- very biddable. Lol, I would prefer to work with a male than a female personally.


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## cazzy (Jan 7, 2014)

NewfieMom said:


> That is a very cute description!
> 
> NewfieMom


Maybe i could have put it another way but he was who he was and still loved for it and we just kept trying different things with him. The main thing i wanted to say was he had good and bad bits like all dogs because there isn't one that is perfect and to us it was more important that he was great with the kids and other dogs then anything else. I am sure there are females that are like it as well so it's not that males are dumb or females are, its they just are who they are and you either love them for it or you don't.


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