Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Golden Retriever Dogs

Golden Retriever Dogs by Clemens

Golden Retrievers reach their full height around one year of age and full weight around age two, though many owners comment that their dogs retain their puppyish nature for life. This is a large breed very similar in appearance to the yellow Labrador Retriever, especially when young. Golden Retrievers are among the most popular family pets in the United States. They were originally bred as hunting dogs, but quickly gained a reputation for being a great family dog because of their gentle and easy going temperament. Golden retriever dogs have a lot of energy. This is probably what makes them such good guide dogs. Golden Retrievers are fairly easy dogs to maintain, but they need to shed a great deal of coat during the spring or other times. Consequently, they need to be faithfully brushed. A bad side is that Golden Retrievers may also be born with eye defects and/or develop hip dysplasia. Hip dysplasia refers to hip joints that aren't formed properly and this condition is fairly common in many larger dog breeds. Golden retriever muscular dystrophy (GRMD), the canine model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), is caused by a splice site mutation in the dystrophin gene. This mutation predicts a premature termination codon in exon 8 and a peptide that is 5% the size of normal dystrophin.

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