My .02

I am on my third golden and looking to breed him or get another pup about January of next year (his replacement).
The first two were outside dogs and not allowed in the house very often. However both of them were trained to run field trials and to hunt. They were trained just about every other day (retrieving stuff) and every day on some sort of obedience. Even if it was only five minutes (it counts). When I worked on something outside they came out of the yard and "helped". Under a watchful eye and not allowed to stray.

The third one is an inside dog and a constant companion,excellent burglar alarm and early warning system. He has rules and boundaries and he knows what they are and knows when he breaks them..Usually when I'm not watching!!! Just like a kid and they generally act just like em.
The point of all this is any dog will be only as good as you make him and as much time as you spend with him.
Any retriever breed is a high performance dog, and I believe intelligent, an eager to please. They were bred to work.
If you just want him to sit in front of the fireplace or the couch and look pretty and not put effort into exercise,training, and bonding with him you will be sorely disappointed and it won't be his fault.
All of these dogs were an integral part of the family.
Another .02 if you get a puppy you need to think ahead of him and you will save a lot of grief.

PS: They all hated cats [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] Good Boy!!
Mike