Although I do not dispute the admirable qualities of the golden retriever, brushing out burrs and pulling ticks are onerous tasks with that long hair. We live out in the country and our dogs have free run over hundreds of acres.
Consider the lab a gold retriever with a military haircut.
We live in the country too and just put up with the burrs. Besides, my 10 year old Golden is a big couch potato, just like his owner. He spends most of his time snoozing as close to me as possible. He gets into the burrdock once in a while, but he mostly stays clean. He does shed pounds lof hair, however. But he is worth it. He doesn’t even bark — ever. He’s completely spoiled me for any other dog, I’m afraid.
He’s at my office right now, snoozing under the President’s desk, The president has moved his work space out onto the main office floor, abandoning his private office to the dog. LOL.