My dog, Ruby, is a hunting golden from Skyriver in Ellensburg. She is a little one, only about 45 pounds. That said she is a great all around dog. She has a great nose and we kill a lot of chukars together. I have seen her on multiple occasions follow a running cripple 300+ yards and bring it back. She is also a great waterfowl dog and won't back down from a crippled goose despite her size. She is not as strong a swimmer as my dad's lab could be size, training or the breed. Even still she has picked up a 4 man limit, all on the water, all by herself.
What I like about Ruby over my dad's lab is she matches the energy level well. She is possessed when its time to hunting but has an off switch when its time to be a family dog. My wife and I are both office job folks so Ruby gets a lot of time alone.
She is a smart dog, not hard headed, her performance hunting is a product of that, not my training. She is my first dog and first go around training. I got the basics down and then tried to get her on as many birds as possible and let them teach her the rest. This will be her third season and I am confident she is between 200 and 300 birds on her lifetime. They taught and she paid attention.
She fills up with burrs like no ones business if they are around... And she sheds all day every day.
This is my experience with this dog, not saying all are the same. But I will definitely be getting a hunting golden again.
