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Golden Retriever: health, cancer risk and blood work

Golden Retrievers usually live long lives, but cancer is a major cause of death in the breed. Hypothyroidism and joint disease are also more common than in many dogs. Here is what the studies show and which tests your vet may discuss.

Light golden Golden Retriever standing on a lawn with a stick in its mouth
Photo: Johannnes89 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

Written by the AI DiagAnimals editorial teamReviewed by the AI DiagAnimals TeamUpdated Our editorial policy

The essentials

A large UK study found a median lifespan of 13.2 years in Golden Retrievers. Cancer is a leading cause of death: hemangiosarcoma and lymphoma come first. In a US cohort followed from puppyhood, 7.65% of dogs had been diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma. The breed is also predisposed to mast cell tumors and hypothyroidism. Hip and elbow scoring, thyroid tests when signs suggest it and an annual blood panel are the checks most often discussed.

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Golden Retriever at a glance

TraitDetail
OriginGreat Britain [1, 2]
Breed groupFCI Group 8 (Retrievers, Flushing Dogs, Water Dogs), Section 1; AKC Sporting Group [1, 3]
Weight29–34 kg (65–75 lb) for males, 25–29 kg (55–65 lb) for females [3]
Height56–61 cm (22–24 in) for males, 51–56 cm (20–22 in) for females [1]
Life expectancyMedian 13.2 years in a 2024 UK study of over 580,000 dogs [4]
CoatFlat or wavy with good feathering and a dense water-resisting undercoat; any shade of gold or cream [1]

Origin

The first Lord Tweedmouth is credited as the founder of the breed. He crossed a yellow dog from black Wavy Coated Retrievers with the Tweed Water Spaniel, and the litter gave four yellow puppies. Bloodhound and Irish Setter were added later, and these yellow retrievers became popular in the Scottish Border counties [2].

The Kennel Club recognized the breed as a “yellow” or “golden” Retriever in 1913, and the name Golden Retriever became official when the breed club was founded in 1920 [2].

Common health problems

  • Cancer: of 652 Golden Retrievers examined after death at a US veterinary school, 65.0% had died of cancer. Hemangiosarcoma (22.6%) and lymphoid cancers (18.4%) were the most common [5].
  • Hemangiosarcoma: in the Golden Retriever Lifetime Study, 233 of 3,044 dogs (7.65%) had been diagnosed by 2022; the spleen and the heart were the sites most often recorded. One-year survival was 1.4% for the internal form and 84.6% for the skin form [6]. See hemangiosarcoma in dogs.
  • Lymphoma: the second most common cancer in the breed [7]. See lymphoma in dogs.
  • Mast cell tumors: 1.39% of Golden Retrievers in English primary care, against 0.27% of all dogs [8]. See mast cell tumors in dogs.
  • Hypothyroidism: 1.08% of Goldens in a UK study, with 4.4 times the odds of crossbreds [9]. See hypothyroidism in dogs.
  • Hip and elbow dysplasia: at screening in Sweden, 25.2% of young Goldens had hip dysplasia (grades C–E) and 16.0% had elbow dysplasia [10].
  • Ichthyosis: a scaling skin disease linked to a PNPLA1 gene variant [11].

Tests and screening in Golden Retrievers

  • Thyroid tests: because the breed is predisposed to hypothyroidism [9], a thyroid panel is often part of the work-up for weight gain, tiredness or skin changes.
  • Blood count and chemistry over time: in 2,412 Goldens of the Lifetime Study, blood values changed during the first 2 years and again with ageing, and a model using all blood markers predicted 1-year mortality with an AUC of 0.82 [12]. Keeping past results helps your vet compare.
  • Cancer: hemangiosarcoma, lymphoma and mast cell tumors are diagnosed on imaging and cell or tissue samples, not on a routine blood test. See the related articles below.
  • DNA test for ichthyosis (PNPLA1): among 48 breeding Goldens, 21% had no copy, 48% one copy and 31% two copies, but only 3 dogs showed signs, so the test does not reliably predict disease [11].
  • Hip and elbow scoring: X-rays graded on the FCI hip scale and the International Elbow Working Group elbow scale [10].

Related articles

En français : Golden retriever.

Questions to ask your veterinarian

  1. Which lumps on my dog should be sampled, and how?
  2. Should my Golden have a yearly blood count and chemistry panel?
  3. Do my dog’s signs justify a thyroid test?
  4. Should my dog’s hips and elbows be X-rayed or scored?
  5. Which signs could point to an internal bleed, and what should I do?
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Frequently asked questions

How long do Golden Retrievers live?

A 2024 UK study of over 580,000 dogs found a median lifespan of 13.2 years [4]. In a US referral hospital series, the median age at death was 9.15 years [5].

Why do so many Golden Retrievers get cancer?

The breed has a high rate of cancer deaths, mostly hemangiosarcoma and lymphoma [5]. The Golden Retriever Lifetime Study is following 3,044 dogs to look for genetic, environmental and lifestyle risk factors [6, 7].

What health problems do Golden Retrievers have?

Cancers (hemangiosarcoma, lymphoma, mast cell tumors), hypothyroidism, hip and elbow dysplasia and ichthyosis are the best documented [5, 8, 9, 10, 11].

What tests should a Golden Retriever have?

Hip and elbow scoring [10], thyroid tests when signs suggest it [9], and regular blood work, which is most useful when results are compared over time [12].

Is hypothyroidism common in Golden Retrievers?

It affected 1.08% of Goldens in UK primary care, with about 4.4 times the odds of crossbred dogs [9].

Sources

  1. Fédération Cynologique Internationale. FCI Standard No. 111: Golden Retriever. fci.be/Nomenclature/Standards/111g08-en.pdf
  2. The Kennel Club. Retriever (Golden): breed information. thekennelclub.org.uk/search/breeds-a-to-z/breeds/gundog/retriever-golden
  3. American Kennel Club. Golden Retriever: dog breed information. akc.org/dog-breeds/golden-retriever
  4. McMillan KM et al. Longevity of companion dog breeds: those at risk from early death. Sci Rep. 2024;14:531. doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-50458-w
  5. Kent MS et al. Association of cancer-related mortality, age and gonadectomy in golden retriever dogs at a veterinary academic center (1989-2016). PLoS One. 2018;13(2):e0192578. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0192578
  6. Hillman A et al. Descriptive analysis of haemangiosarcoma occurrence in dogs enrolled in the Golden Retriever lifetime study. Vet Comp Oncol. 2023;21(4):700-708. doi.org/10.1111/vco.12933
  7. Luethcke KR et al. Environmental exposures and lymphoma risk: a nested case-control study using the Golden Retriever Lifetime Study cohort. Canine Med Genet. 2022;9:10. doi.org/10.1186/s40575-022-00122-9
  8. Shoop SJ et al. Prevalence and risk factors for mast cell tumours in dogs in England. Canine Genet Epidemiol. 2015;2:1. doi.org/10.1186/2052-6687-2-1
  9. O’Neill DG et al. Frequency, breed predispositions and other demographic risk factors for diagnosis of hypothyroidism in dogs under primary veterinary care in the UK. Canine Med Genet. 2022;9:11. doi.org/10.1186/s40575-022-00123-8
  10. Engdahl K et al. Prevalence of hip and elbow dysplasia in young adult dogs in Sweden. Vet Rec. 2026;198(12):e560-e573. doi.org/10.1002/vetr.70224
  11. Graziano L et al. Prevalence of PNPLA1 gene mutation in 48 breeding Golden Retriever dogs. Vet Sci. 2018;5(2):48. doi.org/10.3390/vetsci5020048
  12. Perez K et al. Lifetime age-related changes in clinical laboratory results, aging clocks and mortality predictors in 2412 Golden Retrievers. Aging Cell. 2025;24(4):e14438. doi.org/10.1111/acel.14438

Laboratory methods and reference intervals vary. This article explains; it does not diagnose. For a decision about your pet, use the original report and talk to your veterinarian. Our editorial policy.

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