Does anyone have experience with raising a golden retriever in a flat?  My wife and I are looking to welcome one into the family and would be keen to hear suggestions on how best to care for a golden. 

We're aware that goldens like the outdoors - fortunately we have a small park nearby and have flexible work arrangements so that we can commit to giving the dog a good amount of exercise twice a day.  We're also just a few minutes away from the river where we normally go for runs.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Have you got a garden flat? I dont recommend large breeds in flats without direct access to a private garden.
How many flights of stairs will you need to go up and down? As a baby you will need to carry the pup up and down as a pup doing this themselves can cause damage to their growing joints. In their first year they don't need a lot of exercise, 5 mins per month they are.
They need play in the garden, lots of training and positive socialising.

I raised a golden in a flat, if anything he was quicker toilet trained than the others I have had because I had to put in a lot of effort, mine was a ground floor flat with a communal garden.  I echo the comments around exercise, strictly 5 minutes per month of age and definetly not joining you on your runs until it’s 12 - 18 months old.  I’ve seen a few debates on Facebook about whether it is right to sell a Golden to someone in a flat, some breeders with say yes and for others it will be a categoric no.

As suggested, the biggest problem, initially at any rate, with puppies of any breed, and apartments is unless on the ground floor, with access to a PRIVATE area, you'd be facing carrying him up and down stairs (lift) potentially every hour to get housetraining in place.   Until fully vaccinated, puppies should NOT be put on the ground where other dogs go.   And that includes taking him out at least once at night.   Pee pads, if used, are NOT an answer because you'd have to 'untrain' him and housetrain him properly or he'll be going anywhere in the apartment.

Provided somebody is home with the dog most of the time, you'd have to consider noise complaints from close neighbours too, regardless of where in the block your apartment is!

Yes, it can be done, but you'd be facing significant difficulties other than just the huge demands of any puppy without a property, with a garden and no attached neighbours.   I'd think a lot more about this - many breeders wouldn't be happy to sell a puppy to people with an apartment.  I know I didn't.
ps   You could have the breeder hold the puppy until all the vaccination is complete.

30 odd years ago I brought up an Irish Setter in a first floor flat. We did have a garden and like you, we were close to good places to walk. I'd say it was no different to having one in a house really. Our flat was in a small block of 4, 2 ground floor and 2 first floor.We carried her up and down our stairs and she was no more difficult to house train, so I know it can be done very successfully. Enjoy your puppy.

> I'd think a lot more about this - many breeders wouldn't be happy to sell a puppy to people with an apartment.  I know I didn't.

You're not the only one.  I have always insisted on a decent garden for my puppies.

>> I'd think a lot more about this - many breeders wouldn't be happy to sell a puppy to people with an apartment.  I know I didn't.<br />You're not the only one.  I have always insisted on a decent garden for my puppies.

Same here & lucky I do street view as  I caught one person lying saying they had a garden!!

I think it depends on whether you have a lift.  If you have a lift for all the toilet trips you'll need to take (assuming your flat isn't on ground level), then you should be fine - although will likely have accidents on the way outside because it's going to take you longer to get out there than someone with a garden. 

If you don't have a lift and you have stairs, especially if you have more than one small flight, I'm not sure it's a good idea.  The dog is going to be coming in and out very frequently especially as a puppy - which is the worst time of life to do stairs repetitively, in terms of the effect on joints and risk of hip dysplasia.

Aside from the toilet situation with a puppy, I think it would be fine to have a dog in a flat.  Dogs don't need space, indoor or outdoor - they need your time and they need to be taken out somewhere for exercise or training, daily.  The vast majority of dogs just lie around during the day anyway.

> The vast majority of dogs just lie around during the day anyway.

If only that were true.   In general yes, dogs lie around during the day PROVIDED their family is home.   It may be very different if they are having to spend hours shut in on their own.   And in an apartment situation that could lead to noise.  Yes of course it can be done, but it's not ideal, especially with a puppy.

One thing I would like to ask the OP is if they have access to an outside tap? Knowing what goldens are like for wallowing in a muddy puddle or two, having to take a muddy and soggy dog through a communal area, up stairs and through the flat to the bathroom wouldn’t be too easy without leaving a muddy trail behind.

Goldens grow quickly and if there are stairs involved in getting to the flat then it would mean carrying a rather heavy puppy up and down until it was of a suitable age to use stairs without causing damage to joints and ligaments. I don’t know when others have let their goldens or similar large dogs go up and down stairs, but I didn’t let mine use flights of stairs until she was about 5 - 6 months and then under my control

>dogs lie around during the day PROVIDED their family is home.   It may be very different if they are having to spend hours shut in on their own. 

Er, I'm not seeing any sign of that here? The OP said:

> have flexible work arrangements so that we can commit to giving the dog a good amount of exercise twice a day.  We're also just a few minutes away from the river where we normally go for runs.

Flexible work arrangements usually mean someone can be around a lot...

But don't let that worry you, go ahead and make up something they haven't said so you can take issue with it.

It does get a bit boring when absolutely everything I say has to be questioned by you, MamaBas.  It doesn't seem to matter what the subject is.