i have a 16 month male golden retriever who just lately has started to growl at me for no reason.i have approached my vet on this subject and he advises on castration.i also have his father and he is perfect in every way.advise would be appreciated.

We need more info - when you say that he growls at you for no reason, in what situation does that happen?  What are you doing when this happens?  Are you interacting with him in any way, approaching him, trying to take something from him or remove him from a piece of furniture?  And so on...

i have taken him back to the vet to find that he has a infection on his kneck through either a tick or a bite.but maybe that is his way of telling me not to touch.but the vet still advises castration which i am reluctant to accept

If you don't want to have him castrated, then don't - not at this stage anyway.  Treat the infection on his neck, then see if the aggression stops.  If he's growling because he's in pain when you touch him, that's not a valid reason to castrate him.

Sometimes vets are a bit "trigger happy" with the castration thing.  SOMETIMES castration can help SOME aggression cases, but it's not the cure-all some vets make it out to be.  If he is still growling after the infection has been treated, then you need to identify why he is growling when you touch him and again try to solve that. 

Find and treat the cause (pain? nervousness? fear?), not the symptom (aggression).

many thanks for all your replies. will keep you informed on his progress..............joe

Has your vet actually checked him over?  Sudden issues are sometimes due to a medical problem, I'd make sure there's nothing wrong with him first.

My boy, his father and their nephew growl like anything when you stroke them.  They sound terrible and as though they are gong to attack,  You should see peoples faces when they hear them, but they are the most outgoing loving dogs ever, just rather vocal!