Rehoming guide
How to rehome your Golden Retriever
Checked 6 October 2026
The short answer
If your Golden Retriever needs a new home, Golden Retriever rescues and breed clubs run schemes for owners. Southern Golden Retriever Rescue asks owners to "please call us first" and charges them nothing. Describe your Golden honestly, including their exercise, weight and any behaviour a new home should know about.
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Why Golden Retrievers end up needing a new home
We haven't found a UK source that says why Golden Retrievers are given up, so here is what the sources say they need. The Royal Kennel Club lists the Golden as a large breed needing more than two hours of exercise a day and grooming more than once a week, and suggests a large house with a large garden.
Dogs Trust calls Goldens typically high-energy dogs that need daily walks, time to explore and play, training and daily enrichment, and describes the shedding as heavy, with brushing a few times a week and professional grooming likely. Rescues also set limits: the Eastern Counties Golden Retriever Club says it cannot take dogs with resource guarding or a bite history. A friendly reputation doesn't make the daily commitment any smaller.
None of this makes your dog a problem, or you a bad owner. It usually means the match didn’t fit, and a careful rehoming fixes exactly that.
What to tell adopters about your Golden Retriever
Exercise and space. Say how much exercise your Golden gets now, and what home and garden they are used to. The Royal Kennel Club lists more than two hours a day, and Southern Golden Retriever Rescue says "A secure garden is essential."
Grooming and shedding. Dogs Trust says Goldens need brushing a few times a week, daily when the coat is changing, and are likely to need professional grooming. Tell adopters what your dog's grooming routine is and how they cope with it.
Weight and health. The one point of concern in The Royal Kennel Club's Breed Watch for Golden Retriever show judges is "too fat". The Royal Kennel Club also asks breeders to hip and elbow score and to test eyes. Give adopters your dog's weight, diet and vet records, and any test results you have.
Guarding and behaviour. If your Golden guards food or toys, or has ever bitten, say so plainly. The Eastern Counties Golden Retriever Club says it can't take dogs with resource guarding or a bite history, but will try to guide owners towards specialist rescues that may help.
Golden Retriever rescues that take owners’ dogs
Two of the three schemes below are run by regional breed clubs. If none of the schemes below covers your area, The Golden Retriever Club asks owners to contact "the Club Rescue Officer who covers your county or area".
Southern Golden Retriever Rescuedogs · Kent, Surrey, East and West Sussex, Hampshire and Greater London south of the Thames
Call first (a number is on its homepage). Its homepage says "Perhaps we can help you to keep him, ask us" and that there are "No charges whatsoever", and its rehoming information page suggests ringing your nearest volunteer to talk through the practicalities.
South Western Golden Retriever Club, Rescue & Rehomingdogs · Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and South Wales
Call its rescue co-ordinator (details on the page). It offers "a non judgemental and compassionate approach" and aims for the dog to go "straight to their new home rather than a stay in kennels".
Eastern Counties Golden Retriever Club, Rescuedogs · Eastern counties
Complete its online surrender questionnaire. It has no kennels and, whenever it can, arranges for dogs to go directly to their new homes. It can't take dogs with resource guarding or a bite history.
National charities that take any breed
Dogs Trustdogs
Two routes: Homestay, where your dog stays with you while Dogs Trust finds a new home (it says Homestay dogs "generally find a new home within two weeks"), or a kennel or foster place, which "could take a few weeks". Giving up a dog to Dogs Trust is free, and it aims to reply within 72 hours. Start with a call on 0300 303 2188 or its online form.
Blue Crossdogs, cats, rabbits
Home Direct keeps your pet with you while Blue Cross finds a new owner. That is "the quickest way", it says, because space in its own kennels, cattery and small pet units "is very limited". It takes dogs, cats, rabbits and small pets. Call pet admissions on 0300 777 1960 or use its online form.
Should you charge a rehoming fee?
You can ask for a rehoming fee, paid at the handover after the adopter has met your pet, and never as a deposit beforehand. PAAG's worry with "free to good home" adverts is that people may take an animal on impulse and that a free advert "may devalue an animal" (PAAG). A fee does make the handover a sale, though, so animals can't go to anyone under 16 and you should be honest about your pet's health.
How listing your Golden Retriever on LocalPetFinder works
- Fill in the free listing form. Photos, age, health, how your dog is with children and other animals, and an honest description. It takes about ten minutes, and your dog stays at home with you.
- A person checks it, usually within a day, before it goes live.
- Your Golden Retriever appears next to rescue dogs on the Golden Retrievers pages for your city (Ashford, Barnsley, Barrow-in-Furness, Bath and North East Somerset, Belfast, Birmingham, Blackpool, Bolton, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, Bradford, Brighton and Hove, Bristol, Bury St Edmunds, Canterbury, Cardiff, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Cheltenham, Chester, Chesterfield, Chippenham, Colchester, Coventry, Crawley, Darlington, Derby, Doncaster, Dover, Dumfries and Galloway, Durham, Eastbourne, Edinburgh, Exeter, Falmouth, Folkestone, Glasgow, Gloucester, Grantham, Great Yarmouth, Guildford, Hartlepool, Hayle, Huddersfield, Ipswich, Kendal, Kidderminster, Kingston upon Hull, Lancaster, Leeds, Leicester, Lincoln, Liverpool, Llanelli, London, Lowestoft, Luton, Maidstone, Manchester, Mansfield, Margate, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Newcastle upon Tyne, Newport, Newquay, North East Lincolnshire, Northampton, Norwich, Nottingham, Oxford, Penrith, Peterborough, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Preston, Reading, Rotherham, Scunthorpe, Sheffield, Sleaford, Solihull, Southampton, Southport, Spalding, St. Helens, Stockport, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland, Swansea, Torbay, Truro, Wakefield, Walsall, Warrington, Watford, Wellingborough, Wigan, Wirral, Wolverhampton, Worcester, Worthing, Wrexham, York), marked as listed by the owner.
- You choose. Adopters message you through LocalPetFinder, so your email and phone number stay private. You decide who to meet and who takes your dog, and you hand over in person.
We take listings from owners anywhere in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Northern Ireland the new owner needs a dog licence before they take a dog, so ask to see it before the handover.
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Start your free listing →Before the handover: the must-dos
The microchip has to be transferred
In England, Scotland and Wales a dog can't be passed to a new keeper until it's microchipped, and the new keeper must update the database (England, Scotland, Wales); in Scotland the keeper's own details must also be correct before the handover. In England the same applies to cats, while in Scotland and Wales chipping a cat is optional. Check the chip is on a government-approved database and do the transfer at the handover.
No deposits, no couriers
Never ask for, or accept, money before an adopter has met your pet in person, and hand over face to face. A request for a deposit is the classic sign of a pet scam, and on LocalPetFinder it gets a listing taken down.
Banned dog types can’t be rehomed at all
It's against the law in England, Scotland and Wales to give away a banned dog. In England and Wales it's illegal to "rehome, sell, buy, or transfer ownership of an XL Bully" (gov.uk: England and Wales). In Scotland, since 23 February 2024 it has been illegal to sell, advertise, gift or exchange an XL Bully, Scottish guidance says it is unlawful to "sell, give away or rehome an XL Bully" (gov.scot), and since 1 August 2024 it has been an offence to own one without an exemption certificate. If you think your dog could be an XL Bully, don't list it.
Adopters must be adults, and you must be honest
Adopters must be 18 or over, and the listing must be accurate about health, behaviour, and whether your pet is good with children, dogs and cats. A good match is the one that lasts.
Rehoming your Golden Retriever: your questions
Tap a question to expand
Will a Golden Retriever rescue take my dog?
Usually the first step is a call or a form, and the rescue decides from there. Southern Golden Retriever Rescue asks owners to call first, and the Eastern Counties Golden Retriever Club has an online surrender questionnaire. If no scheme covers your area, The Golden Retriever Club points owners to their county's Club Rescue Officer.
My Golden guards food or has bitten. Can I still rehome them?
Yes, but say so up front. The Eastern Counties Golden Retriever Club can't take dogs with resource guarding or a bite history, though it says it will try to point owners towards specialist rescues that may help. Your vet can also advise on the behaviour itself.
Can my Golden stay with me while a new home is found?
With some breed club schemes, yes. The South Western Golden Retriever Club aims for dogs to go straight to their new home rather than into kennels, and the Eastern Counties Golden Retriever Club says it arranges direct moves whenever it can. Ask the scheme that covers your area how it works.
Related guides
Rehoming where you live
Rehoming guides for other dog breeds
Sources: The Royal Kennel Club: Retriever (Golden) · The Royal Kennel Club: Breed Watch, Retriever (Golden) · Dogs Trust: Golden Retriever · Southern Golden Retriever Rescue · Southern Golden Retriever Rescue: Rehoming information · South Western Golden Retriever Club: Rehoming · Eastern Counties Golden Retriever Club: Rescue · The Golden Retriever Club: Rescue