Home / Breeds / Compare / Golden Retriever vs Spinone Italiano
Goldens are biddable, patient family dogs that also excel as service dogs and search workers. Long lines, secure gardens and patience are the owner's toolkit. What follows compares them on the figures that separate them in practice: size, daily exercise, grooming load, and the cost of keeping each one.
The biggest gap is trainability: the Golden Retriever is rated 5 of 5 against 3 of 5 for the Spinone Italiano.
The next widest difference is shedding: on the five point scale the Golden Retriever sits at 5 and the Spinone Italiano at 3.
The third difference that matters is grooming needs: on the five point scale the Golden Retriever sits at 4 and the Spinone Italiano at 3.
| Golden Retriever | Spinone Italiano | |
|---|---|---|
| Group | Sporting | Sporting |
| Origin | Scotland, United Kingdom | Italy |
| Height | 21.5 to 24 in | 23 to 28 in |
| Weight | 55 to 75 lb | 62 to 82 lb |
| Lifespan | 10 to 12 years | 9 to 14 years |
| Coat | Dense, water repellent double coat with feathering on the chest, legs and tail. | Dense, wiry coat, coarse and weather resistant, with a beard, mustache and bushy eyebrows. It sheds modestly and benefits from weekly brushing and occasional hand stripping. |
| Temperament | Friendly, eager, gentle and steady | Calm, sociable, musical and single minded on a trail |
| Energy | 4 of 5 | 4 of 5 |
| Trainability | 5 of 5 | 3 of 5 |
| Grooming needs | 4 of 5 | 3 of 5 |
| Shedding | 5 of 5 | 3 of 5 |
| Barking | 3 of 5 | 4 of 5 |
| With children | Good with children | Good with children |
| With other dogs | Good with dogs | Good with dogs |
| With strangers | Friendly with strangers | Friendly with strangers |
| Apartment fit | With enough exercise | With enough exercise |
| Daily exercise | 60 to 90 min | 60 to 90 min |
| Food per month (model) | $40 (3.7 cups a day) | $43 (4.0 cups a day) |
| Insurance per month (model) | $60 to $100 | $41 to $74 |
| Monthly total (model) | $100 to $140 | $84 to $117 |
| Yearly total (model) | $1,199 to $1,679 | $1,009 to $1,405 |
| Lifetime total (model) | $11,989 to $20,146 | $9,081 to $19,671 |
| Breeder health tests | 5 recommended tests | Panel not published yet |
| Health watch | Cancer is the breed's biggest shadow, with hemangiosarcoma and lymphoma more common than in most breeds. Also watch hips, elbows, heart (subvalvular aortic stenosis) and eyes. Good breeders screen all four areas. | Cerebellar ataxia is a DNA tested condition in the Spinone, alongside hip screening and eye checks. A generally sturdy, slow maturing gundog. Ask to see health test results for both parents before you commit to a puppy; a good breeder will offer them before you ask. |
Golden Retriever: takes the first-time-owner score 17 to 13: the rule doubles trainability, then rewards the calmer, easier-kept dog on energy, grooming and barking.
Golden Retriever: draws level on the apartment rating ("With enough exercise") and wins the tie-breaks that follow it: barking first, then daily exercise, then size.
Golden Retriever: matches on the children rating and edges ahead on trainability and stranger friendliness.
Spinone Italiano: is the lighter shedder: 3 out of five for shedding, where the Golden Retriever records 5. Shedding only stands in for loose hair around the home, and no breed is free of allergens.
Spinone Italiano: comes in about $20 a month under the Golden Retriever on the modeled food and insurance figures, $100 against $120 at the midpoints.
How the Golden Retriever and Spinone Italiano verdicts are scored: the first-time-owner verdict uses 2 x trainability + (6 - energy) + (6 - grooming) + (6 - barking). Apartment living ranks the apartment rating first, then barking, exercise and weight. The children verdict ranks the children rating, then trainability and stranger friendliness. Allergy ranks lowest shedding first, then grooming. Budget ranks the lowest monthly modeled total. Where the Golden Retriever and the Spinone Italiano finish level, the verdict is declared a tie.
A year of the Spinone Italiano at the midpoint costs about $240 less than a year of the Golden Retriever. Keeping both would run $184 to $257 a month on the modeled totals. The five ratings split this way: level on energy, the Golden Retriever ahead on shedding, trainability and grooming, the Spinone Italiano ahead on barking. Own both and the exercise plans combine to about 150 minutes daily at mid-range. On monthly keeping cost at the midpoint, the Golden Retriever sits 419th of the 469 breeds in our records and the Spinone Italiano sits 341st.
The Golden Retriever is the pricier keep on the model: food and insurance at their midpoints come to about $120 a month, where the Spinone Italiano comes to $100. Over the lifespan ranges the totals come out at $11,989 to $20,146 for the Golden Retriever and $9,081 to $19,671 for the Spinone Italiano. All of these are planning estimates, not quotes.
Level pegging: 60 to 90 minutes a day for each. Energy splits 4 of 5 (Golden Retriever) against 4 of 5 (Spinone Italiano).
The Spinone Italiano is the lighter shedder. Its shedding score is 3 out of five; the Golden Retriever scores 5. Coat notes for the Spinone Italiano: Dense, wiry coat, coarse and weather resistant, with a beard, mustache and bushy eyebrows. It sheds modestly and benefits from weekly brushing and occasional hand stripping.
The Golden Retriever, on the published ratings: "With enough exercise" for apartment life against "With enough exercise" for the Spinone Italiano, barking rated 3 of 5 against 4 of 5, and a daily exercise plan of 60 to 90 minutes against 60 to 90 minutes.
Trainability favours the Golden Retriever: 5 out of five, where the Spinone Italiano records 3. The temperament notes describe the Golden Retriever as: friendly, eager, gentle and steady
Weighing more than two breeds? Put up to four side by side in the comparison tool, or work through all written breed comparisons.
The breed facts rest on the breed standards and the club guidance summarized across the profiles. Costs here are estimates built for planning from a stated model, not quotes, and not veterinary advice.