Golden Retrievers and Labrador Retrievers are my favorite dogs. I have a Golden Retriever named Sandy. I do not have a chocolate lab.  Golden Retrievers and Labrador Retrievers are very alike. They are both pretty big dogs. They also both have bad hips. That means that they are not running dogs. It is also not good for them to be overweight because of their big hips. They will get arthritis when they get older.