WOW! You've described her almost to a "T". I guess I need to get over the fact that she's not one of those nice, relaxed, and she will always, always be in training.
I can't claim any expertise on field Goldens, as this is my first retriever. I will say that I've been told that this temperment is somewhat typical, and that they are very willful and intense. The good news--I'm not so sure I believe it--is that they do settle down when they mature. The bad news is that they don't mature until they are about 3 years old. OY!
Mine is almost 1.5 years old and I have seen a big change in his personality. He was like a wild Dingo until almost 1 year, and then suddenly he became very attached to me. It was like someone flipped a switch. I thought he was born without the watchdog gene, but in the last couple of months he's begun giving out with a couple of big-dog barks when someone approaches the door. I still have doubts about whether he would protect his pack, but it sounds like there's a real dog in the house. He's also (in the same time frame) gone from being pure chicken-hearted around dominant male dogs to standing to his ground with a no nonsense posture. He hasn't shown any dog aggression, but he appears to have no intention of rolling over either. He's become much easier to deal with, over all. He's still a handful but these are very big changes. He appears to be outgrowing his "deafness" too.
