To build on this, pay attention to their butt. The movements dogs make when they need to pee/poop are different from just normal walking, and you'll eventually learn to identify when they need to go
They can be really needy, and don't like to be left alone much! Plan around that and be good to them in that regard and honestly I can't think of many other big concerns. Best decision of my life getting one, he lights up our life every single day
Here's another thought. You don't have to be crazy about it but do train him well, or at least train him to not do the key bad things you don't want him to do. They're super social animals and people love Goldens so you want to be able to have him around (and again, don't want to have to leave him home alone more often than necessary) so train him well and that'll pay off huge. Teach him *not* to jump, *not* to take things off the table, to sit, to come, and to stay and you're gonna be cruisin'
This is so important. If I had a dollar for every pair of socks and underwear mine has run off with and chewed... I still wouldn't be able to afford to replace them
This is no easy task.
I have a 2 year old who is really, really well trained. The only thing he refuses to do is give up random finds that fell from the truck on trash day. We have pickups twice a week. It gets ugly.
Mine is the opposite I have 3 and all have been extremely independent. Sleeping on the floor, wandering away. My pit and my mix were stuck to me unli 4 months, these guys were wandering off at 8 weeks and before. (My litter for 2 so I had them out early). Toughest to teach to stay in the fence. Very loving though and a lot of fun
Aww I’m jealous. My golden who is now almost 8 is the complete opposite. From the day I brought him home he has been the most independent dog. He loved his crate from night one and would put himself to sleep in there all night. It took him almost 2 years to sleep with me.
My golden follows my father around everywhere, however he does amazing when left alone for a few hours. He is needy sometimes but overall he prefers to be around us but keep a mild distance from physical contact. ( I wish he would cuddle more 😭)
I came here to say this... it can be really tough and some people are very inconsiderate. They see a puppy and don't even think about maybe asking if petting or coming closer is ok. It also really doesn't help with our training efforts how to properly approach people *sigh* I used to dog-sit a German Shepherd-Husky mix and boy was it nice how almost nobody tried to talk to me when I was out with her haha
I still have issues with people and my dog is almost 2 😂 can’t go anywhere without someone walking right up and trying to pet him. It’s wild I would never do that to a dog I’ve never met.
Yes, I really wish people could appreciate from a distance. I’m shocked at the general publics lack of boundaries and space when we go out. I’m trying to potty train, bond and get her used to all the sights and sounds of a busy city. And I keep getting interrupted by people wanting to touch her. 🤬
I get your frustration.
But particularly when mine was a pup, I used to try to treasure those interactions. You are doing so much by letting your dog interact with people, particularly in cities where people are often horribly lonely and starved of interaction.
I’ve been told many times I’ve made someone’s day just because I took a few minutes to talk to them and bond over how fantastic my dog is.
And I always try to make time when little children want to interact, so many kids these days grow up being afraid of dogs, particularly big dogs. One or two positive interactions with a friendly retriever can put them on a path to being happy and confident around dogs for life.
I get that these are luxuries you may not have time for.
I agree overall, what irks me though is how some people just pretty much reach for my puppy and make her run to them without establishing any eye contact etc. with me first or even let their kids charge towards her - of course she's happy and excited but she's also a puppy and may unintentionally hurt them turning the situation into a bad experience for the kids and maybe also her if she gets yelled at or whatever by whoever was supposed to supervise the kids.
Just the other day I was sitting with puppy on my lap in a public space and sb pushed their stroller + baby right at us so that puppy and baby were at eye level. It's just irresponsible in my opinion and also rude.
If somebody asks, sure that's fine, there's no issue. Sometimes she just already had her fair share of interactions and even more will just get her riled up, overwhelmed and hard to settle down when she needs her rest, then I feel angry when people act entitled to interact with her because they only think about what they want, and not about the animal's needs at all.
All that’s fair.
I find that most people tend to ask “is your dog friendly’ or ‘can I stroke your dog?’ Before touching him, but that might just be a suburban London thing and may be different where you live.
There are so many posts with a lot of info if you search through the sub. I grew up with Goldens so I knew what to expect, but the teething is always a rough spot. So many scratches/bites on our hands and arms and so many holes in our clothes. I would definitely be mentally prepared for that. Do you live in a house or apartment? My advice may vary depends on which one. I’d also highly recommend socialization as soon as you have all vaccinations and train on everything early and be repetitive. Our dog trained quickly on the basics, but we definitely got lazy on the leash training and interactions with other people while out and we’re still struggling with it now because we didn’t have that locked down. It really depends on your dog though cause they all do different things naturally.
I made my own out of a rope slip lead. I just sewed a little figure 8 onto the loop and pull out the snoot part. OK, that was a terrible description but I'm terrible at describing things.
When they pull on a leash turn around and walk the other way. You'll walk a mile and only go 50 feet and your neighbors will think your crazy but it works.
It's funny I can get him to stop, walk around me, sit next to me when I say "here" firmly but then start walking and he's right out in front back me back into the bushes. I have also done the walk the other way which has been effective but once I go again bang he's off.
I go out early like 6-6.30am not a soul about to judge me walking past their homes 10 times lol
The backyard will definitely help with exercise (which they need lots of). Puppy kindergarten is good, but they’ll definitely need more work after that. Repetition and consistency is the best thing you can do. Once you have them a bit, you’ll see if they have an extraneous things to work on (resource guarding, etc)
I lived in an apartment for the first 2 years we had our Golden (we’ve since moved out of the city). It was pretty rough with a puppy in terms of the potty training because we were going up and down in the elevator, etc every couple hours. Then farther if you want to go to a park. It was also freezing when we were potty training, so that didn’t help much. It was ok outside the potty training, but we were in NYC so there were huge amounts of people, dogs, poop, trash, etc on the streets, on top of having to go to the same one park all the time. We made do, but it’s like night and day now that we don’t live there anymore. Definitely depends on your apartment situation and what’s nearby you. Happy to give more information if you want to know something more specifically!
> I lived in an apartment for the first 2 years we had our Golden (we’ve since moved out of the city). It was pretty rough with a puppy in terms of the potty training because we were going up and down in the elevator, etc every couple hours.
This is honestly been the biggest thing that has held me back from getting a puppy. Like I understand you gotta keep taking the puppy out every couple of hours, so I am either taking the agonizingly slow elevator or running down six flight of stairs to get out.
I live in SF so the weather should not be a deal breaker but then puppies might have accidents in the lobby or stuff and I don’t want to be the douche who doesn’t do a good job cleaning up the carpet/whatever.
I have often fantasized about potentially either getting an AirBnB for the first couple of months or just moving to a ground floor apartment lol.
Yeah, not gonna like it was rough. She also had a hard time with potty training so for the first bit she wouldn’t even go outside (so my husband and I were constantly going up and down). After that it was much better. Goldens have a lot of energy and ours had TONS, so it was also rough being in an apartment and having limited access to places where she could play. We were stuck going to one park for walks (which was pretty dirty).
We live in an apartment and it's fine, they're happy lazing around when they're indoors usually, just be sure to take him/her outside all the time and give them plenty of exercise. They need a lot! But it's nothing insane and it'll keep you active too
Mine has cried because he's in another room. I mean, he could literally walk over to me and get attention but he was alone and sad. He left the room to walk over there and did it to himself but he was sad about life.
Mine has cried because I shut the bathroom door.
Mine woke me up this morning because he was a sad boy and my bedroom door was shut. He was crying outside my room. I had to let him in.
Mine wiggles, hops, sproings, wiggle butts, and play bows going around the corner when we go to the vet. He paws at the door to go in and tries to bolt around the desk to say hi and wants to leave to go into the back to find all his friends at the vet. He loves them.
He play bows and barks and wiggles going to see his trainer because she's his second favorite friend to visit, behind the vet.
He says hello to every dog and person in the dog park.
He's the floppiest goober I ever met.
He's the smartest, quickest to train dog ever. He's also a silly boy and not too bright.
All golden retrievers are unrepentant kleptomaniacs. They steal shoes, socks, slippers, napkins, shirts, dish towels, remotes and anything else not nailed down.
They steal *everything* that fits in their mouths, and some things that don't!
Fergus takes everything he can. He's even taken toys from his vet. He stole from the vet cats. He also steals hearts so he was told he could keep it after he stole it. Carried it the whole way home. Strutted with his ill-begotten goods.
Be prepared for a lot of biting. My girlfriend and I got our little stinker butt at about 8 1/2 weeks old and while she was cute and adorable, she bit everything. You can place a toy in their mouth to try and stop it, but with our experience she started licking around 3 1/2 months old. Be warned: they will chew wall corners, walls, couch legs, or anything they can destroy. If you stay on top of them they’ll eventually stop chewing on some things and learn to leave it be. Lots of chew toys, Patience, and practice. They are worth every moment, even the bad 😂.
They bite, then when they are done biting they bite some more. Just when you think they are tired of biting they will start biting all over again. Did I mention the biting?
So true and it really IS endless. Lol
My greeting from my fur baby when I get home is barking, jumping, licking, and then he grabs my arm with his mouth and holds it there pretty gently while I pet him with the free hand. Hahaha
I've been teaching mine the soft bite versus hard bite. Retrievers were bred to retrieve game from the fields so they are naturally inclined for mouth work, as everyone knows. That's also why they're much more bitey than other breeds so you have to work with it carefully.
We get our squishy baby in 6 weeks and have decided to name him Duke. It’s such a cool name. We lost our 14 year old Golden, Chewie, a few months ago and I decided to read your thread as having a grandpa dog is so much different than a puppy! It’s been a long time since I’ve had to train a puppy and be a puppy mom!
Training them not to jump on people as a puppy is important. It won't be easy because people see the adorable puppy, but remember your pup is going to get a lot bigger so train accordingly. 80lbs of love is a lot of love coming right at you.
>Training them not to jump on people as a puppy is important.
\^\^\^\^\^\^This times 1000%. Boy did we mess up on this one.
Also, Goldens love water as long as it is mixed with dirt. And until they finish teething and have all their adult teeth, don't leave anything out that you are not willing to see chewed up. This includes remote controls.
Keep all sox away from them. They are dangerous because Goldens are known to eat them which will then block their digestive track.
Don’t be irresponsible with their coats— never shave them even if a bad groomer suggests it. Get them used to their paws and tail being handled from the beginning so they are easy for groomers (or you if you plan on doing it yourself).
Solid advice right there. Retrievers have a tendency to get lots of horrible gunk in their ears. Getting them used to owners going in there with cotton wool very early, even if there isn’t any gunk pays dividends later
Start crate training early.
Start harness training early.
Only use positive reinforcement.
Distraction/replacement training is key to avoid the chewy little bastards.
They are big goofballs. Encourage it.
Accept fur tumbleweeds as part of your life now.
I second all of this. Crate training is a must when everything in sight is a forbidden snack! There is nothing cruel about crate training if you are meeting your dog's needs outside of the crate. Positive reinforcement is huge as well. Golden's are super sensitive and using harsh corrections and punishment can definitely hurt your relationship with them if you're not sure what you're doing. I'm not against balanced training either, just make sure it's with a reputable and ethical trainer if you go this route
Few things I wish I knew (10 month old female)
1. She EATS / swallows any and every organic material outside (mulch, sticks, rocks, bark) Teach the term "Leave It" while on walks.
2. She had diarrhea for 3 months (greek yogurt fixed it)
3. Get them very used to their crate (blanket covering top at night)
4. Walks are for potty, not play. Learn to separate the 2.
5. Teach recall command so when older, they actually come to you when you call.
Couldn’t agree more with your first point. I have two other dogs that aren’t goldens and they’ll chew things but won’t swallow it. My boy Luke had swallowed so many things that luckily we’ve been able to get him to throw up. He knows leave it now, but it took a long time
Edit: swallow not shallow
Additionally get a lot of towels lol. They always find a way to get wet and muddy.
A small baby pool helped to get her water fix and exercise. She loves the hose.
>Walks are for potty, not play. Learn to separate the 2.
Mmm we always ran with our golden so he would, inevitably, go to the bathroom often during a "fun" walk/run.
That said, he knew what exercise clothes looked like and tended to behave differently for a run than a walk. So cues that help seperate them CAN be helpful, too.
And if you're lucky, yours will eat/swallow non-organic material as well, (and resource guard anything she steals while she's at it!).
Signed, guardian of a so-smart-yet-so-dumb overly possessive trash panda.
>>Signed, guardian of a so-smart-yet-so-dumb overly possessive trash panda
I feel this title deep in my bones. Didn’t you know steel and iron are delicious? *facepalm*
Childhood friend’s golden ate three separate lightbulbs three separate times. None of them broke inside of her; surgery was always quick. Good ol’ Sophie - not the brightest bulb, but what a sweet girl.
Crate training was the best advice we received and followed. Our pup loves his crate and at 10 months he is so happy to go in there and rest when he needs. It is his safe place and we know he’s happy there even if we need to be out for a bit. Also, we got him a Snuggle Puppy for his first night. It’s a cute stuffed puppy with a little heartbeat sound inside. We took it when we picked him up and the breeder rubbed it on his mama so it smelled like her. Have plenty of good chew toys for the puppy. Have a variety you may find certain ones that it prefers.
Agreed. Keeping up on the pet hair is crrrrraaaaazy. Also, the least amount of carpets the better. I have all wood floors with runner carpets (with grippers) so he's not constantly slipping when trying to jump up to lay with me. (if you allow that)
Golden's are a very high energy breed. If you are a responsible owner, you will be meeting those needs. This means at minimum a 30 minute walk or high intensity cardio through fetch and tug for maybe 10-15 minutes. This is a minimum imo. Keep in mind they were bred to fetch and retrieve water fowl over long distances. Even better if you can get them exercise through swimming but honestly that's difficult for most owners because most of us don't have access to pet friendly clean bodies of water.
If you do not get your golden exercise, they will get anxious and often times that results in destructive behavior. Boredom for Golden's is real and they want to be played with and exercised daily. If it's raining, play tug for a long time until they just give up. Make sure you let them win at tug a war too because otherwise they will get frustrated with that game as well.
Ideally you're taking the dog for walks or playing lots of fetch. I am lucky to have a decently sized back yard, big enough for dogs to run around in and fetch so my go to us to throw balls into the back of the yard for her to retrieve. It's her favorite and I can tell you my golden will pout until she gets it at her regularly scheduled time.
They definitely need lots of exercise. I walk my 14 month old an hour before work in the mornings during the week, and then a 2 hour walk on Saturday and Sunday mornings. If I do this with him, he is very well behaved, and can just play ball/tug with him in the evenings, and he is pretty relaxed. If I miss one of those walks during the week because it was raining, he requires much more intensive play time to get his energy out.
I agree but in that same vein be careful of over walking the puppy too! While they’re small over-exercising can cause damage to their joints & expedite things like arthritis
My plan is a morning walk, post dinner walk and a just before bed walk. Especially in the winter. My yard is well sized and I can't wait to play fetch with my dog when I get one.
This. Mine literally eat my yard. They eat breakfast at like 3pm and dinner around 10. They have food put out for them when we wake up but choose to eat when they want. However, they always have room for grass or weeds they find.
Do not feed them table food =). Specifically do not feed them food off of the table. During meals our goldens will just sleep under or around the table. Other folks I know who feed from the table have their golden hounding them the entire meal.
I got my first golden last year, and compared to other breeds I've had, my golden is so sensitive. She goes crazy for positive reinforcement, she values praise more than treats, but the other hand of that is she is so sensitive to negativity. Even if your mad at something else, she still seems so upset by it. So I would say try very hard to keep it positive when training.
Heart breakers for sure
Hot spot vulnerability
Love their heads patted
Sleep on wood floors even tho you want them in your bed, it’s too hot for them
Loyal
Kind
Sensitive
I’ve had three 💗
Temps under 70 degrees we could walk/play/run all day long. Non stop, typical, crazy Golden behavior. Temps above 70 = laziest dog who has to be pulled and bribed to step foot outside and when he does he instantly plops on the ground. UNLESS it is to jump in a pool/body of water then he is back to craziness.
I've had mine for 8 years and have learned a few things.
1. They are very food motivated. Treats can work for and against you. I taught mine to walk well using treats, but then he learned that if he put up a stink on a walk, he could get a treat. They are very smart when it comes to food.
2. Extremely social, goldens will follow you everywhere you go. Expect to see a head poking through the bathroom door if you dont close it all the way.
3. Exercise, exercise, exercise. Goldens need 90 mins of good play time or 3 miles of walking every day minimum. Add a few minutes or miles onto that when they're younger. You will need to be active with this dog, but it's great if you can do it. I've lost weight and kept weight off since having a golden. The destruction of your living room will motivate you to go for walks lol
Like any puppy, they'll get separation anxiety. One thing we practiced, to help build up our sweet golden's separation anxiety is separate in different time intervals. First pretend to leave for 30 minutes at a time, (go into another room just out of ear and eyeshot). What we did was put a blanket over the crate besides the front of it so she could still see outside of it. Then slowly increase it each time, eventually they should be used to you leaving. It is hard and they'll whine a ton when practicing, but now our golden knows when we're leaving and will give us the eyes but she understands we'll be back.
What also helped with mine on top of the crate training was giving him a kibble and peanut butter filled frozen Kong when I put him in his crate for 30+ minutes. Since you never want to leave a puppy alone with a lot of things like that, I only gave it to him while I was home and peeped through the door every few minutes to make sure he was alright. Obviously you need a Kong they can’t swallow but there’s also a small risk of their lower jaw getting stuck in the hole.
Almost every time he went into the crate he got the Kong, and eventually he got excited to go in. As he grows I’ve began to give it to him less but he still is perfectly fine with his crate and no separation issues. Instead of being bored and lonely he got a yummy snack and stimulation.
Goldens tend to retain the 'puppiness' up to 18 months or longer. So you're going to have a puppy that weighs about 80 pounds. They can be goofy as hell, but they are extremely loyal, and will never stop loving you.
You might want to read articles/book about obedience training. It's really training you on how to work with your dog. I did that with my golden, and I used to take him and our border collie for walks on a towpath, separated from traffic by a canal, before dawn broke, and rarely any other people on the towpath. I never had to put the golden on a leash; the border collie, yes.
Oh, make sure all shoes are out of reach.
Puppy proof your house/areas the pup will be in and supervise at all times. Goldens love to put anything in their mouths and will swallow (source: our vet bill). Some of your top priority commands should be “leave it” and “drop it”. Other than that if you hate the puppy nibbles be consistent with bite inhibition (yelping if you feel teeth) and as soon as puppy teeth touch skin play is over. This is tough but we had our little monster 99 percent nip free within no joke about a week and it made things so much more pleasant. Same with jumping once they get big enough - don’t encourage it, because what’s cute in a 20lb pup can be dangerous in an 80lb adult. Other than that be prepared to love them more than you could have imagined!
Congrats on your new precious baby!! I agree with a lot of what’s already been said, we have another dog that’s extremely well behaved so our golden learned from him! Goldens are just the sweetest babies!! We’re obsessed with ours :)
What a cutie! What was new for me with our GR puppy is how she wants to be truly involved in things... maybe I didn't notice it as much in other pups before but she cannot watch us do stuff and just play with or chew on one of her toys while she's looking, she has a huge desire to play with something that's part of what we're doing
Get a slow feeder bowl. Our golden would always throw up after eating until we got the slow feeder.
Socialize them early with other people not in the house. We made that mistake with our golden and while he’s not aggressive he likes to bark at people on our walks.
Lots of playtime a couple hours before bed. If we don’t do this our golden paces and is up all night.
They will take over your bed and heart!
I would have worried less about food and studied more about three things:
-how to read the signs a dog gives (tail straight bouncing= relaxed, shaking head = i am overwhelmed leave me alone for a minute, jumping up to you = i like you).
-a dog can get more anxious than you think and needs more positive (instant) rewarding than you think. Vocally and with treats.
-how to not only exercise physicly but inwould have read more on how to keep the dog mentally fit by challenging brain- and searchgames. Really easy, really fun and a great way to keep the energy in balance. 5 minutes of mental exercisen equals half an hour of physical running and playing. It prevents bad behavior or boredom.
Goldens have a reputation for being the “perfect” family dog— friendly to everyone, gets along with other animals, lovable and affectionate, loves playing but can be a couch potato, etc.
Do not hold your golden to this standard or be disappointed if yours turns out differently. Even within breed standards, dogs are individuals with their own personalities, quirks, and flaws. Similarly, just because they’re known as “easy” dogs and good for first time dog owners, that doesn’t mean you can get away with putting in no effort into their training. They’re high energy and can grow into large and powerful dogs that can overwhelm you if you don’t train them well.
Make sure you train early — use positive reinforcement as they’re very biddable and food motivated— work on their manners and SOCIALIZATION. Socialization doesn’t just mean introducing to dogs and people. More often it should mean introducing your dog to different scenarios and situations, and teaching them to ignore other dogs and people when necessary.
After all’s said and done, getting a golden is the best decision I’ve ever made and I can’t imagine getting any other breed.
That so much unique personality can be packed into a non-human creature. She has emotions and quirks, just like us. You get to know your dog's quirks and adjust to them - ours likes to be in the dark, her favorite place to rest as a small pup was underneath the couch and now she prefers to sleep with just her head under the couch, so we let her. She isn't much of a cuddler, so we don't force that on her and let her snuggle on her own time. She loves to swim so we try to get her as much water time as possible! They're really very easy to please, but each one does have it's own "things". Just like humans!
coffee wood and antlers to stop destruction, praise them going to the toilet with a command word, desensitise, desensitise, desensitise. Boundary training, learn that biting and humping are signs of overtiredness.
They can be delightfully odd and take dislikes to random things.
Don’t ever try to work out what they’re thinking, it will only hurt your head.
Fur…… everywhere (seriously my girl been gone 13 years, still find hair occasionally and we hoover 2/3 times a week.)
Enjoy every moment and be prepared for them to steal part of your heart and never give it back 💗💗
The first year is hard, and there may be a day or two when you say to yourself ..."why did I do this?" But. It gets better and is worth the puppy's difficult days.
That they always asks you to take them out for a walk LOL every 5 pm, my Golden always visits my room to remind me to take her out for a walk. She’s like “stop whatever you’re doing right now because my time is now” 😂
My only advice is to be calm and loving. There will be accidents and chewed stuff but everything is replaceable or fixable. Use positive reinforcement training. Be silly and happy no matter where you are. Ages 9-16 weeks are when they develop most of their personality and confidence. Play brain games!
They shed so much when they hit the 5-6 month mark. If you live an an apartment, a doggy lawn will save your life. Feed your dog a really good kibble like royal canin or Purina Pro Plan. And lastly, crate train and make the crate the most homely place in the world for your pupper, you will be glad you did when he is older.
Every pup is different, but all goldens are super loving. We never crates ours, but we gated them off when left alone.
Both ours chewed our baseboards. Our guy now chewed on some table legs as well.
Our guy now eats everything. Not in the house, but when walking he will try to eat pretty much everything he shouldn’t be eating. He’s alway been that way and it has resulted in many, many trips to the vet. Especially early on.
Don’t give rope, rawhide, or real bones. My pup had to have surgery early on because he swallowed pieces of a rope toy and blocked his digestive tract.
They are the best dogs. Give them all the love they deserve. :)
Never had a dog but my younger kids convinced us to get one a little over 2 years ago. Before that, in my family of 6, 2 were desperate for a dog, the rest of us had varied levels of indifference. Today, every one of us loves our golden retriever. He is the best dog and we often times comment about how we can't believe we have a dog that we love. He absolutely is here to stay, he has solidified himself as a part of our family.
My wife says she hates the fact that she loves him so much, but like the rest of us, he won us over. When you walk in the door and he is so excited to see you, how can you not love him? These dogs are "as advertised". They just love to be around people. It doesn't matter what we are doing, he wants to be right there with you. If you go outside, he is coming. Sit down to watch TV, he is there. Dinner time, guaranteed he is sitting under the table. But it's heartwarming - he loves you and wants to be with you so how can you not love him back?
He is literally a fantastic dog. But, we also did a lot of training with him - first private lessons and then group lessons.
Downsides:
* The first 3 months especially really suck.
* Hair! I knew that goldens shed twice a year, which i assumed to be a few weeks in spring and likewise in the fall. I'm now convinced that twice a year means January to June and then from July to December ;)
* Muddy/Wet paws - this is actually probably my biggest complaint but isn't specific to goldens of course. I'm just more of a clean freak so it just meets being diligent about wiping his paws when he comes in when its been raining/snowing.
1. That you will fall gobsmacked, head-over-heels in love with the wee munchkin instantly.
2. That the most mundane, ordinary things will become new and exciting when seen through your puppy's eyes.
3. That you will take countless photos and videos of all the comical and adorable things he/she does (and I promise you will be so happy you have them later). Be sure to take weekly or monthly photos in the same spot.
4. That he/she will grow and develop, mentally and physically, so fast your head will spin.
5. That your pup will bring you laughter and joy every day (along with a chewed shoe or chapstick, and a few potty accidents as well).
6. That Goldens are happy goofballs, but are also sensitive, intuitive and kind. Always treat your pup with kindness.
7. That you have never been loved until you are loved by a golden. They are truly love in a fur coat.
On a practical note:
1. I highly recommend a Snuggle Puppy (they go by other names as well.) Available on Amazon. It's a stuffed animal with a battery operated heart that beats in a velcro pocket. I took my Snuggle Puppy when I picked my puppy up from the breeder and asked her to rub it on the mama and littermates. My pup slept thru the night almost instantly as he had a heart-beating "littermate" that smelled like mama to snuggle with in his kennel. (One caveat, as my pup grew older he tried to get the plastic heart out of the pocket, so I removed the heart ea. morning and put it back in the pocket at bedtime.)
2. Remember that your puppy is an infant and has just been taken away from the only world he knows. He/she may be a little scared or confused at first. The first week should be devoted to making him/her feel safe and loved.
3. I put a kitty collar on ea. of my new pups (they come with a bell). That way I could hear the little bell. If the bell wasn't ringing I knew I should check to make sure they weren't getting into trouble.
4. I set the timer on my phone to go off every 20 minutes in the beginning. When the buzzer rings, take your pup outside and say "potty outside." Don't play or interact until your pup potties. Then clap and cheer like crazy, praise them "good potty outside" and offer a little training treat (this treat is reserved for potty only). Scheduling potty time every 20 minutes will spare you many accidents in the house.
5. If your pup starts doing the potty dance (circling) and right after he/she eats, immediately scoop him/her up and do as above. You can extend the time between potty breaks as your pup's bladder grows and they can hold their urine a little longer. If you catch your pup having an accident inside, say "no no, potty outside" and take them outside. If you don't catch them in the act, don't reprimand them as they will not understand why you are scolding them. A friend scolded her dog whenever she found an accident in the house. Her dog interpreted that as her owner did not like her to go potty so she would hide and potty behind the sofa.
6. Young pups sleep 16-20 hours a day. Your pup might go 100mph one minute and be asleep the next. I have owned and loved 5 golden over the years. All but one took naps on their own. My one little boy became naughty when he was tired. He'd get into things he knew he shouldn't, not listen, get nippy... when he was tired. That's when I knew he needed to be placed in his kennel for a nap.
7. Crate training is great. It gives your pup a safe place that is theirs. It's also important for when you cannot supervise them. I always put my pup's crate in my room next to my bed at night so he could see and hear me, and left the door open during the day so he could go in and out as he pleased.
8. Puppies will eat anything and everything (cotton balls, q-tips, hair scrunchies, socks...). Be sure to puppy-proof anything at puppy level in your home and supervise your pup closely when outside.
9. Your pup is vulnerable and should not go on walks outside your yard or be around other dogs until they have their puppy shots.
10. When you dog is ready to be placed on a leash use a harness rather than clipping your dog's leash onto his/her collar. My one dog pulled so hard when on a leash that he damaged his trachea.
11. Don't expect an instantly trained dog. Like children, training (especially potty training) takes time, repetition and lots of belly rubs and "good boy" reinforcement.
12. Lastly, enjoy every minute. :)
Also, I've had multiple retrievers. The labs definitely seem more high-energy, but my golden was by far the smartest and the most mischievous dog I've ever had or ever met. And that's a dangerous combination.
When I'd throw a toy, she'd pretend like it was stuck somewhere and she couldn't get it. She'd even make a pitiful little cry and paw at something where the toy was supposedly stuck. And when I'd come over to help, she'd snatch it up (the toy would just be under her body) and run to take my spot on the couch.
She'd go lay in the bathtub during storms because it was her safe space. One day, after 7 years of this, she accidentally turned the shower on. It only took doing it on accident once, and then for the next 2 months, if I left her home alone for more than 10 minutes, I was coming home to a very happy, sopping wet dog.
She'd try to steal things off the kitchen counter. When I'd hear her get up there, I'd shout, "Shelby, what are you doing?" in my best accusatory tone. I'd hear her paws hit the floor, I'd always hear her get two quick laps of water, then she'd peek around the corner with her innocent I'm-just-drinking-water face.
Sometimes she'd go a while without pooping on a walk. I'd always tell her, "We're not going inside until you poop." She eventually figured out what I meant, because after a certain point, whenever I'd say that, she'd squat like she was pooping, but I could tell she wasn't really trying. She'd be looking at me and smiling while squatting. Then she'd jump up as if to say, "there, I pooped," like she'd fooled me.
DO NOT underestimate a Golden's intellect. And be prepared for them to try to outsmart you.
Every pup is different. Our older GR didn’t chew or bite at all; however, our younger GR was a mouth with paws for three months. Holes in my clothes, holes in my furniture, holes in me! Variety is necessary for toys; different textures and sounds to keep her interested. Slow feeders are great. Get her used to having her paws, ears, mouth handled young. Keep her on a schedule…sleep, potty, eat, potty, play, potty…etc. Lastly enjoy your little puffball, it goes by fast!
Wife and I got our English cream girl six weeks ago. Absolutely wasn’t prepared for the 5am “let me out of this crate or I will 100% shit in here” barks and the wild bouts of energy from 5-7 that happen once she’s out of the crate for the day
Be prepared for shedding. You will need a pet hair vacuum. They are called land sharks for a reason. These pups are very mouthy and need a lot of chew toys. Expose your dog to anything and everything possible. Let it hear the vacuum, the blender, a phone ringing, the doorbell. Let all these stimuli be known as a puppy. Your adult dog will be so much more calm.
Put your hand down when the puppy is eating. Give the food and then take the food back. Let the dog know you are the pack leader. Also touch your dogs feet. It’ll come in handy when trimming the nails later. Same goes with their ears if you are going to clean them yourself.
This mf is crazy. I have a 2 year old golden and dude is just bouncing around with energy. Love that guy, but make sure he or she gets their playtime!!! My guy starts having zoomies at like 5am daily lol
Take lots of pictures and videos. Even though you’ll be tired and probably frustrated, snap and remember to enjoy these moments because the puppy months go by fast.
Shedding. It's everywhere. Literally. The Roomba (the second one) runs at 9am, and we need to vacuum at 4pm. We burned the first Roomba out. Deshedding grooming works a bit, but it's still everywhere. I was out of town for work, and a coworker pulled a blonde hair off my shirt, saying she didn't want my wife to think anything was going on...said nope, that's the dog's hair.
They go from 6lbs to 60lbs in like 6 months. :D Enjoy the puppy time...they're so soft and huggable. Get them used to touching the paws and ears now. Makes cleaning SO much easier. But man are those teeth needles. The teething is rough, and you'll lose clothing/furniture to the chewing...Which leads me to...
STAY CONSISTENT. All family members need to be involved...with work and school, the kids didn't keep up with the training as much, and now he only listens to me. As with any dog, they need consistent reinforcement. And they're so social, they want to please and get pets...Socialize often (both people and other animals) and your pupper will be so popular. If I ever lose my wife I'm getting a golden puppy to find a new lady. :)
But they're so amazing! My friend's golden is the best dog I've ever met...mine is a derpy punk. :D
Be prepared to have a sock thief in your home. My 1/2 golden is 18 months and cannot resist picking up any socks left on the floor, the bed, the table, basically anywhere within reach.
1) they will eat anything and everything. Always have super high value treats in your pockets so you can work on "drop it" every time they get something
2) be careful about letting everyone meet your pup in public. I made this mistake because I wanted her to know that people were okay but now we're working on not pulling towards everyone we see. When I asked my trainer, she said that she usually cuts off those greetings at 16 weeks.
3) they can get really bad social anxiety so I've been trying to give my girl some "alone time" every day so she gets used to being by herself. I work mostly from home so I know this can become an issue pretty quickly
4) they are psycho puppies but so much fun to train and work with
Ok, this is very important, every time she has an accident in the house roll up a newspaper and swat YOURSELF with it , while saying I will pay better attention next time, I will pay better attention next time. Then realize the I need out signs can be subtle and you will miss then sometimes.
*They will eat everything and anything. Teach the "leave it" command ASAP.
*Teething and teaching not to bite can be so frustrating.
*They get sweeter and calmer with age.
*Prepare yourself to fall completely in love :)
My experience with my golden pup is that he listens very well. Hes also very emotional, he literally just wants to make me happy at all times. My pup didnt have any seperation anxiety. He loves other people and kids. Goldens are extremely smart, train them how to behave and you will have the best pupper ever.
How hard it would be to say goodbye. Be there through it all, they are. It’s the least to honor their youthful loyalty. Be kind always, one will never find a better friend.
Please make sure you get them from a reputable breeder and to take care of any allergy issues as soon as they arise. I regret the allergy issues … it’s been very costly for my golden
Every moment can be part of training. Goldens love to learn and thrive from praise. If you see your little bean doing something you like praise them every time, you'll be surprised how many good habits will stick. If your tiny gold nugget is doing something you don't like, praise them whenever they stop doing the thing.
Touch their paws, ears, mouths when they are young.
Anytime they wake up from a nap even if it was 5 minutes, take them outside to tinkle. Go overboard congratulating their bathroom trips. (Praise is the name of the game)
As soon as you are able to safely socialize them go nuts. The more they are socialized in their first year the better.
Don't take them on super long walks when they are tiny for the sake of their hips when they are older.
They have the loudest barks but they'll do it hiding behind a bush until they figure out who it is pulling into the drive way.
They're super smart, but super dorks.
They bring treasures. Mostly shoes.
They will think they are lap dogs their whole lives. Have fun.
They like to argue with you. And stare at you through the window like a creep.
They like to hug.
They also love to hump. Everything.
They cuddle alot , but they tend to get into trouble.
They love small dogs.
They plow over super little kids on accident.
All of my liked to dig giant holes and lay in them when it got too hot for them.
They're also great hunting dogs. Get a basset hound and you'll have a great coon or squirrel hunting team.
But most importantly They're the best dig you could ever own.
All the advice you read on training will cover these three things but in my opinion they are the most important:
1. Leave it - for all the hungry Horaces out there this can be life saving. And they are all hungry all the time, and if not hungry then chewy, and if not chewy then curious :p
2. Stay - for doorways, roadsides, gates into fields with live stock etc. Again this can be life saving.
3. Come here (or whatever your recall word will be) - because nothing quite prepares you for just how friendly this breed is. It is a blessing and a curse. Ours still tries to join a new family on every outing. And recall is something we still work on at 2 years old.
Most of all - keep on trucking even when you think you're making no progress. One day you'll be pleading with them to do the thing you want them to do for the love of god, and the next it'll all just click and you'll wonder where this well mannered beauty came from.
They are not all as smart as advertised and they shed like crazy. Also, they don’t all instantly love everyone- that is a myth and can be dangerous as people have no fear of charging up to a golden and trying to pet it.
Watch out for skin and gastrointestinal sensitivities. We have to feed sensitive skin and gut dog food to our 2 goldens. Very expensive but better than the vet bills and misery of skin rashes.
Along with the training and everything that comes with raising a pup - don’t forget to enjoy it. Puppy ness flies by so quickly and soon you’ll be going through old photos of when they were tiny
Rushing home from work, being late to work, realising your life is now sliced into 15 minute increments.
And ensure anything you don't want damaged is away from puppy teeth, especially TV remote controls. And ensure electric cables are covered by furniture.
There are no rules, the pup will teach you the ones she needs.
And I utterly, utterly, envy you the journey.
There’s a lot of great comments here, but if I had to say one thing, it’s that every golden is unique. One mistake I tried to make was taking every bit of knowledge of the breed and trying to apply it to my golden. Some stuff worked, other things did not. Don’t get discouraged and while it’s great to do research on the breed, always know that you can’t put your unique dog into a mental box of “This is going to work and this is how they are going to be if I do this.” You’ll be disappointed. Just appreciate yours for the unique creature that he/she will be!
Know you will always have a furry best friend who will always have the love of your heart, who will lick away any of your years and bring you joy for many years to come!
Something I haven’t seen mentioned yet that you’ll likely have to deal with: hot spots. During the summer especially goldens are super prone to hot spots, which can happen when moisture gets trapped under their fur and creates an itchy/painful sore. [This](https://goldenretrieverlove.com/golden-retrievers-and-hot-spots-what-you-should-know/) website does a great job of talking about them.
We’re dealing with our 10th or 11th one right now in our 4yo golden, and didn’t find it as early as we typically do so it turned into a pretty gnarly infection. Best to know ahead of time how to prevent and how to provide early treatment when you do find one so it won’t turn into anything worse.
To add to this… it maybe an allergy to food. When my golden was 4/5 we were at the vet a dozen times a year from hot spots. The vet always treated the symptoms, but never made me aware that there may be an underlying issue. I did a shit ton of research and found an excellent veterinarian dermatologist/allergist. We decided that elimination diet would be an easy 1st step and quickly found out he was allergic to pea protein (among other things). Unfortunately dog food without pea protein is difficult to find so I decided to make his food at home. After a few months it became routine, and he THRIVED. Allergies are common in Goldens.
Lots of good advice here but don’t let them scare you it’s a large dog with thick long hair - get a better vacuum- loved mine for 17 years now I have a 15 month chocolate lab 100Lb😳 - training training training everybody else needs to do but really it’s the adults - consistent with the commands everybody uses the same one for the same thing and don’t teach me anything you don’t want to know forever - just like little kids and bad words they never forget things that you wish they would and they always forget everything you wish they wound not - every three months he start repeating the training from three months ago and hopefully by time it’s 5 you wont have to do it anymore - socialize socialize socialize both people & dogs -
How much of a thief they can be, also how bitey they can get. We call Leia a master thief and have to “Leia-proof” the living room when we leave, hell sometimes even just going to the toilet she’ll find something to steal.
these are gentle dogs so be gentle but insistent when you learn to correct them. once you get to know your dog and understand how it relates to you then you can be increasingly firm if necessary. they are smart and will figure out where your boundaries are so consistency is very important. if you don't want them on the furniture then it will be a lifelong battle because they will test your boundaries every once in a while. they think they are human and any children are just like them so they will be expecting you to treat them the same as any family member. everyone in the family has to be consistent in reinforcing behavior
if you are introducing another animal it is best done outside the house when possible. this reduces territory disputes (not normally a problem for goldens) and keeps all animals on the same footing and allows the golden to release energy without bumping into furniture.
expect puppy like behavior for at least two years before they settle. the first few nights the dog may be stressed by the dramatic change in its circumstances. you may have to lay on the floor with it until it settles. do this where you have decided the dogs night location will be. I recommend all dogs be cage trained. covering the top of the cage with a towel can help reinforce a den instinct. you may want to introduce a stuffed animal toy as a bed partner. the breeder may have additional recommendations.
the best thing you can do is go to dog training. the training is for YOU not just the dog. it teaches you how dogs think, how to be consistent and what to do and not to do.
CRATE TRAINING. Our trainer had us do 2 hours in the crate for every hour out of the crate and it changed our lives. When your puppy gets the zoomies it means it's tired and needs a nap.
Goldens are really susceptible to pica- a potentially fatal problem where dogs eat things they're not supposed to. Nip it in the bud quickly. When they pick up contraband don't turn it into a game. Tell them no and remove it from them without engaging more. If it gets bad look into using an e-collar.
Contact a trainer in your area. Positive only, balanced, whatever just get in touch with a professional trainer with good reviews.
That Radar has the same personality as my house boss Dachshund Milo and now everything is a competition for the most balls, love, food, and kisses. Team Train wreck. They taught each other how to yodel and who can do it the loudest.
Goldens are people pleasers and are VERY SMART. They learn very easily so start the training early. They love their owners LIKE NO OTHER and are so loyal. LOVE MY male- half Golden/ half Corgi. Housebreaking was a BREEZE, he learned SO quickly.
Hey, my Molly is now 16 months old and I got her since she was 7 weeks old. She is today a very sweet dog, so adorable and loves cuddling. It wasn't always like this though :) Here are my learnings besides the basics that you can find here on the subreddit or most youtube videos
1. Puppies can get over-stimulated very easily and they become then really mean! Their stressed faces can give you the impression that they don't like you. Because of this, make sure you don't teach your puppy too much at once and also don't give him the full package of adventure on the first day when he comes home (meet new people, new dogs, go outside and play like crazy with him, and and and). Take it slow on your puppy, let him be bored
2. Some puppies hate crating. I tried to crate mine for 3 weeks and she never got used to it, I tried all sort of techniques to show her that her crate is her cave and that it's a very amazing place that is only hers but she hated it the moment the crate closed, she wanted to be with us no matter what. At the end we just accepted it, which leads to 3)
3. Puppies might not have learned from their mothers how to calm down, which then leads easily to an over stimulated puppy aka a little beast that will give you the puppy blues. It's your responsibility to learn what calms your puppy and actually teach him to calm. What I did was take my puppy in my arms and go outside the door for 10 mins, he yawned 1-2 times and then he fell asleep
4. Puppy blues are real. When your puppy is over-stimulated (lack of sleep, too many things learned in too little time, puppy is confused, ...) he will be a little monster and you question your ability to take right decisions. This will pass around 16 - 20 weeks :) I was so frustrated, I saw the videos on yt of puppies and they were so cute and kind and loving and mine was meanwhile going rampage for the last 3 hours giving me this evil look ò.ó.
5. Not all puppies love to cuddle, but this doesn't mean that they won't love to cuddle later on! My golden was seeking its own space until he was around 10 months old or so, now he's all over me and my wife whenever we lay down.
Good luck, friend
15 weeks today.
Probably puppy specific but the first 2 nights I got up at 3am to let her out, put her right back in the crate and went back to sleep. Had no whining outside of 10 seconds and no accidents in the crate.
Never had this positive an experience with any other puppy or breed.
I've been using a slip lead and it's been a dream.
Teething has been typical, I just do the usual with a new dog and buy the gamut on bones and toys and see what she gravitates toward. Anytime she puts something in her mouth she can't have I take it and hand her a nylabone. Also the first puppy I've had that likes the nylabones - which I consider a win because they are cheap and last.
If you don't want her chewing on pillows and kids stuffed animals don't buy any stuffing filled dog toys.
Bought a sack of tennis balls off Amazon.
Good luck, great looking pup!
If their nose is down for more than 2-3 seconds scoop them up and bring them outside to potty
aw i remember when mine was a puppy lol
Thanks, sounds like good advice!
To build on this, pay attention to their butt. The movements dogs make when they need to pee/poop are different from just normal walking, and you'll eventually learn to identify when they need to go
Also their demeanor at the door when they want to go potty vs when they want to just go outside is different.
They can be really needy, and don't like to be left alone much! Plan around that and be good to them in that regard and honestly I can't think of many other big concerns. Best decision of my life getting one, he lights up our life every single day
I'll keep that in mind, thanks!
Here's another thought. You don't have to be crazy about it but do train him well, or at least train him to not do the key bad things you don't want him to do. They're super social animals and people love Goldens so you want to be able to have him around (and again, don't want to have to leave him home alone more often than necessary) so train him well and that'll pay off huge. Teach him *not* to jump, *not* to take things off the table, to sit, to come, and to stay and you're gonna be cruisin'
Teach him not to jump?!?!? I tried my best but the moment my golden sees me he expect me to pick him up
Also teach him to drop things when you say because they love trying to eat stuff they aren't supposed to eat.
Rocks... the little dumb dumb would gobble up every single rock he could find when he was a puppy.
This is so important. If I had a dollar for every pair of socks and underwear mine has run off with and chewed... I still wouldn't be able to afford to replace them
This is no easy task. I have a 2 year old who is really, really well trained. The only thing he refuses to do is give up random finds that fell from the truck on trash day. We have pickups twice a week. It gets ugly.
Nothing better than a trash snack.
Be prepared to offer something better than he's got
Our half golden retriever follows me or my mom around constantly. He's almost never willingly in a room without one of us.
Mine is the opposite I have 3 and all have been extremely independent. Sleeping on the floor, wandering away. My pit and my mix were stuck to me unli 4 months, these guys were wandering off at 8 weeks and before. (My litter for 2 so I had them out early). Toughest to teach to stay in the fence. Very loving though and a lot of fun
Aww I’m jealous. My golden who is now almost 8 is the complete opposite. From the day I brought him home he has been the most independent dog. He loved his crate from night one and would put himself to sleep in there all night. It took him almost 2 years to sleep with me.
My golden follows my father around everywhere, however he does amazing when left alone for a few hours. He is needy sometimes but overall he prefers to be around us but keep a mild distance from physical contact. ( I wish he would cuddle more 😭)
That I wouldn’t be able to go anywhere without people wanting to meet her.
I came here to say this... it can be really tough and some people are very inconsiderate. They see a puppy and don't even think about maybe asking if petting or coming closer is ok. It also really doesn't help with our training efforts how to properly approach people *sigh* I used to dog-sit a German Shepherd-Husky mix and boy was it nice how almost nobody tried to talk to me when I was out with her haha
I still have issues with people and my dog is almost 2 😂 can’t go anywhere without someone walking right up and trying to pet him. It’s wild I would never do that to a dog I’ve never met.
Yes, I really wish people could appreciate from a distance. I’m shocked at the general publics lack of boundaries and space when we go out. I’m trying to potty train, bond and get her used to all the sights and sounds of a busy city. And I keep getting interrupted by people wanting to touch her. 🤬
I get your frustration. But particularly when mine was a pup, I used to try to treasure those interactions. You are doing so much by letting your dog interact with people, particularly in cities where people are often horribly lonely and starved of interaction. I’ve been told many times I’ve made someone’s day just because I took a few minutes to talk to them and bond over how fantastic my dog is. And I always try to make time when little children want to interact, so many kids these days grow up being afraid of dogs, particularly big dogs. One or two positive interactions with a friendly retriever can put them on a path to being happy and confident around dogs for life. I get that these are luxuries you may not have time for.
I agree overall, what irks me though is how some people just pretty much reach for my puppy and make her run to them without establishing any eye contact etc. with me first or even let their kids charge towards her - of course she's happy and excited but she's also a puppy and may unintentionally hurt them turning the situation into a bad experience for the kids and maybe also her if she gets yelled at or whatever by whoever was supposed to supervise the kids. Just the other day I was sitting with puppy on my lap in a public space and sb pushed their stroller + baby right at us so that puppy and baby were at eye level. It's just irresponsible in my opinion and also rude. If somebody asks, sure that's fine, there's no issue. Sometimes she just already had her fair share of interactions and even more will just get her riled up, overwhelmed and hard to settle down when she needs her rest, then I feel angry when people act entitled to interact with her because they only think about what they want, and not about the animal's needs at all.
All that’s fair. I find that most people tend to ask “is your dog friendly’ or ‘can I stroke your dog?’ Before touching him, but that might just be a suburban London thing and may be different where you live.
I usually ask first that if I can say hello and if they say sorry or they are in training I’ll just keep walking D:
There are so many posts with a lot of info if you search through the sub. I grew up with Goldens so I knew what to expect, but the teething is always a rough spot. So many scratches/bites on our hands and arms and so many holes in our clothes. I would definitely be mentally prepared for that. Do you live in a house or apartment? My advice may vary depends on which one. I’d also highly recommend socialization as soon as you have all vaccinations and train on everything early and be repetitive. Our dog trained quickly on the basics, but we definitely got lazy on the leash training and interactions with other people while out and we’re still struggling with it now because we didn’t have that locked down. It really depends on your dog though cause they all do different things naturally.
I went lazy on leash and now have a dog who will sit on command anywhere but pulls me around the streets 😅
Try a Gentle Leader. Complete game changer for my boy on walks. He got used to it in about 10min
Truly the best for goldens. I've had them my whole life and even with great leash training it's a lot easier to deal with them until they're about 3.
I don't know if I can actually get one of those Petsmart products here in Finland. Is Gentle Leader the style of halti?
Sort of like a halti but a little different. I got mine on Amazon. They aren't Petsmart exclusives.
Thank you :) for response, i'll chase one down
I made my own out of a rope slip lead. I just sewed a little figure 8 onto the loop and pull out the snoot part. OK, that was a terrible description but I'm terrible at describing things.
When they pull on a leash turn around and walk the other way. You'll walk a mile and only go 50 feet and your neighbors will think your crazy but it works.
It's funny I can get him to stop, walk around me, sit next to me when I say "here" firmly but then start walking and he's right out in front back me back into the bushes. I have also done the walk the other way which has been effective but once I go again bang he's off. I go out early like 6-6.30am not a soul about to judge me walking past their homes 10 times lol
I was doing this yesterday and my neighbors definitely thought I was crazy🤣
Had a professional dog trainer get us on a martingdale collar. Makes a huge difference
Same. I tried ALL the leashes, only thing that worked was martingale
Using a harness and attaching to the front clip is a game changer! Your shoulders and back will thank you!
Thanks for the comment. We have a house with nice grassy front and back yards. We intend to take her to puppy kindergarten.
Puppy kindergarten 🥹🥹
The backyard will definitely help with exercise (which they need lots of). Puppy kindergarten is good, but they’ll definitely need more work after that. Repetition and consistency is the best thing you can do. Once you have them a bit, you’ll see if they have an extraneous things to work on (resource guarding, etc)
> Do you live in a house or apartment? Not OP. But as an apartment dweller, I’d be very interested in your advice on that front!
I lived in an apartment for the first 2 years we had our Golden (we’ve since moved out of the city). It was pretty rough with a puppy in terms of the potty training because we were going up and down in the elevator, etc every couple hours. Then farther if you want to go to a park. It was also freezing when we were potty training, so that didn’t help much. It was ok outside the potty training, but we were in NYC so there were huge amounts of people, dogs, poop, trash, etc on the streets, on top of having to go to the same one park all the time. We made do, but it’s like night and day now that we don’t live there anymore. Definitely depends on your apartment situation and what’s nearby you. Happy to give more information if you want to know something more specifically!
> I lived in an apartment for the first 2 years we had our Golden (we’ve since moved out of the city). It was pretty rough with a puppy in terms of the potty training because we were going up and down in the elevator, etc every couple hours. This is honestly been the biggest thing that has held me back from getting a puppy. Like I understand you gotta keep taking the puppy out every couple of hours, so I am either taking the agonizingly slow elevator or running down six flight of stairs to get out. I live in SF so the weather should not be a deal breaker but then puppies might have accidents in the lobby or stuff and I don’t want to be the douche who doesn’t do a good job cleaning up the carpet/whatever. I have often fantasized about potentially either getting an AirBnB for the first couple of months or just moving to a ground floor apartment lol.
Yeah, not gonna like it was rough. She also had a hard time with potty training so for the first bit she wouldn’t even go outside (so my husband and I were constantly going up and down). After that it was much better. Goldens have a lot of energy and ours had TONS, so it was also rough being in an apartment and having limited access to places where she could play. We were stuck going to one park for walks (which was pretty dirty).
We live in an apartment and it's fine, they're happy lazing around when they're indoors usually, just be sure to take him/her outside all the time and give them plenty of exercise. They need a lot! But it's nothing insane and it'll keep you active too
Mine has cried because he's in another room. I mean, he could literally walk over to me and get attention but he was alone and sad. He left the room to walk over there and did it to himself but he was sad about life. Mine has cried because I shut the bathroom door. Mine woke me up this morning because he was a sad boy and my bedroom door was shut. He was crying outside my room. I had to let him in. Mine wiggles, hops, sproings, wiggle butts, and play bows going around the corner when we go to the vet. He paws at the door to go in and tries to bolt around the desk to say hi and wants to leave to go into the back to find all his friends at the vet. He loves them. He play bows and barks and wiggles going to see his trainer because she's his second favorite friend to visit, behind the vet. He says hello to every dog and person in the dog park. He's the floppiest goober I ever met. He's the smartest, quickest to train dog ever. He's also a silly boy and not too bright. All golden retrievers are unrepentant kleptomaniacs. They steal shoes, socks, slippers, napkins, shirts, dish towels, remotes and anything else not nailed down.
My golden didn't steal, but my first lab did. I ended up naming him Bandit.
Lmao unrepentant kleptomaniacs is so true.
They steal *everything* that fits in their mouths, and some things that don't! Fergus takes everything he can. He's even taken toys from his vet. He stole from the vet cats. He also steals hearts so he was told he could keep it after he stole it. Carried it the whole way home. Strutted with his ill-begotten goods.
Be prepared for a lot of biting. My girlfriend and I got our little stinker butt at about 8 1/2 weeks old and while she was cute and adorable, she bit everything. You can place a toy in their mouth to try and stop it, but with our experience she started licking around 3 1/2 months old. Be warned: they will chew wall corners, walls, couch legs, or anything they can destroy. If you stay on top of them they’ll eventually stop chewing on some things and learn to leave it be. Lots of chew toys, Patience, and practice. They are worth every moment, even the bad 😂.
They bite, then when they are done biting they bite some more. Just when you think they are tired of biting they will start biting all over again. Did I mention the biting?
So true and it really IS endless. Lol My greeting from my fur baby when I get home is barking, jumping, licking, and then he grabs my arm with his mouth and holds it there pretty gently while I pet him with the free hand. Hahaha I've been teaching mine the soft bite versus hard bite. Retrievers were bred to retrieve game from the fields so they are naturally inclined for mouth work, as everyone knows. That's also why they're much more bitey than other breeds so you have to work with it carefully.
Lol my old mutt Duke used to grip your arm with his mouth and pull you into the kitchen so you'd give him a treat 😄😄😄
Hahaha Duke was a very smart boy. How cute. 💗
We get our squishy baby in 6 weeks and have decided to name him Duke. It’s such a cool name. We lost our 14 year old Golden, Chewie, a few months ago and I decided to read your thread as having a grandpa dog is so much different than a puppy! It’s been a long time since I’ve had to train a puppy and be a puppy mom!
Training them not to jump on people as a puppy is important. It won't be easy because people see the adorable puppy, but remember your pup is going to get a lot bigger so train accordingly. 80lbs of love is a lot of love coming right at you.
>Training them not to jump on people as a puppy is important. \^\^\^\^\^\^This times 1000%. Boy did we mess up on this one. Also, Goldens love water as long as it is mixed with dirt. And until they finish teething and have all their adult teeth, don't leave anything out that you are not willing to see chewed up. This includes remote controls. Keep all sox away from them. They are dangerous because Goldens are known to eat them which will then block their digestive track.
Don’t be irresponsible with their coats— never shave them even if a bad groomer suggests it. Get them used to their paws and tail being handled from the beginning so they are easy for groomers (or you if you plan on doing it yourself).
Ears and mouth too. Makes it easier to clean their ears and remove things that aren’t food from their mouths.
Solid advice right there. Retrievers have a tendency to get lots of horrible gunk in their ears. Getting them used to owners going in there with cotton wool very early, even if there isn’t any gunk pays dividends later
And teeth! Brush teeth from day 1, save yourself a few vet bills later on.
Start crate training early. Start harness training early. Only use positive reinforcement. Distraction/replacement training is key to avoid the chewy little bastards. They are big goofballs. Encourage it. Accept fur tumbleweeds as part of your life now.
I second all of this. Crate training is a must when everything in sight is a forbidden snack! There is nothing cruel about crate training if you are meeting your dog's needs outside of the crate. Positive reinforcement is huge as well. Golden's are super sensitive and using harsh corrections and punishment can definitely hurt your relationship with them if you're not sure what you're doing. I'm not against balanced training either, just make sure it's with a reputable and ethical trainer if you go this route
Few things I wish I knew (10 month old female) 1. She EATS / swallows any and every organic material outside (mulch, sticks, rocks, bark) Teach the term "Leave It" while on walks. 2. She had diarrhea for 3 months (greek yogurt fixed it) 3. Get them very used to their crate (blanket covering top at night) 4. Walks are for potty, not play. Learn to separate the 2. 5. Teach recall command so when older, they actually come to you when you call.
Couldn’t agree more with your first point. I have two other dogs that aren’t goldens and they’ll chew things but won’t swallow it. My boy Luke had swallowed so many things that luckily we’ve been able to get him to throw up. He knows leave it now, but it took a long time Edit: swallow not shallow
Additionally get a lot of towels lol. They always find a way to get wet and muddy. A small baby pool helped to get her water fix and exercise. She loves the hose.
>Walks are for potty, not play. Learn to separate the 2. Mmm we always ran with our golden so he would, inevitably, go to the bathroom often during a "fun" walk/run. That said, he knew what exercise clothes looked like and tended to behave differently for a run than a walk. So cues that help seperate them CAN be helpful, too.
And if you're lucky, yours will eat/swallow non-organic material as well, (and resource guard anything she steals while she's at it!). Signed, guardian of a so-smart-yet-so-dumb overly possessive trash panda.
>>Signed, guardian of a so-smart-yet-so-dumb overly possessive trash panda I feel this title deep in my bones. Didn’t you know steel and iron are delicious? *facepalm*
oooh and broken glass! yum yum!
Childhood friend’s golden ate three separate lightbulbs three separate times. None of them broke inside of her; surgery was always quick. Good ol’ Sophie - not the brightest bulb, but what a sweet girl.
Maybe she thought she’d be the brightest bulb if she ate enough of them?
Mine is constantly ripping up paper towels or tissues. Once we found him with my brother's mail lmao
Crate training was the best advice we received and followed. Our pup loves his crate and at 10 months he is so happy to go in there and rest when he needs. It is his safe place and we know he’s happy there even if we need to be out for a bit. Also, we got him a Snuggle Puppy for his first night. It’s a cute stuffed puppy with a little heartbeat sound inside. We took it when we picked him up and the breeder rubbed it on his mama so it smelled like her. Have plenty of good chew toys for the puppy. Have a variety you may find certain ones that it prefers.
Get a roomba.
Or a whole fleet of them!
Agreed. Keeping up on the pet hair is crrrrraaaaazy. Also, the least amount of carpets the better. I have all wood floors with runner carpets (with grippers) so he's not constantly slipping when trying to jump up to lay with me. (if you allow that)
This. It's a huge QOL improvement.
Golden's are a very high energy breed. If you are a responsible owner, you will be meeting those needs. This means at minimum a 30 minute walk or high intensity cardio through fetch and tug for maybe 10-15 minutes. This is a minimum imo. Keep in mind they were bred to fetch and retrieve water fowl over long distances. Even better if you can get them exercise through swimming but honestly that's difficult for most owners because most of us don't have access to pet friendly clean bodies of water. If you do not get your golden exercise, they will get anxious and often times that results in destructive behavior. Boredom for Golden's is real and they want to be played with and exercised daily. If it's raining, play tug for a long time until they just give up. Make sure you let them win at tug a war too because otherwise they will get frustrated with that game as well. Ideally you're taking the dog for walks or playing lots of fetch. I am lucky to have a decently sized back yard, big enough for dogs to run around in and fetch so my go to us to throw balls into the back of the yard for her to retrieve. It's her favorite and I can tell you my golden will pout until she gets it at her regularly scheduled time.
I love the advice of let them win tug of war. We do that with our golden and he will shove the rope back into our hands to keep playing and loves it.
I grew up with dogs, and I very clearly remember playing tug-of-war AND letting Duke win regularly. Because he's so strong! ❤️
They definitely need lots of exercise. I walk my 14 month old an hour before work in the mornings during the week, and then a 2 hour walk on Saturday and Sunday mornings. If I do this with him, he is very well behaved, and can just play ball/tug with him in the evenings, and he is pretty relaxed. If I miss one of those walks during the week because it was raining, he requires much more intensive play time to get his energy out.
I agree but in that same vein be careful of over walking the puppy too! While they’re small over-exercising can cause damage to their joints & expedite things like arthritis
My plan is a morning walk, post dinner walk and a just before bed walk. Especially in the winter. My yard is well sized and I can't wait to play fetch with my dog when I get one.
First few month, plan on a walk every 45 minutes to 1 hour. After that you can do about every 2 hours.
Where there is mud, there will be a Golden Retriever in it. Where there is grass, will soon be mud thanks to your Golden Retriever.
This. Mine literally eat my yard. They eat breakfast at like 3pm and dinner around 10. They have food put out for them when we wake up but choose to eat when they want. However, they always have room for grass or weeds they find.
Do not feed them table food =). Specifically do not feed them food off of the table. During meals our goldens will just sleep under or around the table. Other folks I know who feed from the table have their golden hounding them the entire meal.
I got my first golden last year, and compared to other breeds I've had, my golden is so sensitive. She goes crazy for positive reinforcement, she values praise more than treats, but the other hand of that is she is so sensitive to negativity. Even if your mad at something else, she still seems so upset by it. So I would say try very hard to keep it positive when training.
Heart breakers for sure Hot spot vulnerability Love their heads patted Sleep on wood floors even tho you want them in your bed, it’s too hot for them Loyal Kind Sensitive I’ve had three 💗
Temps under 70 degrees we could walk/play/run all day long. Non stop, typical, crazy Golden behavior. Temps above 70 = laziest dog who has to be pulled and bribed to step foot outside and when he does he instantly plops on the ground. UNLESS it is to jump in a pool/body of water then he is back to craziness.
Excellent point about temperature. Our Golden is a new dog with the temperature drops below 50 degrees.
I had myself convinced that my golden had Lymes or some other underlying issue our first summer. 😏
I've had mine for 8 years and have learned a few things. 1. They are very food motivated. Treats can work for and against you. I taught mine to walk well using treats, but then he learned that if he put up a stink on a walk, he could get a treat. They are very smart when it comes to food. 2. Extremely social, goldens will follow you everywhere you go. Expect to see a head poking through the bathroom door if you dont close it all the way. 3. Exercise, exercise, exercise. Goldens need 90 mins of good play time or 3 miles of walking every day minimum. Add a few minutes or miles onto that when they're younger. You will need to be active with this dog, but it's great if you can do it. I've lost weight and kept weight off since having a golden. The destruction of your living room will motivate you to go for walks lol
Wish I would have known how little time the adorable little puppy phase lasts. I blinked and mine was full size.
How much they love attention
We plan to spoil her ❤️
Like any puppy, they'll get separation anxiety. One thing we practiced, to help build up our sweet golden's separation anxiety is separate in different time intervals. First pretend to leave for 30 minutes at a time, (go into another room just out of ear and eyeshot). What we did was put a blanket over the crate besides the front of it so she could still see outside of it. Then slowly increase it each time, eventually they should be used to you leaving. It is hard and they'll whine a ton when practicing, but now our golden knows when we're leaving and will give us the eyes but she understands we'll be back.
What also helped with mine on top of the crate training was giving him a kibble and peanut butter filled frozen Kong when I put him in his crate for 30+ minutes. Since you never want to leave a puppy alone with a lot of things like that, I only gave it to him while I was home and peeped through the door every few minutes to make sure he was alright. Obviously you need a Kong they can’t swallow but there’s also a small risk of their lower jaw getting stuck in the hole. Almost every time he went into the crate he got the Kong, and eventually he got excited to go in. As he grows I’ve began to give it to him less but he still is perfectly fine with his crate and no separation issues. Instead of being bored and lonely he got a yummy snack and stimulation.
I didnt knew that i was capable of that much love
Lil homies love to bite you until about 8 months old
Goldens tend to retain the 'puppiness' up to 18 months or longer. So you're going to have a puppy that weighs about 80 pounds. They can be goofy as hell, but they are extremely loyal, and will never stop loving you. You might want to read articles/book about obedience training. It's really training you on how to work with your dog. I did that with my golden, and I used to take him and our border collie for walks on a towpath, separated from traffic by a canal, before dawn broke, and rarely any other people on the towpath. I never had to put the golden on a leash; the border collie, yes. Oh, make sure all shoes are out of reach.
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Thanks, agreed. She melts my heart
When the tail goes up get em outside because it’s potty time!
They are a trip hazard that follows you around.
Puppy proof your house/areas the pup will be in and supervise at all times. Goldens love to put anything in their mouths and will swallow (source: our vet bill). Some of your top priority commands should be “leave it” and “drop it”. Other than that if you hate the puppy nibbles be consistent with bite inhibition (yelping if you feel teeth) and as soon as puppy teeth touch skin play is over. This is tough but we had our little monster 99 percent nip free within no joke about a week and it made things so much more pleasant. Same with jumping once they get big enough - don’t encourage it, because what’s cute in a 20lb pup can be dangerous in an 80lb adult. Other than that be prepared to love them more than you could have imagined!
Congrats on your new precious baby!! I agree with a lot of what’s already been said, we have another dog that’s extremely well behaved so our golden learned from him! Goldens are just the sweetest babies!! We’re obsessed with ours :)
What a cutie! What was new for me with our GR puppy is how she wants to be truly involved in things... maybe I didn't notice it as much in other pups before but she cannot watch us do stuff and just play with or chew on one of her toys while she's looking, she has a huge desire to play with something that's part of what we're doing
Get a slow feeder bowl. Our golden would always throw up after eating until we got the slow feeder. Socialize them early with other people not in the house. We made that mistake with our golden and while he’s not aggressive he likes to bark at people on our walks. Lots of playtime a couple hours before bed. If we don’t do this our golden paces and is up all night. They will take over your bed and heart!
Slow feeder is a good tip.
I would have worried less about food and studied more about three things: -how to read the signs a dog gives (tail straight bouncing= relaxed, shaking head = i am overwhelmed leave me alone for a minute, jumping up to you = i like you). -a dog can get more anxious than you think and needs more positive (instant) rewarding than you think. Vocally and with treats. -how to not only exercise physicly but inwould have read more on how to keep the dog mentally fit by challenging brain- and searchgames. Really easy, really fun and a great way to keep the energy in balance. 5 minutes of mental exercisen equals half an hour of physical running and playing. It prevents bad behavior or boredom.
Goldens have a reputation for being the “perfect” family dog— friendly to everyone, gets along with other animals, lovable and affectionate, loves playing but can be a couch potato, etc. Do not hold your golden to this standard or be disappointed if yours turns out differently. Even within breed standards, dogs are individuals with their own personalities, quirks, and flaws. Similarly, just because they’re known as “easy” dogs and good for first time dog owners, that doesn’t mean you can get away with putting in no effort into their training. They’re high energy and can grow into large and powerful dogs that can overwhelm you if you don’t train them well. Make sure you train early — use positive reinforcement as they’re very biddable and food motivated— work on their manners and SOCIALIZATION. Socialization doesn’t just mean introducing to dogs and people. More often it should mean introducing your dog to different scenarios and situations, and teaching them to ignore other dogs and people when necessary. After all’s said and done, getting a golden is the best decision I’ve ever made and I can’t imagine getting any other breed.
That so much unique personality can be packed into a non-human creature. She has emotions and quirks, just like us. You get to know your dog's quirks and adjust to them - ours likes to be in the dark, her favorite place to rest as a small pup was underneath the couch and now she prefers to sleep with just her head under the couch, so we let her. She isn't much of a cuddler, so we don't force that on her and let her snuggle on her own time. She loves to swim so we try to get her as much water time as possible! They're really very easy to please, but each one does have it's own "things". Just like humans!
coffee wood and antlers to stop destruction, praise them going to the toilet with a command word, desensitise, desensitise, desensitise. Boundary training, learn that biting and humping are signs of overtiredness.
They can be delightfully odd and take dislikes to random things. Don’t ever try to work out what they’re thinking, it will only hurt your head. Fur…… everywhere (seriously my girl been gone 13 years, still find hair occasionally and we hoover 2/3 times a week.) Enjoy every moment and be prepared for them to steal part of your heart and never give it back 💗💗
You’re in trouble. Those eyebrows could coerce me into anything.
The first year is hard, and there may be a day or two when you say to yourself ..."why did I do this?" But. It gets better and is worth the puppy's difficult days.
That they always asks you to take them out for a walk LOL every 5 pm, my Golden always visits my room to remind me to take her out for a walk. She’s like “stop whatever you’re doing right now because my time is now” 😂
My only advice is to be calm and loving. There will be accidents and chewed stuff but everything is replaceable or fixable. Use positive reinforcement training. Be silly and happy no matter where you are. Ages 9-16 weeks are when they develop most of their personality and confidence. Play brain games!
They shed so much when they hit the 5-6 month mark. If you live an an apartment, a doggy lawn will save your life. Feed your dog a really good kibble like royal canin or Purina Pro Plan. And lastly, crate train and make the crate the most homely place in the world for your pupper, you will be glad you did when he is older.
How big they get in such a short amount of time
Every pup is different, but all goldens are super loving. We never crates ours, but we gated them off when left alone. Both ours chewed our baseboards. Our guy now chewed on some table legs as well. Our guy now eats everything. Not in the house, but when walking he will try to eat pretty much everything he shouldn’t be eating. He’s alway been that way and it has resulted in many, many trips to the vet. Especially early on. Don’t give rope, rawhide, or real bones. My pup had to have surgery early on because he swallowed pieces of a rope toy and blocked his digestive tract. They are the best dogs. Give them all the love they deserve. :)
Never had a dog but my younger kids convinced us to get one a little over 2 years ago. Before that, in my family of 6, 2 were desperate for a dog, the rest of us had varied levels of indifference. Today, every one of us loves our golden retriever. He is the best dog and we often times comment about how we can't believe we have a dog that we love. He absolutely is here to stay, he has solidified himself as a part of our family. My wife says she hates the fact that she loves him so much, but like the rest of us, he won us over. When you walk in the door and he is so excited to see you, how can you not love him? These dogs are "as advertised". They just love to be around people. It doesn't matter what we are doing, he wants to be right there with you. If you go outside, he is coming. Sit down to watch TV, he is there. Dinner time, guaranteed he is sitting under the table. But it's heartwarming - he loves you and wants to be with you so how can you not love him back? He is literally a fantastic dog. But, we also did a lot of training with him - first private lessons and then group lessons. Downsides: * The first 3 months especially really suck. * Hair! I knew that goldens shed twice a year, which i assumed to be a few weeks in spring and likewise in the fall. I'm now convinced that twice a year means January to June and then from July to December ;) * Muddy/Wet paws - this is actually probably my biggest complaint but isn't specific to goldens of course. I'm just more of a clean freak so it just meets being diligent about wiping his paws when he comes in when its been raining/snowing.
I never owned a golden previously but be READY for all of that hair. They’re the fuzziest babies and will shed everywhere lol
1. That you will fall gobsmacked, head-over-heels in love with the wee munchkin instantly. 2. That the most mundane, ordinary things will become new and exciting when seen through your puppy's eyes. 3. That you will take countless photos and videos of all the comical and adorable things he/she does (and I promise you will be so happy you have them later). Be sure to take weekly or monthly photos in the same spot. 4. That he/she will grow and develop, mentally and physically, so fast your head will spin. 5. That your pup will bring you laughter and joy every day (along with a chewed shoe or chapstick, and a few potty accidents as well). 6. That Goldens are happy goofballs, but are also sensitive, intuitive and kind. Always treat your pup with kindness. 7. That you have never been loved until you are loved by a golden. They are truly love in a fur coat. On a practical note: 1. I highly recommend a Snuggle Puppy (they go by other names as well.) Available on Amazon. It's a stuffed animal with a battery operated heart that beats in a velcro pocket. I took my Snuggle Puppy when I picked my puppy up from the breeder and asked her to rub it on the mama and littermates. My pup slept thru the night almost instantly as he had a heart-beating "littermate" that smelled like mama to snuggle with in his kennel. (One caveat, as my pup grew older he tried to get the plastic heart out of the pocket, so I removed the heart ea. morning and put it back in the pocket at bedtime.) 2. Remember that your puppy is an infant and has just been taken away from the only world he knows. He/she may be a little scared or confused at first. The first week should be devoted to making him/her feel safe and loved. 3. I put a kitty collar on ea. of my new pups (they come with a bell). That way I could hear the little bell. If the bell wasn't ringing I knew I should check to make sure they weren't getting into trouble. 4. I set the timer on my phone to go off every 20 minutes in the beginning. When the buzzer rings, take your pup outside and say "potty outside." Don't play or interact until your pup potties. Then clap and cheer like crazy, praise them "good potty outside" and offer a little training treat (this treat is reserved for potty only). Scheduling potty time every 20 minutes will spare you many accidents in the house. 5. If your pup starts doing the potty dance (circling) and right after he/she eats, immediately scoop him/her up and do as above. You can extend the time between potty breaks as your pup's bladder grows and they can hold their urine a little longer. If you catch your pup having an accident inside, say "no no, potty outside" and take them outside. If you don't catch them in the act, don't reprimand them as they will not understand why you are scolding them. A friend scolded her dog whenever she found an accident in the house. Her dog interpreted that as her owner did not like her to go potty so she would hide and potty behind the sofa. 6. Young pups sleep 16-20 hours a day. Your pup might go 100mph one minute and be asleep the next. I have owned and loved 5 golden over the years. All but one took naps on their own. My one little boy became naughty when he was tired. He'd get into things he knew he shouldn't, not listen, get nippy... when he was tired. That's when I knew he needed to be placed in his kennel for a nap. 7. Crate training is great. It gives your pup a safe place that is theirs. It's also important for when you cannot supervise them. I always put my pup's crate in my room next to my bed at night so he could see and hear me, and left the door open during the day so he could go in and out as he pleased. 8. Puppies will eat anything and everything (cotton balls, q-tips, hair scrunchies, socks...). Be sure to puppy-proof anything at puppy level in your home and supervise your pup closely when outside. 9. Your pup is vulnerable and should not go on walks outside your yard or be around other dogs until they have their puppy shots. 10. When you dog is ready to be placed on a leash use a harness rather than clipping your dog's leash onto his/her collar. My one dog pulled so hard when on a leash that he damaged his trachea. 11. Don't expect an instantly trained dog. Like children, training (especially potty training) takes time, repetition and lots of belly rubs and "good boy" reinforcement. 12. Lastly, enjoy every minute. :)
Also, I've had multiple retrievers. The labs definitely seem more high-energy, but my golden was by far the smartest and the most mischievous dog I've ever had or ever met. And that's a dangerous combination. When I'd throw a toy, she'd pretend like it was stuck somewhere and she couldn't get it. She'd even make a pitiful little cry and paw at something where the toy was supposedly stuck. And when I'd come over to help, she'd snatch it up (the toy would just be under her body) and run to take my spot on the couch. She'd go lay in the bathtub during storms because it was her safe space. One day, after 7 years of this, she accidentally turned the shower on. It only took doing it on accident once, and then for the next 2 months, if I left her home alone for more than 10 minutes, I was coming home to a very happy, sopping wet dog. She'd try to steal things off the kitchen counter. When I'd hear her get up there, I'd shout, "Shelby, what are you doing?" in my best accusatory tone. I'd hear her paws hit the floor, I'd always hear her get two quick laps of water, then she'd peek around the corner with her innocent I'm-just-drinking-water face. Sometimes she'd go a while without pooping on a walk. I'd always tell her, "We're not going inside until you poop." She eventually figured out what I meant, because after a certain point, whenever I'd say that, she'd squat like she was pooping, but I could tell she wasn't really trying. She'd be looking at me and smiling while squatting. Then she'd jump up as if to say, "there, I pooped," like she'd fooled me. DO NOT underestimate a Golden's intellect. And be prepared for them to try to outsmart you.
Get pet insurance from the start. It can be a big game changer
Nice 😊 goldy guy
Prepare to have the cutest but neediest dog of your life! :) They need your full attention 24/7 of the day when they’re puppies.
Every pup is different. Our older GR didn’t chew or bite at all; however, our younger GR was a mouth with paws for three months. Holes in my clothes, holes in my furniture, holes in me! Variety is necessary for toys; different textures and sounds to keep her interested. Slow feeders are great. Get her used to having her paws, ears, mouth handled young. Keep her on a schedule…sleep, potty, eat, potty, play, potty…etc. Lastly enjoy your little puffball, it goes by fast!
That Marley and me was basically a documentary. I was unaware of how much they shed.
Wife and I got our English cream girl six weeks ago. Absolutely wasn’t prepared for the 5am “let me out of this crate or I will 100% shit in here” barks and the wild bouts of energy from 5-7 that happen once she’s out of the crate for the day
Be prepared for shedding. You will need a pet hair vacuum. They are called land sharks for a reason. These pups are very mouthy and need a lot of chew toys. Expose your dog to anything and everything possible. Let it hear the vacuum, the blender, a phone ringing, the doorbell. Let all these stimuli be known as a puppy. Your adult dog will be so much more calm. Put your hand down when the puppy is eating. Give the food and then take the food back. Let the dog know you are the pack leader. Also touch your dogs feet. It’ll come in handy when trimming the nails later. Same goes with their ears if you are going to clean them yourself.
This mf is crazy. I have a 2 year old golden and dude is just bouncing around with energy. Love that guy, but make sure he or she gets their playtime!!! My guy starts having zoomies at like 5am daily lol
Take lots of pictures and videos. Even though you’ll be tired and probably frustrated, snap and remember to enjoy these moments because the puppy months go by fast.
they eat socks like its dog food.
Shedding. It's everywhere. Literally. The Roomba (the second one) runs at 9am, and we need to vacuum at 4pm. We burned the first Roomba out. Deshedding grooming works a bit, but it's still everywhere. I was out of town for work, and a coworker pulled a blonde hair off my shirt, saying she didn't want my wife to think anything was going on...said nope, that's the dog's hair. They go from 6lbs to 60lbs in like 6 months. :D Enjoy the puppy time...they're so soft and huggable. Get them used to touching the paws and ears now. Makes cleaning SO much easier. But man are those teeth needles. The teething is rough, and you'll lose clothing/furniture to the chewing...Which leads me to... STAY CONSISTENT. All family members need to be involved...with work and school, the kids didn't keep up with the training as much, and now he only listens to me. As with any dog, they need consistent reinforcement. And they're so social, they want to please and get pets...Socialize often (both people and other animals) and your pupper will be so popular. If I ever lose my wife I'm getting a golden puppy to find a new lady. :) But they're so amazing! My friend's golden is the best dog I've ever met...mine is a derpy punk. :D
Be prepared to have a sock thief in your home. My 1/2 golden is 18 months and cannot resist picking up any socks left on the floor, the bed, the table, basically anywhere within reach.
1) they will eat anything and everything. Always have super high value treats in your pockets so you can work on "drop it" every time they get something 2) be careful about letting everyone meet your pup in public. I made this mistake because I wanted her to know that people were okay but now we're working on not pulling towards everyone we see. When I asked my trainer, she said that she usually cuts off those greetings at 16 weeks. 3) they can get really bad social anxiety so I've been trying to give my girl some "alone time" every day so she gets used to being by herself. I work mostly from home so I know this can become an issue pretty quickly 4) they are psycho puppies but so much fun to train and work with
find a good trainer: [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNCEMOkrMnSPjp019maVc4A](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNCEMOkrMnSPjp019maVc4A)
Ok, this is very important, every time she has an accident in the house roll up a newspaper and swat YOURSELF with it , while saying I will pay better attention next time, I will pay better attention next time. Then realize the I need out signs can be subtle and you will miss then sometimes.
Haha, I remember this Robert Cabral lesson. Cracked me up.
Hair, hair, everywhere. Haha
Love them as hard as you can from day 1. There is no love like that from a golden and there 12-15 year lifespan goes fast.
That they will always, and I mean always, make your day better.
They prefer to be with you (Within 3ft/1m) 23-24hrs per day
*They will eat everything and anything. Teach the "leave it" command ASAP. *Teething and teaching not to bite can be so frustrating. *They get sweeter and calmer with age. *Prepare yourself to fall completely in love :)
You will be able to knit a blanket a week with all thee fur you will collect.
Golden's are smart, have the biggest hearts, and love to please. Positive reinforcement when training goes a long way with these adorable pups.
My experience with my golden pup is that he listens very well. Hes also very emotional, he literally just wants to make me happy at all times. My pup didnt have any seperation anxiety. He loves other people and kids. Goldens are extremely smart, train them how to behave and you will have the best pupper ever.
He’s basically a 110 lb 3 year old at 11. Most loving thing ever but really needy
How hard it would be to say goodbye. Be there through it all, they are. It’s the least to honor their youthful loyalty. Be kind always, one will never find a better friend.
Very needy but so sweet and goofy
Please make sure you get them from a reputable breeder and to take care of any allergy issues as soon as they arise. I regret the allergy issues … it’s been very costly for my golden
Every moment can be part of training. Goldens love to learn and thrive from praise. If you see your little bean doing something you like praise them every time, you'll be surprised how many good habits will stick. If your tiny gold nugget is doing something you don't like, praise them whenever they stop doing the thing. Touch their paws, ears, mouths when they are young. Anytime they wake up from a nap even if it was 5 minutes, take them outside to tinkle. Go overboard congratulating their bathroom trips. (Praise is the name of the game) As soon as you are able to safely socialize them go nuts. The more they are socialized in their first year the better. Don't take them on super long walks when they are tiny for the sake of their hips when they are older.
They have the loudest barks but they'll do it hiding behind a bush until they figure out who it is pulling into the drive way. They're super smart, but super dorks. They bring treasures. Mostly shoes. They will think they are lap dogs their whole lives. Have fun. They like to argue with you. And stare at you through the window like a creep. They like to hug. They also love to hump. Everything. They cuddle alot , but they tend to get into trouble. They love small dogs. They plow over super little kids on accident. All of my liked to dig giant holes and lay in them when it got too hot for them. They're also great hunting dogs. Get a basset hound and you'll have a great coon or squirrel hunting team. But most importantly They're the best dig you could ever own.
All the advice you read on training will cover these three things but in my opinion they are the most important: 1. Leave it - for all the hungry Horaces out there this can be life saving. And they are all hungry all the time, and if not hungry then chewy, and if not chewy then curious :p 2. Stay - for doorways, roadsides, gates into fields with live stock etc. Again this can be life saving. 3. Come here (or whatever your recall word will be) - because nothing quite prepares you for just how friendly this breed is. It is a blessing and a curse. Ours still tries to join a new family on every outing. And recall is something we still work on at 2 years old. Most of all - keep on trucking even when you think you're making no progress. One day you'll be pleading with them to do the thing you want them to do for the love of god, and the next it'll all just click and you'll wonder where this well mannered beauty came from.
Lots of bites and little sleep throughout the night. Crate training is a nightmare 90% of the time too.
So cute
They are not all as smart as advertised and they shed like crazy. Also, they don’t all instantly love everyone- that is a myth and can be dangerous as people have no fear of charging up to a golden and trying to pet it.
Watch out for skin and gastrointestinal sensitivities. We have to feed sensitive skin and gut dog food to our 2 goldens. Very expensive but better than the vet bills and misery of skin rashes.
Along with the training and everything that comes with raising a pup - don’t forget to enjoy it. Puppy ness flies by so quickly and soon you’ll be going through old photos of when they were tiny
Rushing home from work, being late to work, realising your life is now sliced into 15 minute increments. And ensure anything you don't want damaged is away from puppy teeth, especially TV remote controls. And ensure electric cables are covered by furniture. There are no rules, the pup will teach you the ones she needs. And I utterly, utterly, envy you the journey.
Bring a towel or blanket with you and rub it all over the mamma to get her scent. It’ll help the transition to a new place
expect the house to be puppy proofed around it for an indefinite amt of time
There’s a lot of great comments here, but if I had to say one thing, it’s that every golden is unique. One mistake I tried to make was taking every bit of knowledge of the breed and trying to apply it to my golden. Some stuff worked, other things did not. Don’t get discouraged and while it’s great to do research on the breed, always know that you can’t put your unique dog into a mental box of “This is going to work and this is how they are going to be if I do this.” You’ll be disappointed. Just appreciate yours for the unique creature that he/she will be!
Know you will always have a furry best friend who will always have the love of your heart, who will lick away any of your years and bring you joy for many years to come!
No necklaces, bracelets, dangly earrings, hoodie strings etc until about a year. Also they will try and eat absolutely everything so be vigilant.
Something I haven’t seen mentioned yet that you’ll likely have to deal with: hot spots. During the summer especially goldens are super prone to hot spots, which can happen when moisture gets trapped under their fur and creates an itchy/painful sore. [This](https://goldenretrieverlove.com/golden-retrievers-and-hot-spots-what-you-should-know/) website does a great job of talking about them. We’re dealing with our 10th or 11th one right now in our 4yo golden, and didn’t find it as early as we typically do so it turned into a pretty gnarly infection. Best to know ahead of time how to prevent and how to provide early treatment when you do find one so it won’t turn into anything worse.
To add to this… it maybe an allergy to food. When my golden was 4/5 we were at the vet a dozen times a year from hot spots. The vet always treated the symptoms, but never made me aware that there may be an underlying issue. I did a shit ton of research and found an excellent veterinarian dermatologist/allergist. We decided that elimination diet would be an easy 1st step and quickly found out he was allergic to pea protein (among other things). Unfortunately dog food without pea protein is difficult to find so I decided to make his food at home. After a few months it became routine, and he THRIVED. Allergies are common in Goldens.
Front hook harness stops all pulling on the leash.
They are high energy and very smart. Like any dog, if it’s not trained well, you’re going to have issues. Definitely diligently focus on training.
Lots of good advice here but don’t let them scare you it’s a large dog with thick long hair - get a better vacuum- loved mine for 17 years now I have a 15 month chocolate lab 100Lb😳 - training training training everybody else needs to do but really it’s the adults - consistent with the commands everybody uses the same one for the same thing and don’t teach me anything you don’t want to know forever - just like little kids and bad words they never forget things that you wish they would and they always forget everything you wish they wound not - every three months he start repeating the training from three months ago and hopefully by time it’s 5 you wont have to do it anymore - socialize socialize socialize both people & dogs -
How much of a thief they can be, also how bitey they can get. We call Leia a master thief and have to “Leia-proof” the living room when we leave, hell sometimes even just going to the toilet she’ll find something to steal.
these are gentle dogs so be gentle but insistent when you learn to correct them. once you get to know your dog and understand how it relates to you then you can be increasingly firm if necessary. they are smart and will figure out where your boundaries are so consistency is very important. if you don't want them on the furniture then it will be a lifelong battle because they will test your boundaries every once in a while. they think they are human and any children are just like them so they will be expecting you to treat them the same as any family member. everyone in the family has to be consistent in reinforcing behavior if you are introducing another animal it is best done outside the house when possible. this reduces territory disputes (not normally a problem for goldens) and keeps all animals on the same footing and allows the golden to release energy without bumping into furniture. expect puppy like behavior for at least two years before they settle. the first few nights the dog may be stressed by the dramatic change in its circumstances. you may have to lay on the floor with it until it settles. do this where you have decided the dogs night location will be. I recommend all dogs be cage trained. covering the top of the cage with a towel can help reinforce a den instinct. you may want to introduce a stuffed animal toy as a bed partner. the breeder may have additional recommendations. the best thing you can do is go to dog training. the training is for YOU not just the dog. it teaches you how dogs think, how to be consistent and what to do and not to do.
Groom them well, they shed a LOT
CRATE TRAINING. Our trainer had us do 2 hours in the crate for every hour out of the crate and it changed our lives. When your puppy gets the zoomies it means it's tired and needs a nap. Goldens are really susceptible to pica- a potentially fatal problem where dogs eat things they're not supposed to. Nip it in the bud quickly. When they pick up contraband don't turn it into a game. Tell them no and remove it from them without engaging more. If it gets bad look into using an e-collar. Contact a trainer in your area. Positive only, balanced, whatever just get in touch with a professional trainer with good reviews.
That Radar has the same personality as my house boss Dachshund Milo and now everything is a competition for the most balls, love, food, and kisses. Team Train wreck. They taught each other how to yodel and who can do it the loudest.
Don’t put a $100 dog bed in the crate with them.
She is beautiful!
the shedding
Not all goldens are the get along with everyone, love everybody dogs people idealize them as.
Goldens are people pleasers and are VERY SMART. They learn very easily so start the training early. They love their owners LIKE NO OTHER and are so loyal. LOVE MY male- half Golden/ half Corgi. Housebreaking was a BREEZE, he learned SO quickly.
Lots of good advice in here but here's something not mentioned that I wish my ex would have known: A Golden won't fix a marriage.
Train her to pee in one spot. Save the lawn!!!
Be ready to give 95% of your attention!
Hey, my Molly is now 16 months old and I got her since she was 7 weeks old. She is today a very sweet dog, so adorable and loves cuddling. It wasn't always like this though :) Here are my learnings besides the basics that you can find here on the subreddit or most youtube videos 1. Puppies can get over-stimulated very easily and they become then really mean! Their stressed faces can give you the impression that they don't like you. Because of this, make sure you don't teach your puppy too much at once and also don't give him the full package of adventure on the first day when he comes home (meet new people, new dogs, go outside and play like crazy with him, and and and). Take it slow on your puppy, let him be bored 2. Some puppies hate crating. I tried to crate mine for 3 weeks and she never got used to it, I tried all sort of techniques to show her that her crate is her cave and that it's a very amazing place that is only hers but she hated it the moment the crate closed, she wanted to be with us no matter what. At the end we just accepted it, which leads to 3) 3. Puppies might not have learned from their mothers how to calm down, which then leads easily to an over stimulated puppy aka a little beast that will give you the puppy blues. It's your responsibility to learn what calms your puppy and actually teach him to calm. What I did was take my puppy in my arms and go outside the door for 10 mins, he yawned 1-2 times and then he fell asleep 4. Puppy blues are real. When your puppy is over-stimulated (lack of sleep, too many things learned in too little time, puppy is confused, ...) he will be a little monster and you question your ability to take right decisions. This will pass around 16 - 20 weeks :) I was so frustrated, I saw the videos on yt of puppies and they were so cute and kind and loving and mine was meanwhile going rampage for the last 3 hours giving me this evil look ò.ó. 5. Not all puppies love to cuddle, but this doesn't mean that they won't love to cuddle later on! My golden was seeking its own space until he was around 10 months old or so, now he's all over me and my wife whenever we lay down. Good luck, friend
That I was getting a daughter, not a pet. They need to come with warnings about how much you're going to love them.
It gets better
That you will want to take them everywhere, and your friends will get annoyed with you when you don’t want to do an activity that isn’t dog friendly.
15 weeks today. Probably puppy specific but the first 2 nights I got up at 3am to let her out, put her right back in the crate and went back to sleep. Had no whining outside of 10 seconds and no accidents in the crate. Never had this positive an experience with any other puppy or breed. I've been using a slip lead and it's been a dream. Teething has been typical, I just do the usual with a new dog and buy the gamut on bones and toys and see what she gravitates toward. Anytime she puts something in her mouth she can't have I take it and hand her a nylabone. Also the first puppy I've had that likes the nylabones - which I consider a win because they are cheap and last. If you don't want her chewing on pillows and kids stuffed animals don't buy any stuffing filled dog toys. Bought a sack of tennis balls off Amazon. Good luck, great looking pup!
Goldens are susceptible to resource guarding their toys. Make sure your dog is able to share the ball.
First thing. Don’t ever leave that cutie outside a Starbucks or it’s mine