Have just bought 6 month old retriever who obviously has not been trained or not trained very well, the most shocking thing is the end of his tail is bleeding which in there dark house we thought was mud he also has a cough, hence we are at the vets this afternoon. I have also found him continuously barking and jumping up at me when i am putting his food out i would like to stop this, i wonder if this is because he was not fed enough as he was starving when we got him home and is very snatching and gulps down any food given to him. We have been given his kc papers which the previous owners didn't even bother to post to register the dog in there name, these papers have the breeders name and address who i am going to try and contact to get some more information. I just wondered if anyone has any advice as i really need some help.

Hello Louise
What kind of retriever is he and where did you find him?  I am not the most experienced person on here and I'm sure you will get some better help soon.  I would however certainly advise you to contact the breeder as soon as possible - if they are reputable they will be mortified that a puppy of theirs has been treated so badly and will do all they can to help.  You are also quite right to take him to the vet - he should have a complete check up as soon as possible.  At six months he is very much a baby and very much trainable although he just sounds to me like he needs lots of love at the moment.
Do let us know how you get on.
Best wishes
Alex

He  has obviously learmt to be "naugthy"about food in his previous home. If you think he has been under fed I would feed him a little & often so that he doesn't get an upset tummy from the increased food. I would also combine training him to sit & be quiet with feeding him. In other words if he starts jumping up or barking ignore him & don't feed until he is at least quiet You can add an eat command as you feed him by simply repesting the same word when you dive him his food-can be anything you like I use "There you are"in a nice light voice

Also be guided by what your vet says about this health & physical condttion(ie too fat/thin etc)

yes im sure the breeders will be glad to help you?
is he a goldie? or other type of retriever?
as there are all sorts of retriever experts on here.

my advise though,is to be kind but firm, consistent & patient. try to get a routine going so he has some stability, & play with him & interact as much as possible so you can build up a relationship.
start looking around now for a kind training club so you can go & have some fun together whilst improving his manners. hes still a baby remember. hes luckt to have found you! :)

He is a golden retriever we got him from a rehoming site on the internet, just got back from the vets tail is ok has a bandage which came off ten minutes after it was put on and cough is kennel cough, the bad news is the vet showed some concern over his hips and advised us to get him insured and then pop back so it doesn't look good for him, so i need to read up on this hip defect i as realise it is long term. I will be in touch with breeder but it's going to have to be by letter as the address is all i have.

Hi Louise,

You have been very kind and brave taking this youngster on - he's very lucky to have you ;)  I dont think I can add to Treacle or Moonmaiden's advice - both seem very good help to me, just wanted you to know that there's a great support network on here and hope you keep us posted.

I hope you manage to get hold of his breeder - I've only ever bred one litter and I'd be devastated if any just got rehomed and I didn't even get to know :(

Very best wishes, Teri :)

Thankyou i am trying to stay positive it's just so upsetting, i have been reading about the hips and it's not always hereditory i noticed when we picked the pup up ( we haven't got a name yet) he was skidding and sliding all over there laminate flooring, if there is something wrong i wonder if that had something to do with it.

Hi again Louise,

This must be very hard for you - try and stay positive if you can, the vet's onto the right things for sorting out his cough and his tail's attended to :)  As to his hips, there could be a number of reasons and it may be a temporary condition due to trauma or inappropriate husbandry - let's hope that's the case.  Try not to pre-empt more bad news (easier said than done I know) and enjoy having your little guy around.  Go look up some names for him on the www instead of health link pages, it will temporarily at least take your mind off things  ;)

Thinking of you both, will say a prayer it all works out.  Keep in touch.

Regards, Teri

bad hips is not the end of the world,& can be managed quite easily & successfully. do a search on here (top right) as weve disscussed it alot.
hydrotherpy can really help.

theres been alot of talk really about slippery floors & unexpecant high scores. i believe there is a link personally.

Do stay positive I would have a look for a couple of Gwen Bailey's books Perfect Puppy & Rescue dog(I'm sure she has writtrn one for rescue dof owners)

Bad hips are not the end for a dog My late BC had severe HD(34:34=68)& was never lame & never had any troble with his hips or walking. He was kept at the right weight & I took him swimming a lot when young to build up the hip muscles & joint cartilage

Hi moonmaiden i have bought a book, you say your dog was never lame thats sound promising, my only worry is something i have recently noticed which is his back end waddling when he walks, however it is fine when he runs. The vet was lovely and really helpful he advised us to get some unsurance and if he showed anymore waddling to pop back in about two weeks.

My boy never showed any signs & I would never have know except for having his hips X rayed in order to be scored. In fact my vet diagnosed my first BC with HD because he wasn't 100 % sound when he went for something else. I have a special vet to do all my hip x rays & so I had my first BC scored & far from having HD he had a score of 3:3=6 which is well below the BC mean or average scores

I wouldn't worry too much at 6 months as lots of puppies have loose movement in their hind legs especially if they haven't been exercised properly-too little means the muscles will not have built up correctly. Puppies need free running more than road walking as when they get tired they can rest whilst free running , but will usually over exercuse on road walking

If he shows signs of difficulty getting up after exercise is more a sign of HD than a wobbly back end !

Poor little guy is scared of everything, doesn't like torches doesn't like other dogs barks at people walking across the other side of the street and also eating his own doggy poo, and also doesn't like being left alone, we have one confused little dog. On face value he seemed like a normal happy excited retriever but this doesn't seem to be the case.

thank god hes found you!
i believe you picked him for a reason,please dont despair!!! it may not be easy but it will all work out ok-youll see!

I am finding it difficult at the moment can't stop crying and know it's silly, i just don't seem to be getting anywhere, at least he has stopped running round like a madman, i know puppys do but he just doesn't stop when he is in the house, i'm not even sure they kept him in the house from the was he behaves, need to get him to calm down as his tail isn't healing he keeps banging it,thank you for listening it really does help to talk about this, my other half is working so i have had to persevere alone, i'm in desperate need of someone to take over for a while. Goodness knows what the little guy has had to put up with i know there were two young kids aged 1 and 2 and they had no respect for him. We have just been for a walk that was interesting now i am going to take your advice and look for a name. While i am on here has any one heard of a breeder called mr a mctear from cumbria this is the breeder i need to contact.

i FEEL SO SORRY FOR YOU AND YOUR NEW BOY, I WISH YOU ALL THE LUCK IN THE WORLD. JUST STICK BY HIM I AM SURE IN TIME HE WILL SETTLE DOWN. ALL THE VERY BEST FOR THE FUTURE.

Does the pedigree or Kennel Club registration document show an affix?  It may be more recognisable/tracable from that.

i'm sorry but what is an affix?

S'no problem.  It's the first word in the dog's registered name.  It's like the breeders "trademark" and all the dogs that they have bred can be traced back to them.  It may help if you post your dog's registered name.

Thankyou Val registered name is Sandbreeze Gladiator (ae3), i have been looking on the internet but cannot find any breeders under that name.

Best go and sit with the baby he has been on his own for a while, if anyone has any information on this breeder i would be really greatful, i am a little wary as on the papers the dam does not have hip and eye scores.

Hi Louise
  
I have found details of this litter, the breeder does not have an affix.
The dam's date of birth is 08/09/02, the litter was born 08/06/04,( 2 bitches, 5 dogs) so she would have been about 19 months when she was mated, most Golden breeders would consider this far  too young to have a first litter.

Mr McTear is not a member of the Golden Retriever Club.

Julie

 

Well done snomaes !!!!! :D :D :D

Yes thankyou, so i don't suppose he would be very interested if i did contact him.

snomaes could you tell me how you found out this information and is there any way of finding out the parents history?

hi Louise123

Don't be too disheartened just yet, it takes a while for some to settle down.  The last dog we rehomed was very excitable like yours, he tore around the house 'flying' over anything that got in his way.  He was 12 months old and had been in four  previous homes - all had given up on him because he was very energetic and excitable.  He had never been lead walked - just taken to some common ground on a flexi for exercise.  The first time I put a lead on him and opened a door he bolted almost breaking his neck and bashing my arm around the door frame - very painful.  It took six weeks of being walked on a harness (to save his neck) for him to understand he no longer had 15' to run to before being stopped.  It took 6 months to get him to lead walk properly.  He also had come from a home with small children and he just tore around the house with them and they were as wild as he was.   It took three weeks of being with us to see a noticable calming down.  He had not been groomed properly and screamed if you touched his feet (but he never bit), he ate his own poo just like yours and bolted his food.

Within 8 months he passed his Bronze KC Good Citizen Award, within 12 months he passed his Silver, he now does Agility and Working Trials and is a wonderful character.  Luckily he didn't have hip problems but that was one of my biggest fears on getting him as there had been occurances in the breed and he came with no papers.   As I would never show a dog no matter what the breed, having papers or not was of no concern to me.  The fact that he was in desperate need of some stability in his life did matter which was why we took him in.  He is now a wonderful dog, full of fun and nice to have around.

Keep positive.

Hello Louise. He has obviously learnt to be naughty with food in his last home. I am sure the breeders will be glad to help you. Golden Retrievers are very nice dogs, and it is nice that you were able to give an unwanted one a home. Anyway, Louise, he sounds like a nice pup. Try to stay positive even though it is upsetting. Louise, I wouldn't get to rialed up about it. Bad hips is not the end of the world. Try to stay positive, and go to the bookstore and get a book on dog behavior. I suggest getting Good Owners, Great Dogs and Dog Whisperer. Very helpful books. I'm going to get my pup's hips x-rayed and scored once she hits 2 years old. The poor thing, being scared of everything. Thank the Lord he has found you! I'm sorry you are so upset, and it is not silly. I feel very sorry for you and your new boy. Does the KC have any documents to show that his parents were hip X-rayed and scored? I know the AKC keeps those records. That should let you know why he has hip problems. It's really no problem though. He has a very nice registered name. Go on and sit with the baby.  Louise, I bet he'll be better once you are there. Well done Snomaes! I hope I could be of service.

-Aleasha

It may be very helpful to you to get "The Perfect Puppy" by Gwen Bailey as it is a bit of a bible for puppy owners and explains training, behaviour and how to cope into adolescence and beyond. I found it invaluable and still dip into it on occasions for the odd snippet of info ;)

Lindsay

I have a book which is very useful, but we are also taking it as it comes, he seems to have settled a bit but still goes wild every time we get up to leave the room. Yes i agree with the food thing we have started getting it ready then leaving it on the side until he calms down seems to be working, and also taking a chew from is mouth as i don't think he even new what a chew was. As for the hip scores it looks as though the mother didn't have any done! The vet didn't say for definate he said to get insurance and then come back but it was the look on his face when he was examining him i imagine we could have many problems to come. He also has the runs as i think we may be feeding him a little more than at his other home. On a lighter note we have some funny pictures last night we put the bandage back on his tail for the umpteenth time and my other half made one of those neck brace things to stop him getting at the bandage i have a picture he looks really funny, strangely enough it didn't take him long to get that off either so we are going to buy one today. He also does the loudest burps i have ever heard we sat laughing for about ten minutes last night obviously with him not at him!!! Anyway it's been great having this to let out my thoughts and feelings. We are off for a walk in the country so shall see what happens there.

If you take out insurance make sure it offers life cover not just twelve months or a set maximum per condition. Also some do not cover what they consider hereditary disease which could include HD.

You are lucky that your vet has given that option. My friend got a rescue dog which showed what I thought were signs of HD. I advised her to take out insurance before seeing a vet. If it was nothing she did not need to continue the insurance. However she went to see the vet first and once he had examined the dog he also thought  HD. She subsequently asked him to complete insurance form- insurance taken out after the visit- but he would only sign to say that the condition had been brought to his attention on the original date he saw the dog. Hence she was not able to claim anything for the treatment which was expensive.

Sheena

(dont believe vets!!! -not all the time!)
i was sure flynn had some sort of  prob at 8months (although at the time i thought it was his back not hips).
i took him to the vets 3times before i had him xrayed,he had his hips checked by two vets i admire greatly three times & they were amazed when the xrays showed dysplacia!
i fainted!!!!!in the consulting room!!!i was totally gutted,id waited along time for him & he was a cracking puppy!!!
anyway from that time,he was on controlled exercise & swimming. until he was a year when i had him xrayed again for scoring,& then just let him do what he wants. runs on the beach & woods etc-but by then the swimming etc had built up ALOT of muscle to hold his hips tightly in place,hes two now & not been lame or stiff once.
we compete in obedience & he works with alot of drive & is a lunatic leaping around etc.

he has scored parents (under the average) & none of his littermates have high scores. he wasnt over exercised as a pup or overfed (chance would have been a fine thing!!!) we do have laminate flooring in one room though......maybe i was just unlucky-???
      (although i know im lucky to have my wonderful boy & would have him a million times over,dodgey hips or not!!!!-just makes him xtra special!!!)

Yes we were very lucky, the vet was a lovely man and was very kind in that way.

We have just rang up the his previous vets, we were given a booklet to say what injections he had this had the vets name, they said he seemed in good health at the time the only thing they didn't go back for were the worming tablets which we have now so thats good news. We have all been out for a walk in the park which i think has done us all good!!!

whats he called? enjoy the good bits! :)

We have named him Tyler

nice! i was going to call flynn that,but it sounded too much like tara

In the UK a dog can have it's hops scored from 12 months of age.  Your vet takes the X-ray (which is the main cost) and you then pay a fee to the British Veterinary Association and your vet sends the plates of to their expert panel of orthopaedic specialists for scoring under the BVA/KC scheme.  You will then get a score for each him based on valuses alllocated to 6 diferent structures of the hip joint.  The best score is 0 and the worst is 53.  A dog with up to about 10 per heip would be considered functionally normal.

I would do as the Vet suggests get him insured.  then give him regular excersise keeping to roughly the 5 minutes per month of age per walk.  this way you won't overdo it.  Several short walks are better than one long one, and will strengthen his back end to support his hips.  with proper excersise and management any problem can be kept from bein jmade worse.  the laminate flooring could also have had an impact on his poor co-ordiateion and he may not actually have bad hips.

We have been keeping to the 5 minute rule, it may not be HD, i have a feeling the two young children may have jumped on him or anything as one of them hit over the head while we there and they weren't chastised, so you never know he doesn't seem to be in any pain.

Louise, have you been able to register him in your name? If not then he can't be scored. You would need his last registered owner to sign the paperwork. If you have his registration document, and it has been signed by his breeder, then you will be able to register him in your own name. Just sign it, along with you address, and send it off. Once it comes back you will be able to have the hip-scoring done.

You can still have him xrayed to see if there is a problem - he just can't be scored ;)

Or register him on the Obedience/Activity Register and then he can be scored

Anne

We will be getting him xrayed as soon as i have sorted some good insurance out not sure which one to go for, normally would go for argos but it's reviewed every 12 months, ideally i would like to get his hipscore.

Hi lindylou have been in contact with kc as on the certificate the previous owners have filled in the form but did not post so i have to send it off with a covering note and they are going to try and get a signiture from them so we will just have to see what happens there.

That's great news. Had they originally signed the dog in their names and not signed them to you, or had they just not bothered to register him in their name to begin with. A lot of people will accept the paperwork from the breeder but not re-register the dog in their name. I know of at least 2 dogs that I bred that this was the case. One of the dogs is now 10 years old! When I asked them about it, they just said that they were happy that they got a pedigree dog, but couldn't be bothered chaging him over to their names as they had no inclination to use him at stud. He was just a working gundog

They just hadn't bothered to send off the form to change the dog into there name i assume it is because you have to pay, because when we first went to there house they said they would send the form off then they changed there mind.