Hello everyone, Im new. I'd really love a dog and Im interested in Golden retrievers.I've read about them on various web sites but sometimes the information differs slightly. My circumstances are, Im a single mum,recently divorced, and have 3 children aged between 2 and 8 years. Im at college part time but mum can help out (my parents are supportive and live near by), Ive always had a dog when i was at home and my parents still have them (border collies/ jackrussells) I live in a rural area so lots of nice country walks and have a large back garden. I've read these dogs are easy to train. Is this correct? How are they on a lead, ie, are they over powering (im only a little thing)!!! What about house training-are they quick at this? Are they yappy? Im not wanting a guard dog but I do prefer a larger dog as I think Ill feel more secure,being on my own,especially in the evenings and when the kids are at their dads. However if you think there would be a better breed, small or large, more suitable for me then please advise! I would love to hear from anyone, particulary Golden retreiver owners or anyone who has any advice. THANKYOU.

Welcome to the forum Bumblebee :)

Oooh goldies love em have a 2 and a half year old, if you love sloppy kisses, sitting on your knee whilst trying to watch TV, great,..... BUT,they love people so not to be left for long periods, loves walks, dont over exercise in the first 12 months, training, do you have time during the day to train? with a young family, if you do then great if not then please think again.
Have you thought of a rescue Goldie? there are plenty in rescue, just a thought if you didnt have time to toilet train etc.
I am sure there will be others along later, this is my first Goldie he wont be my last of that I am sure,but like any dog they need commitment,training, etc.

Hi, thanks for replying and for the advice.I have decided that a Golden is right for our family and have spoken to a vet and a breeder. I've also found 2 puppy/obdience classes in the area and will contact them shortly. I,ve just got a couple of questions though. What is the right age for a pup to go to his new home? The breeder I spoke to said her pups will be ready to leave at 7weeks. I phoned the vet to ask about puppy vacinations and was told that a puppy should not leave its mum untill at least 8 weeks and that the 1st injection is 8 weeks and the 2nd is at 12 weeks plus the pup cant go outside or go to puppy class untill 2 weeks after the 2nd injection,making him 14 weeks old. I thought socialising him with other dogs and people before 14 weeks would have been better?  Please advise me. Thankyou.

Hi many breeders will let there pups go at 7 weeks and this in my opinion isn't too soon. Your vet follows the vaccination protacol for the type of vaccine he uses but you can start taking puppy out and about before he completes his course you just need to carry him. I know by the end of 14 weeks your pup will be getting heavy so try to do as much as you can without overtiring him when you first get him.Take him out to see traffic meet people and be petted by them. I walk into our local town centre and sit on a bench with mine to watch the world go by and with a young puppy many people will stop to say hello. If you have any older fully vaccinated dogs within the family or your circle of friends he will be perfectly fine meeting these on his own territory.Another option you have is maybe check with another vet to see if the follow a different protacol as some will use  vaccines that can be give at 8 and 10 weeks.

Hi we brought our puppy home at 7 weeks,due to it being her and her sister and her sister was staying with breeder and they were getting very close and breeder felt another week which was originally arranged would do more harm seperating them than our puppy coming to us a week early,she is absolutley fine and a happy naughty bouncy dog 5 mnths old now,I think vets have different protocol for different areas our pup was vaccinated by 12 wks and our vet advised she could go out straigh away,someone else mentioned on here its down to the risk in the area you live,ours must be a low risk area,we are in essex.Good luck with your new pup keep in touch will be nice to know how you get on.

I have 4 goldens ages 12, 2,2 and 16 weeks. I can tell you that they need alot of excercise and if you don't give it to them they can get into ALOT of mischief. If not trained to walk well on leash they WILL over power you, if your a small women you'd probably have up to 5-6 months of age to work on leash training before you are being dragged around on your feet. They are very prone to HD even with high hip scores (GET INSURANCE!). They can be very loving and great family pets , socialization is great. Most likely they will not develop agression but can be very shy.

Depending on tempermant they can be easy to train , like any puppy they have very short attention spans and would much rather run around your house then learn!

Unless you have alot of time on your hands i would probably get a smaller breed because they don't require to much excercise and won't be able to overpower you during leash training. Good luck , any questions i'll be here :)

Hi

Golden Retrievers do make excellent family pets providing ,they are well socialised ,plenty of mental stimulation ,had good basic obedience and have firm rules.
They don't like being left alone for long periods and thrive on human company.

A well bred Golden with parents with below average hipscores can still produce a puppy with a high hipscore and also the reverse can also happen.Unfortunately genetics ia not an exact science.However find a good breeder ,do your homework read up as much as you can.Make sure both parents are hipscored and eye tested using BVA schemes.
Your Golden Retriever needs very careful excercise up to 12 months ,no climbing of stairs until about 9 months no free running until after 12 months ouside your garden.Once your dog reaches 18 month -2yrs it can take as much exercise and free running you can give it.Even then please be extrmely careful in the garden where accidents easily happen running tight corners and skidding do not chase your pup or encourage high speed running this could do serious damage to your young golden  hips.

This is where mental stimulation is important when your puppy/young dog cannot yet go for long walks.
Also its adviseable to reduce protein levels around 16wks of age.

An adult Golden Retriever can weigh almost 6 st  they are bouncy by nature,love everyone and therefore must be taught to

not to jump all over you or your funiture or visitors
not to beg at the table to walk nicely on a lead without pulling
go to bed when you say
come when called.

7 weeks is perfectly find pick up a new puppy a good breeder will give you excellent advice and plenty of information.
Just remember you need plenty of time with a puppy and they can be so time consuming especially if you have a young family ,not to say it cannot be done
BUT your family may have to make more compomises which you might not had to before with children.The emphasis  will be down to you to look after and train this puppy not any outsider (not counting a dog club which is an excellent idea for obedience training).
Its adviseabe you also have somewhere where your puupy could go, out of bounds to your children (eg utility area with safety gate)where your puppy /dog can get peace and quiet this also espcially handy at mealtimes  when preparing the family meal also discourages begging from young age.

Also be prepared for hair, they do moult so its no good if your very houseproud,the hair can really super glue iself to funishings and clothes.But regular brushing helps.
You must also consider how often/hours would this puppy/dog be expected to be on his own for it would be unfair to take on a puppy who is left on his own
,housetraining may take longer,young puppy may become confuse if several people are comming in to the home and all doing different methods .

Just some points to consider :-)

Briony  :-)

Just some points to consider.

>They are very prone to HD even with high hip scores

Manny, a high hip score IS HD. A LOW hip score is what is wanted. :) Breed average in the UK is 20.

Marianne

Hi,

i'm very aware of this :-),but we must remember genetics are not an exact science like I said  its more than possible to have extremely low hipscoring parents and whats behind them low scoring, and a puppy or whole litter from those can throw very high score when the are tested at 12 months.

The breed average being 19, it is sensible to find the parents obviously below breed average in the hope that any potential puppy will be blessed with the breed average or better still below.
I also know its possible where 2 higher scoring parents have been put together and resulted in some very low scoring.

Briony owned by 5 Goldies :-) 

Hi,,

Goldimali I thought you were refering to me whooops sorry .

Briony :-)

Golimali, she wasn't saying that high hip scores wasn't HD, she was meaning that even if the dog has high hip scores that it should still be insured, or that's how I read it anyway :d :d

Yes , by 'high' i ment excellent hip scores. Insurance really helps if you have a candidate for TPLO or hip surgery when older.

Low hipscore is good, high hipscore is bad :D  Range in the UK system per hip is 0 to 53

Hi all, think I got Manny right the first time -he uses the OPPOSITE description of a good hip score to what we do here in the UK which of course is a bit confusing on a UK board -especially to anybody in the UK wishing to buy a puppy. A high hip score to us is BAD! A low score is what you look for in the UK Manny. (And no a good score can never be referred to as high!) :)

Marianne