A Goldie, anyone?

DB and I did give the thought of getting another puppy, but I shoved it off.  The two big boyz are more than enough for me to walk, bathe and split my attention-giving for them. DB insisted that we should at least get a puppy, but I was persistent, No means NO.

Having another puppy right now is not the right time for us. If I want another puppy I would check out other dog breeds besides Labrador Retrievers. Labs are great dogs, and they are high maintenance dogs. I love all kinds of breeds and especially the one our neighbor, Marge has a Golden Retriever name Duke. Duke is such a loving dog, so affectionate, friendly and very playful. Duke has long golden hair and has some light yellow on her legs, paws, and belly.  He has a great disposition, happy and always wants to be with you.

My coworker, Tina has a Golden Retriever dog, also named Duke, a golden colored pure bred with shiny coat of hair.  Duke is now in doggie heaven, but I have to say he was the most well behaved dog I have ever encountered. He obeys all voice and hand commands so well. Bathing and drying him was so easy, and it could be because he was an older dog, he was around 8 years old then, he stood still for me to wash and dry him, no fuss at all. All I can say now is Duke was a very loved dog. At his age, he was still very playful – loves to play fetch and enjoyed all his walks. Fetching tennis balls were his favorite.  Tina maintained his weight so he wouldn’t be overweight. Golden Retrievers  should not be overweight. When trained from a pup, Golden Retrievers will enjoy their exercising time. Tina tossed a tennis ball and Duke would run for it for hours. That was one of the ways he stayed so slim and maintained the muscles that made him looked so fit and trim.

Tina told me training him was very easy, too. Golden Retreivers and with any other puppy, when train from young they will be happy and so will the owners. Golden Retriever puppies are very smart. When training a golden retriever puppy, Tina told me she used quite a bit of food to motivate Duke, but once he got it, he can make do without the food and she did very well too.

Caring for the Golden Retriever puppy is the same as caring for all other puppies. Patience and consistency are the keys to successful training them. Initially they will at a lost when they set paws in your home, but once they get their surroundings checked, they will start looking towards you for everything from food, play/walk, bathroom, and attention. Golden Retrievers are from the sporting breed, they are bred for hunting and many owners do train them for obedience competition, or are trained as service/utility dogs.  Like and other large breed dogs, Golden Retrievers do get bored if not exercised enough.  They know how to dig holes, a burrow in your yard if you are not careful of execising them enough. They can be very noisy when bored.  Good grooming is also essential that is brushing their coat, trimming their nails and as with these breeds with floppy ears, their ears need to be cleaned frequently.

*Pictures source from DogChannel.com*