# Goldens born in June 2015



## elway (Jan 23, 2015)

I'm so glad you started this thread! I'll be bringing my little guy home on August 1st and I can't wait  

Same as you, we won't find out which one is ours until the breeder makes her decision. I think she's got a good idea of what we're looking for in a dog and, having met and researched the litter, I can say that I will be a very lucky woman to own any one of these pups. Not sure why the picture went crooked when I uploaded it, but even sideways you can see how beautiful these guys are 

Will this be your first golden, aesthetic?


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

elway said:


> I'm so glad you started this thread! I'll be bringing my little guy home on August 1st and I can't wait
> 
> Same as you, we won't find out which one is ours until the breeder makes her decision. I think she's got a good idea of what we're looking for in a dog and, having met and researched the litter, I can say that I will be a very lucky woman to own any one of these pups. Not sure why the picture went crooked when I uploaded it, but even sideways you can see how beautiful these guys are
> 
> Will this be your first golden, aesthetic?


That litter will be gorgeous, I'm so excited for you!! Yes, it will be my first golden, how about you?


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## elway (Jan 23, 2015)

I've had them before, as well as some other breeds, but it's been a few years since I've had a dog in the house. I cannot wait! 

How's yours settling in? This first day must be a big one for him (and you)!


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## Lauren8211 (Jun 29, 2015)

Our puppy was born 6/13 and we pick him up this Saturday, 8/1. Haven't met him yet but we are so over the moon excited!!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

elway said:


> I've had them before, as well as some other breeds, but it's been a few years since I've had a dog in the house. I cannot wait!
> 
> How's yours settling in? This first day must be a big one for him (and you)!


He's settled in quite nicely. He was the biggest in his litter at 14.95 pounds but he's the most mellow, which is exactly what we were looking for. August 1 is just 3 days away! I'm sure you must be quite excited, when was your puppy born?


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Lauren8211 said:


> Our puppy was born 6/13 and we pick him up this Saturday, 8/1. Haven't met him yet but we are so over the moon excited!!


I'm so excited for you!! Get a lot of sleep, your puppy will wake up at weird times in the morning...Are you getting a boy or a girl?


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## Love_my_Max (Jul 29, 2015)

Our golden boy was born June 3 & we brought him home July 22.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Love_my_Max said:


> Our golden boy was born June 3 & we brought him home July 22.


Happy 8-weeks to Max then


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## elway (Jan 23, 2015)

Congratulations on your puppies, Lauren8211 and Love_my_Max! It's neat to have a couple of people in this thread who can share experiences of things just a little bit before my guy goes through them, and another one who'll be going through it all at the same exact time. 



aesthetic said:


> He's settled in quite nicely. He was the biggest in his litter at 14.95 pounds but he's the most mellow, which is exactly what we were looking for. August 1 is just 3 days away! I'm sure you must be quite excited, when was your puppy born?


It's great that you got the mellow dog you were after. Golden pups are so energetic to begin with that I'm sure a laid-back puppy attitude will be a big relief sometimes. We've asked our breeder to place a high-endurance, begging-to-play kinda boy with us, but preferably not a dominant one. No need to stack the deck against myself in terms of training. It'll be interesting to see what we end up with! 

My guy was born 6/10, just a few days before Lauren's pup. Every day he spends with his mom and littermates is so important, and I've certainly needed all of this time to prepare for him, but man am I excited to bring him home on Saturday. The dog bowls are out, the chew toys assembled... Now all we need is the dog!


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## Love_my_Max (Jul 29, 2015)

Elway thank you, we sure are enjoying Max. I agree it will be neat to watch puppies close in age grow up & hear about the things they are doing.

You & Lauren8211 must be counting down the hours until you go get your little guys. Can't wait to see pictures.


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## elway (Jan 23, 2015)

I am over the moon pleased with my new boy! He thrives on human attention, trots along behind us wherever we go, and is already going to the door when he needs to go outside (...sometimes). He's a playful, spirited little thing yet he has taken his new experiences completely in stride. He's excited when we get excited, and chill when we sit down quietly. A very responsive pup, which I'm thrilled about. 

I think our biggest challenge right now will be crate training. He's happy as a clam if 1) he's eating or 2) the door is open. But once he finishes his meal/we shut the door, he cries and barks. Personally, I'd rather stick it out for a little while than work haphazardly and prolong the process. However, we do have neighbors, and my fiancé is very nervous about bothering them with late-night barking. I see where he's coming from, but last night Elway was jailbroken early by the fiancé and, sure enough, fiancé went back to sleep and puppy had an accident before we were up to prevent it. Maybe the vet will have some words of encouragement re: toughing out the barking. If we didn't have neighbors so close to us this would be a totally different story  As is, I think today I'll have Elway hang out in the crate with the door closed for little blocks of time, trying to work up to a proper nighttime crating. I know it'll serve us all well in the long run. 

Attached are some pics of my guy. He's been melting hearts from the second we brought him home. How are everyone else's doing?


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## Love_my_Max (Jul 29, 2015)

What a sweetie Elway is! Max does well in the crate at night but if I have to put him in there during the day to do anything he is not happy. Where are you crating him at night in your room or away from you? Max is doing good on housebreaking most times he goes to do the door when he needs out otherwise I try to keep track of time & take him out often.


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## Goldbee (Jul 19, 2015)

Hello!

Jack was born on 5th June and came home on 1st Aug. He was 5.6kg at his first vet visit yesterday!

Doing really well, gets up once a night, sleeps a lot, loves his "stuffy" toys (as opposed to the kong etc..). An absolute sweetheart and pretty laid back.

So happy to have a June thread!!! :wavey:


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## Love_my_Max (Jul 29, 2015)

Jack is a cutie, he looks all worn out. Max went to the vet today & he weighs 14 pounds now.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

I completely forgot to answer this thread but Kaizer (born june 4) went to the vet yesterday for his first round of vaccines! He weighs 17.7 pounds at 9 weeks old. We got the biggest pup in the litter! I'm glad everyone else's puppies are doing good, that's always such a relief to hear!


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## elway (Jan 23, 2015)

Love_my_Max said:


> What a sweetie Elway is! Max does well in the crate at night but if I have to put him in there during the day to do anything he is not happy. Where are you crating him at night in your room or away from you? Max is doing good on housebreaking most times he goes to do the door when he needs out otherwise I try to keep track of time & take him out often.


We've got it in the bedroom but we'll be moving it to a different room once we stop his nighttime bathroom trips. The breeder actually gave us a fantastic tip for the noise while in the crate. She said to take his metal food bowl and give it a sharp whack against the crate. It shuts him right up, and since we've got the crate covered in a dark blanket for that den vibe, all he sees is "barking-->bad noise I want to avoid." Some people aren't crazy about techniques like that, but not bothering the neighbors is a condition of his staying here, so it's really in his best interest. We haven't had a noise problem since! 

Besides solving that little dilemma, we really haven't had any other issues. He's a wonderful leash walker with great instincts when it comes to meeting people. He's adventurous and happy, and I think he'll be an excellent companion. He requires constant supervision of course but he's so wonderful to be with that nobody minds at all. 

Once we catch up on our sleep hopefully I can check the forum out more! For now, both the puppy and I need a good long nap. :sleeping:


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## ChaosReigns (Jul 1, 2015)

*Hello Everyone*

Discord was Born on June 15th, And I just picked him up on the 9th. I'm excited to know there is an entire forum of puppy parents that share the same birth month. This is him on our journey home, though he whined about 50% of the journey.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Discord is such a sweetie! He's beautiful


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## Goldbee (Jul 19, 2015)

Hello again! How is everyone doing? Here's a new pic of Jack. He is growing like a weed and getting braver and more adventurous in the yard. Mornings are definitely his high-energy times! He has two crates - one for nighttime in our bedroom, and one in the living room. We are still working on the house training thing.....


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Jack is so cute! Kaizer's doing well, he's mastered sit while inside the house and right outside the front door, but anywhere else he's distracted so we have to work on that. He had his first accident inside in a week so house training is getting there.. How old is Jack now?


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## Goldbee (Jul 19, 2015)

He's 10 weeks old today! (Where have the past 2 weeks gone??) I think Jack and Kaizer are a day apart? Will be cool to see how they grow


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## Burlington Bambi (Aug 5, 2015)

Goldbee said:


> He's 10 weeks old today! (Where have the past 2 weeks gone??) I think Jack and Kaizer are a day apart? Will be cool to see how they grow


Goldbee, here are some photos of Jack's sister Heidi. 

http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com...ing-heidi-burlington-ontario.html#post5924610


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## Goldbee (Jul 19, 2015)

She is gorgeous! All of the pups were. So glad you got a Fare pup. We are so, so happy with our Jack. I was there every week from week 2, and they were all wonderful. She is a darling 

Here's her brother, tuckered out after a long day of playing!


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## elway (Jan 23, 2015)

Elway is ten weeks old now and a total spitfire. He's already lifting his leg when he relieves himself but he's also very relaxed around other dogs, even when they bark at him. He doesn't make a peep and mostly keeps his wits about him  

He had his first trip to Lowe's yesterday and I'd call it a success. The greeter loved him and got down on the floor to pet him and welcome him in, and Elway met a family with three little boys. He was very well-behaved while they petted him. I guess he was saving all that awful sharp-toothed nipping for me :doh: Although the nipping is getting better and he's got "sit" down pat. "Down" needs significant work, but all in good time.

I'm glad to hear everyone else's pups are doing so well!


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## Bodie's Dad (Jun 20, 2015)

*Bodie, our new guy.*

This is our second day our new puppy, Bodie. He's 9 weeks old. We have a 12 year old Golden that is trying his best to put up with the new kid. Loads of fun!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Goldbee said:


> I think Jack and Kaizer are a day apart? Will be cool to see how they grow


Yes they are! Kaizer was born June 4, and Jack was born June 5, right?

I'm glad everyone's pups are doing well! Kaizer turns 11 weeks old tomorrow!


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## jross (Aug 19, 2015)

*San Diego, CA Litter Born June 23, 2015*

This little guy is coming home with us on Saturday 8/22/15. They just turned 8 weeks yesterday (8/18/15). 

Breeder is Barbara Pettijohn with Heart of Autumn Goldens in El Cajon, CA. 

His name is "Sonny." I had a GR growing up, but this will the first dog of my own. My husband and I are so excited for him to join our family!


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## jross (Aug 19, 2015)

Update on our Sonny boy...

First 3 days have gone pretty smoothly considering he's only 9 weeks old tomorrow (8/25/15). 

He has done very well with potty breaks outside, and fortunately I work from home so I'm able to take him out several times a day to prevent mistakes.

We have a playpen set up in our main living area and a crate in our bedroom. He spends most of his time during the day in the playpen but I take him out for about 15-20 minutes after potty breaks to play fetch or do some clicker/treat training. He's done very well in the crate at night and only needs to go out once in the middle of the night. I haven't been able to put puppy pads down anywhere without him trying to shred them up, so we don't really use them. 

He has plenty of chew toys that he likes, but is easily distracted and turns to my feet/toes, the carpet, furniture, curtains, and wooden handles on the fireplace screening. I always redirect him, but sometimes he refuses to take the appropriate chew toy, so I put him in his playpen for a timeout and he doesn't fuss about it much. I think he actually likes it in there and is slightly overwhelmed when there are too many options. He has already started to hump one of his toys - a stuffed duck about the size of him, but I have not attempted to correct or prevent this behavior yet.

Overall it's been fun watching him explore and learn!


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## Goldbee (Jul 19, 2015)

Love this thread!

How is everyone doing? How are all the pet-parents doing? :

We are getting there with the mouthing, although I still have a couple of pin-cushion scars! Jack is sleeping through the night 11pm - 6am (yay!)

He knows "sit" and "stay" and sometimes "down". He likes the cats (far more than they like him). He loves being outside and loves his kid-siblings.

How is everyone else doing?


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## Love_my_Max (Jul 29, 2015)

Sounds like everyone is doing well. Maxwell too is doing great, he was 12 weeks on Wednesday & weighed 19.4 pounds. House training has went much smoother than I anticipated & it has been a few weeks since he had an accident. We go to bed by 10 & he sleeps until between 4-6 am, depending on what time my husband gets up for work, goes out to potty & back to bed until I am ready to get up. He loves to play with the kids but every evening about the same time when he is getting tired he gets nippy. He has learned sit, down & we are working on stay, that is taking much more practice than the other 2 commands.


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## LittleRoo (Sep 5, 2015)

*Roomba*

Hi everyone,

Roomba was born on June 4th. We picked her up a couple of weeks ago b/c I was traveling. Totally in love with her. She's 3 months and has the sweetest personality. Loves to give kisses, nap on the floor, play with her tennis ball go for walks. She gets really excited when she sees other dogs and sits patiently until they get closer and I saw it's okay to get up and say "hi". Oh, and as expected, she LOVES the water.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

LittleRoo said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> Roomba was born on June 4th.


Roomba was born the same day as Kaizer! She's such a beauty, I'm glad she's doing well


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## elway (Jan 23, 2015)

LittleRoo said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> Roomba was born on June 4th.


1) LOVE the name. 

2) She looks so mature in that second shot! What a gorgeous girl.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

How are all the June pups doing?


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## Love_my_Max (Jul 29, 2015)

Max is doing great. He can't get enough of playing fetch. I updated his thread yesterday with a few pics. Here is one of them.
*







*


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## Lauren8211 (Jun 29, 2015)

Someone found some trouble in this rainy weather we've been having. Murray is in so much trouble!!


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

Hi everyone! Just checking in to see how everyone's puppy is  Also I am interested to hear what your pups weigh as of now. I believe Hank (born 6/17) is around 42ish pounds.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

We weighed Kaizer on saturday, he's just about 42 pounds. He was born 6/04


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## Love_my_Max (Jul 29, 2015)

Max was born 6/03 & weighs 41 pounds.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Looks like all the June babies weigh just about the same, which is always nice to know as I'm a little paranoid about making sure Kaizer stays nice and lean


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Awwww. I just saw this thread. Your babies are all so beautiful. Our Quinsy was born on June 16th. She doesn't weigh quite as much as your boys do, she weighed in today at a very dainty 32 lbs. I hope to see more pix of your puppies. Heeeeeere's Quinsy (this was last week)!


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## Debs66 (Aug 8, 2015)

Newton was born on 15th June - here she is with her big sister. She currently weighs in at 38lb


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

It's been almost a month since I last posted a Kaizer update! All of the June babies are turning 6 months old this month, it's amazing how time has flown by...
Here's a picture of Kaizer, taken last week!


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Kaizer is a handsome dude! Quinsy will be 6 months next week (16th) and YES!, it is so incredibly hard to digest. Here is Quinsy last night, weighing in at 38-39 lbs. (she insists on the 38).


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

tessmk said:


> Here is Quinsy last night, weighing in at 38-39 lbs. (she insists on the 38).


Adorable as always! Quinsy is turning 6 months on the 16th and my Hank is turning 6 months the 17th. What are we going to do with ourselves?  Time goes too fast!!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

tessmk - Quinsy is a pretty gal! I think we're getting Kaizer weighed tomorrow, but I suspect he should be about the same weight (or close to the same weight) as his last weigh in, about a month ago. 

carolinehansen - we're gonna need pictures of Hank! I absolutely love seeing pictures of all the June puppies


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

*carolinehansen*: I know, it's crazy how quickly 4 months has passed. They'll be a year old in a blink of an eye. And yes, we need to see pictures of Hank, please. 

*aesthetic: *Hank is a big boy, he must have at least 10lbs on Q...let us know.

How are your pups behaving? Are you ready for the next (teenage) phase? Eeeek!!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Just realized that Kaizer's class is today at 6, and I won't be able to get him weighed before then. So he'll have to wait until tomorrow 

Kaizer's behaving pretty well, all things considered. We've gotten to the really fun part where Kaizer is finally awake all day and can do a lot of things with us. He would get really tired really quickly in the past, so we really didn't have much to do with him. Now all of a sudden, he has so much energy and its exciting being able to do more things with him

How's Quinsy and Hank?


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

Hank went to the vet the other day because he's having allergy issues and he's 52.2 pounds just a few days shy of 6 months! I might cry. He's growing up. Did you ever get the chance to weigh Kaizer?

My little dude and I have just been chilling out this weekend because he is drugged up on Benadryl. He loves watching tv and cuddling with his stuffed animals.

What did you guys do this weekend?


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

No :doh: I thought today was Saturday and messed up, the vets are closed on Sundays. 

But Hank is such a big boy now! I wonder where all the time's gone...Hope he feels better though, he's such a sweet boy.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Okay, we finally got Kaizer to the vet for a weigh in today! He weighed in at approx. 50.5 pounds. Not sure how accurate that weight is because he was squirming around trying to greet everyone, he could barely stand still. He's gained about 7-8 pounds since we last weighed him in early November. Does that seem like too much of a gain? He's fairly active, is nice and lean (clear waist, ribs easily felt but not seen, tummy tuck).

On a positive note though, he sat when he wanted attention from someone  A lot better than the jumping he used to do!


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

I weighed Hank the beginning of November and he was around 40 pounds and he's now 52, so I think Kaizer is normal 
Crazy how Hank was born 13 days after him and he weighs more. Maybe I am the one that should be concerned lol!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Kaizer will catch up eventually  I don' think two pounds is thaaat much of a difference though, either way I still can't lift him!


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

aesthetic said:


> Hope he feels better though, he's such a sweet boy.


Oh no. Lately, I haven't been able read posts as much as I'd like to. What's wrong with sweet Kaizer?


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

carolinehansen and aesthetic, I wouldn't worry too much  All puppy's have different growth spurts at different times, and if you see their waist (hourglass) from a birds eye view and easily feel their ribs without seeing them, you're good. 

Oh yes, one other thing...I'd love to see more pix


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

tessmk said:


> Oh no. Lately, I haven't been able read posts as much as I'd like to. What's wrong with sweet Kaizer?


I think you misread my post  Kaizer's absolutely fine, but Hank is suffering from some eye issues.



And I've been slacking in the picture department, currently I'm trying to work through some minor issues with Kaizer


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## Goldbee (Jul 19, 2015)

*Jack*

Here is Jack at 6 1/2 months. Saddest eyes ever. Can't imagine why he is so spoiled : Actually he is an amazing boy, we have been incredibly lucky. And he's about 57lbs right now. Hard to see but he has lots of fur and loose skin - ribs are easy to feel. Likely be a big boy :heartbeat


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

It's so nice to see a picture of Jack again! He looks sooooo sweet! Kaizer has a lot of fur and loose skin as well, I'm convinced that over half of his weight is due to all of that fur 

Please most more pictures! I love seeing all the pictures of the June babies :heartbeat


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

Here's a few pictures of Hank from his weekly training sessions  He mastered place recently so he stands and sits on random objects when we ask him to


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Hank is such a beautiful color! He's gorgeous. What do you use place for?


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

We use it for when Hank goes crazy lol so when someone rings the doorbell or knocks on the door we tell Hank to 'place' on his dog bed so the person can actually walk through the door and not get mauled to death


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Oh okay, so its like a settle/mat command? I got confused because we use the term mat so Kaizer goes to a specific mat, not whatever object we point him to. And he's always in a down position too. I guess having a more general place can be useful though


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

It was crazy I was just comparing a picture of Hank with his "grandpa" from k9data and they look so similar!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Oh wow, they do! Both are gorgeous dogs


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## goldenbennett.lucy (Dec 28, 2015)

Hi! 
We are new to the forum. Bennett was born 6-28-15 so he's 6 months TODAY! It's fun to read the weights of all your babies. Ben was 50 pounds on Wednesday. I'm thinking he's really big, but sounds like he's normal from all of your weight comparisons. He isn't fat at all. Really lean looking actually. I'm curious how you guys feed your guys now that they are a little older? Leave food out all the time? Or set meals? My husband thinks I feed Bennett too much, but he isn't chubby and I know he's growing a lot. It doesn't look like I can attach a photo, but Ben (and Lucy) have an instagram if anyone wants to see them. @goldenbennett.lucy


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Hi! I have been absent for a while but had a little while before school starts again to check in.
Wilder will be 7m on Tuesday. He was 50.5 yesterday so I'm going to say about 51 as his official 7m weight. I did average his weekly gains and he's recently around 1.25 lbs a week, whereas he was gaining 10 lbs a month in the mid-fall. Even if he continued to gain a pound a week for the remainder of his first year, that only puts him around 75. DH and I are hoping he stays on the smaller side. LOL DH wanted him to stop when he was 40 lbs.

His fur is definitely getting longer but is NOTHING like all of your purebreds. He basically looks like a yellow lab with some wavy thick back fur and some very slight feathering on his legs and tail. I'm hoping it grows out more I'll try to add a pic from my phone later.

He's definitely reached a new level of calm but also had some stomach issue yesterday, I think from drinking muddy puddle water or something outside. Maybe he'll be a trouble maker again when he gets rid of it. We were out of town for a week and my neighbors kept him and took him on 3-7 mile jogs daily. Said he loved it and could have kept going. Poor guy probably wants to move in with them.

Will try to check in more often! Happy 2016!


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Here is his back. And a whole body sleeping pic.


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Happy New Year, GoldenLabMix! Wilder is so handsome. Our 1st Golden had a very short coat until about a year old (no length, no feathering), then eventually, almost overnight, grew a very, very thick, long and beautiful coat. So...you never know.

Hope to see more pictures of Wilder, and I hope he is feeling better.


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

Happy 2016 June babies! How is everyone?


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Oh wow I didn't see any of these new replies!

GoldenLabMix - your Wilder is absolutely adorable! Kaizer turned 7m on Monday, and besides some butt and tail feathering, he doesn't look like he's growing his adult coat yet. He already sheds as it is, but I bet it'll be worse when he's got that adult coat. 

How are the other June babies?


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Weighed Kaizer today, he's 54.7 lbs! That's a 4.2 pound gain in the past month. We upped his food intake from 2 cups to 3 cups, and increased his exercise so that 4.2 pounds makes sense. Regardless, he's nowhere close to being fat so I'm not worried anyway


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Thanks! Wilder is all better. He's continued to be a little more chill and more obedient lately. I bought these Mammoth mats for the ottomans that he likes to get on and they've been amazing. They are just plastic spikes -- not enough to harm anyone but uncomfortable. We can sit on them without pain.

What is Kaizer eating? Wilder eats so much more. He was 51.5 lbs 2 days ago. He's been at 3.5 cups for months and now he's getting 4-4.25. We've been doing Merrick grain free puppy but I"m slowly transitioning to Performatrin Ultra Puppy. It got good ratings on dog food advisor and seems like a very comparable food to Merrick. I wish Merrick had larger kibble. I want him to chew

So we started a new obedience place yesterday and the main trainer was nasty. We are not going back. I let me kids be kids around the dog so he will be used to whatever so he can potentially be a therapy dog. People will want to hug him so we hug him often. My 7 yr old was standing over him while in a 'sit' after class and she told her to get off him (she was not putting weight on him) and said she needed a pony. My 10 year old lifted up his ear flap. I told her I let them be kids so he will be tolerant of kids. She said that's not how it should be and they need to respect the dog. Now mind you she didn't know that have been taught to be cautious and ask owners if they can pet, etc. and only get that playful with our dog. There were some other things too. The school had come recommended by friends with a similar aged golden doodle but they had their puppy class with another trainer. They started a class with this trainer and hated her too. Didn't know that until today. I wouldn't have signed up. So I'm going to work on leash stuff with him. EVerything else I feel like he's doing alright on. Not perfect, but fine. He's even nearly stopped counter surfing. If we could just get him to stop stealing the throw pillows! I'm working on 'leave it' with the cat. It's coming along. He never has hurt her but he just REALLY REALLY REALLY wants to play and she's 16 and 6.5 pounds so that's a no go. And she hates him. 

SO that's the news with us. Keep those pictures coming. They are so cute!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Kaizer's on Annamaet Extra 26. It's what the breeder fed him, and he's always done particularly well on it. It is, however, hard to come by. We had to order it at the petshop across the street from our neighborhood! I've also noticed that Kaizer seems to be filling out almost, his bones feel bigger than they did before! So maybe that's why he weighs a little more. 

I'm sorry to hear about that trainer, she sounds awful. I do agree that there needs to be respect for the dog, but I don't think your kids were doing anything particularly harmful to Wilder.

When does the teenage phase end again? Kaizer seems to have forgotten what "sit" means. Nearly every time he goes into a down! As soon as I pull out the kibble though, the little rat will sit perfectly.. And the barking. He's started barking whenever I ignore him, whenever I walk out of the room, whenever I tell him to do something he doesn't want to do. Sometimes its random, scares the crap out of us. Sometimes I ignore it, other times my mom walks in, uses the infamous 'mom voice' and he goes back to chewing a toy. When he's in a mood, he doesn't listen to anything but the mom voice. I want the mom voice!! 

We have seemed to have solved the biting problem, now Kaizer doesn't seem to bite me as much as he jumps and makes these faux snaps. Still not acceptable but its progress right? He's also started humping me....again. I thought we were done with that, but apparently not.

Currently, Kaizer and I are working on focus (in public places), his recall and mat work. He's pretty solid with the mat work, we practiced it in class on Friday, except this time we all had to pick up an object and place it on a table that was outside the ring while our dogs remained on the mat. I was really worried that Kaizer would get up, but he did absolutely wonderful! I was really impressed. His focus in public places needs some help, he was getting distracted by the sound of shopping carts and the people oohing over him while we were in the parking lot of a Home Depot. He kept coming back for more practice though, so we're getting there. His recall isn't terrible either. He'll run straight to me if he thinks I have treats, but he'll run in circle around me if he doesn't think that I have treats. I got a 30 ft leash on Amazon, so we can practice in more places besides my backyard 

That was my week with Kaizer. Do any of you have exciting puppy plans for 2016? I'm thinking of taking an obedience class with Kaizer. Maybe rally and agility too. Kaizer's nose touch with a target that isn't my hand is abysmal though, he thinks its a toy and bites at it :doh:


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Ha, yes this teenage thing... Wilder has been attempting to hump my son again. It's not as intense as it was before the neuter, but still. So, yeah. There are good times and bad times. When will be reach another calmness plateau?


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

GoldenLabMix said:


> Ha, yes this teenage thing... Wilder has been attempting to hump my son again. It's not as intense as it was before the neuter, but still. So, yeah. There are good times and bad times. When will be reach another calmness plateau?


Kaizer still humps me when he gets excited, something I thought was done months ago:doh: All dogs are different though, there's no set time for when the teenage phase ends. I heard that by 2 years, they turn into a loyal best friend, and by 3 years, you forget about the puppy phase.

We need more pictures of Wilder!!


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

My little monkey, Quinsy, is officially 7 months old! Although we have our trying moments, she really is a loving and good little girl. We just weighed her in at 46lbs.

In recent weeks, we learned of her love for ice chips, and her need for alone time under our bed. She is still going after hubbies toes and pant legs, but it's getting better. We have to keep reminding ourselves that any attention is good attention to a GR, so we're trying to eliminate talk, eye contact or touch when she's being naughty. With patience comes reward (let's hope).

How are you all doing in your 7th month?


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Here's Wilder yesterday. There is a part of our yard that is low. Was never a problem until getting a puppy! We need to have the back yard re-graded in the spring, obviously. He loves splashing in the puddle and playing with his ball in the water. He needed the exercise and needed a bath anyway, so I let him have at it.
We had our first palpable snow today and he loved that as well. Trying to upload a pic but it's being difficult.

He was 52.8 lbs today. Slowing a little more with his weekly gain. Now it's closer to 1 lb a week.


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

Hi guys! Long time no talk, hope everyones new year is going well!
For Christmas my sister got me some Nest cameras for my apartment, and currently they're used more for keeping my eye on Hank than actual security purposes 

I've included a few photos, one of him being naughty and getting on the dinner table. The other two are him just chillin' and the last one is indeed him watching me sleep at 2 AM (creepy).


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Caroline those pics are hysterical. 
We have snow and it's been hard to get exercise. Plus the teenager behavior and he's sort of driving me crazy. I feel bad. We're all going a bit cabin feverish. I bought him a few new toys so that helps. 
He was 55 lbs yesterday. Will be 8 months in a week. 

Seriously considering just paying a private trainer to do some work but maybe he'll calm down and it will be easier. He's clearly smart enough to go for things he knows he's not allowed the second I leave the room. Throw pillows and blankets are his FAVORITE. And he's not even allowed on the sofa. I'm just worn out. Tell me it gets easier and if you can provide an exact time and date, that would be helpful


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

I understand exactly what you mean by "worn out". At Kaizer's last class, he refused to sit or down. I had to stand there for ten minutes yelling "NO, SIT" or "NO, DOWN" over and over and over. It's frustrating because out of everything he knows, those two should be the most perfect. We make him do either for absolutely everything. He wants an ice cube, down. He wants food, sit. He wants to play tug, sit. Very very very frustrating. 

GoldenLabMix, why don't you just take Wilder out to play in the snow? Kaizer and I played in the snow all weekend, and he pretty much crashed Monday, Tuesday and part of Wednesday. Our yard isn't fenced in, so I just used a long line. It worked pretty well for us. The snow is all iced over now and it's dangerous to go outside and play, so I've just been playing tug and using the flirt pole for the past couple days. Can't take a walk either because most of the sidewalks in my neighborhood aren't shoveled and we can't walk on the road because of the many cars that pass. 

I'm hoping that the end to this phase is near. It's very frustrating having to yell "KAIZER, NO, SIT!" over and over when I know he can do it, he just doesn't want to.


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

aesthetic said:


> I understand exactly what you mean by "worn out". At Kaizer's last class, he refused to sit or down. I had to stand there for ten minutes yelling "NO, SIT" or "NO, DOWN" over and over and over. It's frustrating because out of everything he knows, those two should be the most perfect. We make him do either for absolutely everything. He wants an ice cube, down. He wants food, sit. He wants to play tug, sit. Very very very frustrating.
> 
> GoldenLabMix, why don't you just take Wilder out to play in the snow? Kaizer and I played in the snow all weekend, and he pretty much crashed Monday, Tuesday and part of Wednesday. Our yard isn't fenced in, so I just used a long line. It worked pretty well for us. The snow is all iced over now and it's dangerous to go outside and play, so I've just been playing tug and using the flirt pole for the past couple days. Can't take a walk either because most of the sidewalks in my neighborhood aren't shoveled and we can't walk on the road because of the many cars that pass.
> 
> I'm hoping that the end to this phase is near. It's very frustrating having to yell "KAIZER, NO, SIT!" over and over when I know he can do it, he just doesn't want to.


So he's been a teeny bit better this week. We had been doing a lot of snow play. We did get over two feet initially and boy did it tire him out running around the back yard. It just got yucky after the temps turned it into an icy crusty mess. Not to mention the lovely pockets of yellow snow! And the poop...frozen poop on grass is easy to clean up. Frozen into the snow...not so much. I had to get a shovel and fill a large tract bag by digging under the piles to get it all. Yuck. Luckily (sort of) it has been warm and raining and the snow is nearly gone. But now we're back to mud, mud and more mud. Poor guy. He has learned to sit on the mat when he comes in to get wiped off though. And the sidewalks are wide enough again that DH has been walking him around our loop the past few nights so that's helping. 

He has seemed more settled in the evenings and not as mischievous. He's *maybe* listening a little better. maybe. I did increase his food a bit. I hadn't in a while and he was looking thin. I increased a lot -- a cup more a day. I'll do this for a full week and then see how he looks. This puts him at 5 cups a day! I'm likely going back to around 4.5 cups after this week of bulking him up. He was 55 last weekend. I think he's going to gain 2-4 lbs this week! Then he needs to be done. DONE


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Kaizer's currently at four cups a day. What are you feeding Wilder? We feed Kaizer Annamaet Extra 26. He does really well on it but lately he's a lot gassier than usual. His fur is super soft and shiny and his poops are well formed 99.9% of the time so I don't know why he's so gassy. 

Kaizer's calmed down a lot this past week, aka he's not biting anymore. He's a lot more cuddly now, he voluntarily comes up to us more often for pets and kisses.

Today was kind of weird though. Kaizer didn't see me for most of yesterday and didn't see me until I came home from school and he was soooo excited to see me today - to the point where he didn't even say hi to my mom when she came downstairs after work because he wanted to stay with me. It's weird for Kaizer to be so clingy, I guess. I guess it's better than the biting though lol.

Here's a picture of my pretty boy!!


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Aww. He's so cute! 
We were on Merrick grain free puppy. We slowly switch last month to performatrin ultra grain free large breed. Canadian brand. Appears to be sold somewhat exclusively by Pet Valu here. Very similar to Merrick. I hate how small Merrick kibble is. Even the adult is tiny. Anyway DH said he noticed a difference in his girth and I have too so after a week of really feeding extra, we'll go back to 4.5 cups. Even giving him 5 cups for a week, he only gained 1.5 lbs. but I guess since he's not getting taller so much anymore, it went straight to his hips. 
8 months yesterday! This year has gone fast and slow at the same time. He gets so excited when DH comes home. DH is his neck massage guy!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

They're getting so big so fast. I really miss the tiny puppy stage, but at the same time, I really love the this stage too. 
Kaizer's been fed Annamaet Extra 26 since he could first start eating solid food. it was what the breeder fed him and it's always worked for him so I don't change it. We feed him 4c a day at 425kcal a cup. He was getting too skinny with 3c so we had to increase it. He's getting a little paddy on the sides though so I might have to drop it soon


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## Lambeau0609 (Aug 3, 2015)

Here is a pic of Lambeau born June 9th. He was just weighed at 50 pounds.
Not sure why its side ways. Sorry


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Lambeau's adorable!

Here's a recent picture of Kaizer. Not sure if I posted this in this thread, but I've definitely posted it a couple of times across the forum:


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Lambeau and Kaizer look like they could be related! They are so pretty! I mean handsome.

Wilder has continued to be better behaved and challenging us less. He still has his moments of course, but they are less. I haven't weighed him yet this week. I switched back to 4.5 cups a day. He seems pretty satisfied.

I was looking at his baby pics the other day. SO cute. I miss the baby cuteness but not the work and the constant trips outside. Though 20 lb wilder was a lot easier to walk that's 50+ lb wilder.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

GoldenLabMix said:


> Lambeau and Kaizer look like they could be related! They are so pretty! I mean handsome.
> 
> Wilder has continued to be better behaved and challenging us less. He still has his moments of course, but they are less. I haven't weighed him yet this week. I switched back to 4.5 cups a day. He seems pretty satisfied.
> 
> I was looking at his baby pics the other day. SO cute. I miss the baby cuteness but not the work and the constant trips outside. Though 20 lb wilder was a lot easier to walk that's 50+ lb wilder.


I didn't realize that they looked alike until you said that!! They definitely could have been twins, if they didn't have different birthdays! 

I've noticed that Kaizer seems happier and overall more well behaved if I train him everyday. I tested out that theory by training him for 30-60 minutes a day last week and then barely any this week. I kept the same amount of food (3.5 cups) but increased the exercise the week I didn't train him (the time I usually train him, I used to play with him instead). There was an obvious difference in his mood and behavior - last week he wasn't as bitey, he was a lot more playful and he could settle himself easier. This week he got really bitey constantly, he didn't really want to play (i.e., he wasn't as into his game of tug), he wasn't over the top excited to see me as he usually is, he found it harder to settle, and he seemed more into attempting to destroy the furniture. There's another thing too, but I don't know how to put it in words. It's more like a feeling that I get, rather than a specific behavior or something explainable. Now I'm more motivated to make sure Kaizer gets at least 30 minutes of a training session at least once a day.

There were a lot of positives for this week though - Kaizer and I got through two rounds of fetch without him biting me (!!!). Really big for us because Kaizer gets super excited when we throw something for him, and he used to go after the ball and then come back to me and jump/bite me. This time he took the ball and had zoomies with it. He also played tag with me without jumping up and biting me too (he gives me a 'touch' then I run, he follows me. It seems to help with his recall believe it or not). So I think that the key to success for Kaizer and I is a lot of training and a lot of tug. 

You're definitely right though, the challenging moments are getting lesser and lesser as we work through them. The moments where Kaizer's not biting us, or he's settling and playing with a toy by himself, or coming up to me for pets are the most meaningful to me, because they give me hope when Kaizer's being a little ****. 


Anyway, how are you walking Wilder in this weather?! It's too cold over here for me to even think about going outside for more than 10 minutes, and Kaizer and I's walk lasts at least 45 minutes.

I posted a picture of Kaizer at 10 weeks somewhere on the forum yesterday and I cannot believe how tiny he used to be!! I missed the puppy stage, he was so tiny and easy to carry. Now he's such a big boy. We haven't gone to the vet for his monthly heart worm chew thing yet (oops), so we haven't weighed him.


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

We haven't been on a walk lately...too cold. You can't be too far from me (we're just north of Philly) and yes, it's REALLY cold. He's been great about doing his business and coming in. He will stay out for 20 minute when it's 30* but now that it's in the teens, he comes back in 5 minutes. The kids have been playing with him more inside. They created a game my son calls golf where he uses a bully stick to hit a ball across the room for W to fetch. The amazing thing is that W was actually listening to my kids and dropping the ball when they said drop it. It took a couple times but he really hadn't been obeying them for much so it was great when he figured out that it worked in his benefit to listen to them.

So I just weighed him and he's gained a fraction of a pound this week. Like either nothing or 4/10th of a pound depending on which time I weighed him. He had his interceptor plus last weekend and it was new to us as our vet switched. He threw up in his cage a good amount the first night, then a little bit the second night, and was not himself for a few days. He even didn't eat much in the morning. It passed so I didn't worry about it. Not absolutely sure if it was the interceptor or if he ate something. Then early in the week, he was constipated - which could have been from throwing up and getting off schedule. That worked itself out too but I was going to take him in if it hadn't. He's totally back to normal now. We'll just watch him carefully next month when we give it to him. If it happens again it will be the last time we use it. I searched online and it seems to be a very well tolerated drug to who knows.

The kids picked out this giant rawhide bone for him last night. Like, comically large. He's happily working on it. I know rawhide isn't great for them but he never gets any good amount off them and they really keep him busy. 

I so need to get him back in a class. There's just no time and I can't fathom adding anything else to or schedule. I took him with us in the car twice this week just to get him out. We need to schedule another play date with our friend's golden doodle who is the same age/size. He really hasn't played with dogs in a while and I don't want him to lose his dog friendliness.


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## Lambeau0609 (Aug 3, 2015)

Wow, Kaizer and Lambeau do look like brothers. Lambeau is a very unique GR. I feel so lucky he never went through the terrible biting stage. I considered him potty trained at 12wks. And he has never chewed anything beside his toys which he has alot of. He never went through the bad teenager stage. I do keep him very busy with 2 walks a day and lots of play time since we have great weather on Arizona. I feel so blessed and lucky and I am keeping my fingers crossed that my good luck keeps up.


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

LOL you got really lucky! Wilder has been really good with biting/nipping since he finished teething. The exception is he would mouth/nip gently to get us to keep petting him if we stopped. He's almost 100% broken of this. He also nips at my kids' clothing periodically but completely in a puppy play way. Annoying still. Most of the annoying stuff he does is dog behaviors like shoving a toy On or lap to get us to play, or 'fetching' things from the counter to bring to someone - perfectly normal in the dog world but bad manners in the human world. Plus, he's half lab not from high-end breeding stock so my expectations are lower in some ways


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## Lambeau0609 (Aug 3, 2015)

I think half lab/golden dogs are such cute dogs. That will be my next dog. Lambeau is all GR but from a BYB. He also does the grab a toy and drop it on my lap when he wants to play. Its very cute but sometimes makes me feel guilty if I don't want to play right than. 
I did get very lucky with Lambeau. I just keep my fingers crossed with him since he is from a BYB and I don't know anything about his parents except seeing a pic of them.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Y'all are lucky  Kaizer's still super bitey and not completely cuddly yet. I'm hoping that we'll eventually get to a stage where he doesn't bite/nip us for something.

Is anyone's dog destroying more toys lately? I've thrown out at least one toy per day this past week. Yesterday we said bye to his favorite toy goose, which I got for him before he even came home.


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## Lambeau0609 (Aug 3, 2015)

Mine has destroyed a few soft ones. I decided no more soft toys just all hard ones for now on. Lambeau at 8 months is not crated when we leave the house anymore and i decided I didn't want the soft toys around for him to chew up if we weren't around. But my house does look like toys r us with other toys and bones.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Kaizer surprisingly leaves the soft toys alone. He goes after and destroys all the hard toys


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

aesthetic said:


> Is anyone's dog destroying more toys lately? I've thrown out at least one toy per day this past week. Yesterday we said bye to his favorite toy goose, which I got for him before he even came home.


Ugh, this is too relatable. Hank never destroyed ANY of his toys... until recently. I throw so many away :uhoh:


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## Lambeau0609 (Aug 3, 2015)

Try getting antlers. Lambeau loves them and they last forever.
I love the site chewy.com for his food and toys. Quick shipping.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

carolinehansen said:


> Ugh, this is too relatable. Hank never destroyed ANY of his toys... until recently. I throw so many away :uhoh:


I suspect a trip to the petstore (or to Amazon) in my near future.


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

He's never had any really soft toys. He does have the rope-thread tug and I trimmed the ends last weekend as I felt he could get too much off it when he did chew it. He's got a few different Kong toys that we stuff and keep him busy. And we do have rawhide...I know it's not the best but he doesn't get much off at any given time. Nothing but kongs are ever left in a crate with him. Leaving him un-crated is still a LONG way off. When it does happen it will still require gating some parts of the house off. 

Have I mentioned his new habit as of the last few cold weeks??? Poop-sicles are apparently quite yummy. ICK! I am going to have to be really good about cleaning the yard and maybe find something to feed him that will make it taste worse, if there is something safe. I had been cleaning once a day but with the cold I've been letting it go longer. Yeh...disgusting. May be contributing to his sticky breath and smell and tummy issues. I thought he had stopped but then I catch him again.


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

We can definitely relate. Quinsy is undeniably a power chewer. We've also said goodbye to many of her toys in the past month. Some toys were hard to toss, because they belonged to our bridge baby, who didn't put a dent in them in 10+ years. 

What I miss most about her puppy days, is being able to pick her up and love her up to my hearts content. Quinsy is now 50+ lbs and for the most part is a cuddle bug - but only on her terms. If we get carried away, she will turn her head and push us away with her paw. I swear, I can almost see her rolling her eyes back.

Our biggest grievance at 7 (8 months tomorrow) is her obsession with chewing corners of blankets/comforters. We only have the cheap ones out now. Eeeek.

This cold is a real concern because her paws get so cold that she can't stay in one place for too long. We've tried the booties, but she's not quite comfortable in them yet. Thankfully the temps are not as brutal today.

I'd love to see your puppy pix (maybe at 3 months) alongside an 8 month pix posted - it would be awesome to see how much they've changed.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

GoldenLabMix said:


> He's never had any really soft toys. He does have the rope-thread tug and I trimmed the ends last weekend as I felt he could get too much off it when he did chew it. He's got a few different Kong toys that we stuff and keep him busy. And we do have rawhide...I know it's not the best but he doesn't get much off at any given time. Nothing but kongs are ever left in a crate with him. Leaving him un-crated is still a LONG way off. When it does happen it will still require gating some parts of the house off.
> 
> Have I mentioned his new habit as of the last few cold weeks??? Poop-sicles are apparently quite yummy. ICK! I am going to have to be really good about cleaning the yard and maybe find something to feed him that will make it taste worse, if there is something safe. I had been cleaning once a day but with the cold I've been letting it go longer. Yeh...disgusting. May be contributing to his sticky breath and smell and tummy issues. I thought he had stopped but then I catch him again.


Are you going out with him when he does his business? If you are, just pick it up right away. I've gone out with Kaizer every single time since he was a puppy and I've never failed to pick up his poop as soon as he's finished. Now he automatically turns and walks away from his poop when he's done.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

So, apparently I spoke too soon. This past week/weekend has been a complete nightmare! I don't know what happened this week that was different from last week (besides the training vs no training), but all Kaizer did this week was bite and hump me. I don't even know when he started the humping because it definitely wasn't happening a month or two ago. It's not even overarousal biting anymore. I was asking him if he had to potty today (because he was barking and that usually means potty time), and he turned around, jumped up and bit me on my arm, then jumped up and pulled on my ponytail. He's recently started going after my feet too. He point blank refuses to play tug (or any game) now. I'm at my wits end, and I'm super super annoyed because my family is constantly saying "Oh, he sits so nicely with us" or "he just sat and played with his toys". 

I just don't know what I do to provoke him into biting me I guess. It's just come to a point where I wonder why he prefers everyone else over me, when I'm the one who feeds him, trains him, walks him, plays with him, etc. I'm his primary caretaker, but we've come to a point where he's not even excited to see me.


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

aesthetic said:


> Are you going out with him when he does his business? If you are, just pick it up right away. I've gone out with Kaizer every single time since he was a puppy and I've never failed to pick up his poop as soon as he's finished. Now he automatically turns and walks away from his poop when he's done.


I almost never go out with him and haven't for a few months. When he's out in the morning, I'm making my kids' lunches. When he's out at noon, I'm in eating my lunch. You get the idea. I don't have time to stand and watch him and he likes to play and lay in the grass when it's nicer. Plus...it's too cold now. I did clean up daily but then we had this snow a few weeks ago and it was over 2 feet so getting out there required suiting up a bit for me. Let alone finding all the piles. And now with an inch here and there it's difficult to find it all but I do my best.

I was reading that it's not uncommon for puppies up to a year to be tempted by the frozen poop. I ordered a pill deterrent today that had pretty good ratings. We'll try it. I don't think it will be as much of an issue when it's above freezing and I'm cleaning for sure everyday.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Anyway, the first three pictures, in order from left to right: Kaizer from 11 weeks to 14.5 weeks to 18 weeks.

The next two are Kaizer from August 4, 2015 (9.5 weeks) to February 6, 2016 (eight months).


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

Hank has been biting excessively this week, as well. He has been really bad in general this week, actually lol. He is acting as if I didn't spend the past 6 months training him. Frustrating. Lots of time outs in his crate and spraying yucky spray in his mouth when he bites people. Also I've been meaning to ask you, is Kaizer neutered? When do you plan on neutering him, if you plan to at all? I'm trying to decide when to neuter Hank. If I could have it my way I would wait until he's 2, but I don't think that'll happen. Wow this post is long!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

carolinehansen said:


> Hank has been biting excessively this week, as well. He has been really bad in general this week, actually lol. He is acting as if I didn't spend the past 6 months training him. Frustrating. Lots of time outs in his crate and spraying yucky spray in his mouth when he bites people. Also I've been meaning to ask you, is Kaizer neutered? When do you plan on neutering him, if you plan to at all? I'm trying to decide when to neuter Hank. If I could have it my way I would wait until he's 2, but I don't think that'll happen. Wow this post is long!


Kaizer's not neutered yet. The earliest I'd allow him to get neutered is 18 months, he definitely will not be neutered before then. I kind of want to wait until he's 2 - 2.5 years old, but I'm not sure how probable that is. I'm not in any rush to get him neutered anyway.
And I understand the frustration. Kaizer behaves so nicely with everyone else, but saves the biting and misbehaving for me. Sigh. I read somewhere that if we can get through the 8-9 month phase, it should only get better. Hopefully that applies to all our puppies and by 10 months, they should be the lovely dogs we know they can be. I'm excited to get to that stage, but for now I'll just keep working at it!!
What are y'all teaching your pups? I'm kind of at a loss of what new (fun) stuff I can teach Kaizer. Besides proofing all that he already knows, I'm trying to teach him to walk around a box, and to walk backward. He walks backwards by himself already (he backs himself up to get out of tight spaces), I just want to put a name for it.


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## CheriP (Jan 7, 2016)

This is Ted on his 8 month birthday. He was born 6-10-15, & was 72 pounds on Feb 4th. Nice to meet all of you!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

CheriP said:


> This is Ted on his 8 month birthday. He was born 6-10-15, & was 72 pounds on Feb 4th. Nice to meet all of you!
> View attachment 616882


Welcome to the forum!! Always nice seeing a new face  Ted is adorable, I hope you post more pictures of him (or start your own thread dedicated to him!)


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## CheriP (Jan 7, 2016)

Thank you! I'm not very familiar with how this forum works yet, but I should be able to figure it out in time. :waves:

Ted is the 1st dog I've raised from a pup on my own. We lost our beloved yellow lab in Sept of 2014, 2 weeks shy of her 15th birthday. After we lost her, I swore I'd never do it again. Ted is our life, & I look back at all the things I could have done better with Goldie. (Our lab) 

He's still intact, & will stay that way, for as long as we can. He went through puppy one, onto dog two, & we were lucky enough that no one showed up for his CGC class. Basically we got private lessons for the price of group lessons, so he sailed through CGC, & CGCA in 6 weeks. We're looking at doing agility or something next, since he loves it so much. 

Right now, we're in Vermont, & we love hiking together, but it's been so icy lately, he goes to doggie daycare for exercise & socialization. We're moving back to Minnesota at the end of the month.


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## Lambeau0609 (Aug 3, 2015)

Welcome Ted. My Lambeau was born 6-09-15. And weights 50lbs.


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## Lambeau0609 (Aug 3, 2015)

Ted is so adorable. He looks alot like my Lambeau.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Kaizer was born June 4, 2015 and last time I weighed him (in January) he was just around 55 pounds. By now, I'm assuming he's close to 60, if not a little more.


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## CheriP (Jan 7, 2016)

LOL! I think we got the giant golden! He is very muscular, & stocky. I can easily feel his ribs, & he has no fat. 72 pounds 2 weeks ago. His trainer said he's a beast. Oh well, more to love, eh?


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Welcome Ted! 
Wilder is 6/5/15 and is about 57lbs now. He's, per my screen name, half lab, half golden. 
Here's 12 weeks - when we got him. And now.


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## CheriP (Jan 7, 2016)

Awww... our last dog was a yellow lab. I see so many similarities between her & Ted. They are both great breads. You have a great mix!


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Hi CheriP, welcome. Ted is so handsome. You're having so much fun with Ted; they are so awesome, aren't they?

How has your 8th month been for you, so far?

Quinsy is our 2nd Golden. Our 1st golden child, Dakota, went to the bridge in July last year at just shy of 11 years. Our Quinsy just turned 8 months young yesterday (couldn't even go a month without a Golden at home). She's been a handful, but otherwise so much and we love her dearly.

Hope to see more pics.


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Here is the evolution of Quinsy, from just a wee one, to a 53 lb ball of fur yesterday, on her 8 months young birthday!

It's so hard to take a photo of her; she can't keep still for a second. :uhoh:


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

GoldenLabMix said:


> Welcome Ted!
> Wilder is 6/5/15 and is about 57lbs now. He's, per my screen name, half lab, half golden.
> Here's 12 weeks - when we got him. And now.


He's gorgeous GoldenLabMix!! Thanks for sharing.


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

tessmk said:


> Here is the evolution of Quinsy, from just a wee one, to a 53 lb ball of fur yesterday, on her 8 months young birthday!
> 
> It's so hard to take a photo of her; she can't keep still for a second. :uhoh:


Tell me why our dogs look so similar to each other? I swear Hank is a darker, male version of Quinsy!


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

carolinehansen said:


> Tell me why our dogs look so similar to each other? I swear Hank is a darker, male version of Quinsy!


Wow!! I can totally see it!! Especially the ears and the eyes. It's probably the mailman's Golden who's the culprit!! LOL

P.S. I need to see more pictures of Hank. I think I'm going to have to start internet stalking him now.


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

CheriP said:


> Awww... our last dog was a yellow lab. I see so many similarities between her & Ted. They are both great breads. You have a great mix!


Thanks. I had a yellow lab growing up so I wanted something different. But still loved labs of course! Golden was my first choice but DH was hesitant about the long hair...so this was the compromise. I was/still am *hoping* his fur grows out more but I'm pretty sure this is it at this point in the game. Oh well! He's a hybrid just like our kids. 

Hank looks like Wilder's dad. He was very long haired and dark.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Oh wow I can definitely see the similarities between Hank and Quinsy!! I wonder if they're related somehow


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Happy weekend! Well, so far the pills I got him that were supposed to make his poop undesirable to eat are NOT working. I am switching him back to the Merrick GF puppy that he was on before. This has started about half way through the large bag of Performatrin Ultra GF puppy so just in case it's not enough nutrients for him or something... Even though it rates just a well on dog food advisor. Now that the weather is a little better, I'm cleaning up those piles more often now too

No news really - just looking forward to a relaxing weekend with more doggy time!


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

GoldenLabMix said:


> Happy weekend! Well, so far the pills I got him that were supposed to make his poop undesirable to eat are NOT working. I am switching him back to the Merrick GF puppy that he was on before. This has started about half way through the large bag of Performatrin Ultra GF puppy so just in case it's not enough nutrients for him or something... Even though it rates just a well on dog food advisor. Now that the weather is a little better, I'm cleaning up those piles more often now too
> 
> No news really - just looking forward to a relaxing weekend with more doggy time!


Well maybe the pills are working as he only played with the poop this morning but didn't eat it. I purposely left last night's out there to see what would happen. Gross, I know. But I had to know if they were doing anything. Then I've been cleaning up after him today because we were outside so much. 

I skipped his tiny 1/2 cup lunch today and fed him dinner early. Just now he was begging for food, his food, by standing next to where it is like it's mealtime. So he got more. Then I checked and the Merrick is more suggested cups than the other so that may explain why the same amount hadn't filled him up. Since it was a food he had been on for months, I just switched cold turkey and his stools are fine.

Anyway, I know you all love hearing about my dog's poop adventures.

Today was so gorgeous! If it could be 60 everyday I would be a happy camper.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

I hope the pills work and Wilder starts leaving his poop alone!! I've heard that pineapple helps. If the pill don't end up working, maybe you could try that? I don't know if you've tried that already, but if you haven't, it's worth a shot


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## Kristab (Feb 23, 2016)

*Hi All*

Hi all!
This is Toby. He was born June 27,2015. He currently weighs 71.5lbs and full of Love.
We have been going to Puppy classes and have moved up to the second level- Impulse control, leash walking, etc. But it's so hard for a puppy who wants to explore the world, instead of focusing on his Mom.


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Kristab said:


> Hi all!
> This is Toby. He was born June 27,2015. He currently weighs 71.5lbs and full of Love.
> We have been going to Puppy classes and have moved up to the second level- Impulse control, leash walking, etc. But it's so hard for a puppy who wants to explore the world, instead of focusing on his Mom.


Hello Kristab and Toby.

Your Toby is so handsome, and what a big boy!! He does look incredibly lovable and hug-gable. And, yes...Quinsy completely agrees - the world is way too interesting to focus on only one thing.


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

Kristab said:


> Hi all!
> This is Toby. He was born June 27,2015. He currently weighs 71.5lbs and full of Love.
> We have been going to Puppy classes and have moved up to the second level- Impulse control, leash walking, etc. But it's so hard for a puppy who wants to explore the world, instead of focusing on his Mom.


Toby!! What a cute name to match a cute pup! He's such a big boy too! Wow!!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Kristab said:


> Hi all!
> This is Toby. He was born June 27,2015. He currently weighs 71.5lbs and full of Love.
> We have been going to Puppy classes and have moved up to the second level- Impulse control, leash walking, etc. But it's so hard for a puppy who wants to explore the world, instead of focusing on his Mom.


Toby is adorable! I love his name. He looks so squeezable!!


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Welcome Toby! He's so handsome!

Well the pills are working! No more poop eating! Which is awesome because it's been raining for a few days and I have not been out there picking it up right away each time. Our yard is a muddy mess. Just put the call in to the landscaping company that we were going to use right before we got Wilder. It's going to suck having it torn up but it will be so much better when it's done.

One improvement of late is that he's resource guarding less with my kids. He would get a little growly when they were near him and he had something new/newly filled kong. Now he rarely stiffens up at all and they can sit next to him on his bed and pet him while he munches.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

GoldenLabMix said:


> Welcome Toby! He's so handsome!
> 
> Well the pills are working! No more poop eating! Which is awesome because it's been raining for a few days and I have not been out there picking it up right away each time. Our yard is a muddy mess. Just put the call in to the landscaping company that we were going to use right before we got Wilder. It's going to suck having it torn up but it will be so much better when it's done.
> 
> One improvement of late is that he's resource guarding less with my kids. He would get a little growly when they were near him and he had something new/newly filled kong. Now he rarely stiffens up at all and they can sit next to him on his bed and pet him while he munches.


Yay Wilder!!! I'm so glad his resource guarding and poop eating habits are getting better


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

How's everyone?

I finally bought pet insurance. I kept meaning to look into it. I have a vet friend who said it was a must because she saw too many animals put down because of cost when quality of life would have been restored. I did go with a fairly minimal policy - $5,000 per year max. But it will cover the majority of an accident or illness or old age testing/specialists.

My other friend who is a tech came up for the weekend to meet Wilder. It was super helpful to get her feedback on how he's doing overall and what she thinks of his disposition /temperament. She said he's great and, yes, he's just viewing the kids as puppies So we'll stop letting them play with him in certain ways and do more training with him. He's been slightly better with the cat lately. Listening to the leave it command instead of going after her. He just REALLY wants to play with her, but she's 16 and tiny and even playing could be harmful. And she hates him but yet seems to like to watch him and taunt him through the gate. If he ever calms down, she'd probably sleep with him. I also moved her litter back to the basement from the extra bedroom/office because it was time to go back to normal. He doesn't have access to the stairs so she has a clear path. There's been a pan down there the whole time anyway that she's kept using sometimes.

So my friend thinks he's going to get a little longer fur. I told her not to give me false hope She's not a fan of the pine-needle like lab fur and was thrilled to feel that even his slick lab back is softer than a full lab, and the rest of him is really soft.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Kaizer played with his Kong Wubba for the first time ever today and within 15 minutes, ripped the hard ball right out of the fabric. What am I supposed to do with him?? Thankfully, he didnt swallow down any of the fabric, just left it in a nice neat pile next to his toys (i don't know when he started doing that but I'm very thankful for it). What a mess. He's now down to a handful of balls (tennis balls, chuck-its, etc.) but he isn't a fan. Thankfully, I can buy some toys tomorrow, hopefully those will work out better for him...

I hope we see some more pictures on this thread soon!! I swear I haven't seen pictures of your fur babies in forever!


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

I had to google the Wubba. It looks cute and looks more durable than some. Really the only thing that keeps W busy is a full Kong. Try the Kong stuff-a-ball (has ridges around the sides) or the Kong jumbler football or jumbler ball. W broke the squeaker on the jumbler ball but still loves to chew it and hasn't made a hole yet. All of these much cheaper online. 

W had a play date with the Weimaraner across the street (she maybe 15 months) today. She's the same height but much thinner - just breed build. Still a good solid match. She can easily out run him. I was really glad to get him the exercise because we had to go out this evening and that meant more crate time


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

GoldenLabMix said:


> I had to google the Wubba. It looks cute and looks more durable than some. Really the only thing that keeps W busy is a full Kong. Try the Kong stuff-a-ball (has ridges around the sides) or the Kong jumbler football or jumbler ball. W broke the squeaker on the jumbler ball but still loves to chew it and hasn't made a hole yet. All of these much cheaper online.
> 
> W had a play date with the Weimaraner across the street (she maybe 15 months) today. She's the same height but much thinner - just breed build. Still a good solid match. She can easily out run him. I was really glad to get him the exercise because we had to go out this evening and that meant more crate time


I thought the Wubba was going to be fairly durable and keep him occupied but he completely destroyed it in 15 minutes (ripped the fabric off the ball and was chewing on that) And thank you for the toy recommendations! I have a list of toys that I want to get for Kaizer so I'll had those. 

Do you have a picture of him and Weimaraner together? There was a 13 month old one at Kaizer's last class.


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

Hi guys! Looking through old pictures and found this one of baby Hank.
Remember when our June babies used to be small and fluffy


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Hank was so cute!! I miss when they were that fluffy and soft and so small - Kaizer can't fit into my lap anymore and it's harder to carry him now (he's 65ish pounds). I thought he was heavy at 8 weeks and 14 pounds :doh:.

Knock on wood I don't jinx any of this..

But I'm also glad that they've grown up now. Kaizer's matured, albeit very slowly. Now I can trust him alone for 15 minutes while I go upstairs to brush my teeth and put on my contacts, he lies down and waits for me. We're not anywhere close to the point of me leaving him alone for any longer than that, but it's such a step up from when he used to go after the concrete in our fireplace. He'd scratch at it and pull out the concrete. He's also stopped ripping apart the plastic water bottles / milk jugs we give him. If he does rip them off, he drops it on his own. I don't know how it started (I'm assuming it has to do with the amount of "drop it" I'm working on) but I very much appreciate it. 

He's also less bitey, but he still has his moments. 7pm every night he gets bitey for no reason. Generally, that's when we have to tether him. It's easier to get away when he can't chase me down lol. But now spending time with him during the day is a lot more enjoyable and a lot more fun and rewarding for us. We've also gotten into a routine of sorts. Every morning after breakfast, he gets his bone and lies down at my feet. It's nice, it's peaceful, and then ten minutes later we're up chasing each other around the family room. 

What are your plans for the spring? Kaizer got a new harness yesterday, so we've been trying it out. I like it, but it's going to have to take me awhile to learn how to put it on quickly, the buckle, which really isnt a buckle, is weird. But it comes with a seatbelt attachment and I like the overall fit of it. Plus, Kaizer doesn't scratch with it on. Now that spring's around the corner, Kaizer and I are going to go out and practice more around distractions. We might be going to the Home Depot today to work on his focus in public situations, and greeting people.

Oh and can you believe they're going to be 9 months this month?? I think Kaizer's the oldest of the June babies - he turns 9 months on Friday!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

On a side note, does anyone else notice that their golden has good/bad days? Sometimes Kaizer will be the model of good dog behavior, and other times he's chewing on the leg of the couch and won't listen when we tell him to stop. Those are usually the days when he bites more and when he's crated more.


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

I haven't seen any major (calming) progress in W in a few weeks but we had some a month or so ago so maybe again soon. He definitely has good days and not so good days but they are absolutely correlated to how much time he spends in his crate. There are one or two evenings a week we need to go out for lessons and stuff. Those are the toughest. I try to exercise him more those days, but he's still crated more. Oh, I didn't get a good pic of his play date - they really didn't stop moving! 

I cut his lunch finally. After my friend confirming he does look chunky I cut him to two meals of 2 cups each. It's a little sad at lunch when I come home to let him out and he expects a meal. Our new routine is I give him a treat and send him out. I'm also making his treats much smaller. Still working in the evenings on ignoring the cat. I think it's coming along. 

I can't believe he'll be 9 months this Saturday. It's been such a crazy year with him and starting a new job. He's definitely looked like a full grown young dog for a while. He's probably around 61 now. Vet tech friend said she'd guess 70 at a year and 75 when he's filled out at 18-24 months.

Is anyone having a birthday party for their pup? I know it's ridiculous, but I think we might just because it's so silly. My kids would get a kick out of it. We could invite a couple of his puppy friends but that might be insane. At least it's summer and the yard will be dry. And my daughter's birthday is about 2 weeks later.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

I have his birthday all planned out - I'll probably have a couple of Kaizer's favorite people over, then we'll go to McDonalds and get him his first ice cream, then we're gonna surprise him with a whole bunch of toys and his own little chicken flavored cupcake. We might even throw in a swim / water play because it'll be warm enough. 

On another note, Kaizer swallowed down one of those thin, small socks today. It happened so fast and none of us are even sure if it was a sock because we had come home from the vet (he weighs 64 pounds) and the lights were off. We saw it for a split second before Kaizer got to it. It's weird for him to swallow something down so quickly anyway, he usually grabs stuff and just holds in it his mouth running around (and we've always traded him for what he has in his mouth). I don't know, I hope he'll be okay.


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

Oh no, poor Kaizer! Keep us updated on how he's doing, I hope he's okay :heartbeat


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

carolinehansen said:


> Oh no, poor Kaizer! Keep us updated on how he's doing, I hope he's okay :heartbeat


Right now it looks like he's okay!! He ate and drank just fine this morning, ran around playing with the little amount of toys he has left (currently his favorite is a blanket we had on the couch to protect it from his nails and fur), played with us a little bit, and then went outside and pooped. Nothing was in the poop, and it was nicely formed so I'm not worried that something's in there. That could change though. No one's even sure if he swallowed anything down though, my mom thought she saw something, I didnt see it at all, and if there was, Kaizer swallowed it down in less than 5 seconds which is unusual for him. Sigh. Here's to hoping that he's okay.


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Oh, my! I do hope he'll be okay. They're lightning fast when they grab a hold of things (especially socks). I always wonder what Quinsy has swallowed that we didn't catch in time. You're doing the right thing, watching him (and his poops) closely. With the many times we've called the vet about something she swallowed, we'd be flat broke if they charged us. Our Dakota would never swallow anything, just prance around with it, as if she conquered something. We are so not used to this. 

Good luck, Kaizer .... only positive thoughts coming your way.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Thank you tessmk! It means a lot. I'm sure he'll be fine (he was acting normal), but it's nice to have those positive thoughts!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Update: Kaizer pooped it out whole!! I'm pretty impressed with that, I must say. I'm very glad that it didn't screw around with his system, but man I wish he'd stop grabbing things off the floor so fast.


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

aesthetic said:


> Update: Kaizer pooped it out whole!! I'm pretty impressed with that, I must say. I'm very glad that it didn't screw around with his system, but man I wish he'd stop grabbing things off the floor so fast.


Great news!! Way to go, Kaizer! 

If only, we could find a way to stop them, aesthetic...if only...


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

That is hilarious! So he did end up eating it, huh? Ohhhhh Kaizer.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

carolinehansen said:


> That is hilarious! So he did end up eating it, huh? Ohhhhh Kaizer.


Apparently he did :doh: 

At least it's out of his system in time for his 9 month birthday!! Kaizer's 9 months old today, I'm gonna take some pictures after I charge the good camera. Til then, an iphone camera will have to suffice..


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Happy 9th months, Kaizer. Quinsy and I wish you a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! I hope you get spoiled today, you handsome fella .

PS - How can they be 9 months already, aesthetic????


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

tessmk said:


> Happy 9th months, Kaizer. Quinsy and I wish you a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! I hope you get spoiled today, you handsome fella .
> 
> PS - How can they be 9 months already, aesthetic????


Kaizer says thank you!! These past months have gone by so fast, I can't believe that in three months he'll be a year old.

He got a new toy in the mail today, and two more should be arriving by next friday. He's already torn the face off of his new toy..sigh. He's definitely spoiled!!


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

Happy 9 month birthday Kaizer!!!


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Happy 9 Months to our pups! I'm glad Kaizer passed the sock...ick! 
Everything is normal here. Getting slowly better about the cat and the cat is spending more time in the gated dog rooms. Cutest thing today...the cat was gone for 3 hours because she had a cardiology appointment (kill me with that bill!) and when we came home she walked right up to W and went nose to nose and then walked away. 

So, Thursday I took the kids to the local guide dog puppy raiser meeting. We have been meaning to go for a while but they are only once a month and we always had conflicts or I didn't want to leave W alone longer. The kids LOVED it. There were only 4 of the 8 puppies in the group there (it fluctuates). A 12m old lab/golden that really looked just like a lab. (Makes me see how much golden W has in him!), two 6m old shepherds, and a 6m old golden. The golden was GORGEOUS! So we signed up to babysit when a puppy raiser family needs to travel. The lady with the lab/golden was on her 13th puppy! I assume she'll have a new one soon since he'll go back in a month or two. We're still on the list to adopt a dog that retires or fails. DH says no right now but we'll see. It'll still be another year or so before our name comes up. So that was our adventure for the week. We'll try to keep going monthly. They let my son walk one of the pups in the training portion. Really nice people.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Happy 9 months Wilder!! That guide dog raising meeting sounds really cool, what an amazing experience for you and your kids!!


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

If you don't have pet insurance...think about it!
Wilder's friend, an 8 m old golden doodle, has been in the hospital for 3 days. Swallowed a chicken bone and it splintered and perf'd his intestine. $8,000 bill. No insurance for them. They didn't know if he would make it at first as it was infected. Poor baby!

Everything is normal here. Beautiful weather! Glad we can get out more.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Oh poor pup, I'm glad he's getting better!!

Kaizer's going to the vet today - he's got a funky smell down there that he's never had before and he's farting a lot, it's stinking up the house. Not fun. Hopefully it's just a minor issue with his anal glands (I think that's better than other alternatives - petmd is a dangerous place to be on)

Hope all the other June babies are doing well! Quinsy, your nine month birthday is coming up!!


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

How's Kaizer doing? I hope everything is alright.

Our friend's pup should be coming home tomorrow!

Wilder's been playing with his Weim. Friend a lot. It's great and he's so much calmer all day when he gets good and tired! I can also feel his muscles getting firmer in his legs because she's a great runner and he chases her! We had them play for only 10 minutes one morning and they were a bear to catch because they weren't tired out. But leave them for 30 and they are both worn out.

Our next door neighbor's (who are grandparents) son and his family have a new flat-coated retriever. He's super cute. I invited them to play and they were interested as they want them to have some doggy interaction. Ha ha I just want to play with the pup.

My son left a toy outside and he chewed it up...very thankful he didn't eat the battery part. My son had to pick up all the pieces. Oh, puppy adventures.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Kaizer's all good! The vet expressed his anal glands (which Kaiz didn't like) but he went home and started running laps so I'm assuming he felt a lot better  He also got weighed and he's just about 65.9 pounds. Vet said that he was at a good weight and that we were doing a good job keeping him lean, so I'm pretty happy with that..

Sounds like Wilder's having lots of fun with his puppy friends! I love when they get all tired and calm, it makes caring for them so much easier.


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

I'm up late so it is technically the 16th for me, meaning precious Quinsy is 9 months today! Happy nine months Quinsy! And no more peeing on the carpet.. lol!


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

carolinehansen said:


> I'm up late so it is technically the 16th for me, meaning precious Quinsy is 9 months today! Happy nine months Quinsy! And no more peeing on the carpet.. lol!


Quinsy says THANK YOU!! :--heart:
You are so awesome carolinehansen!!! Quinsy has some special kisses, just for you. 

We had a big girl talk today and she said "no more, mommy - I was just confused, but I know it makes you sad, so I'll stop". 

Here are some pictures of my sweet and mischievous peanut, on her special day.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Happy 9 months Quinsy!! You're such a pretty girl, I bet if you gave her some puppy eyes, mama would forgive you for those accidents


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Happy 9 month birthday, Hank! Quinsy and I are sending big kisses your way. I can't believe we'll all be celebrating our babies 1st year soon!!


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

tessmk said:


> Happy 9 month birthday, Hank! Quinsy and I are sending big kisses your way. I can't believe we'll all be celebrating our babies 1st year soon!!




Thank you so much Q!!! You are the sweetest!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Happy 9 months Hank!! Only three months until our pups turn a year old...can you believe it?


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

It's going to be a big celebration for all of us, I'm sure.

Q's getting a bison/liver cake and a party with her fur friends in our back yard. So funny the things we plan in parks while our dogs are playing.

PS - Not another accident since "that" day; Quinsy has kept her word.


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Happy 9 months to all the mid-to-late June pups! I feel like we're quickly rolling into a year now! Only 11 weeks!

Has anyone felt another calmness level recently? I feel like we have but I think it's just tiredness because we've gotten more exercise lately. DH has been taking him on 2-3 mile jogs once a week (per DH's knee permitting), and I do more fetching now that the yard isn't all mud.

How are your pups riding in the car now? We've been crating and I just keep a crate in my minivan. However he HATES going for car rides and I think he gets car sick. I bought him a Kurgo harness today so he can be 'loose' I the back of the minivan, but secure. Being completely free is never going to be an option because I am a child car seat technician and know WAY too much about crash forces. I can't wait to try it out. I hope it eliminates the car sickness issue and he likes to go out more.

It's bath night here. It's been a month. He's much less stinky with it getting drier here. But he was up to his elbows and muzzle in black mud just this past week. I stood him up at the kitchen sink and sprayed down his paws, which he did not like. He needs a good clean

Oh, I am cutting his food back again. From 4 cups to 3.5. I think he weighs about 63 lbs now but I'll check tonight. Anyone else feel scaling back? When do you plan to switch to adult food? Somewhere between 12 and 18 months?

What's up with your pups? What's new?


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

I have Kurgo harness for Kaizer too!! It works well, he stays in place and it seems like he doesn't get too shaken up when there's a sudden brake. Kaizer doesn't mind cars though.

And I don't know about calmness  Kaizer seems to be feeling better because of the medicine and his energy is coming back, so we've been having fun with that. But he does seem to be settling himself down more so than he used to. But again, that might just be because the days are longer and we're able to go more places more often..

His training is going well though. The vet tech told me on Tuesday when we went that I've done a good job with training him thus far because he's more willing to listen to me in public. When she last saw him, he was this wild little puppy who wouldn't listen. Now, he's a wild big puppy who's more prone to listen His recall is getting better with lots of practice too!!

I was thinking about cutting down his food too, but right now I don't see a reason to. He's getting three cups a day (2 in the a.m., 1 in the p.m.) and he's not getting overweight. Plus, I feel like he'd be too hungry if he only got 2c a day. We might get there eventually though. He's 65.8 pounds as of Tuesday, and the vet said he was at a good weight..

I'm really starting to love this phase right now. I didn't like 5-8 months as much because I was worried about his biting, but that seems to have gone down. Now he mouths, and the rare occasions he puts pressure, a simple "ouch" or "let go" gets him to ease up. I can tell our relationship has gotten better too, he's started getting more cuddly (I say this because now he voluntarily gives me a hug and comes to me for pets), he's more willing to please and he's just an overall love.

I'm so excited to see how he grows up and the things we do together. Now that it's getting warmer, I'm looking into more things I can do with him. Right now swimming is at the top of the list. There's a dock diving club 45 mins from me, so I'm going to check them out. I'm gonna look around, hopefully I can find lots of new actives for Kaizer and I.

What about everyone else? What's new with your pups?


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Quinsy seems to have calmed down quite a bit (I hope this doesn't jinx it). Recall has been improving and "leave it" works every time, it's just the amount of times we have to say it during the course of the day that's getting tired . She seems a lot more content now, and has learned to relax.

Q has always been the cuddly, shadow puppy, but lately she has to be near (or on) me when she sleeps. What I’m finding so adorable is when she realizes she's distanced herself from me while sleeping; she moves around one of her paws (without getting up) until she feels me, then plants that paw on me while she sleeps. 

Quinsy was just weighed in at 58lbs. Doc says we're doing a good job at keeping her trim. We feed her an all stages food called TLC - All Natural Dog Food, made here in Canada (recommended by our breeder). She's been great on it, so we won't be switching any time soon, unless she develops some challenges. The "calculator" for feedings is by weight and age. As soon as she's a year, it'll drop by 1.5 cups.

Q has always been amazing in the car - she just hops in, plants herself and stays put the entire time. Our other golden hated her car rides, but at least she was safe. We've also always used the Kurgo, and it seems to have always worked for us.

My only issue right now is the jumping. What’s interesting is how she never jumps on me, or my Son, but she’s relentless when it comes to other visitors and my hubby. I truly think it’s in their mannerism/handling (any attention is good attention to a Golden). I constantly tell them to ignore her (no touching, or eye contact), but they have to seriously mean it – not the “No!, well, okay” attitude.

I’m beginning to see the “dog” phase slowly working itself in. Sure, they have that puppy mentality until 2 years old, but she’s not ‘always’ in go mode anymore, and is starting to enjoy her downtime, as much as her playtime.

Looking forward to the warmer weather, and taking her to the cottage, lake, beaches and more doggy play dates. This is when the fun stuff starts, and the reaping of the benefits from all of the blood, sweat and tears that the past year has brought. 

Here's Q - we just asked if she wanted to go out for a walk, and this is the look I get.


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

I'm so glad to hear the Kurgo is a hit for you both. I had researched some online but found it today at PetValu for a reasonable price so I decided to give it a try. I haven't put it on him yet. He's still damp. Do you use the short seatbelt tether or the zip line? I bought the zip line as I have many good u-bolts in the back to use. I'll see what works best. I also need to get a cargo area protector or some sort. I do not want any accidents or vomit on the carpet if he does get sick.

He was only 62-62.5ish when I just weighed him. So only about a pound in the last 2 weeks. Yay for more slow down







. Maybe I'll wait on reducing the food then.

Same here with jumping - hardly ever on us but he goes ape sh1t when someone new comes. It takes a good 5-10 minutes to chill and even then we still need to keep him on a leash and watch for lunging. He's gotten way better with my kids too. Seems more snugly with them and is completely un-phased by them sitting next to him on his bed while he's got a chew toy. In fact in my son sits on Wilder's bed, wilder will come and sit next to him. Still doesn't listen all that well to them, but we'll get there.

He's definitely looks more like a full grown dog and has for a while. I'm looking forward to the calm adult dog who doesn't chew things phase. 

Your goldens are BEAUTIFUL by the way!


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Here is his giant rawhide (chewed with supervision) and a grainy night pic of his buddy. She's probably almost 18m and the same height but has to weight 10-15 pounds less. That icky railing with the paint falling off and part of the old patio are being removed in two weeks and I'm so excited for the yard work to begin!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Your pups are so adorable!! Tessmk, I love that look Q's giving you, what a stunner!!

The last class Kaizer and I attended had a great instructor - Kaizer would try to jump on her whenever she came near us and she'd immediately walk away. I credit her with Kaizer learning to sit to get pet.


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Which size harness do you have? I just tried it on him and it's a little big. I got the XL because that was all they had in stock. It's gaps a little on his chest on the tightest setting. I think I need to return and order a L.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

GoldenLabMix said:


> Which size harness do you have? I just tried it on him and it's a little big. I got the XL because that was all they had in stock. It's gaps a little on his chest on the tightest setting. I think I need to return and order a L.


I have the Kurgo Tru-Fit (i think) in both the Medium and Large. The Medium, adjusted to the biggest fit, fits Kaizer snugly. I think the Large on it's medium fit would fit Kaizer perfectly, but I made it too big and can't figure out how to make it smaller.


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

I just got back from the vet and the scale said Hank is 60 pounds? I'm wondering if that's wrong because it seems very low... What do you guys think? 

So strange because Hank is the youngest out of the June babies and always weighed the most but now his growing has significantly slowed down.


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## Burlington Bambi (Aug 5, 2015)

Heidi is 9.5 months, weigh about 63 lb. Here are some updated photos


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

carolinehansen said:


> I just got back from the vet and the scale said Hank is 60 pounds? I'm wondering if that's wrong because it seems very low... What do you guys think?
> 
> So strange because Hank is the youngest out of the June babies and always weighed the most but now his growing has significantly slowed down.


I think he's fine. He might have just slowed down his growth before the other June puppies. From December to January, Kaizer gained 2 pounds and then gained another 4 between February and March. I see another vet visit in his near future, so I'll update on his weight then.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Burlington Bambi said:


> Heidi is 9.5 months, weigh about 63 lb. Here are some updated photos


Heidi is a pretty little lady! When's her birthday?


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

aesthetic said:


> I have the Kurgo Tru-Fit (i think) in both the Medium and Large. The Medium, adjusted to the biggest fit, fits Kaizer snugly. I think the Large on it's medium fit would fit Kaizer perfectly, but I made it too big and can't figure out how to make it smaller.


Thanks so much! I returned the XL and ordered a L, which was $10 cheaper online anyway. Not sure what it's called but it was the enhanced all-metal buckle one. I can't wait to try it.

Hank is probably fine at 60 pounds. They all seemed to have slowed so much. Wilder is 62. 

Heidi is gorgeous!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Anyone else noticed their pup going through another fear period? 

We went on a walk today, our normal route throughout the neighborhood, and Kaizer got a little freaked out by one particular garbage can, a mailbox and a huge red van (the van I understand - it was new in the neighborhood and big). But the mailboxes are everywhere and we pass garbage cans constantly too. I encouraged him to sniff the mailbox and garbage can and he was fine after that but the van took a little bit more time for him to warm up too, and even then he was very happy to get away from it.

I don't know if I handled the van fear the right way. Thankfully my brother was with me on the walk today so I gave him Kaizer's leash and he led Kaizer away until he was a comfortable distance away while I sat on the floor near the van (yes, I sat down at the end of someone's driveway). I called him to me and cheered him on as he came nearer and nearer to me until he reached me. It was all at his pace, no one was dragging him towards the van or whatever. When he got to me, and he did eventually, I gave him a really loud cheer - I'm sure you could hear me from Canada , and pet him while he stared very distrustfully at the van. Not sure if I should've taken him away from the van because he seemed very upset about it being there (he was running away from it) or if I did the right thing by encouraging him to get closer.

He's not normally this frightened about new things, no matter how big. Plus he seemed more freaked out about the xpen moving than he does usually (he hates the sound it makes but his reaction seems even worse now).


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Hmm. I haven't noticed that with W. He seems his normal self. Though thankfully he is calming quicker when meeting new people or seeing neighbors. He had TWO playmates today - the Weim across the street for like 45 minutes (hey, come back and get your dog, mmkay?) and then the new flat-coated ret. grand puppy of our next door neighbor. The pup is only 25 lbs and thankfully W was already tired from the Weim so he was mostly gentle enough. I just stopped him when he needed to slow down. In another month or two they will be a better match.
I'm so excited to have a long weekend off. No work until Tuesday! Our L Kurgo came today. Can't wait to try it.


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Burlington Bambi said:


> Heidi is 9.5 months, weigh about 63 lb. Here are some updated photos


Heidi is beeeeea-utiful!


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

aesthetic said:


> Anyone else noticed their pup going through another fear period?


I haven't noticed any change, lately. However, a week or so ago (I think I posted it in a new thread, so I apologize if you're reading this a second time), while on a walk, we stopped at a bench and sat down to give her some water. A lady across the way (wearing all dark colours) was walking by - very deliberately, with grocery bags in hand. Quinsy is a very (almost overly) confident girl, and when she noticed her, she ran between my husbands legs and secured herself under the bench, while softly growling. It was the weirdest thing. Otter replied with the following - I'm not sure if this might be the reason (for Q or Kaizer), but it makes sense. 

_I am probably way off base here, but I remember reading something by Patricia McConnell PH.D., I've read a couple of her books and it may have been in the book 'The other end of the leash' something about dogs not being able to comprehend things we take for granted. Like sunglasses or hats. 

A dog might see a man wearing black sunglasses walking towards it and to the dog it might look like something coming at it with aggression; big black round hard eyes is a sign of aggression and/or getting ready to go into attack mode.

So how a dog sees and interprets things could be way way different than what we see.

I am totally paraphrasing above and going by memory, so take it with a grain of salt. My dogs have a better memory than I do... 

Patricia McConnell books are very good if you want to read more about this kind of stuff.
_


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Hm I don't know..he was a little startled by a mailbox and a garbage bin- the same ones we pass everyday. The only new thing was the big red van. Hopefully it's just a phase that'll end soon.


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

Left my McDonalds shake on the kitchen table for maybe 2 seconds tonight and I mysteriously found it under the bed (half empty) along with Hank... someone is in timeout.









My Nest cams caught him in the act lol


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Oh, Hank :doh:. 

Look at that face, though!!! Don't tell Mom I said so, but I'll bet it was worth it. I hope you don't have any tummy troubles.

Hmmmmm....what was the flavor?


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

It was indeed chocolate. There was a short session of dry heaving, and crying (both him and I LOL) but after a quick call with the Animal Hospital he is okay


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

So glad to hear that Hank's okay!! What a scare


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

carolinehansen said:


> Left my McDonalds shake on the kitchen table for maybe 2 seconds tonight and I mysteriously found it under the bed (half empty) along with Hank... someone is in timeout.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Oh Hank! That face is hilarious though. 

Last fall we had a chocolate scare - I dropped a piece and he ate it. Dark chocolate. Ugh. So we did all the research and it wasn't really enough to be concerned. I think the amount in a chocolate shake wouldn't be harmful. Probably the other ingredients are much more irritating to the stomach.


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

GoldenLabMix said:


> Oh Hank! That face is hilarious though.
> 
> Last fall we had a chocolate scare - I dropped a piece and he ate it. Dark chocolate. Ugh. So we did all the research and it wasn't really enough to be concerned. I think the amount in a chocolate shake wouldn't be harmful. Probably the other ingredients are much more irritating to the stomach.


I know, right! He has gotten chocolate before and was fine, too! For some reason this time he had a poisoning episode. I was scared out of my mind. I wonder what happened...


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

A very happy Easter to the June babies from Hank and I! 
I need to see more pictures of your guys' fur babies, I miss seeing their faces!


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Thank you and Happy Easter to you and Hank!! Yes, I agree...pictures, please!!


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

Quinsy has such great teeth! Look at those things!


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

So, Q wasn't in the mood to pose for pictures just now, but here are the few I was able to take before she got bored and walked off. 

Hank is so handsome - I absolutely LOVE his color!! And yes - Q's teeth - too strong for her own good. She's destroying all of her toys.


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

carolinehansen said:


> I know, right! He has gotten chocolate before and was fine, too! For some reason this time he had a poisoning episode. I was scared out of my mind. I wonder what happened...


I didn't realize it got that bad. OMG - Is he all better now? Maybe all that sugar, or the dairy? I'm so sorry.


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

I love the picture of Q and her tire LOL! She is so funny with that thing! Also, is she still behaving herself with the whole peeing inside situation? And yes thank the lord Hank is okay now!! ❤ It was the scariest moment I have had yet being his mama.


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

I can't even imagine what you both went through. I would have been beside myself with concern. I'm soooo happy he's okay. The things these kids get into, and they're like ninjas!!! [emoji849] 

Q was hilarious with this thing! She was walking into walls, but still didn't think to put it down. She is a complete nut bar. [emoji16]

And, nope - not one accident since the last one I reported. I think it may have been because she wasn't feeling well, and just recovering from her bout with diarrhea the day before. Her Vet also agreed that it may have been simply discomfort. Thanks for asking.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Happy Easter from Kaizer and I! 

carolinehansen - So so glad Hank is doing better. They're such troublemakers..it's always something with them. He's such a beautiful boy though, love his coloring!

Tessmk - Quinsy is gorgeous!! I agree, her teeth do look pretty great 

He was practicing his sit-stays in a McDonalds parking lot on our way to D.C. yesterday


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Looks like his sit-stays were a success. Lookin' good, Kaizer!! Look at his long legs and handsome face!!!


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Hello June babies, Quinsy says hey!!!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

What a beautiful girl Quinsy is - she's always smiling!!


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Happy 10 months Kaizer! Hope you're getting spoiled today. Would be nice to see birthday pix.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Kaizer getting spoiled??? Never!!

He got his present a day early - an off-leash (as in no one was attached to the other end) hike in a new park!! It was too cold for ice cream yesterday, although I'm sure Kaizer wouldn't have minded!


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

Look at that little smile!!! Oh Kaizer you melt my heart


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

Here's a picture of Hank from yesterday! There was a LOT of playing outside this weekend so by Sunday night this little guy was exhausted


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Happy 10 months, Wilder!! I think we need birthday pictures..


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Hank is so gorgeous!! I know I say this a lot, but I love his coloring


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Hank, you're such a looker and I agree with aesthetic, his colouring (CDN spelling) is absolutely gorgeous.

Happy Birthday Wilder, yes - we need to see pictures.


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

I was looking through my phone and found this picture of Hank and it reminded me so much of Q!
















Hope everyone's week is going well! Hank and I have been working on the whole "retrieve" part of Golden Retriever. We finally got a Chuck It and Hank is obsessed! He's getting better and better at bringing it back 









(Sorry for the picture heavy post!)


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Atta Boy, Hank!!! I wish you could show Q how it's done. 6 times out of 10, she retrieves, then returns it. The other 4 times, she wants us to chase her for it. 

Q is flattered that she reminded you of Hank - that's quite the compliment. I love those close-up nose pix - so adorable. Keep the pictures coming, there is no such thing as too many Golden pix.


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Is that a snaggletooth smile, Kaizer (can't tell for sure)? Tooooooooooooo cute for words!!!!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Hank and Quinsy look so alike! That's a wonderful picture of Hank, I love it.

Kaizer loves his chuck-it ball too, it's the only thing, besides sticks, that he'll chase after. He'll bring it back inside but we're working on outside too. 

And yes, it's a snaggletooth smile


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Wow - thanks so much for the 10m birthday wishes and remembering! Happy 10m or approximately to all of your goldens. They are so beautiful.

I'll add some picks from my phone soon. Wilder went on his first car ride with his harness instead of the crate this afternoon. We ran a lot of errands and he came in a lot of places. He was 60.2 at the vet with his Kurgo on. He's super muscular now compared to a month or two ago so I guess that's where it's all going. We went to PetValu, took him into religious school to pick up my son. He was still not sure about the car but I hope it gets better.  I bought the zip line and he had the entire back of my minivan with the kids talking to him between their captain's chairs.

I'm so inspired by Kaizer's training! You're making me get on the ball! We're no where near where I would trust him off leash outside the fenced in yard. I observed a class on Sunday and we're signing up for the new class that starts in a few days. He behaves to the extent we enforce training. So we're the reason he's not further along...

My kid are no longer allowed to play tug with him. Now three times he's grabbed my son's shirt and started playing. Once was actually his Land's End jacket...only a few months old GRRR. Two nice long rips. He digs in our yard and can be a jerk sometimes but overall he's mostly pretty good.

The glow chuck it is our absolute favorite ball. I stick my finger in it and fling it and it goes really far!


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

GoldenLabMix said:


> The glow chuck it is our absolute favorite ball. I stick my finger in it and fling it and it goes really far!




Does the ball glow very well? I was debating on buying one! Hank had another brand of ball that claimed it would glow in the dark but it never worked.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

The chuck-it ball I have is the glow in the dark one too! Yes, ours glows really well, a nice fluorescent neon green. It's really easy to spot in the dark too


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Unfortunately, Kaizer's off-leash time is coming to a temporary end. Today we were in the backyard, he was running around the backyard as usual. After a good hour we started to head inside. Apparently Kaizer thought it was okay to go off the end of the driveway, and walk on the sidewalk to get to the neighbor's house, where he then proceeded to grab a stick in their yard. Yeah, not okay. He didn't even look back once to see if we were following! Once upon a time he would immediately notice if I disappeared from view, but apparently now he doesn't care. Back to the 30 foot leash he goes. Pity too because he keeps getting tangled up and he doesn't run as much with it on, but I can't have him thinking that it's okay to go wherever he wants either. 

Pretty sure it was because today I actually took the leash off of him instead of letting him drag it around but still not ok and still can't be anything I can support.


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

LOL oh Kaizer.... At least he used the sidewalk right?! These pups I tell ya. Right when we think they're trained...


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

Got out of the shower today and someone looked guilty like they did something they weren't supposed to.... hmm.


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Oh Kaizer.... 

I really don't pay much attention to the glow level of the ball. I just like the weight and ease of throwing and W seems to like how it feels in his mouth.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Oh Hank, what did you do???


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Look at that sweet face!! There's no way Hank would have done anything wrong! Right, Hank? Hank?


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

You're right..a sweetie like Hank could NEVER do something wrong!


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Having trouble uploading from my phone. Here's an iPad picture. I feel like he doesn't look much different these days. FYI that's not his tail, it's a rawhide. Spoiled boy just got a new toy tonight too - a Kong Genius. He's gotten 4 new Nylabones in the past few weeks. We often stick a Nylabone in a Kong toy to mix it up.


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

Beautiful weekend here! Hope everyone and their pups are enjoying their weekend


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Aww - he's so handsome. Unfortunately it's snowing here. Big, pretty, very wet snow. It's not sticking, just soaking the yard! But we've got a rare day with no commitments so we're all just chillin' and hanging out. Happy weekend!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

We've got the gross wet snow here too! Unfortunately, it's not doing much except soiling the yard and getting Kaizer all muddy lol (not that he minds, I swear he goes looking for mud puddles)!

Yesterday, I was worried about Kaizer's leg because he was limping, so I didn't let him go outside for anything except potty breaks. I had the idea that he probably shouldn't go outside until Sunday maybe, just so I could keep an eye on that leg. Apparently Kaizer had other ideas. This morning when my mom took him out of his crate (bless her, I was asleep until 6pm), he took off down the stairs, grabbed a shoe and ran around the family room a couple of times sprinkling everywhere. Then he ran back to her, sat on her leg, and peed a little more. Somehow my mom finally got him outside (apparently in between his mad zoomies around the house, he forgot he had to go), where he proceeded to do his business and then run laps around the outside of our house. He came when she called, but then when she started to head inside, he took off again for some more laps. Eventually, he tired himself out and they came inside.

I guess you can keep the golden from running, but you can't take the running from a golden


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Ha! Yup, I cleaned up wet, muddy dog a few times today. He went swimming in our backyard 'pond' of mud and rain. I didn't bother bathing him as we're getting rain again early this week and there's just no point. It was too cold to just hose his legs off outside so I got a pitcher of water and dipped them in that inside. Lots of dirty towels! I shouldn't complain too much...I'll be complaining when it's 90 degrees out and too hot for me and Wilder.


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

We started our training class this morning. The other dog didn't show so we had a private lesson. Really nice lady. DH was totally bored so maybe I won't make him go to all of them. I find all the behavioral/psychology stuff interesting but then I teach 3 year old so it's not all that much different than the basic tenants of working with them. He did so much better than I expected. Not perfect or anything, but he wasn't going crazy excited at any point like I expected. 

How many times a day are your pups peeing and pooping these days? I really don't know how much W pees but he poops 3, sometimes 4 times a day. He's only fed twice but then he's got pine cone buffet outside. It sure does seem like he poos a lot, and a lot of volume given he's been on 3 cups total a day for several weeks. He's also still at about 61 lbs but gaining more muscle. He's in no way too thin.


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

GoldenLabMix said:


> How many times a day are your pups peeing and pooping these days? I really don't know how much W pees but he poops 3, sometimes 4 times a day. He's only fed twice but then he's got pine cone buffet outside. It sure does seem like he poos a lot, and a lot of volume given he's been on 3 cups total a day for several weeks. He's also still at about 61 lbs but gaining more muscle. He's in no way too thin.


Hank is around 60 pounds and is fed 3 cups daily as well. I would say he poops usually 2 to 3 times a day, but the more exercise he gets the more times he poops. Is Wilder extremely active?


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

carolinehansen said:


> Hank is around 60 pounds and is fed 3 cups daily as well. I would say he poops usually 2 to 3 times a day, but the more exercise he gets the more times he poops. Is Wilder extremely active?


I wouldn't say he's extremely active. There are days when he gets a larger dose of activity, like the days he plays with the Weim or runs with DH. I know he generally poops after a lot of running where he might not go so soon otherwise. Probably 2-3 days a week he'll have that extra more vigorous exercise and then the other days it's just normal fetching sessions in the yard to tire him out. I do need to rake the yard again. I think there's some bulk in however many pine cones and chunks of dirt he eats everyday. I see him chewing sticks, but he spits out the wood. He's not eating those thankfully. We just had 4 trees taken down and a portion of our old patio is being removed tomorrow. Was waiting for all that to be done before I bothered to clean up again.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Kaizer poops 2-3 "regular" poops. He poops more, little ones, when he takes a walk.


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

OK so W is within normal it seems!


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

Well, I figured out Hank likes water this weekend. I'm a full time college student so Hank and I took a road trip to my parents house. We have a pool in our backyard and when I let Hank off his leash in the backyard to play he jumped right in. My mom wasn't too happy lol


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

carolinehansen said:


> Well, I figured out Hank likes water this weekend. I'm a full time college student so Hank and I took a road trip to my parents house. We have a pool in our backyard and when I let Hank off his leash in the backyard to play he jumped right in. My mom wasn't too happy lol


That's adorable! Isn't it crazy how natural it is for them? W swam in the neighbor's pool when he was 3m old. And then a stream we have at a nearby park. He LOVES to splash anytime he can. I love taking him swimming but the wet dog afterward is a deterrent.

Our backyard work was finally finished yesterday! I cannot believe how awesome it is to have it open! W ran out there and was like 'what-what?' Plus, as a bonus, our neighbor behind us finally got rid of some junk in his yard so we don't have to look at that anymore. There's a huge area where the removed patio was that is now grass-seeded. I have a smal fence around it but W can jump it so I bought a 'snow fence' at Home Depot today and I'll put that up tomorrow. He just loves that digging! DH has a crazy week so I'm on my own with this right now but I don't mind the yard work. Probably better that DH doesn't witness the digging anyway. So excited for how the whole yard will look in a month or two. Having a dog now has definitely given us the push to do more and make it nice. Looking forward to summer.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

carolinehansen - It's great that Hank loves swimming!! I've been meaning to take Kaizer swimming but it hasn't happened (yet!).

goldenlabmix - I'm glad your yard work is finished! Our yard was just seeded in november (the unusually warm and snow-less winter really helped our yard grow lol) and there's a little sliver of it that has no grass. Kaizer loves digging in that part, especially after it rains. 

So I've reached the conclusion that Kaizer probably needs to lose a little weight. Currently, he weighs 71.9 pounds, mainly because I went through some kind of life crisis and thought he was getting too skinny when he was fine?? I don't know but I was (am) very confused.


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

aesthetic said:


> So I've reached the conclusion that Kaizer probably needs to lose a little weight. Currently, he weighs 71.9 pounds, mainly because I went through some kind of life crisis and thought he was getting too skinny when he was fine?? I don't know but I was (am) very confused.


LOL this is hilarious! Wow 72 pounds, he's a big guy! How much is Kaizer eating daily?


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

Hi guys! It's kind of silly, but I thought I would ask your opinion anyway. Hank's entire life he loves eating. He scarfs down every meal instantly. The past few days every time I feed him he eats a few bites and leaves it. He does end up finishing it all it just takes a few hours or encouragement from me. Do you think I need to cut down from 3 cups? Is he getting old enough where that is too much. It's extremely out of character for him to not finish his food instantly. I don't know what's going on.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

carolinehansen said:


> Hi guys! It's kind of silly, but I thought I would ask your opinion anyway. Hank's entire life he loves eating. He scarfs down every meal instantly. The past few days every time I feed him he eats a few bites and leaves it. He does end up finishing it all it just takes a few hours or encouragement from me. Do you think I need to cut down from 3 cups? Is he getting old enough where that is too much. It's extremely out of character for him to not finish his food instantly. I don't know what's going on.


If he's not eating, I'd be worried that something's not right. Like Hank, Kaizer loves eating. Even a 104 fever didn't stop him from swallowing down his meal and greeting every vet and vet tech at the office. 

But I've also heard that at around 10-11 months, they stop finishing their meals for some reason or another (I think it's because they realize that they don't have to compete with their litter mates for food anymore? that's what i've read). There was a thread about it a couple months ago. If he's normal/acting fine in all other aspects, maybe it's just one of those things.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

carolinehansen said:


> LOL this is hilarious! Wow 72 pounds, he's a big guy! How much is Kaizer eating daily?


He's eating three cups now. When I went through my life crisis, he was on 5 cups (looking back, I'm kind of wondering what I was thinking)!!. He definitely should not be 72 pounds, though I'm not sure exactly how much he should weigh. I'm gonna get him down to 65 and see how he looks, then adjust from there.


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

No such thing as a silly question.

Dakota did that every once in a while. She would just simply lose interest in food, but it never lasted more than a day. When we asked the vet at the time, she said that some dogs are just better at regulating their food consumption (when feeling full). Dakota coincidently acted off when the seasons would change; I'm not sure if that means anything. Vet said it made sense. We all tend to have less of an appetite when temps are up.

Have you added any "treats" to his meals? If so, maybe Hank is holding out for something better. How long has it been?


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

I would keep an eye on Hank and make sure he's acting normal otherwise. If anything else was off, like energy, I think seeing the vet would be good. If he goes back to normal, probably nothing. W LOVES to eat too. Anytime. Anywhere. Anything.
Poor happy chubby Kaizer. I upped W to 5 cups in maybe January/February??? He was still gaining weight at his fall puppy rate except he shouldn't have been and got chubby after a few weeks on the large portions. Seems like 3 cups a day is pretty common for our pups at this point. I have been rounding it a little this week because he seems to be getting leaner and has had more activity lately. He's still 60-62 as of last week, depending on whether I'm going by the vet's scale or mine. I'm wondering if we'll see him chub up around 18-24 months on 3 cups and need it to be cut back, or if he will be good with this indefinitely.
W got a bath tonight and I'm really hoping he can stay clean for a while!


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

Well guys, last night's meal went fine. He ate it all in a matter of seconds. But here I am typing to you this morning as I watch him eat a few piece of his kibble and leave the rest of his food behind. He seems to be himself in every other aspect?


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Hmmm. Maybe he's self regulating and is in a non-growth spurt? I guess just keep an eye on his energy. He's been pooping and peeing normally?


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Has he been getting any more treats than usual? I'm hoping it's just one of those things they do (you know, when they do something to give us a heart attack but then they end up being fine?). Keep us updated on Hank please


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

Happy 10 months Quinsy!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Happy 10 months Quinsy!! I hope you got extra spoiled today, 10 is a big number!


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Quinsy says thank you for the birthday wishes. And...yep, she was spoiled - she actually got a (first time ever) bully stick for her special day. I think she knew how big 10 was - she walked around proud with her tail in the air and was the star of her class on Sunday. All the other pups were so distracted by her, and couldn't get their stuff together. We had to separate Quinsy from the bunch because of all of the attention she was getting. It was too funny.


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Aw Quinsy! Such a proud girl! Can't believe that in less than 7 weeks some of our puppies will no longer be puppies!

W did well at class Sunday. Took him with me to pick the kids up at religious school and he had LOTS of attention from many kids. There were plenty of occasions when 6 kids had their hands all over him at once. He just laid down and enjoyed it all. My son and I walked him around the grounds while my daughter had choir, then he got a lot more attention. He had his car harness still on so people were asking if he was being trained as an assistance dog. I said we are hoping he can be a therapy dog. Ha ha...put a fancy looking harness on and you can take your dog in anywhere! . He's been in there before and the director has a golden and loves when he visits. I had taken him on the weekday afternoon but never on such a busy Sunday.

Attached is a pic of him enjoying a cold drink.

We've been getting up earlier and now I'm not always coming home for lunch anymore. He clearly doesn't need it and I feel less guilty if I can get him more exercise before leaving for work. I only have 8 weeks of school/teaching left and I was going to finish out the year coming home for lunch but it's so nice to be able to get a couple of things done without my kids in tow. He's only alone for 6.5 hours. Tell me not to feel guilty! On days when the kids have an evening activity and I have to re-crate him, I am still coming home. I just don't think that's fair to him on those days.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

I've been so busy this week! We had to choose our classes for next year (I'm taking three APs next year, meaning I won't be able to dedicate as much time to Kaizer as I do now). Saturday we went to fly kites at a park - it was the first time Kaizer has seen kites so it was a great experience for him. 

Don't feel bad about crating him!! We take Kaizer out at 6am, he goes into his crate at 8am, then gets taken out at 3pm and then we go to bed at 9:30pm. It's not ideal, and I don't like it, but at the moment there's no other option. He doesn't seem to suffer from it though and he's usually dead tired by 9:30pm anyway. I find that the best thing to do is tire him out as much as I can in the moments that I have with him. In 6.5 weeks when school ends for the summer, he'll be out all day. On those days when you have to crate him more than usual, tire him out - playdate with the Weim, training sessions, swimming, anything that'll leave him passed out. It reduces the guilt.

Speaking of summer, there's a possibility that Kaizer, my brother, my maternal grandparents, my mom and I will be taking a road trip to Michigan to spend some time with my grandfather's brother (my grand-uncle?). I'm hoping it'll happen because it'll be a great experience for all of us. There's also a chance that my brother, grandparents, mom and I will go to the U.K. to spend time with my aunt and uncle and their two children. Unfortunately, Kaizer won't be neutered by then and I don't want to neuter him to fit a vacation into my summer. I found a place that'll board unneutered dogs, but it sounds like he'll have to stay in a 4ft x 9ft kennel only, with leashed walks every other hour and playtime with the staff members throughout the day. I don't even know if these trips will happen (at the moment they're just ideas) but I want to be prepared just in case. I think that what that boarding place is offering for unneutered dogs is pretty decent. I'm just nervous about leaving him anywhere because I don't know how the people there will treat him.

Very proud of Wilder and Quinsy for being such good pups!! Hard to believe that in just 6-8 weeks, most (if not all) of our pups will be a year old. It feels like just yesterday they were all little 8 week old puppies.


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

Wow this is extremely relatable. There are so many times I want to board Hank but he isn't neutered. I have yet to find a place that boards unneutered dogs near me! Every place I have found is very adamant about the neutering rule. Are your guys dogs marking a lot?! Hank is like a marking machine now.


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

What a great summer you're going to have, aesthetic. Sometimes it's great for them to be away from you, just so they can learn that you'll always come back (at times I think it was harder on us). I've never been in a situation where I had trouble with an intact boy, it must be such a struggle to find boarding. With Dakota, we used to (and would still, with Q) take her to a home sitter. I always appreciated how they (this one in particular anyway) treated the 1 or 2 dogs she watched, like they were her own. Her entire home and backyard was catered to dogs (not her human family) and she even allowed them to sleep in bed with her, if their parents were okay with it. I'm not sure if you have anything like that there, but we have a few here, and it's a great option.

I love that pic of Wilder; Quinsy would have probably attempted to jump into it and splash around. :uhoh:

Caroline, how has Hank been with his eating lately? I thought I had posted a Happy 10 months to him, in fact, I'm sure I did - I probably just forgot to hit post . I hope he had a great day. 

Here's Q this morning, waiting patiently for me/us to get out of bed. She definitely has her moments, but one thing I'm soooooo grateful for is that she is such a good sleeper. She knocks right out at 9:30 and doesn't make a peep until I'm ready to get up and going.


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Sounds like a fun summer. Do you have pet sitting services there? I know they are $$$ but might be something to look into. My friend in Columbia, MD has a large service (used to work for her on weekends when we lived there, pre-kids). They sometimes have younger dogs who will do better in a kennel because they need the stimulation so her service transports them to this great local kennel at the beginning and end of the time the owners are gone, with a day of home at each end. The of course do walking from 6am to 10pm for home clients, etc. People pay for 3-4 walks a day, which are 30 minutes. She has a ton of mid-day clients on a regular basis as well. I'm rambling, but maybe a professional petsitter could help with some to break up kennel time. We have amazing next door neighbors who watched W in December for a week. I mean - they took him to Jersey to their grandparents for Christmas overnight - who does that? We have their dog right now actually. They have a mini schnauzer. She's 8 and tolerates W. I'm not sure what we're going to do when we have a time that they aren't available. 
You'll be a senior next year? K won't need nearly the time from you next year as he did this year, so I wouldn't stress too much about your course load. He will keep you company while you study
W hasn't done much marking but he's snipped so that's likely why. He still pees like a girl. With the little kids who he was constantly humping, it was definitely the right choice for us. Really made a difference in him. Even though it supposedly takes 2-3 weeks to get all the testosterone out of their systems, I really think it was closer to 6 before it was all gone and he settled down. 
Class today was loose leash, which he sucks at. But it was good to address it and we should work on it. I'm off next week so I really have no excuse...

He still doesn't like riding in the car. I've had him in the open back of the minivan (third row folded flat). I don't force him but he always lays down because I think he feel more secure. I'm going to try having him ride in the 3rd row on the bench since he's more used to the harness now and he'll be able to see out the window. I relocated his tether and toweled the seats. He's never thrown up but I really don't want to take a chance of my car smelling like dog puke!
Jealous of the pups that are out of their crates at night...I sometimes think W will be in his forever. He still gets into some trouble even when we're there! But then my kids will just fight over who gets to have him sleep with them so maybe this is better.


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

tessmk said:


> Caroline, how has Hank been with his eating lately? I thought I had posted a Happy 10 months to him, in fact, I'm sure I did - I probably just forgot to hit post . I hope he had a great day.
> 
> Here's Q this morning, waiting patiently for me/us to get out of bed. She definitely has her moments, but one thing I'm soooooo grateful for is that she is such a good sleeper. She knocks right out at 9:30 and doesn't make a peep until I'm ready to get up and going.


Hank says thank you!! He want's you to tell Quinsy thank you too! 
He has oddly been finishing all of his food again... He hasn't thrown a fit over it for a week or so now :crossfing Such a teenager! Q looks so precious as always, you are so lucky she is a good sleeper. Every morning around 7:30-8 I hear a series of whining from my little guy :doh: I open my eyes and there he is with his nose to my face! Does she sleep with you guys?


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

I can't believe I missed Hank's 10 month birthday! Happy belated 10 months, Hank!! I hope you had a great day!! (tell mama that we need some pics of you asap!) I'm so glad he's eating again too, I was so worried about that!



> You'll be a senior next year? K won't need nearly the time from you next year as he did this year, so I wouldn't stress too much about your course load. He will keep you company while you study


No, I'll be a junior next year . If next year is anything like today, I'll think we'll be okay. Today he just did not want to play and instead just chewed on his bones all day.

Kaizer's only recently started marking, and it's not very much. Generally he'll just mark the areas around our house (next to the mailbox, next to the side door in the garage, right outside the garage, etc.) I've been very clear (I hope!) in telling him where it's ok to mark and where it's not ok to mark. He just seems to want to explore everyone's yards now, even though I've never let him.

Quinsy's so beautiful, she looks so soft and huggable. I'm jealous that your pups wake up so late!! Kaizer's always woken up as soon as it's bright outside. Which was okay in the winter, but now that the sun is up at 6am in the morning, it's a problem. Thankfully, we're past the point of him banging on his crate with his paws and barking up a storm that early in the morning, so now he lets out a couple of pitiful whines (just to let everyone know he's awake and wants out of his crate) and then quiets down.


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Happy Friday! WE did make a little progress on the leash walking this week. But the last two days have been rainy so I hope he doesn't forget.
The little troublemaker tore apart the temporary fence we had around his mud pool last night. It was raining or I would have gone out and stopped him. I could see he was pulling it down but didn't realize until this morning that he was really tearing it apart. Ugh. The smart little devil is getting into places he shouldn't. He also figured out how to open the pocket doors that we use to close him in the kitchen and den -- even when we're in there! So...he's trying my patience for sure these days. One thing that's totally our fault is that we've been giving him a little bit of table food and have created an impatient monster. Now he whines and growls and barks occasionally instead of laying quietly while we eat. 
Plumber came today to do some work and ended up giving Wilder some attention and showing me many pics of his chocolate lab on his phone! Wilder was off leash and actually behaved fairly well but the guy was pretty big so maybe that was part of it.

Send me some patience. I need to remind myself, often, that he's still a puppy! Have a great weekend!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Kaizer wants a little bit of everything we eat too, and usually everything we eat is dog friendly so I share some with him too. I make him go to his mat or down and make him stay there until we're done eating, then he gets whatever little bits are left. It helps when we have guests over too, because he knows that when we're eating he's expected to find a place to lay down and not make a sound.

As for opening the doors, I don't know. Kaizer hasn't managed to get out of his xpen yet..

Kaizer's being a real pain in the *** today though. He keeps going after the couch. Biting at it, scratching, digging, the whole nine yards. We had such a good day yesterday, so I somewhat expected it. I'll take couch destroying over biting any day though.

How are your pups coats looking? Kaizer had really long fur (at least 3") along his back, but in March, it kind of just disappeared. Now the fur along his back is pretty short, but his chest hair is long. You probably wouldn't be able to tell that he's a golden if it weren't for his tail. I know for sure that he'll have a long thick coat because his maternal grandfather and his dam have long thick coats. Not sure about his sire's coat though, I met him once last year before I knew he was Kaizer's sire and I didn't pay too much attention to him individually. He was beautiful though - which is all I remember about him.

Here's a picture of my pretty boy (I was ridiculously happy that I finally got the snapchat filter to work - he kept moving). Oh and that stain is from the water he drips every time he drinks


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Ha ha. We have the dripping water too. The last gulp ends up on the floor or someone's lap. 

Well, W's coat isn't really comparable. It hasn't changed much for a while and unless we get some grand surprise, it's not growing anymore. He is doing a spring shead though. I think it's nearly done at this point.

Pup school was good today. We worked on loose leash again. Hopefully we'll have some good weather this week and we can keep working on it.

I enjoyed my week off and got a lot done, but it's back to work tomorrow. 6 weeks left!

5 weeks until W is 1!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Happy 11 months Wilder!!


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

[emoji1373] to 11 months, Wilder!!


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Aww! Thanks! Kaizer too

Just quickly wondering if your pups are gaining anything these days? W hasn't gained for 2 months. Like, nothing. He did start out a little pudgy and now has thinned out. I'm upping his food just a teensy bit now because I feel like he should gain SOMETHING.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

How much does he weigh?


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Hello everyone, just checking in on our June babies. How are the fur kids doing? Hope you're all well and enjoying this beautiful weather. 

GoldenLabMix - I know that a guys and gals weight will differ significantly, but it also seems as though Quinsy has been 60lbs forever (going into, and all of her 10th month). From what I remember with our bridge girl, she was 63 lbs for what seemed the longest time, then suddenly gained 7 lbs before she hit 2 years old (she was very slender, but taller, from breed standard, and weighed 70lbs). She remained that same weight (within a pound or 2) throughout her adult life.

*Q Update*
Quinsy has been doing extremely well. She has improved leaps and bounds over the past month. She'll be going into her 11th month a completely different dog, if she remains consistent, of course. She graduated from obedience school, has completely stopped jumping (I hope I don't jinx it), walks have been stress free and super enjoyable and we, and the house, survived her first trial alone time at the abode (full run of the house), without incident. Now, I'm not saying that she doesn't have her moments (chewing blanket corners, stealing shoes and socks (I still need to hide my slippers), still working on her recall (93.5% there), but for the most part, that light at the end of the tunnel is getting a lot brighter. Oh yes, we're still waiting on her first heat cycle, as we will be having her spayed afterward.

Here is Q this morning, anxiously waiting for me to get my morning together.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

We weighed Kaizer yesterday, and he's 70.3 pounds  That's a pound he lost between last month and this month. Not sure if he'll go down any further, I think he looks good where he's at. I'll post a picture of him later today


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

tessmk - Yay Quinsy!! So glad she's done so well on her own What a beautiful girl. I've noticed the change in behavior too - we took Kaizer with us to the mechanics yesterday, and after some acclimation, he sat down with me and watched the cars on the highway pass, for the entire 45-ish minutes we were there! Every time we're some place new, he's always go-go-go. So I'm very proud that he was able to sit with me (I was sitting on the sidewalk and he was sitting next to me) for that long. And he even ignored the people that passed us (for the most part)!!
Here's some pics of him, you can really see how short his coat is right now.


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Wow, that definitely took a lot of discipline (and respect for you). You must be so proud, especially at this young age. Atta boy, Kaizer - you are so awesome! 

He is so freakin' adorable!!! That face just makes me smile from ear to ear. He doesn't look short coated, really - just maybe he has a very straight coat, so it rests and falls so cleanly (the hairs look long from my perspective). His coat will increasingly thicken and fill out over the next year. His chest and neck hair is very full, so it looks as though he'll go in that direction. I remember thinking the same of our Dakota when she was younger. I kept thinking she was more field-line Golden - NOPE! She largely filled out, so much more than I had every expected.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

tessmk said:


> He is so freakin' adorable!!! That face just makes me smile from ear to ear. He doesn't look short coated, really - just maybe he has a very straight coat, so it rests and falls so cleanly (the hairs look long from my perspective). His coat will increasingly thicken and fill out over the next year. His chest and neck hair is very full, so it looks as though he'll go in that direction. I remember thinking the same of our Dakota when she was younger. I kept thinking she was more field-line Golden - NOPE! She largely filled out, so much more than I had every expected.


Hmm yeah he might have a really straight coat. I just thought it was short because it seemed so much longer a couple months ago. I'm waiting for his coat to come in, I'm so excited to see his full coat.

Can I request more pictures of Q? She's the absolute cutest and I feel like we rarely ever get pictures of her.


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

tessmk said:


> GoldenLabMix - I know that a guys and gals weight will differ significantly, but it also seems as though Quinsy has been 60lbs forever (going into, and all of her 10th month).


I took Hank to the vet today because he has horrible seasonal allergies and they weighed him. He is 60 pounds too! They said he is tiny. It is so funny that he is the same size as Q and she's a girl! Poor Hank :lol:

Also can I add how exciting it is that you are beginning to be able to trust her alone? That is awesome! I'm hoping I will get there someday... how long did it take for you with Dakota?


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

aesthetic - I must keep your comment from her; her ego needs some serious humbling . Thank you. Yes, I will absolutely take more pix...if she lets me. The minute she sees the phone/camera, I kid you not, she hides her head. I'm beginning to think the shutter sound bothers her - or, she feels she should not have to give out freebies. I'll see if I can find some pictures of Dakota when she was Kaizer's age, to when her full coat came in. 

BTW, I also think I need to see more photos of the June gang - Hank, Kaizer and Wilder; they are all so incredibly handsome. That's funny, I just realized too, that Q was the only girl in her litter. I'm thinking that maybe this 'tude of hers is from trying to prove herself in the boys club.


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

carolinehansen
It's okay Hank - you still have a lot of time to grow. We have a pitcher on our Toronto Blue Jays team (Marcus Stroman). He is 5.8" and needless to say, he is fairly small next to his peers. His motto is #HDMH, which means "height doesn't measure heart". I think Hank might like that.

Yes, it's been great. She's been left alone 4 times now, and when we come home, we just find her and her wagging tail greeting us at the door. We're still not sure what we're going to find when we walk in, even though we've puppy proofed the place. We do always make a big deal when we leave. We call out to her to by saying "Bye Quinsy (with treat in hand). She comes running toward us, then we pet her call her a good girl, then say "no parties", then give her a treat along with another "good girl". We did the same with Dakota. Dakota was a very special girl (special in both different and in precious). She was so incredibly easy. She was completely potty trained at 9-10 weeks with only one ever accident her first week home (used the bell with her, too), and because she never caused any trouble, had our first trial run staying home alone at 7 months, and we never looked back.


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

tessmk said:


> carolinehansen
> It's okay Hank - you still have a lot of time to grow. We have a pitcher on our Toronto Blue Jays team (Marcus Stroman). He is 5.8" and needless to say, he is fairly small next to his peers. His motto is #HDMH, which means "height doesn't measure heart". I think Hank might like that.


This is the sweetest thing ever!! I will be sure to let him know :heartbeat I am from Iowa, so my boyfriend and I are big Cardinals fans but he was actually born in Canada so he loves the Blue Jays! It's our favorite team in the American League  Does Quinsy sport any Blue Jays apparel? I bet she just rocks it. Hank has a Cardinals collar on right now, it's a little painful for me to look at though because it's a reminder how rough the season has been going so far


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Ya, she does!! And, she wears it like a boss!!! 

Where in Canada is he from? I'm not a fan, I'm THE fan. So much so that their win (or loss) determines my mood. It's a lo-ong season for my husband . Don't worry too much about the Cards. I don't about the Jays, there's a lot of baseball left. The season is young. 

Tell Hank I love #SDMH, too (I'm 5' nothing). My husband is 6'3". He tells me I could bungee jump off of a dime. 
















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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

OMG Look at that jersey that is so adorable!! My heart just melted! I have to find a Cardinals one for Hank. He's from Vancouver! Do you guys go to a lot of games? The Cardinals are having a pet friendly game this June and you bet I am driving seven hours with Hank so we can go


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Hahaha! Too bad it doesn't fit her anymore! It's hard to find a jersey, Golden Retriever size...sadly. 

We buy flex pack tickets prior to each season, where you pick which 10 games you want to go to, and the seating is always the same. We go to a few that we pay separately for in the early season, but the 10 we book is typically from July on (when it starts counting). So, yes - huge fans! Our drive is about 30 minutes away, but we take public transportation to avoid the traffic. A 7 hour drive? You are definitely a die hard fan! Commendable! I respect that. Maybe we'll be seeing seeing a Jays vs. Cardinals World Series come October . The best of luck to your Cardinals (unless, of course, we see you in October.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Precious Quinsy deserves to get a boost to her ego every once in awhile, it must be rough being the only girl in this group!

I wonder if a child's size jersey would fit her? It's worth a shot!


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Hi All,
So proud of Q and K with their training! They are so amazing! We're still a LONG way away from being loose in the house.

W is holding steady at 60 lbs too. I asked his trainer last week if she thought he was too thin and she said he looks like he's a pound overweight. So at least I was happy to hear I'm not starving him. He has his graduation this weekend. We definitely learned a lot and just need to keep practicing. Leash walking is improved noticeably but still crazy if there's another dog. Typical retriever excitement. Another classmate had a leash belt and it seemed like a good idea so I bought one. Much easier with hands free to click and treat.

He still wasn't loving the car with the harness and I had a day I needed to leave him in the car (it was cold out) for 30 minutes so I popped his crate back in. He actually seemed relieved to see it and jumped right in. So for now, back to the crate. Which was REALLY helpful last weekend...we met a classmate at a dog park to play and it was really muddy. Several times my pig-dog laid in the mud puddle/lake to cook off. So glad he was contained!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Kaizer doesn't have free run of the house at all yet. He's usually ok being left alone for 30ish minutes but today he apparently decided that chewing the side of the window sill was a good way to pass time. I wouldn't have noticed but he brought me one of the chunks of wood he got off the window sill. So I'm not quite sure when he did it...

I'm so proud of W for improving his loose leash skills!! I think we need more pictures of your smart little boy

I think Kaizer weighs the most of the June babies? He currently weighs 70.5 pounds. I wanted to get him down to 65ish but I'm thinking that he'd be a skeleton if I did. I'm aiming for maybe 68 pounds. I'm not sure if he's overweight or not at this point, but I mean it wouldn't hurt to bring him down a couple of pounds, right? Must be better than being overweight


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

K isn't necessarily overweight, he might just have a bigger frame than the others. Wilder's mom was really petite and his dad was just average. 

Sorry about the chewed window sill. Silly puppy. 

I feel like W isn't really changing so I haven't been taking as many pictures. Here he is just minutes ago. The lovely green cover is something I made from scraps to cover the white ottomans. And the carpet has seen better days! He's sitting near me but listening because he hears DH.


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

GoldenLabMix said:


> W is holding steady at 60 lbs too. I asked his trainer last week if she thought he was too thin and she said he looks like he's a pound overweight.



This is so interesting to me because my vet said Hank is underweight and should gain weight. Wish I could get a definite answer, I feel like I'm starving him too!


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

I wouldn't worry too much about the numbers (60 or 70 lbs). Keep in mind that it is also dependent on bone structure and height. The best way to judge is by using this chart, I think (I got this from Carolina Mom). I've always been told, from as far as I can remember, as long as (view from the top, while they're standing) you can see their waist, feel their ribs, but cannot see them, they are a healthy weight. I like to feed our pooches a little bit less than what the brand recommends. The less strain (while keeping them healthy) on their hips and heart, the better.


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

We just got home with Q from a lo-ong walk. She was completely zonked; she dropped to the floor so loudly, I'm sure they heard it in China! She didn't even bother getting us to take her collar off. Too cute for words. I think a furry someone is going to have a good sleep tonight. Oh wait - she just heard the opening of a bag of chips, and off she goes running to the hubby. That didn't last long. SMH









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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

aesthetic said:


> Precious Quinsy deserves to get a boost to her ego every once in awhile, it must be rough being the only girl in this group!
> 
> I wonder if a child's size jersey would fit her? It's worth a shot!


That's okay - she holds up pretty well, considering. 

That child sized jersey is a great idea, thank for the tip - I never thought about that. Awesome!!


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

What do you guys use for walks? I got a gentle leader and it's great but it's rubbing against Hanks face and making it raw.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

I use the Kurgo TruFit harness. It doesn't restrict Kaizer's shoulder movement and it has a front clip and back clip, which I love


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

We use a martingale collar. I have an easy walk harness but the clip is right in his armpit and I feel like it's got to hurt. He only goes on actual walks once a week or so :duck:.

He got to play with his friend again! They both look awful in the photo - they were super worn out after playing for an hour.


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

We are also using the Kurgo TruFit harness, but we bought Top Paw harness shortly after (because it was pink, reflective). The Top Paw only has the clip on the front. Q seems to prefer and walk better in the Top Paw (not quite sure why) - maybe because she feels pretty in it.


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Hi everyone and Happy Belated 11 months, Hank!!!

Next stop - One Year!!! So hard to believe.


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

tessmk said:


> Hi everyone and Happy Belated 11 months, Hank!!!
> 
> Next stop - One Year!!! So hard to believe.




Awwwww Hank and I say thanks!!!! He gets to celebrate by getting neutered tomorrow  poor kid. I was hoping to wait until he was a lot older but I need him to go to daycare this summer while I work so it is what it is I guess


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Happy belated 11 months to Quinsy and Hank!! I can't believe I forgot again this month... guess I'll have to set a reminder so I definitely don't miss their birthdays!

Poor Hank  I hope everything goes well tomorrow, keep us updated please!! While I understand where daycares are coming from, it's an incredibly difficult rule to plan around.


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Thank you, aesthetic! They're all growing up too fast. 

Poor Hank  Please give him our love. How did he do, and how is he feeling?


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

https://vimeo.com/167341315

Well guys, Hank is officially neutered. 
Everything went well and I got him microchipped in the process. When I picked him up today I was told he was a "pistol" and it took 4 people to hold him down for blood work. Sounds a lot like my boy! The vet offered to do a hip dysplasia test but ended up forgetting to do it so they had to re-sedate him before I took him home so they could quickly X-ray his hips. Everything came out fine but she thinks he might have arthritis issues in the future because the shape of his femur is square or something. Because he was sedated a short time before we left the vet he is now literally passed out at home. My poor baby!









The vet also gave him a treat before we left which has been in his mouth for an hour now because he can't chew it or swallow it he's so tired. I finally had to remove it lol


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Yay!! I'm so glad Hank's neuter went well!! Yay for his good hips too! I hope whatever arthritis he might have doesn't kick in until he's a lot older. The video made me laugh (sorry!), poor boy looks so out of it! Give him lots of hugs and cuddles from Kaizer and I (give him a high-five for me for being a "pistol" too!)


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

Hank is really not enjoying his cone







so I had to buy one of those inflatable collars to keep him from licking his incision site.








He looks like he has an airplane pillow around his neck. Poor thing. Also he is now back to his normal self. The few short hours of peace and serenity are now over


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

He looks so upset with the cone/collar thing on him, aw!! How long does it have to be on?


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Oh, Hank ... my heart goes out to you. Is he walking into walls? I feel so sorry for him, but honestly, that's so adorable. I hope they were wrong about the arthritis, but at least it's something you can watch for and start preventative care (coconut oil, glucosamine, etc). 

Sending healing vibes your way, Hank!!

Here's Q this morning. When I first opened my eyes, she was just peacefully staring out the window at the birds in the pond. I think I stared at her for 10 minutes before she noticed that I was awake.
























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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Aww. Poor Hank. I was shocked that they didn't send us home with a collar for W's surgery. They said to just call back if he was trying to chew the stitches. He never did. Did they say you could leave it off him while you were home?

Finally just replaced our fence! I am way too excited about yard work. We just ended up hiring a guy my back neighbor uses and DH and I worked with him all morning. I think DH is going to order the retaining wall bricks today. He's doing a Tri tomorrow morning with our next door neighbors so after that he'll be more available to do yard work instead of train.

I've seen another tiny improvement with W lately in terms of calmer greetings and better walking. He still has a couple of seconds/minutes where he loses his mind and is super excited, but it's better and then he's calm. We had such a great day Thursday with the Weim, and his buddy from class came too. 3 dogs in my yard They all played really nicely.

Q is such a cutie. What a lovely site to wake up to.


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

Hank has been so grouchy since his neuter Thursday. I don't know what is going on. He barks at everyone and everything and is acting like a grumpy old man. He is not himself at all. Anyone heard of something like this?


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Maybe it's all the inactivity? I don't know. Is he barking at any specific groups of things? Or is it just random? I hope he is okay.


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

It's mainly at people. He was never like this before! He's acting like an untrained dog. I took him to the vet earlier because I thought his incision was becoming infected and he barked at every single person in there viciously. He's becoming so irritable. The vet said it isn't normal but it could be because of the pain he is in. As I was mid talk with the vet he started barking and howling at him too. So frustrating he's a completely different dog


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Poor Hank. Maybe he is just stressed because these feelings are all so new to him - the world he has known is not the same anymore. I'd imagine it would be so uncomfortable and painful, as well. Just like humans, all dogs react to pain differently. I know my husband gets grumpy when he's not feeling well . Hopefully, this will pass *crossing fingers*, and as he heals he will get back to his sweet self. I can't remember much about Dakota when she got spayed, but I do remember that she didn't want to be held or even touched. That only lasted until the stitches came out.

Thinking of him and sending positive vibes. I hope he is okay.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Is his incision infected? I'm sure it's just because his incision is bothering him - maybe he'll be better when the stitches come out! I hope so. Poor Hank must be confused and uncomfortable too. Hopefully he'll be better once he gets more comfortable.


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

aesthetic said:


> Is his incision infected? I'm sure it's just because his incision is bothering him - maybe he'll be better when the stitches come out! I hope so. Poor Hank must be confused and uncomfortable too. Hopefully he'll be better once he gets more comfortable.




It ended up not being infected just swollen and not healing as well because he kept licking it! I put a large t-shirt on the little dude and he hasn't touched it once


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Awww. Poor guy. I'm sure his behavior is just motivated by his discomfort. Once those stitches are out he should bounce back to normal. I bet they're tight. How many days has it been now? Like almost a week? Hopefully it's all healing well and he can get them out soon.

Random Wilder funny: He normally walks willingly into the bathroom upstairs for his baths but has to be 'helped' into the bathtub. It's hysterical because he will curl up in a ball in the corner of the bathroom and be all pathetic. This weekend he walked into the bathroom and jumped right in the tub by himself. Shocked me. My guess is the teenage phase is subsiding and he's just accepting his fate with more things and not fighting it.


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

How has Hank been? Are things improving? I hope he gets back to his normal soon.

Here is Quinsy enjoying her first time on the deck, while lounging in the sun. She would typically just sniff around and wouldn't ever settle in. Thankfully, she's finally beginning to enjoy it, and so can we, without having to watch her every move.
































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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

What a good girl Quinsy!! It's so so amazing to see the dogs they're becoming as they grow and mature. 

Hard to believe that our pups will be a year old next month!! What happened to our baby puppies??


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

It's been officially over a week since Hanks neuter! I finally got him to stop licking the incision by wearing a tshirt like I said. It worked for 4 days because yesterday I came home from work and it was off. How is he smart enough to take a tshirt off I have no idea?! The Incision looks relatively the same. Maybe I'm impatient or maybe something is wrong


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Wilder's got progressively less swollen as time went on. Do you feel like any healing is taking place? I wonder if he's allergic to the stitches. My husband is and it has caused some issues with healing when he's had some minor surgeries. How's Hank doing now?

One week (or less) until W and K turn one!!!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Can you get a picture of the incision? If you think something is wrong, take him to the vet. Remember when I thought something was wrong with Kaizer for literally no reason? He was eating and drinking fine, and he was acting fine by all means, but I knew there was something wrong. We took him to the vet and he ended up having a 104 degree fever and an anal gland infection. You always know when something's wrong with your dog. I think it'd be better to have that incision site checked out sooner and finding out that there's nothing wrong rather than waiting until later and then finding out that there is something wrong.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

How are Hank, Quinsy and Wilder? I hope they're all feeling their best - tomorrow's their birth month!

Kaizer has a yeast infection in his ear, and I have to put medicine in it for the next 7 days, which means he will have a fun birthday! Speaking of which, it's in four days!! I'm having 5 people come over, all people he's never met (his favorite lol). Kaizer's not a big fan of dogs, which is okay, but he absolutely loves people. I'm gonna make him a cake or something, but I'm having trouble finding something that doesn't have peanut butter included. I'm severely allergic to peanuts and all tree nuts, so if anyone has any ideas for replacements or different recipes, let me know!

What're you guys doing for your pups birthdays?


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

I can tell Hank's incision is finally healing. I'm so relieved! Kaizer's birthday party sounds like so much fun!! I cannot wait to throw Hank a party. We have a store in town that makes dog cakes and hopefully I'll get his cake from there. He is going to devour it in 4 seconds. 
Speaking of Kaizer, I was somewhere the other day and they had Kaiser bread rolls and I thought of him immediately  Different spelling but the June pups cross my mind quite frequently! Hope your pups are all doing well!


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Hello, all!! I'm happy to hear that Hank's incision is finally beginning to heal - how relieved you must be (as are we). I am sorry to hear about Kaizer; those ear infections can be nasty! These Goldens of ours are so susceptible to them, too. I remember trying to tie Dakota's ears, or flop them back any chance I got, to allow them to air out. I hope they both feel better soon and 100% for their birthdays.

It so exciting that they'll be a whole year young. We've got a bunch of pet bakeries here and I'll likely order something from them. We're probably just going to have the family fur kids over, along with a few neighbors. If it gets too rowdy in the basement (which we are expecting) we'll head out to the park or backyard.

This is a picture of Dakota when she turned 1 (almost 11 years ago), with her Pops and her Bison/Liver cake. The other is of her anxiously waiting to inhale it; she didn't leave a whole lot for her guests to partake in, but what are you going to do?

Hope to see more pics of the pooches soon...please?


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

carolinehansen said:


> Speaking of Kaizer, I was somewhere the other day and they had Kaiser bread rolls and I thought of him immediately  Different spelling but the June pups cross my mind quite frequently! Hope your pups are all doing well!


That's so funny! Don't tell Kaizer, but I actually named him after some bread


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Dakota is such a pretty girl!! I bet she loved that Bison/Liver cake  I'm gonna see if I can find some pet bakeries near me. I was gonna make something myself, but I have finals this week and I'm so busy studying for them.


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

So glad Hank and Kaizer are feeling better!

Not really doing anything for Wilder's birthday. He's getting a new ball that I think he will love -- the Chuckit Kick Fetch. I think any cake or irregular food will just upset his stomach and be a waste. Hopefully he can have a play date with his friend because that is truly his favorite thing.

Six more days of teaching for me!!! Woo Hoo!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

GoldenLabMix said:


> So glad Hank and Kaizer are feeling better!
> 
> Not really doing anything for Wilder's birthday. He's getting a new ball that I think he will love -- the Chuckit Kick Fetch. I think any cake or irregular food will just upset his stomach and be a waste. Hopefully he can have a play date with his friend because that is truly his favorite thing.
> 
> Six more days of teaching for me!!! Woo Hoo!


I've never heard of the Chuckit Kick Fetch before, but since its a Chuckit brand ball, it must be good. Kaizer only has one Chuckit ball, but it's the one of the few balls he will retrieve.

What do you teach?


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

Tess, Dakota was such a beautiful girl! Her little face melts my heart, especially with the party hat to match  You were really blessed with two of the most beautiful golden girls I have seen!!


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAIZER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Have a wonderful day!


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Happy Birthday, Kaizer!! OMG - you're 1!!!!! I hope its a Pawsome day!!!


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

carolinehansen said:


> Tess, Dakota was such a beautiful girl! Her little face melts my heart, especially with the party hat to match  You were really blessed with two of the most beautiful golden girls I have seen!!




Awwww, thank you, that's kind of you to say. Yes she was gorgeous and wonderful, and Q and Dakota are related, so there are similarities . This is my fave pic of Dakota. I'm hoping to get a similar one of Q to frame together. The photo of Dakota was a candid shot, so it may be difficult to get. 

How is Hank doing? Is his incision healing better now?









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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

aesthetic said:


> I've never heard of the Chuckit Kick Fetch before, but since its a Chuckit brand ball, it must be good. Kaizer only has one Chuckit ball, but it's the one of the few balls he will retrieve.
> 
> What do you teach?


We love our chuckits. He has the glow max, the whistle, and the regular orange and blue. I love the finger hole in the first two because they are so easy to throw without getting slobbery. I should take a pic of his toy collection some time. He's quite spoiled. Mommy loves to shop.

I teach preschool. 3 years olds turning 4 throughout the year. I'm certified for elementary and early childhood. Teaching preschool works really well with my kids right now, plus I do genuinely love it. It's a better schedule (9 to 3) and very little take home work as far grading and planning, etc. When my kids are in Jr high/no longer need someone home with them all the time, I'll probably need to do something else. The pay is rather pathetic in the preschool world. But for now, it totally works. Can't beat the option of working summers or having them off either. 5 days left

Wilder got to play with Grace (the Weim) last night so he was super happy.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

GoldenLabMix said:


> We love our chuckits. He has the glow max, the whistle, and the regular orange and blue. I love the finger hole in the first two because they are so easy to throw without getting slobbery. I should take a pic of his toy collection some time. He's quite spoiled. Mommy loves to shop.
> 
> I teach preschool. 3 years olds turning 4 throughout the year. I'm certified for elementary and early childhood. Teaching preschool works really well with my kids right now, plus I do genuinely love it. It's a better schedule (9 to 3) and very little take home work as far grading and planning, etc. When my kids are in Jr high/no longer need someone home with them all the time, I'll probably need to do something else. The pay is rather pathetic in the preschool world. But for now, it totally works. Can't beat the option of working summers or having them off either. 5 days left
> 
> Wilder got to play with Grace (the Weim) last night so he was super happy.


Kaizer's toy collection features all of five toys and a bone. He destroys toys (for the most part) as soon as he gets them. 

I used to want to be a teacher when I was younger. I've always admired all the hard work teachers do. I don't think I could ever handle being a teacher though, because I have no patience and I don't think i could be patient with the students who decide to be giant brats


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

aesthetic said:


> Kaizer's toy collection features all of five toys and a bone. He destroys toys (for the most part) as soon as he gets them.
> 
> I used to want to be a teacher when I was younger. I've always admired all the hard work teachers do. I don't think I could ever handle being a teacher though, because I have no patience and I don't think i could be patient with the students who decide to be giant brats


I could never do anything above maybe 2nd grade. I love the preschool kids for this reason. They do take a lot of patience but it's different because they aren't being willfully defiant. They're just figuring the world out. With very few exceptions, they respond well to firm love and guidance. Ha ha at the beginning of the school year when a lot of the kids were solidifying their potty training skills and Wilder was house training, I felt like I did nothing but worry about other living things' potty and poop habits and schedules! And now they are all good and independent


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Kaizer had a fun birthday!! I had a couple friends over, and he went crazy over them. He loved one of them in particular, he would not leave her alone. I made him some cupcakes, and he got a lot of extra treats. One of my friends brought him a cupcake. Then we went to Petsmart and he got to say hi to even more people, and picked out two toys for himself


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

Sooooooo cute! Happy late Birthday Kaizer!! Hope it was awesome


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Thank you!! I'm sure he loved it, he's out cold right now.

Happy birthday Wilder!!


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Kaizer's day sounds awesome!

Wilder played a lot this morning. Took a mid-day crate nap while we finished the retaining wall. Then played more. He loves his new toy. He has to learn to back up so it doens't get kicked into him! I get some good air on it so usually it goes over him though.

Love how Q and H are also a day apart!


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

What a cute pic of yesterdays birthday boy; I'm glad he had a good one.
I
Happy Birthday to you, Wilder!! I
haven't seen a Chuckit Kick Fetch - I'm going to have to look that one up.
Q never sleeps in her crate anymore. It almost makes me sad.

It is awesome how they paired up the same way. I know we keep saying it, but a year already?? It's hard to believe. 

Quinsy just perfected the "speak" command this weekend. That bass in her bark is so intimidating that it scared a big boy German Shepard to hide behind his Dad. Q even seemed surprised. I don't think she knew she had it in her. 


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

I think we deserve some birthday pictures of handsome Wilder  Pictures of Q and Hank would be appreciated too!

Kaizer's birthday toys lasted all of ten minutes before he pulled off pieces of it. I saw the kick fetch at Petsmart when we went, but he didn't seem to have any interest in it. What toys do you all buy for your pups that last?


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Wilder loves his kick fetch. The kids created a soccer game with it this morning. I walked out back and they tell me they're playing soccer and Wilder is the goalie. They hadn't gotten one past him yet.


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

He is the perfect mix of golden and lab I love it. So handsome


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

He's such a handsome boy, I love his smile.


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

You're a handsome boy, Wilder!! 


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Does anyone else here get the stink eye?

This is what I got when I tried to move her in the middle of the night from sleeping on my leg.









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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Sharing some pics of Q, AKA "The Poser".





















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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

She's such a gorgeous girl!! I can't believe how fast she's grown..


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## Lambeau0609 (Aug 3, 2015)

Now that most our our GR are 1 yr old or close to how much do they weigh. Lambeau is 60# and turned 1 on June 9th.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Happy belated birthday Lambeau! Kaizer was weighed three days before his birthday and he weighed 68.3 pounds.


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

tessmk said:


> Does anyone else here get the stink eye?
> 
> This is what I got when I tried to move her in the middle of the night from sleeping on my leg.
> View attachment 655162
> ...


Hysterical!


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Happy Belated Birthday Lambeau!!! Big week coming up for Q and H!

Wilder is still in the low 60s. It's been a month or so since he was weighed but he had been holding steady at 60-62 since 9 months and doesn't seem any bigger. The indulgent part of me wants to give him all the food he wants and fatten him up a little, but I know they are much better off lean. 

Wilder had a great weekend. Saturday he played with the Weim in the morning for almost 2 hours. Then the neighbors' flat-coated grand-dog came over in the afternoon. He's 6m now and super cute. It was comforting to commiserate on puppy antics and hear all of the things their pup has destroyed or taken. He sounds like he's way more of a hand-ful than Wilder. Hopefully we'll see them more.


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

<img width="0" height="0" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 0px; display: block;">


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Happy Belated Birthday to you, Lambeau – I hope to see some pictures soon!!

I’ve always loved the _Weimaraner_. We actually consideredone before Dakota, but the beauty and temperament of the Golden won us over –hands down.

Quinsy is about 62lbs (unofficially).We weighed her on the bathroom scale, and it was right after she had eaten, soyou can give or take a couple of pounds from that. 

Yep, a big week for the June young ‘ns.Q has been quite the energetic one, lately. She’s been like the Energizerrabbit – never ending!! I know it’s ourfault. We were busy last week with guests, and this weekend is the beginning ofour obligatory participation in wedding events for our friends who get marriedJuly 2nd. We are in the wedding party, so we need to be at all of them.Poor Q is likely feeling neglected. She’s been home with our Son, but I’m sureit’s not enough, or not the same, anyway. She’s constantly seeking ourattention. She tore up the corner of one of our comforters (thankfully an oldone). We’ll make it up to her. We keep promising her that, but she doesn’t seemto believe us. 

How are the other not so pup, pups doing?


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## Lambeau0609 (Aug 3, 2015)

https://goo.gl/photos/MYhrNvpaLtwEozJb8


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

It's Q's birthday tomorrow! I bet she'll forgive you for being so busy when she gets her presents tomorrow!


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

Happy Birthday Sweet Q!!!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Happy birthday Q!!


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Happy Birthday Q!!!


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## Lambeau0609 (Aug 3, 2015)

Happy Birthday Q!


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Quinsy says THANK YOU, everyone!! 

This is how Q reacted when she learned she hit the birthday mother lode!








































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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Quinsy's absolutely gorgeous!! I bet she had the greatest birthday ever!


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## wdadswell (Dec 17, 2015)

Happy one year Birthday Quinsy!!! Tess she is so beautiful! Bodie was 8 months yesterday. I still see a family resemblance, but you can tell Q is all girl, with her doe eyes and delicate features. Love the cake!


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Happy Birthday, Handsome Hank!!! Q and I wish you the bestest day!! We can't wait to see pictures.


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

wdadswell said:


> Happy one year Birthday Quinsy!!! Tess she is so beautiful! Bodie was 8 months yesterday. I still see a family resemblance, but you can tell Q is all girl, with her doe eyes and delicate features. Love the cake!


Thank you, Wendy!! Happy 8 months to your little man! I've been trying to stalk your handsome Bodie, but can't find enough recent pictures (just one). I could definitely see the family resemblance, without a doubt. I think that they both take after their Pops. Please send me more pix when you have a moment - I'd love to see that mug of his. :smile2:


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Happy birthday Hank!! I hope we get to see lots of pics of your handsome face today!!


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

Hank had a great birthday! The celebration is still not over, we are off to St. Louis tomorrow for the dog friendly baseball game! More pictures to come but here he is admiring his cake


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Happy Belated Hank! I forgot to get on the forum yesterday. I hope you are having a great day at the ballpark!

My human child's birthday party is today. 

W got to swim in my neighbor's pool last night but just for a minute. He wanted so badly to stay in. His natural swimming ability still amazes me. We'll need to take him to the park with the stream soon. 

Again, HANK have a great time today. And how sweet is Q with her gifts! We did get W a natural bone - maybe a cow joint? The store lady said it was super durable and safe but he had fragments of bone coming off in 20 minutes and in the trash it went so please be careful - I would have for Q to have tummy problems.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Hank is such a beautiful boy! Can we get some pictures of him at tomorrow's baseball game?

Happy birthday human child!! I hope s/he had a great time 

I'm glad W got the chance to swim in a pool! Kaizer hasn't, but he's been to the beach and he wasn't very thrilled by the waves lol.

My grandparents are coming next Thursday and their flight comes in at 5a.m. so we're leaving Wednesday and spending the night in a hotel. Then we're going to spend a couple of days in Michigan and stay with my mom's uncle, and go to D.C. so Kaizer's going to have a fun three weeks!! Hopefully it all goes smoothly..


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Human child's party was great. She's going to be 8 this week. Party was at a rock climbing place and everyone had a great time. Adults climbed too! None of us had ever done it before.

Have a great time on all your adventures with Kaizer!


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

We had a blast!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

I'm sure I've said this before, but I love love love Hank!! His fur is such a gorgeous color!! Love the pics


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

Thank you so much!! When I got him I had no idea he would be this dark! He used to be light as a pup


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Oh yes I remember the puppy days 

I don't know guys but I'm really starting to have puppy fever. I know that I still have a lot of work to do with Kaizer before I even start thinking of getting another puppy, but puppies are so stinkin' cute!! Also, I really miss that feeling you get right before it's time to get the puppy (it's warm and tingly and it's kind of like excitement but not quite). And I love the search for a new breeder. I think it's all of the puppy pictures on the forum recently


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

aesthetic said:


> Oh yes I remember the puppy days
> 
> I don't know guys but I'm really starting to have puppy fever. I know that I still have a lot of work to do with Kaizer before I even start thinking of getting another puppy, but puppies are so stinkin' cute!! Also, I really miss that feeling you get right before it's time to get the puppy (it's warm and tingly and it's kind of like excitement but not quite). And I love the search for a new breeder. I think it's all of the puppy pictures on the forum recently


Hank is so pretty. Um, I mean handsome. What a fun day!

LOL no puppy fever here. One and done. I'm so glad we did it but it's so much work on top of everything else. If we get another it will be over a year I'm amazed at the patient people who raise pups for guide dogs year after year. If I was retired then maybe or when my kids are teens and can do a lot. 
My kids are almost done with school. My husband took most of this week off. Wilder has been much happier with us home more. He's been fairly well behaved. But he still LOSES HIS MIND when we have people in our house. He tries so hard to sit but the entire back half of his body is wagging so hard that it's impossible. I told DH we need to do meet n greet therapy where we go to Petsmart or wherever and just practice practice practice. For about the past week I've been not feeling great and spent Sunday evening in the ER with a kidney infection. Pain on my side was approaching labor pain... So my first week off was a lot less productive than I had hoped. I still had to get everything together for kid#2's party then I had all of DH's family over for Father's Day and cooked. So here's to more productive times and getting Wilder out in the world more. If it was less than 90* outside I would love it...I can hope.


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

That looks like so much fun - Hank must have loved it! How did the Cards fair that day??


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Are any of you in contact with your fur-kid's siblings? This is Q's brother, Sawyer (see below). He's a big boy! He's training to be a Therapy dog. Funny, Q is the reason why we need therapy!! We don't know where the rest of the litter went (sadly). Q was the only female in the litter. We also connected one of our friends with our breeder, and coincidently, he has the same parents. He is 10 months younger than Q and his name is Samson (see puppy pix below). Q also has a younger 1/2 brother on this forum and we are going to meet Q's Grammy next month. It's so interesting to see how they differ and how they are sooooo similar.

































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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

GoldenLabMix said:


> Happy Belated Hank! I forgot to get on the forum yesterday. I hope you are having a great day at the ballpark!
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Thanks for the warning. The last time someone gave her something, she did indeed have tummy troubles. We kept an eye on her and only gave it to her for 15 minutes at a time. These things are so scary. It was only given to her as a bday gift, so likely the last time, or not until her next birthday.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

GoldenLabMix said:


> For about the past week I've been not feeling great and spent Sunday evening in the ER with a kidney infection. Pain on my side was approaching labor pain... So my first week off was a lot less productive than I had hoped. I still had to get everything together for kid#2's party then I had all of DH's family over for Father's Day and cooked. So here's to more productive times and getting Wilder out in the world more. If it was less than 90* outside I would love it...I can hope.


I hope you're recovering well!! Sounds like you had a busy week! I totally understand the excitement at having people over. Kaizer does pretty good with the initial sit, but when the person stops petting him or he thinks he's been sitting for long enough, he jumps up like a spring.



> Are any of you in contact with your fur-kid's siblings?


No, unfortunately I don't know any of Kaizer's siblings :-( I've met one of his half-siblings though, I loved her, she was such a sweetie. We might be visiting our breeder later this summer, so maybe I can ask about his other siblings. I'd love to see how they look now. Plus, his breeder kept one of the girls (she was my favorite when we visited the litters at 6 weeks, she crawled into my lap and fell asleep. She ended up being breeder's pick though.)


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

GoldenLabMix said:


> Hank is so pretty. Um, I mean handsome. What a fun day!
> 
> 
> 
> ...




I hope you're healing well. Sending positive thoughts!!


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Thanks - so far so good. They were almost going to make me stay for IV antibiotics but my kidney function was OK for me to just do oral. 

We never met any of Wilder's siblings as he was the very last one - he was 12 weeks. BUT I did get to see all of them on the website we got him from. And we saw his dad (the golden) across the yard and met and played with his half sister (small light yellow lab). I have since found other offspring of his dad online and some have his same face. His mom was retired after his litter. There are some there now but they aren't as cute as he was. If you go on greenfield puppies dot com and search under Golden Labrador, look for the T litter in PA. His dad's name is Rover. They used to have already purchased pups on the site so I could, for a while, see his siblings. They pretty much all looked the same. A couple were lighter. There was also a video of them running around and playing. If I could connect with any of them, I totally would. HOw cute for those of you than can. I can see the resemblance in the pics posted.
If you search greenfield puppies Annie Smucker golden Labrador Reuben it comes up with his ad and video. He's one of two darker pups.


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

She was happy...until the needle came out. My poor baby, she gave the crew a heck of a time trying to get her blood sample for her heart worm test. This girl, she's a strong one. Now she's soooo spent! We can't wait to get her home.
























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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Q is such a pretty girl! What a brave girl she is for (eventually) letting the crew take a blood sample.


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

This woman who lives close to me was with her 10 week old female golden retriever puppy, Penny, and I almost cried!! Brought me back to the puppy days with Hank. I want a little sister for him so bad









She said Penny sleeps 5 hours a night and is still learning potty training. Ah, I remember those days.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Oh man, I really miss that cute little puppy stage  I love Kaizer and how he is now, but he was such a funny puppy. I met a 7 week old Bernese Mountain Dog yesterday and he was the cutest little thing ever! He started chewing on me, but I swear it was the softest mouthing ever (I don't remember Kaizer ever mouthing me that gently lol). SO cute and so sweet. 

I absolutely love the name Penny. Maybe in a couple years if Kaizer gets a sister, that's what I'll name her.


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

I *LOVE* Bernese Mountain Dogs. They are my fav with Goldens.

So..we decided to check out this local (25 minutes away) kennel/daycare/etc that a friend has used for years. We were thinking of camping for a night next week and neighbors are out of town. First day of daycare and first night of boarding are free. So he did his free introduction day today. I took the kids to camp (opposite direction of course) and then him to the kennel. They have a camera in the playroom that I could watch in from home. I watched him off and on during the day. New dogs go into a run on the side at first to see how they react and get them used to it. He did great and then played most of the rest of the day. He had a break early afternoon for a snack and rest. Lots of labs, a couple of Goldens, a Bernese, a St. Bernard. So cute! I was so nervous that he'd be overwhelmed but they seem to screen the dogs pretty well and watch them so it's only the really dog friendly dogs that are in the playroom. Then I repeated the driving circle this afternoon to pick them all up. I got a lot of my online CEUs done for work while also watching the video stream of pups. It's $$$ but it's really good to know he'll do well there when we need to board him. The play n stay is 3 hours of playtime throughout the day and I love that he'd get enough stimulation. Oh, then he also got a kiddy pool and played in an inch of water this afternoon. Loved that. He is ZONKED out now.

He threw up last night. A large volume. I think he ate a flower or something. Then he threw up in the car this morning. I brought him a half-meal to have at lunch and then he got extra dinner tonight. This morning was just car sickness I think.

Hope everyone is well. You all are really making me crazy with the sweet sweet puppy pictures. There's just no way I want that again now but **** they're adorable.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

I'm so glad you found a good daycare near you! It's great to hear that W was all zonked out afterwards.

I don't know if I'm late or something, but I found a great way to work on recall with Kaizer without having to do that repetitive back and forth thing (I think Kaizer gets bored of it real quick and then his enthusiasm starts going down and he just quits). We've worked on recall with Kaizer in the past, but we haven't really gotten to where we can call him and he'll come outside of training sessions - that's mostly me being a novice trainer and not knowing how to move past a single step. Anyway, I put his 30 ft long leash on and take him out for a walk. Kaizer does pretty good with keeping an eye on us and not running away, but he only comes 50-75% of the time (again, because I don't know how to move to more and more distractions). Every time he gets to the end of the leash, or he looks at me, I call him. 9/10 he comes running as soon as I start saying "Come". If he doesn't, I start reeling him in. When he gets to me, he gets a treat and lots and lots of treats. Then I release him to explore. He'll start running at random times, then stop and sniff, and then wander around and then trot some. He gets exercised and trained all in one!

Just thought I'd share, I feel incredibly proud of myself for coming up with this idea lol. 

Some pictures of my pretty boy from this week!! Sitting in pictures seem to be his specialty ha


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

That's awesome. Do you find all the extra leash gets annoying to manage? Does it tangle? Do you just let it drag? I have a 10 ft that I use sometimes but I find it annoying. Maybe the annoyance is worth it. We've gotten to the point where W comes when I call him in the yard *most* of the time. But so not when distracted. I don't trust him outside the fence. DH was asking for a retractable leash but I know the constant pull on their collars is confusing to them and I think the ones for our sized dogs are heavy. Maybe I've overthinking. Kaizer is going to be really well trained very soon! The bed pic is just adorable. I just got some extra beds so W can come up in the upstairs room without stinking up the carpet. Having him come up has really helped his lay and stay reliability as he's not allowed off the bed when upstairs. (No furniture either...we're so mean.)


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Don't tell anyone, but I posed him for that pic  Kaizer is allowed on the furniture, but he rarely ever goes up on it. He likes the floor better.

The extra leash isn't that bad honestly, it sometimes gets under him but it doesn't inhibit his movement or get knotty. It sometimes wraps around things (like it's gotten caught to sticks in the ground a couple times) but it untangles easily. Sometimes I let it drag behind him (like if we're practicing recalls between two people and we're farther than 30 feet apart) but it tends to tangle more like that, especially if we're in the woods or someplace that has a lot of underbrush. If it drags people tend to step on it by accident (which yanks Kaizer back) and I don't like that, so I avoid letting it drag. I don't like retractable leashes either, the ones I've seen are really flimsy. I don't think they are very practical for me. Plus, everyone I've ever seen who walks a dog on a retractable leash always look like they have no control over their dog.


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

How did you work on the "leave it" command?


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

I held a piece of kibble (or some other treat) in my fist and let Kaizer sniff it and lick at it and paw it - basically anything except for bite at it. When he finally took a step back (or paused), he got the treat. Some people say not to give the dog the treat you're holding in your fist, but I did it that way and Kaizer's leave it is decently solid. At the beginning, the pause was really brief. He'd stop pawing/licking/sniffing for a second and then he went back. I had to praise and treat really quickly. After we did it a bunch of times, he got better at holding himself back. When he mastered the fist (i.e., he saw the fist and immediately looked away or stepped away), we progressed to dropping food from a height and having him leave it alone. For outside, we put our foot over whatever object Kaizer wants (and there are still some he won't leave alone) and tell him to leave it, then treat when he walks away (or not, sometimes I don't have anything on me so he gets 2x the praise).


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Wilder is fairly good at leave it. Mostly. For him, he will still sniff the item but not pick it up. We did that in our puppy class a long time ago but obviously he should be backing away and not staying and sniffing. I just haven't pushed it. Honestly I use "no" more than leave it and he does respond fairly well to that, or the short "EH" that he gets when he starts to get a plant or something outside.
DH and I both think W is calming down. I know I say that all the time. But it happens in little tiny bits here and there. He's been calmer and listening better. Inside the house we feel like he just lays down and chills more. We're babysitting our next door neighbor's miniature schnauzer all week. She's 9 and very easy. She's sleeping at her own house because she's a major high pitched barker and also will go after our cat. Last night the Weim came over and the M.S. Was just watching the young dogs play and hanging with me.

I'm so glad W is completely oblivious to fireworks and thunder. I see a lot of posts about that lately on FB and glad we don't have to deal with it. He's been outside during both and just doesn't even notice. I know my aunt and uncle's Golden has major issues. Poor guy! Are any of your dogs having problems?


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

There were some fireworks last night in Michigan. I wasn't home and Kaizer was crated, so I have no idea how he was. I'm sure he was okay though because we came home and he was fine. He normally doesn't get scared of loud sounds, and he's fine through thunderstorms. He was exactly a month old last July 4th, so I'm hoping he heard some fireworks then and he'll be fine now.


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

LOL I forgot they were alive last 4th. I'm glad Kaizer did well. 

I updated my siggy. Today is the birthday of my cat and Guinea pig. The cat we got at 6 weeks (had her as a foster first) so it's approximate within a couple of days. She's 17! The Guinea pig is likely within a month so we just made it the same birthday as the cat for ease. She's 4. And I finally updated my daughter's age.

My daughter is riding with her Girl Scout troop in the town parade this morning, then we're going to the pool to have a little thing for my father in law's b day. There are firework in town but we'd have to park at least a mile away up and down a large hill and it's supposed to rain so hopefully DH will be reasonable about it...

Hope you all are having a nice long weekend!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

How did your pups do with the fireworks? Kaizer was ok, he was pretty nervous at first but he relaxed somewhat as it went on.


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

What a horrible previous few days. I'm back to report Hank had another medical scare. He ate a mushroom Sunday night and whined at 1 am with diarrhea. I shrugged it off until Tuesday he eventually refused to eat or drink. I made him take a few bites and he instantly threw it up. We took him to the emergency vet in which he threw up and had diarrhea in their office. They did an x-Ray and they believe he ate a few pebbles and that's why he is sick. I'm so angry because I am 100% positive it is the mushroom. He's been there for 24 hours on an IV. Keep your pups away from mushroom guys!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

carolinehansen said:


> What a horrible previous few days. I'm back to report Hank had another medical scare. He ate a mushroom Sunday night and whined at 1 am with diarrhea. I shrugged it off until Tuesday he eventually refused to eat or drink. I made him take a few bites and he instantly threw it up. We took him to the emergency vet in which he threw up and had diarrhea in their office. They did an x-Ray and they believe he ate a few pebbles and that's why he is sick. I'm so angry because I am 100% positive it is the mushroom. He's been there for 24 hours on an IV. Keep your pups away from mushroom guys!


That must've been so scary! Was the mushroom one of those outdoor ones or the kind we eat? I hope he gets better soon, please keep us updated.


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

He got ahold of one in the grass. I believe it was red. I didn't really think anything of it but he got really sick after and I instantly knew that was what's wrong. I picked him up just now from the hospital. The poor boy


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Oh poor baby:-( I hope he gets better quickly!! What'd the vet think about the mushroom? I know they're convinced that he's sick cause of the pebbles, but were they not concerned about the mushroom?


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

I'm so glad he's OK. They are so fast and it's sometimes just impossible to get things out of their mouths fast enough. I'm constantly picking them and tossing them in the trash when I find them in our yard. He definitely ate some last fall but it was before I had every noticed them and thankfully they weren't the worst kind.


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Oh, no  carolinehansen!!! You must have been beside yourself!! So scary. These pups of ours are so quick. Just recently, I took my eyes off of her for not even a second to say hi to someone on the street, then I look over at her and there's a frog in her mouth. I sure do hope he is feeling a lot better. What did the doc say?


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

How's Hank?


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Also checking in to see how Hank is doing.

We met my in-law's neighbor's golden the other night. He's about 5 months older than Wilder. We had been talking about a play date for a while. He was lovely. I was having Golden Envy. He's already passed his therapy dog test. However, it was the first time DH had ever really interacted with a full golden and he thought he was nice and soft but too fru-fru and too much work with the coat. He's been saying our next will be a shepherd, though he has no intention of getting another until W is gone. The kids and I clearly have other plans. So...in a year or so we'll see. I said the kids each need one to sleep on their beds and my son claimed W. Asked my daughter is she'd be OK with a shepherd and she said sure! DH is witnessing this all... He said having W has totally removed his fear of dogs. Nothing every happened to him, but his older brother was deathly afraid (who knows why, he's weird) and it just rubbed off a little.

We're back on a schedule with kids and camp and I've been working a bit getting stuff ready for next school year and doing scheduling. I can absolutely see the difference in W when he's home alone more now. And his latest thing is growling at me when I stop petting him. It's pretty funny. It's not an agreesive growl, just that annoyed growl. He sometimes does the same growl when he needs/wants to go out. What a silly guy.


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

Hi guys! Hank is doing much better and back to his usual crazy self. A few days on an IV and sensible food and he is like new  The vet bill was crazy expensive. I really want pet insurance. 
He was weighed at the vet and he was only 58 pounds... why is he so small?!! He was average weight his entire life until a few months ago and he's a tiny little dude now 









Here he is keeping a smile on his road to recovery this past weekend


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

So glad he's doing well! 58 pounds is perfect.


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

That's a relief!! Happy to hear that Hank is feeling better and doing well! I think he looks absolutely perfect at 58lbs!!!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

I'm so so glad that Hank is feeling better! I think 58 pounds is the perfect weight for him


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Aesthetic - I saw your post about the adventure on your trip. Sound like a lot of fun. Where are your grandparents from?

Same old here. Wilder got to play with 3 friends at different time yesterday and in the baby pool. He had such a great time. One friend used to be a lot taller than W. He's 3 months younger but a bigger mixed breed. Well, Wilder is now the same height. I had thought maybe W was getting a smidge taller but wow. I definitely need to weigh him again because he's probably grown. I also started adding a little extra food because he's looked too thin. Still can't see his ribs, but the indent behind them was really more noticeable. So now I'm expecting him to fill out to closer to 70 with the added height. I also started having him sleep in his crate in my son's room. My son LOVES it and it's incentive for his room to be kept clean. The cat sleeps more in my daughter's room or on my legs so it works.

We're inside a lot with the heat - 97* today. I wish our yard had more shade. We're working on it but it'll be until next year when things fill in. 

How's everyone doing?


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

My family's from India  My parents immigrated in '95.

It's great that Wilder gets to play with friends everyday!! It's been so hot here that I just don't take Kaizer out during the day and wait until 7pm or later. He doesn't mind the heat as much, but I definitely do lol.


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

I weighed W and he's only 62. With his height I was expecting more but I am now thinking he's slightly underweight. I'll continue feeding a little more until he's closer to 65.

I'm taking him to the vet in an hour because he's been having some anal gland issues. He's licking at his rear end a lot and we've had a few instances where he's emptied them from the licking and it STINKS. I never dealt with this with my dogs growing up so it's a new thing for me. I will ask what we can do to prevent further issues. His food is 4.5% fiber so maybe we need a food with more? He seems to eat enough mulch, branches, etc outside (despite our effort to prevent it) that it would add some fiber to his diet. Anyone have experience with this? 

Yes the heat is awful - I hate it too! His one friend has this amazing shaded yard and the other two dogs came in the evening to us so it wasn't too bad. It's definitely not every day he gets to play with other dogs. Maybe once or twice a week.

If the pic attaches, here he is with Emma. He's not normally on our bed and she was like, "Seriously? This is my area." We laughed as he kept creeping closer to her.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

The only experience with anal glands I have is from when Kaizer had that anal gland infection. He kept going after his tail and his butt to the point of ripping out his fur, and every time he came inside from a poo, my parents complained that he smelled. It cleared up in a week or so.


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

aesthetic said:


> The only experience with anal glands I have is from when Kaizer had that anal gland infection. He kept going after his tail and his butt to the point of ripping out his fur, and every time he came inside from a poo, my parents complained that he smelled. It cleared up in a week or so.


So you didn't need to change anything to prevent it from happening again? That's great if it was just an isolated incident. But sad and yucky that it happened at all.

They were full but emptied easily. We talked about doing a higher fiber food or adding pumpkin. I just ordered some food that is 7% so I'll do a mix with his normal and see how it goes. He did very well and behaved pretty well too. Also asked about his weight and she said he's totally fine. Just has a young athletic build. He was 60-61 on their scale. And confirmed that Dramamine is ok for our road trip and dose. I just took him in his Kurgo in the back on the minivan and he did great but the vet it only 3 minutes away.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

I wouldn't say it doesn't happen - if he has loose stools one day, his anal glands fill and don't express themselves. After a week or so of normal stool, it goes away. Kaizer's food is 3.5% fiber. But he gets bananas and apples everyday. If we have more anal gland issues, I might start giving him green beans and sweet potatoes on a daily basis, but right now it seems that the apples and bananas + his food give him enough fiber.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Apparently I spoke too soon  We were in the car on the way back home from the park when Kaizer released his anal glands. It wasn't much - when I got home, I cleaned up the backseat with a baby wipe. I'm not sure if he fully expressed them or if we need to take a trip to the vet but we'll find out. His fluffy little butt smells so bad right now 

ETA: It looks like we'll have to take a trip to the vet anyway - he's got some weird red rash under his armpit that he's been scratching at. I'm not too sure what it is but I'm hoping it's just a hotspot.


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Aww. I hope everything resolves. I wonder what the rash could be from.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

I think might be from his harness rubbing up against his skin, but it could be a hotspot so I'm not really sure. We have an appointment at the vet tomorrow


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Hi everyone! I hope all is well with you and the fur kids.

I think Q is coming into her first heat. We've seen (very) little blood marks (not quite drips) on the floors the past couple of days. We've got her pad and boys underwear ready and waiting. Too bad the briefs have to be boys briefs (hole for the tail), because they're all dude colours, ninja turtles or superheroes . She's very needy lately, so I'm almost sure that it's time. We'll be spaying her before her next heat.

Quinsy (kinda) had anal gland problems, as well. Although they would eventually express themselves in a day or so, that odor (metallic fishy smell) was horrific. So, along with an ear infection, and her going after her one paw all the time, we took her to the docs and there it was...98% chance of it being an allergic reaction. Apparently, there were too many proteins in her all natural food. She's been on a grain-free, one protein food for about a month and everything that caused concern has just about run its course and disappeared. This includes the butt issues ... we've realized that she was just plain itchy from her food - itchy everywhere. 

She is steadily 61-62 lbs, and at times I think she looks awfully thin, but I can't see her ribs (and can easily feel them), so I won't change anyhing. This food also calls for 3/4 less food than her previous, so maybe it's just psychological and a mommy concern.

It's HOT here in Ontario (Canada), as well - has been for about a month now. We're hitting the 90's almost every day, and that's without the humidex. Quinsy doesn't seem to mind it, but it concerns me. You know Golden's, they never want you to worry, so they won't show you when they're unhappy or uncomfortable.

I think I need to see new pics of everyone. Wilder looks great - his coat seems to be filling out. And Kaizer's sig pic is adorbs. I need to see Hank - it's been tooooo long.

Here are some new ones of Q. The close-up, head shot of her was on Monday. I was sick, napping on the couch, and this was her - all day, watching over me. She looks like she's creeping me, but it was actually quite sweet.


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

What food did you switch Q to? She's gorgeous. I love her coat. We got our new food last night and he's had it twice with no major issues. I did about 1/4 of each meal with new food. It's a little more pricy than what we were using but it is a slightly higher end food. If it works, I'll just switch completely. I looked at supplements but with our crazy life, I'd rather just switch foods than have to remember to give him a supplement. The new one is Nutrisca. We'd been on Merrick's bargain Whole Earth Farms. We did Merrick puppy for a while in the beginning. All grain free. He Nutrisca is also potato free. Not sure if there's a big concern about potatoes but whatevs. If I could find something that made him have less doggy odor that would be great too. It's not horrible, but we like to keep it as minimal as we can. THe only other thing I can think is that I got a box of regular milk bones (wheat) and had been giving him one at noon in effort to raise his calorie intake for a bit. I wonder if the wheat caused some inflammation that wasn't allowing them to empty. Because we didn't have issues before that. Oh well, we'll see. I see have a lot left (huge box) but I can always donate them.
Wilder's new thing is making Chewbaca style growl noises when I stop petting him when we're hanging out. It's super cute but a little annoying...mr. Spoiled...


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Q is so pretty! I love her coat. What food did you switch to? And I agree, we definitely need more pictures of Hank!

Those growly noises Wilder makes sound so cute! He's honestly adorable.

The vet said it was probably allergies based of Kaizer's anal glands, his ears, his skin and because Kaizer keeps sneezing. I'm pretty sure it's not his food because he was fine all throughout the fall and winter, so I'm assuming it's something outside. I don't blame Kaizer though, because I've been sneezing and having itchy eyes all summer and I don't have a pollen allergy. We're gonna give him 50mg of Benadryl 2x a day and see if that makes a difference. Kaizer weighed 65.6 pounds yesterday. I think 67 pounds looks better on him though.


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

My husband is going to kill me. Well, roll his eyes anyway. I bought ANOTHER dog bed. Wilder has one nice LL Bean one (large) that we got early on and I had maybe $70 of coupons from my LLB credit card. Well, there was an amazing deal on an extra large - normally $159, on sale for $59. And I had $30 of coupons. So, $30 for a huge bed that my kids will love to lay on with him. I had recently bought some cheaper beds for the bedrooms so he could be there and have a spot and not stink up the carpet over time. We have a lot of dog beds, needless to say. I don't think the LLB Beds are worth full price, or I'm just cheap, but for that much...


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

GoldenLabMix said:


> My husband is going to kill me. Well, roll his eyes anyway. I bought ANOTHER dog bed.
> 
> Hahahahahaha! That completely sounds like me. I'm sure our hubby's are used to it by now. As my husband says, "any purchase my wife makes is at least a round of golf in the bag for me". Show pix - I'd love to see them!!! Maybe even a shot with Wilder in it


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

We've switched Q to GO! Sensitivity + Shine Limited Ingredient Duck Recipe (by Petcurean), and she absolutely loves it. She has been completely weaned from her other food for about 2 weeks now, and even though they say it takes approx. 2 months to get the other food out of their system, we're seeing great results. We actually thought that her coat before the switch was soft and luscious, now it feels like she's been to the spa every day...it's so soft and silky, that my hand just slides off of it when I pet her. Her ears have completely cleared up as well, and she smells amazing. There used to be a distinct dog odor (not awful, by no means), but now - she still smells like the shampoo that we bathed her with about a month ago. Here's the link, if anyone is interested: LIMITED INGREDIENT Duck Recipe for Dogs | Petcurean.

So, as I mentioned before, Quinsy has definitely come into her first season. We started off with makeshift "heat undies", but like I said - she seemed to hate it (probably because they were blue). She always found a way to get them off. She is so needy, cuddly and OMG ,so lovable lately - I'm going to miss it, for sure. She just doesn't seem as independent. I have and will cherish these moments for the full 21 days of this. In the meantime, there is a constant line-up of suitors waiting outside for her, carrying flowers and candies, trying to win her over. Here are so cute pix I thought you'd like to see of her pamper butt. She seems happy with the white ones - not bothered by them at all.


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Aww poor diaper butt. I clicked on the food link and I do remember seeing their NOW line at a local store. We do have a few Canadian brands here. I'm so glad she's doing amazingly well on it. It's so expensive and time consuming to cycle through a handful of foods to find one that works sometimes.
I got barely more than an eye roll about the dog bed. I still had his orange one in the family room and DH was like, are you leaving both in here? And I was like, yes, I'm just going to carpet the whole room in dog beds. The kids love it. They may steal it.
Wilder is doing really well on his higher fiber food! I'm still doing about 1/4 of each feed of the new. Mostly because I have a good amount of his other food left to use up. But probably even the little jump in fiber is helping. He clearly emptied his glands by licking himself an hour or so ago but as long as they're emptying I won't complain right now.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Q is such a cutie with her lil diaper butt!! I'm so glad she's doing well on her new food! I'm glad W seems to be doing better with more fiber too! 

Today is a year since we first picked up Kaizer. He's such a pain in my ass but I wouldn't really want it any other way lol


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

aesthetic said:


> Q is such a cutie with her lil diaper butt!! I'm so glad she's doing well on her new food! I'm glad W seems to be doing better with more fiber too!
> 
> Today is a year since we first picked up Kaizer. He's such a pain in my ass but I wouldn't really want it any other way lol


Happy Gotcha Day Anniversary! How's his arm pit issue?


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

I keep forgetting to give him benadryl so there hasn't been much improvement oops. The days I do give him benadryl, he doesn't seem to itch as much.


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

I have been so busy this summer working full time. I just logged on here for the first time in a long time and my heart is gushing with all the cute pics of your pups [emoji7][emoji175] 
Here's some pics of what H and I have been up to. 

































Lots of relaxing on Hanks end, my end not so much!


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Aww Hank is so happy and sweet looking! Wilder's been a naughty boy lately. My daughter left some lunch meat on her plate the other day and walked away and he table surfed to get it while no one was in the kitchen. Since then, lots of table and counter surfing, which he hadn't done in months!!! Also just seems to be taking things more often. And pushing open the pocket doors again. We've been home a good amount so I can't really explain it. He's coming with us on our road trip next week. I tried the Dramamine today just to make sure he could tolerate it. Only gave him half a pill. I think he can have up to 2 pills. He was fine. Maybe a little sleepy but hard to tell. I just ordered some last minute travel things online - like a no spill car water bowl. Luckily I have no time for other hobbies so I can spend all my fun $ on him. DH is taking the cat in his car so that makes it easier for me with the kids and dog. I can take a longer potty break with him and not worry about the cat melting. DH has a man bladder so he's good.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Kaizer's going through one of those phases too! It's so annoying - he constantly pulls on the leash to get me to move faster, he refuses to sit and stay, he's grabbing food out of my hand (where he learned that one from I have no idea), he's just being a general pain in the ass. I'm hoping that it's just one of those phases and it'll end soon. 

I hope you have fun on your road trip! I know W isn't a fan of cars, but they're so much fun to do. Where are you headed?

I can't remember if I mentioned it, but my family and I + Kaizer took another road trip! It's been a crazy summer lol, we were home for a week but then had to leave again. My mom had to go to Tampa for work, so we decided to make it a road trip. We started in Orlando, then Tampa, Miami and now we're in Key West. It's beautiful here, but so so so hot and humid - I hate it and Kaizer hates it. My poor puppy pants so much when we go out  But on the bright side, we took him to a dog beach! We went around 6pm, so there weren't any other dogs. Kaizer was a lil scared of the tides or something, he refuses to go in for the longest time. He's been to the beach before and last time we spent two hours getting him acclimated and letting him watch, so this time I decided that we'd go in the water (I may or may not have had to tug him along with me..) and if he didn't like it, we'd never go in the ocean again. He loves his kiddy pool and he loves the hose, so I figured it was just something about the waves that he didn't like. I got him in, and he did okay. He didn't love it, but he pawed at the water and went about knee deep and then left. Okay fine, so I tried again and he really wasn't having it lol. So I waited, tried to get him in the water on his own, that didn't really work. A couple with their two dogs came (a pit bull mix and some kind of hound mix - they were so sweet) and the dogs were pretty decently trained, I mean they left Kaizer alone after their owners called for them. They were ball-obsessed and chased after a ball the woman threw for them. I think they got Kaizer interested because that's when he started getting in the water and actually staying in it (the water was warm). The couple finally left after 30 minutes maybe? And I got a ball for Kaizer too (there were free ones in a bucket at the entrance to the beach in remembrance of a dog). I figured he wouldn't have much interest in it, because he will go after a ball maybe 3? times before he gets bored, but he was a rockstar! Maybe he was copying the two other dogs, I don't know, but he chased the ball into the water, brought it back, and dropped it all without me teaching him. We still struggle with the dropping it part on land so I didn't expect that at all. I was the one who stopped him at the end - he was so ready to keep chasing after the ball. We're leaving tomorrow so we can't go (here) again, but I'm hoping I can find a dog beach somewhere near us in Delaware. He had so much fun too, I just hope it wasn't a one time thing where he was copying another dog lol.


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Wow that's a long drive to FL! How fun though. I'm sorry he didn't love the beach as much as he could have. Maybe next time he will have a good memory. Wilder is insane about water. I wasn't with the them but my neighbor's (I think they were curious because their terrier hates water) told DH to bring the dog to their pool and he swam and swam. DH said he finally pulled him out before he got exhausted in the deep in and he just wanted to go back in. He's nuts.

DH has to work in upstate NY for a bit. About 5 hours drive. It's some of his only work travel where it's feasible for us to all go, so we go every year. Wilder is super stinky - rolling in who knows what in the yard. But I'm putting off bathing him until right before we leave because he'll just get icky again. It's sad but I don't want to snuggle him right now. The pool should have helped but it didn't. It's saltwater...shouldn't that have gently cleaned him???


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

GoldenLabMix said:


> Wow that's a long drive to FL! How fun though. I'm sorry he didn't love the beach as much as he could have. Maybe next time he will have a good memory. Wilder is insane about water. I wasn't with the them but my neighbor's (I think they were curious because their terrier hates water) told DH to bring the dog to their pool and he swam and swam. DH said he finally pulled him out before he got exhausted in the deep in and he just wanted to go back in. He's nuts.
> 
> DH has to work in upstate NY for a bit. About 5 hours drive. It's some of his only work travel where it's feasible for us to all go, so we go every year. Wilder is super stinky - rolling in who knows what in the yard. But I'm putting off bathing him until right before we leave because he'll just get icky again. It's sad but I don't want to snuggle him right now. The pool should have helped but it didn't. It's saltwater...shouldn't that have gently cleaned him???


I think I messed up my wording a little (sorry! I was in a rush). He didn't love it at first, but he saw two other dogs having fun in the water and then decided that the ocean must be fun. Funny how that happens huh  I'm not sure how well saltwater does to clean them off. After we left the ocean, I hosed him down in the hotel bathtub then blow-dried him. Not sure if he smells now, but he's extra soft.

Hope W is okay on the five hour drive!! Hopefully the dramamine works well for him. I've heard that a thunder shirt can help with carsickness too, maybe it's something to try?


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

We decided not to give him the Dramamine because we figured out it was making him act a little crazy the other day. And we didn't want him all hyper in his crate in the car. He survived! He didn't make a peep. We stopped twice at two Petsmarts along the way so he got to pee and go in the store with us to use the restroom. The trip too WAY longer than expected. Like 7 hours. Insane. I hit some bad traffic in Jersey and then there was an accident on the NYS thruway. Which backed up 3 lanes of traffic for 30+ minutes and was a FENDER BENDER. I have tons of sympathy for actual accidents but this was so not worthy of that delay. Anyway, the dog and the kids were amazing. I was EXHAUSTED by the time we arrived. 
We're here for 2.5-3 weeks. I'll probably leave a day or two before DH is done working. We get bored. And since DH had some one on one with the cat while they were here for 2 days without us, he figured out she's probably completely deaf at this point. Sad but at 17 what can we expect. She's still happy as can be. Definitely slowing down but fine.
I checked out the one close doggy daycare. It seems OK but there's no way to see into the room and it's 20-25 dogs. They're expanding next month and there will be a window and the whole store is super nice, but that makes me nervous. I will check out others and see. SO far he's doing great. The newness is tiring him out.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Sorry for the delay, but I'm glad W does okay in the car! Jersey/New York drivers are TERRIBLE (as someone from New Jersey, I can say that with full confidence). Good luck with the daycare search


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

LOL about NJ drivers. So the other close-ish daycare require a fecal within 3 or 6 months. He hasn't had one since maybe October 2015. I haven't actually called them to see how strict they are. I brought the folder with all his vet bills/records with me. I'm going to need to call I guess and then possibly find a local vet who will do a fecal for me. He's doing fine so far but at some point he needs to RUN. There is one open dog park I may check out. The other requires a membership. 
Oh, and he pooped yesterday morning after breakfast but then not for the rest of the day despite me walking and walking with him. Finally he did this morning. Off his routine but it was starting to worry me. Maybe today he'll catch up.

(This is so uninteresting but I'm bored so I'm typing it out...I'm sure you all care)


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

We left Kaizer at a daycare place two Sundays ago while we were out doing something he couldn't join us with. They also asked for a fecal done in the last 6 months. Kaizer's last fecal was August 2015. They weren't that strict with the rule though, they saw that he was up to date with all his vaccinations and they took him in lol.

ETA: hopefully it's just the new scenery that's throwing him off. Hopefully once he gets used to the new place, he'll go back on schedule.


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

aesthetic said:


> We left Kaizer at a daycare place two Sundays ago while we were out doing something he couldn't join us with. They also asked for a fecal done in the last 6 months. Kaizer's last fecal was August 2015. They weren't that strict with the rule though, they saw that he was up to date with all his vaccinations and they took him in lol.
> 
> ETA: hopefully it's just the new scenery that's throwing him off. Hopefully once he gets used to the new place, he'll go back on schedule.



That's good to know. I went to check out the next closest place this morning. It's lovely. Low numbers, always one or two people in with them. Inside and outside play areas and the outside has large baby pools. It's more in the country with more space. I did their application and will talk to them this weekend. I asked about requirements and they didn't mention the fecal. It's nearly twice as much as the first place but totally worth it. We'll just do a few days here and there so it won't add up so fast.

I made a make shift tie out with his 10 ft and 5 ft leashes off the deck. We're out there when he is but it's nice to give him some movement and not be holding the leash. He's very cautious, which is good, because I don't want him bolting and hurting himself. He did clothesline my DD this afternoon. They were warned but she doesn't learn unless it happens. Then later she flipped off the hammock and hit her tailbone on the frame. She's had a rough day... She's my 'in-her-own-world' accident prone one. I'm going to offer to take them for ice cream soon to gauge how badly hurt her tailbone is. Hopefully just a bruise.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

I'm glad you found a place! It sounds wonderful (and expensive, but they're always worth the extra expense). Your daughter sounds a lot like me, I've had my own fair share of tumbles lol. If she is anything like me, she'll be used to it by now lol. Hopefully she's okay too!


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Well he's all signed up for daycare Monday. I have to bring the vax records but they said nothing about a fecal. 

He finally pooped a second time yesterday but now hasn't gone today yet. Bizarre. The type A person in me is so annoyed/stressed by this. I'm chalking it up to the change in surroundings, the fact that without our yard he's not eating mulch, sticks, and other things that he normally would. And he has been going less (like maybe 2x a day instead of 3x) since we started mixing to that higher fiber food. It's free of potatoes, higher protein, and might just have less bulk to it. Lords knows I'm walking him hours and hours total a day so he's got ample opportunity. Oh, and the lack of running in his days - running always seems to help

I checked out a free dog park that's fairly new and someone said it was pretty safe and the regulars kind of keep it OK there. I might take him later or tomorrow. I'd just prefer to stick to the safety of well-tested dogs at daycare. DH will hopefully take him for a jog. 

Ugh - being in a rental house I am watching him like a hawk to and it's sort of like when he was a little puppy. He's really been good but as you've figured out, I'm sufficiently uptight and don't want to ruin these people's stuff. We've rented from them many years and this is the first time we've brought pets.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

I hope the dog park is okay! Dog parks freak me out honestly, I don't know what to expect and I don't like not knowing, so I avoid them. I'm glad he has daycare on Monday though, that should help with his energy! And maybe you won't stress so much about making sure he doesn't destroy anything (which I doubt he will. W is a good boy) if he's all tired out from daycare


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

LOL I haven't taken him to the dog park. I just couldn't. DH took him running one day and for a long walk another day. He went to daycare today from 8-5. Was a little concerned if he would get kicked out because he does guard water - water bowls and kiddie pools! Never hurts anyone but WATER IS HIS! He will growl. They were great and really kindly said if he snapped at another dog, he wouldn't be able to come back. Well he did great! No guarding water at all and made a new BFF that he played with ALL DAY. LOL it was a golden of course. There are pics on the daycare's FB of him and his new BFF Cooper laying in the pool together. Wrestling. Lots of pics. They don't have space for the rest of the week - only take 10 a day - but if anyone cancels we'll do Friday as well. And he can go a couple of days next week when they have availability.

The #2 issues seems to have evened out. I'm sure with all the running today he's more than caught up


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

I'm so glad it worked out for you!! And good on the daycare for only taking 10 a day, I think you found a really good one! Maybe you should share some of those W + Cooper pics with us  It's been forever since I've seen a pic of W!


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

I tried to upload the pic of him with Cooper and it's being difficult. Doing it from my iPad is annoying. 

The leash boot camp that we were forced into has been really good. He's pulling much less and more attentive to the person at the other end of the leash. I also got the sporn harness and I've only used it a couple of times but it works! I took him to DH's work yesterday and he behaved very nicely on it.

They had space so he's doing daycare tomorrow and then again on Monday. That should help break up the days for him. He is doing pretty well though. Not much else going on here. How's everyone? Any more vacations or school schedules coming up?

C


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

I'm glad leash boot camp is working out well for you!! I'm taking a heeling class with Kaizer, which is fun. Glad the harness is working out for him too.

I'm pretty good I think. Kaizer's being annoying as hell recently. He's so **** clingy - he'll whine when I'm not in the room with him, but then literally be on top of me when I am. He'll occasionally hump too, but it's not as bad as it used to be. Then when I get irritated at him, he gets bitey, which only irritates me more. I know I should be calm, but it's not the best week for me right now (if you get me) and I'm already constantly annoyed. It's just a bad situation all around lol. I'm sure it'll end in a couple of days, but honestly these past two weeks have been terrible. And it's too hot to go outside (it feels like 104 degrees). He's not as bothered by the heat as I am, but I worry that the sidewalk is too hot for him to walk comfortably, so we're stuck indoors. Usually he does ok inside, but when he goes through one of those phases he tends to have more energy. I try to entertain him inside, but he's just not in the mood for it. I don't know. He's a good dog, I know that. I know he'll be the best dog when he's finally over this because I've seen how good he is when he's not like this. I just don't know how to deal with him when he's like this.

On the bright side, I still have a month left of vacation. I start school on Sept 6, which I'm grateful for. I have a friend who moved to Florida who started on Monday, and my friends from Jersey start August 27. On the not-so-bright side, I still have all of my summer work to do. I read one book (out of four) for AP Lang, and still have to write the 2 page analysis essays per book. I don't even know what I have to do for AP Euro yikes. I'm hoping that by the time school starts, Kaizer's over this phase of his. Junior year is the hardest year, which means I actually need to spend a couple hours doing homework and studying this year.


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

So I was thinking last night, sorry if I missed it somewhere in here, can any of you guys trust your golden home without being crated yet? I still leave Hank in his crate every time I am not home and I'm wondering if I should start trusting him a little more.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

carolinehansen said:


> So I was thinking last night, sorry if I missed it somewhere in here, can any of you guys trust your golden home without being crated yet? I still leave Hank in his crate every time I am not home and I'm wondering if I should start trusting him a little more.


LOL no, Kaizer can barely behave when we're there supervising him. He currently doesn't even have free run of the house when we're around too. He keeps scratching at the air vents, the couches, getting up on tables, attempting to counter-surf (again!), chewing on things he's not supposed to, etc. so we just took away his privileges until he's done. I think it's just a phase but it's irritating. I thought it was because he wasn't getting enough exercise or something, but he goes outside and just lies down in a corner to chew on a tree branch he found. He'll retrieve a ball for 5 minutes max then be done (though I'll admit, it's usually me who stops first because I can tell he's not interested). He likes retrieving balls better when he has to go into a body of water for it. He's even regressed to excitement/tired humping and biting (except now it looks more vicious with his teeth bared and the growls that come out of his mouth). I'm waiting for him to grow up a little bit. I'm also very irritated with him so I've been trying to avoid him today.

Hank is probably better behaved you could give it a shot? Just go out for 30 minutes maybe and see how he does.


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

carolinehansen said:


> So I was thinking last night, sorry if I missed it somewhere in here, can any of you guys trust your golden home without being crated yet? I still leave Hank in his crate every time I am not home and I'm wondering if I should start trusting him a little more.


Nope. Always crated when we're gone and at night. Does not have run of the house. Etc. I will add that he still actively does inappropriate things while we're watching so if Hank is perfectly behaved for you then maybe your situation is different. We also have the cat and Guinea pig, which Wilder loves, a bit too much. If the cat was younger I wouldn't worry about it and she certainly can get away from him and hide safely but that's not fair to her. And he would jump at the Guinea pigs cage all day if he was allowed. He's definitely improving with impulse control and all so we will get there eventually. He's fairly good about the table and counters but will still steal blankets and pillows and sometimes the remote. I think Quinsy is crate free??? She's apparently much better behaved than Wilder and Kaizer









Here's passed out Wilder after he went to daycare again today.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

I'm sorry, my last post probably wasn't very helpful - I was just annoyed and got a little carried away with my ranting. But no, Kaizer does not have free run of the house at any time yet. He's crated when we're away/at night and kept in our family room when we're around. For awhile I felt bad that he didn't have free run of the house when we're around, but I think it'd be worse for him and us if he did have free run of the house. If Hank is better behaved than Kaizer and W, I'd say go for it!! I think Q has free run of the house even when people are home, and I think she isn't crated at night either. I know Lambeau (who doesn't talk much here) doesn't use a crate at all and hasn't for awhile. Some dogs just mature faster than others I guess LOL.


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

aesthetic said:


> I'm sorry, my last post probably wasn't very helpful - I was just annoyed and got a little carried away with my ranting. But no, Kaizer does not have free run of the house at any time yet. He's crated when we're away/at night and kept in our family room when we're around. For awhile I felt bad that he didn't have free run of the house when we're around, but I think it'd be worse for him and us if he did have free run of the house. If Hank is better behaved than Kaizer and W, I'd say go for it!! I think Q has free run of the house even when people are home, and I think she isn't crated at night either. I know Lambeau (who doesn't talk much here) doesn't use a crate at all and hasn't for awhile. Some dogs just mature faster than others I guess LOL.




LOL your first post had me dying! You never have to worry about ranting here, that's exactly what we are here for  I know your exact feeling. Hank is always crated when I leave because I feel like he is the type to get destructive if bored. I feel bad leaving him in a crate for long periods of time but you gotta do what ya gotta do. Hopefully some maturing is in our future, June pups.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

I'm sure they'll mature eventually (which would be the key word, right?)


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## Pipersmom (Aug 2, 2016)

We leave Piper in gated in the kitchen when we are away and he sleeps in our room out of a crate at night. He does fine without a crate...but I wouldn't trust him to have the entire run of the house yet...unless I want to buy a new couch


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Wow, I've missed a lot. My summer has been insane, and my days seems to be running into each other. I must catch up, especially on all of the photos. So, I've been able to catch the most recent posts (for now), and @carolinehansen's question.

Yes, Quinsy has full run of the house (except for the washrooms - she loves to grab the kleenex from the garbage and socks from the laundry basket), other than that, she is free to roam. When she is missing for a while, we do still panic and wonder what she's up to, but we typically just find her asleep somewhere in a cool corner. We have been leaving her alone and outside of her crate since May, and she hasn't gotten into any mischief (I hope I haven't jinxed it ). However, we are never gone for more than 3 hours and maybe less than a dozen times. We do close the bedroom, washroom and basement doors - I don't think she's quite at that stage yet; maybe we'll give it a try after 2 years old. Maybe.

So, Q and the fam made it safely through her 1st heat cycle. Thankfully!!! We couldn't take her out much (those male dogs were howling from with a 2 mile radius, I'm sure), so the poor gal must have been bored silly. We did play a lot in our yard and a lot of games indoors, so she got a ton of attention. She was so needy and she hated those diapers (and they were so $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ - $30 for 12!!!). Toward the end of her cycle, she found a way to rip them off. She will get spayed next month. They say that after their first heat, they won't be the same dog...we shall see. Keep your fingers crossed because we adore the firecracker she was/is.

Now....time to go through the missed posts and hoping to see a lot of pictures *crossing fingers*. Here is one of the Q from last week, and one in her heat diaper.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

I'm so glad she (and you guys!) made it out of that heat cycle okay! Is it okay to spay a month after a heat cycle? I've always read that you're only supposed to spay 3 months after a cycle. Don't quote me on that one though! Q is beautiful as always! I hope her spay goes ok! 

Speaking of spaying, Kaizer's getting neutered in December. My poor boy doesn't know what's gonna hit him  I'm really freaked out by the neuter, I don't want to get him neutered but I have to (he's cryptorchid, so he has to get neutered). I can't imagine the healing process afterwards. I'm hoping to get him neutered before Christmas break starts so I can be with him for 1.5 weeks. He'll be almost 19 months by then.


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## Pipersmom (Aug 2, 2016)

If it helps: I found the neuter surgery easier than a spay recovery wise with my previous dogs.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Kaizer's cryptorchid though, so his neuter is going to very much spay-like because they have to find his retained testicle. I'm just worried because that presents more opportunity to screw up the surgery.

Do you have a June 2015 pup? We'd love to see pictures!


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## Pipersmom (Aug 2, 2016)

Nope
I misclicked...I have a June 2016


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Close enough lol


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

HI All! I'm glad you survived the heat cycle. Poor girl! We're back from our trip. All in all he did 4 spaced out days at daycare of the 15 days we were gone. He was there Monday and Wednesday this week so he would be tired for the drive last night. It was a little too close together because his paws were quite torn Wednesday evening up by the AstroTurf. I'll try to attach a pic. We also ended up at the vet Wednesday early morning because he had puss in his eye(s). One more than the other. They numbed and stained his eyes to check for a scratch and ruled out an injury. Vet concluded it was seasonal allergies from the unfamiliar flora. He got ointment and is fine. Vet was really nice to kids and showed them everything she was doing and explained it all. Then the tech (whose partner works at the place DH works when we're there and they know eachother, found out at the end of the tour) took the kids on a tour of the hospital and showed them a heart in a jar with heart worm. Wilder was a trooper with all they did to him.
He was a little confused an disoriented at first when we got home but very glad to have his yard back.







See the chunks of pag missing? My son was like, Mom, you have to come and see this. There's something wrong. He really seems OK though and wasn't walking oddly.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Oh yikes! I'm so glad Wilder is okay after all! I'm sure he must be very happy to be back home! How was the car ride? Was he ok?


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Thanks for asking - he did fine in the car. I had his crate turned forward so he had to load between the captain's chairs in the middle of my minivan. Annoying but it worked. But then the kids could keep tabs on him and he could get better air circulation and maybe see. He didn't throw up the whole time. He did have water at our stops on the way up. On the way back we only stopped once and I forgot to give him some water. I never did the Dramamine because I was too afraid he would be all hyped up. But I took it with us just in case.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

I'm glad he was okay!


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

aesthetic said:


> I'm so glad she (and you guys!) made it out of that heat cycle okay! Is it okay to spay a month after a heat cycle? I've always read that you're only supposed to spay 3 months after a cycle. Don't quote me on that one though! Q is beautiful as always! I hope her spay goes ok!
> 
> Speaking of spaying, Kaizer's getting neutered in December. My poor boy doesn't know what's gonna hit him  I'm really freaked out by the neuter, I don't want to get him neutered but I have to (he's cryptorchid, so he has to get neutered). I can't imagine the healing process afterwards. I'm hoping to get him neutered before Christmas break starts so I can be with him for 1.5 weeks. He'll be almost 19 months by then.


Thank you @aesthetic!! I will definitely reconsider and further research this issue. I've read and been told 1 month after, but quite honestly, this whole spaying/neutering concerns me to no end. We spayed Dakota when she was 6 months old, because "we" didn't know any better 12 years ago. I completely regret it. This is why I want to make the right choice for our Q. I will certainly delay the spay until I have more information. Do you happen to remember where you read/heard this? I'm also looking into a "modified" spay. This procedure involves removal of the uterus while preserving the ovaries. It renders the dog sterile, but still able to produce important hormones. We have an appointment with a vet to talk about this procedure.

I feel for you about Kaizer. I know we would do anything to prevent our babies from suffering, pain or discomfort. Hopefully, this will ease your concerns a bit. Firstly, I've always been informed that Golden's growth plates close at about 18 months, so that must be "somewhat" reassuring to you. Also, I wanted to share this experience with you. Sawyer, Q's litter-brother, had to get neutered, as well (also with a retained testicle). His Mom wasn't planning on neutering, or was going to delay it until two, at the very earliest. He was neutered July 21, and by the 28th - he was himself again. Sawyer was bothered by the cone, more than by the double incision. He just laid around and napped a lot. She worried because he is such an active dog, and he also didn't have much of an appetite. Today, he is a happy camper and looks wonderful (he's a solid boy). Here are some pix of him from the weekend. He is a lot bigger than his sister, Quinsy. I believe he is 73 lbs to Q's 62 . I hope that brings you a bit of calm. It's a good plan to have him neutered before the Christmas break, he'll get through it a lot easier with you by his side, as I'm sure you will, as well - with him by YOUR side  Here are some pix of Q's brother, Sawyer (another June baby). He definitely takes after their Pops - Muggsy, who is a big boy.


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

GoldenLabMix said:


> We're back from our trip. All in all he did 4 spaced out days at daycare of the 15 days we were gone. He was there Monday and Wednesday this week so he would be tired for the drive last night. It was a little too close together because his paws were quite torn Wednesday evening up by the AstroTurf. I'll try to attach a pic. We also ended up at the vet Wednesday early morning because he had puss in his eye(s). One more than the other. They numbed and stained his eyes to check for a scratch and ruled out an injury. Vet concluded it was seasonal allergies from the unfamiliar flora. He got ointment and is fine. Vet was really nice to kids and showed them everything she was doing and explained it all. Then the tech (whose partner works at the place DH works when we're there and they know eachother, found out at the end of the tour) took the kids on a tour of the hospital and showed them a heart in a jar with heart worm. Wilder was a trooper with all they did to him.
> He was a little confused an disoriented at first when we got home but very glad to have his yard back.
> View attachment 673289
> 
> See the chunks of pag missing? My son was like, Mom, you have to come and see this. There's something wrong. He really seems OK though and wasn't walking oddly.


Awwww, Wilder had quite the trip - I'm sure it was a ton of fun, and exhausting. What a great experience at the vets; I love hearing stories like this - especially when the pooch is given the thumbs up. I'm so happy to hear his eyes are okay. How is the torn up paw pad? Has it healed?


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Thank you, yes, it made me feel better. I'm pretty sure I read not to spay until 3 months after the heat on the forum, but it could've also been Facebook. I'm sure if you ask on here, you'll get your answer! I'm kinda worried about the actual surgery more than I am about the healing part - there's just so many ways to screw up and it terrifies me that something could happen to him while he's under. I'm sure it's just me being paranoid lol but still. Sawyer is such a pretty boy!! Q's family is full of beautiful dogs


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

Got all moved into our new place and starting my third year at the University of Iowa [emoji18] Unfortunately this little dude's daycare doesn't start until next Thursday so he is bored out of his mind


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Congrats on your new place. Hope the move went smoothly. Awwwwww Hank ... soon dude ... soon! He is so handsome; I love his color and his coat is absolutely beautiful. Thanks for sharing the pic. Love him!


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

https://vimeo.com/180187625

Oh, I almost forgot! In other exciting Hank news, we taught him to high five on command.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Hank is gorgeous!! I love him and that video. Hope your move went well!


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

What a smartie pants Hank is!

Here's Q, testing "her" clever ways, hoping she could convince Mom to give (or drop) some of her apple by looking so darned cute.





















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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

AWWW! Such gorgeous pics of Q and H. Q brother is adorable too - I saw the pics before reading and thought, wow, Q has really bulked up! Love how they all have their unique coat colors. I'm glad your move went well. Will he go to daycare a couple of days each week?

Wilder's paws are healing nicely. And he doens't seem to mind at all. He's getting more demanding with attention but it's so cute. He just sat in front of my husband while my husband was on the sofa and flat out stared at him and growled. Because his favorite person wasn't petting him. Then gave up and half climbed on to the sofa to snuggle him, which isn't allowed. When we replace that sofa someday I imagine it'll end up leather so he can get on and not mess it up.

I've been back at work a lot this week prepping for the year. Such a shame I can't really complain at home because my husband will just give me a death stare since he works year-round :duck: like most people. Wilder tends to just sleep when I'm home during the school day so I'm sure he'll be OK.

Monday is our dogiversary. We're planning to camp Wednesday at a dog friendly place. Wish us luck!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Have fun camping!! I'm sure that'll be a great experience! 

School's starting for me in 9 days, and I still haven't finished my summer work, so that's what I've been doing nearly all day for the past 3 days. Poor Kaizer isn't getting his walks in and has been sleeping a lot, so he's being bratty today :-(. I've been slacking with training too, so that plays a big part in it. My poor brother has to spend the rest of summer vacation with the dog instead of playing his video games lol.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Kaizer's getting neutered after his second birthday! Originally, we were planning for 18 months, but I've finally convinced my parents to wait until 2 years. It's my fault though, when we first got him, I agreed to wait only until he turned a year old. And then he hit like 6-8 months, and I got cold feet and wanted to wait more. My parents are not dog people, and mainly got Kaizer for me because a dog is literally the only thing I've wanted my entire life, so they didn't necessarily understand wanting to wait to neuter (to them it's not really a big deal, what's the difference between 12 months and 24 months?). So we argued a lot about it and finally decided on 18 months. I was still hoping for 2 years but 18 months was a good compromise. Well anyway we were talking about when to neuter him in December and I said that I'd rather do it near winter break so I'll be home to supervise him the entire time he has his stitches, so my dad said that it'd probably make more sense for him to get neutered right after his second birthday because it'll be summer time for me. So yes, it worked out for me, and I'm really happy about it. I had this terrible feeling about the December neuter, so I'm glad they agreed to wait until he was 2 years old.


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Just a quick happy Gotcha Day -- AKA Dogiversary -- to us. A year ago today Wilder joined out family! I love this pic!


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

And today.


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Oh, my ❤!!!! Look at how handsome you are, Wilder! Happy Belated Gotcha Day Anni!! I hope you all had an amazing day celebrating.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Happy gotcha day W!! He's such a cutie pie! I love him.

Since it's been forever since I last posted a pic of Kaizer...and just for fun, a picture of him from exactly a year ago


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Awwwwww...hi Kaizer!! You're so handsome, and look at those paws on you!


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

@aesthetic - your picture of Kaizer reminded me of one I took of Q earlier this week. 

"You don't expect me to sleep on a floor, do you?". - Quinsy


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

My June pup is growing up too fast. I can leave him alone for short periods of time and all he does is sleep. He's turning into a little old man  He behaves so well now, it's a relief but I miss those puppy days! 
I went out for a short amount of time and checked on him with my Nest cam and he was on my bed the whole time watching animal planet lol


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Yay Hank for being such a good boy!! He's such a sweetie.

That picture of Q is so cute!! I've been debating getting Kaizer a bed, but I'm afraid he wouldn't use it or he'd just use it as a toy lol


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

That's so awesome, Hank - I never doubted it for a second.


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Hahahahaha! I know FOR CERTAIN that Q would use it as a chew toy.  And, she would never use it as a bed. Why would she, if she has full ownership to ours.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Kaizer unfortunately does not have access to our beds :-( poor puppy has access to all of our family room furniture though (and according to Kaizer, that also includes the coffee table..)

I was thinking of getting a Kuranda bed, but they're fairly expensive (but also chew safe and have an amazing return policy). I'm torn. I might wait til I've saved up enough money of my own instead of pawning off my parents but we'll see ;-)


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

LOL about the coffee table. Our coffee table is 2 ottomans together and we have to put X-mats on it or he climbs on it like a sofa. Wilder seem to be the most unlucky of all the June 15 pups. No furniture for him at all unless he gets a specific limit invite. However, he's got beds galore! He had one large and one extra large from LL Bean, then several cheaper ones to protect the carpets unstairs (the carpets that our cat regularly vomits on LOL - Me and the steam cleaner are besties apparently.). AND he generally chooses the hard wood floor because it's cooler. Go figure. He does sometimes play with his beds but we just stop him and it's rare at this point.

Camping was great - he was a rock star. Tied his 30 foot leash around a tree and he was good to hang out as long as he could reach us. If we were out of reach setting things up, he whined and got upset. DH lobbied for him to be loose in the tent and we just keep our bags on the porch (we got the Coleman Evanston 6 with screened porch). I said we can put his crate on the porch so if we need it in the middle of the night we could just drag it in instead having to go to the car. He loved laying with us all but then he really couldn't settle when it was time to sleep so I dragged the crate in and he was out cold. It was a specific dog camping loop but there were no other dogs. I think it's also there most modern loop so people go there for the electric hook ups. But it wasn't very busy in general.

Back to getting ready for school and finishing the yard work. Have a great weekend!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

I'm so glad he did so well! I hope you and your family had fun 

I start school tomorrow, so I pulled an all-nighter tonight finishing up some last minute summer work ha. I'm already starting the year off great 

Funny story, yesterday at around 10:45pm, I heard this howling sound that I thought was coming from outside. I brushed it off because we live near some woods and who knows what lives there AND a new family moved in down the street and they have a dog. It sounded pretty faint to me so both of those options were pretty viable. My brother came downstairs 5 minutes later and asked me if I could hear it. Apparently it was louder upstairs. Whatever was making that noise stopped so he went back upstairs. Twenty minutes later, he comes down all panicked and tells me that it's Kaizer who's making those noises! Which would explain why my brother could hear it louder - his room is across from the room Kaizer's crate is in. Of course, I get super freaked out because he's 1) never made that kinda sound before and 2) he doesn't make noises in his crate. If he's making sounds, there's something seriously wrong. But my brother wasn't 100% sure it was Kaizer because he had his headphones on, so we both go upstairs and wait in his room. It's 11:09 by that point, and I decide to wait until 11:15, then we check on him regardless of if he makes another sound or not. It was only 6 minutes, but I swear that was the longest 6 minutes of my life. I kept imagining all the things that could go wrong - what if he pooped all over himself? what if he vomited? what if it was diarrhea? because his poops are usually solid and he never poops after dinner (he prefers to wait until right before breakfast). So finally it's 11:15, we go in and we find absolutely nothing wrong. Kaizer's tail starts wagging when he sees us, the crate is completely clean, it looked perfectly normal. And then we see the two treats outside of his crate.:doh:

I've been "ignoring" Kaizer for the past week while I sort my back to school work out. I still take him for his regular walks, but I haven't trained him in awhile and I'm only around him for like 15 minutes at a time. He's constantly occupied by my brother, but I mean my brother sits there on his computer and leaves the dog to do whatever, so Kaizer's not very happy with the temporary change in his schedule. He's got so much energy and he's probably so bored, but besides some really incessant whining and some bad behavior, he's doing pretty well all things considered. I swear he has like 100x the energy he used to have - he's always been a fairly relaxed puppy, it really didn't take much to tire him out. Now, a 1 mile walk isn't enough to effectively tire him out.


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

Omg aesthetic that is hilarious. You'll have to somehow get that on video next time. I have always tried to make Hank howl because my sister can howl and her dogs will repeat, but he never will! That had to be so bizarre to hear. I'm glad your pup still has some puppy in him, mine turned into an old man . 

I'm not sure if you guys saw but Hank went to the vet this weekend. He swam for the third time in his life at his doggie daycare and I think his paws didn't properly dry because he's licking them like crazy and they are raw. We went to the vet and he's on an antibiotic and Benadryl and tonight I'm going to trim up his fur on his paws so hopefully this won't happen again. He is also in the cone of shame. Poor thing.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

His howl is the most pitiful thing you'll ever hear LOL. He is definitely 1000% puppy still, I don't see him turning into an old man for awhile now!

Poor Hank I saw the thread but I completely forgot to comment on it, his poor paws! I hope he gets better soon! Do you think it could be the surface of the daycare that's irritating his paws?

Kaizer isn't feeling too well either I think. He's constantly whining, all the time. He was about to lie down today and on the way down he just kept whining. I checked him all over, touched and applied light pressure to everything part of his body and he didn't flinch. Then his poop was hours late - usually he has to go within 20 minutes of eating, but he didn't go poop until 2 hours after he ate even though I took him out 20 minutes after breakfast. It was a big poop too and he looked like he was straining (this will sound gross, sorry! but i'm pretty sure he was trying to push out liquid). It was a huuuge dump too. His poops usually aren't big but this one was monstrous and it was wet. Not quite loose but not as firm as it should be. Sorry guys!

I suppose it was his tummy that was hurting because after our potty break, he's stopped whining. He's sleeping right now so I don't think he's feeling 100% yet. I'm not freaking out because I'm 96% sure I know what caused it. my dad's been giving him these peanut butter treats and Kaizer's never had peanut butter before because I'm deathly allergic and we don't have it in the house. i guess kaizer's tummy is like mine and doesn't approve of peanuts in our digestive system. Hopefully he'll be feeling better soon, i've requested that no one give him those peanut butter things in hopes that that's what's making him feel bad.


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

So Hank was in his cone and on antibiotics and Benadryl all weekend and his red paws went away for the most part. I kept him out of daycare yesterday just to make sure he was completely better. I picked him up at daycare today and his paws are bright red again and he's back to licking them. I'm going to go in tomorrow and ask what cleaning solutions they use because he has to be allergic to something there. His paws are only red if he goes to this place. Am I insane guys, is it reasonable that he could be allergic to something like that? Do you have any other ideas what it could be?


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

No, I think it's perfectly reasonable that he's allergic to something like that. Maybe the chemicals are too harsh for him? I imagine if it's something strong like bleach he could have an issue with it. I wonder if the floors are rough too? If he's running around and tumbling and jumping everywhere, it could possibly make his paws red and inflamed if the floors are rough. Otherwise, I'm not really sure. Hopefully you'll figure it out.

Kaizer's toes are all red and yeasty, so they're both in the same boat  He's been chewing and licking at his paws recently and I didn't realize it was his toes until I was doing his paws this afternoon. Poor puppy was not happy that I was touching his rear toes. They smell bad, but I didn't realize until I was nose to paw with his toes.


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

I wish I could find some information online about this type of issue but I am finding nothing. I am frustrated because he loves it there and he gets great exercise but I don't want to have him continue to go if it's going to hurt his paws. He is about to stay there this whole weekend because I will be out of town and I am nervous I'm going to pick him up and he will be in even worse condition. I have debated on buying him the Pawz rubber booties to cover his paws while he is there but I don't know.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Did you find out anything from the daycare? I hope you'll figure something out soon. I wish I could help some more :-(


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

aesthetic said:


> Did you find out anything from the daycare? I hope you'll figure something out soon. I wish I could help some more :-(


I went in today and they say they see it frequently at their facility because of the type of gravel they use. She says they use pea gravel and it causes irritation in dog's paws and he will just have to get used to it. The thing is at Hank's previous daycare this summer they had pea gravel too and this situation never happened. I did change his food a week ago to a lamb food instead of seafood, so I am going to switch him back to the seafood to rule out this being a food allergy possibility. He has an appointment with his vet this Monday and I am going to see what she thinks. I still think he is allergic some cleaning solution they use there because I'm doubting its the food and I'm doubting its gravel. Frustrating. Not to mention I just paid $360 dollars for a monthly pass to his daycare that I can't even be comfortable with using now because he comes home raw and in pain.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

It's odd that they still use pea gravel even after seeing so many dogs with reactions from it. Poor Hank:-( I hope it's a food allergy, at least you can avoid it and Hank can go to daycare without coming home in pain.


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Ouch. I'm so sorry about his paws. I hope it's something easy. How often does he go to daycare? Are the days longer than the other place he went? Could he be spending more time running on it -- like is the space bigger or better chasing buddies at the new place?

We're back in our school year mode. Wilder seems to be doing fine. *I* feel really bad that he's alone but I think he just sleeps. We start our coming-when-called class this weekend. I've been working on it a little with him in the yard, off leash, and it's gotten a little better. But the class will hopefully get us to a new level.


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

How did the coming when called class go? 
That's something Hank needs to get better at too. His paws are getting better after I switched his food, I think he is allergic to lamb. I'm glad it was a food allergy issue and not something with his daycare. He's still at 58 pounds, his vet says she would like to see him gain 2-4. I'm so excited to announce that his cage is getting folded up and put away because he does great when I leave him out while I'm away at class or running errands!! We have been working on it for a couple weeks now and he is a pro. I'm amazed at how much he has matured. Very proud mama


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Yay Hank!! What a good boy  I'm so glad it was just a food allergy, and to a protein that isn't as common!

I want to know how W's recall class went to. I really want to take one with Kaizer.


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

SO glad it's a food allergy issue and his paws are getting better! That's great news!

Class went well. I actually didn't go. DH is the one whose bent on him being able to be off leash so I encouraged him to do this class. Surprisingly he's embracing it so far. We've been working on a new, 'untainted' recall word this week with really high value treats. We're using 'here' but not in English. He's been getting chicken. This is the emergency word when we need him to come immediately if he ever gets away from us, etc.

Had his vaccine visit today. He's 63 lbs. I knew he had bulked up a little. So instead of filling his food measuring cup as full as I can get it, I'll just fill it to the top. He was probably get 1/4 cup extra with each feeding. He's not at all fat but we really don't want him to get any bigger. I think he's d probably start to look chubby and no longer fit over 65 or so.

Well we had our first FULL week of everyone being back to work/school. My kids have music lessons Tuesday evenings, and swimming lesson Thursday afternoons. Even though I've been coming home for lunch most days, he's been a little nuts in the evenings. I feel so bad. We've been trying to get some fetching in before school and more after. DH takes him on a their long walk before bed. Hopefully he settles down as he continues to get older and gets used to the routine again.

Talked to the vet about anal glands. He's been mostly OK since switching foods. We hadn't fully switched over until about a month ago. She said give it 8 weeks totally on the new food before making a judgement. But said if that didn't do it, we could also try a hypoallergenic food because sometimes it's food allergies. The one we're using now, chicken Nutrisca, is pretty simple and grain free so we'll see where we are in another month. It's tough finding high fiber foods...no exactly as easy to search for like grain free or life stage.

Hope all is well with everyone! Congrats also on losing the crate, Hank! We're still NO where near that


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

I really wish we had a recall class near me! I'd looove to do one with Kaizer. We haven't done a class with him since January/February (oops) because my mom's work schedule changed. At the end of October, it's going back to her normal hours (hopefully), right on time for a new set of classes to start at our training school. He's been in a training class religiously from 10 weeks until 7 months, so I'm hoping we can start that up again. I've been training him on my own at home, but I don't have the option to train him in a group of dogs, so he's kinda forgotten how to behave in front of dogs. He used to be able to keep calm and not give a crap, but now he gets really easily overexcited and it's a challenge to refocus his attention. I'm hoping it won't be too bad when we (finally!) go back to class.

I'm actually really excited to go back to doing in-person classes with Kaizer. Last time our training school saw him, he was 6-7 months and the two of us barely had a relationship (the last class we did was around the time when he kept biting/humping me at home and generally misbehaving during class). Now he's 15 months and I feel like our relationship has grown and progressed SO much. I think he's slightly better behaved now too LOL.

We also had our first full week of school - Kaizer's been in his crate nearly all day, poor puppy  (my mom takes him out for a very brief potty break in between her calls, but she's SO busy nowadays that she can't really afford more than that). We take him out for a long walk when we get home, then practice recall in the backyard to get him running, and throw a ball a couple of times (we're trying to build up his retrieving drive - we're on three consecutive throws). We're getting a fence up (finally) in a couple of weeks too. In the mornings he gets a training session and not really much more than that. I used to take him for a walk in the morning, but I have so much homework now that I go to bed at 1-2am and then have to wake up at 6am. Since I can't shower at night, I have to shower in the morning (which is a bad idea, because I've fallen asleep in the shower a couple of times). Until I figure out a better schedule, Kaizer's getting the short end of the stick  He's been such a good boy though.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

I'm sorry for my long, frequent posts but today we went to a new vet for a couple of reasons. Kaizer has this rash on either side of his testicle. It's actually been there for about a month now, and our regular vet said allergies, and to give Benadryl for it. We did it on a regular basis and it helped some with his itching, but I had this gut feeling that it really wasn't an allergy. He also vomited a little Sunday through Tuesday, and he started looking reaaally skinny. I don't think it's vomiting per se, but I'm not sure there's any other word to use. 

Anyway, the rash are two round, red blotches on either side of his testicles, and it's recently started to spread up his belly. He's got weird scabby things on his chest too. The vet took a skin sample, looked at it under a microscope and said it was some sort of bacterial infection (can't remember). She gave us pills for it (also can't remember what they were called). His poop is really good, not too loose not too hard, that the vomiting isn't something we should worry about right now, especially since he doesn't act lethargic and eats and drinks and acts completely normal. She said to keep an eye on it. We both agreed that he was getting too skinny - he's 66 pounds, which is literally only a .3 pound loss from last month but now it looks like I'm starving him, which I'm not, because his ribs show. I increased his food to 3.25 cups a month ago in hopes of getting him to gain another pound or two, but he's gotten more active recently so he lost more weight, so I'm going to bump it up to 3.5 cups a day. He has monster poops when he gets 4 cups a day so I'm hoping it doesn't come to that.

I really like this vet more than the last vet simply because this vet is so much more upfront. They looked at Kaizer's vaccine records, saw that he gets the canine flu and Lyme disease vaccination, came to us and flat out told us that both are unnecessary, and they usually don't recommend it, the Lyme vaccine esp because of the controversy of its efficacy. I already knew that because I researched it prior to getting Kaizer. I still decided to let him get both those vacs if not for anything more than extra protection. Lyme especially because we live in the North East and he goes hiking with us and there are ticks everywhere. I liked that they told us this, even if I had already known it. Our old vet did not, gave him every shot without saying anything about the Lyme vaccine controversy or how the flu vaccine was unnecessary. Also, the new vet agreed with me about how late neutering was better for a large breed dog, which I like a lot. Our old vet was very much in the camp of neuter at 6 months. He actually knew about the UC Davis study but just did not bring it up during any of our conversations about the decision to neuter Kaizer later. Actually, he didn't even mention that he had read the study until I brought it up. I just really appreciate how upfront and honest the new vet seems and I really liked that she was interested in sharing her knowledge with people. I had never felt really comfortable with the old vet for some reason, but I do feel very comfortable with the new vet. We still haven't made the decision to switch over yet but we will soon I hope. Not sure if I explained my thoughts as well as I would've liked, I'm really tired. Junior year is hard.

Here's some pictures, i think y'all deserve them for putting up with my long-winded responses!!


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

Wow I haven't been on here in quite some time. I have been taking midterm after midterm after midterm. So refreshing to take a break and come back to see Kaizer's cute little face! I just bumped up Hank's food, too. How is Kaizer feeling? I hope his rash is getting better, let me know how it is!


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

How Kaizer doing? I'm glad you found a vet you jive with. I had to look up that study. I probably read it a year ago when I was researching the subject. I was happy to see that labs aren't as likely to have the same high rate of those cancers mentioned. Maybe that will help Wilder. I do have some guilt about doing it 'on time' but I also think we made the right decision for us. My friend who graduated from Cornell Vet maybe 3 years ago (was a vet tech for many years first) strongly recommended we do NOT wait. And my neighbor's - the ones with the Weimer - she's their second. Their first was an intact male and he took off or was stolen. Yard not fenced at that point so really that's their fault. But they had been letting him out and he hadn't ever run away before. Never found him. Current dog is spayed because she came from a rescue and they weren't happy about it but they also reject flea and tick prevention in favor garlic powder sprinkled on her food, and don't take her to the vet regularly. THey say it's a rip off and go to the clinic for rabies vax. THey are certainly not poor so that's not it. ( I guess that's a vent but I don't agree with their views and as it is, with a fence, female Weim gets out several times a week, mostly due to the 4, 6, and 8 year old boys letting her out accidentally. ). I also spent a lot of time volunteering in shelters from when I was a teen to when I had kids. I knew how many animals they HAD to put down daily because of irresponsible owners and accidents and overpopulation. So I'm just coming from a different place on that. Now, I have absolutely no problem with you making that decision for your pet who you are clearly caring for very well. 

We're still sort of having intermittent anal gland issues. He's been on the high fiber food for 2 months now. He gets a little of other stuff, like a few baby carrots, maybe some meat from dinner, daily. I just ordered a big bag of Acana (Heritage?) to start blending with the rest of his Nutrisca. It's 6% fiber and no chicken. Vet did mention if we didn't get good results just from the high fiber food then maybe it was a food intolerance. So I'm switching away from chicken as he's only ever had chicken and turkey. THe glands clearly aren't emptying with every stool. Sometimes (every few days?) he's licking himself and sometimes we smell that he had released them. And it's making other things smell...like it's getting licked on his fur and maybe sticking to the carpet (just shampoo'd that this morning!). So I'd really like that to be resolved. I was able to empty them in his bath the other day from the exterior. Neither of the dogs I had growing up had issues ever. Our cat did and we eventually had them removed and thankfully she didn't have anal leakage, which is a side effect. I hope we're not headed there with him.

Other than that, same old stuff here. Still crated. My son has been sleeping right in front of the crate in his room some nights on the floor. It's cute. THe 40" airline is in his room. That' 42" wire is in out family room and he's there in the day. Change of scenery at least. Whenever Wilder can stop the his klepto ways, he can sleep with my son in his bed.

I just ordered a couple of new toys too. We've been stuck inside with the rain so it's time to mix things up. All the schools and my work are closed MOnday and Tuesday for Rosh Hashanah so we've got a nice long weekend! I think you might with Kaizer as well??? But perhaps not in other parts of the country.

Have a great weekend! Keep us updated!


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

Random question, but what do you use to shampoo your carpet? I'm interested in shampooing mine!


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

We have the bissell little green machine. Our cat vomits a lot so that's it's main use. It's not ideal for large carpets as it would take forever. The room I did is wood floor with an area rug that's maybe 9 X 11 and partially covered by ottomans so it was just sections of it. We use whatever pet odor carpet solution - can't remember the brand.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Kaizer's rash still hasn't cleared up, and we're on the last day of his medicine :-( It hasn't gotten better, but it hasn't gotten worse either. I suppose there's another vet visit in his future.

Have you tried pumpkin? Kaizer's been getting about 1 tsp of pumpkin once a day and his issues have cleared up completely. His anal gland issues aren't as bad as W's, but it might be worth a shot. His food only has 3.5% fiber. Hopefully the Acana will help!! 

How's Hank doing? And Q?


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

I keep thinking about the pumpkin thing but I'd really like to avoid having extra steps in his feeding routine. I know that sounds lazy but our mornings are busy and my son has been feeding him so if I can find a food that fixes it, all the better. However...I'm getting close to trying the pumpkin and have two big cans in my pantry to make pumpkin muffins so it wouldn't be hard to try.

Just got him a Starmark Bento Ball. Well, the woman at the petstore said her dogs takes two hours to consume the treat disk. Wilder had popped it out twice within 30 minutes. I just put it in his Kong Traxx (black tire) and it's still in there 10 minutes later. He hadn't been using that much because no treats stay in it, but now I'm thrilled that I can use these inserts in it.

Also bought the Bionic Stuffer. Haven't tried it yet. There's another toy coming with his food shipment tomorrow. Nylabone Bacon hollow stick. I hope that's a hit too.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

I only give him pumpkin once a day, at dinner, and it's made a world of difference. Our mornings are really hectic too, so dinnertime works out really well for us.

What's the Bionic Stuffer? I've never heard of it. I've heard really good things about the Bento Ball though.


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Bionic Stuffer - like a fat orange X that is hollow for treats. It's similar in resistance to a Kong type of material and the holes are rather small, which is good.


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Thought you'd like to know I started the pumpkin today.


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

Here I am writing you guys at 5 AM because Hank just threw up in the middle of the night. Why did he throw up you ask? Because he had rocks in his stomach. He woke up, jumped under the bed, dry heaved and then out came two pretty big rocks. This is the second time this has happened and I guess he eats them at daycare because I never see him do it when he's leashed with me. What do I do?! I'm always so nervous that there's another one stuck inside of him. 


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Poor Hank!! I hope he's feeling better and doesn't have anymore rocks in him. Your daycare uses gravel right? I wonder if there's another daycare near you that doesn't use gravel. Maybe try switching daycares and see if that helps?


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

That's really scary. I would talk to daycare and ask to take a really slow walking tour of everywhere he might be. If you can't find and fix the problem, is there anywhere else he could go? That could turn into an expensive and/or deadly issue really fast. I'd really worry that the rocks couldn't pass or be throw up and would just be sitting there.


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## Amystelter (Jul 31, 2013)

I'd let daycare know so they can clear the area of them. A dog daycare shouldn't have rocks laying around because Hank isn't the only rock eater. My vets office had a jar with a softball size rock in it with a pic of a dog. The curiosity got my better and I asked, "that's not what I think it is, is it?" Yes it was. No lie it was as big as a softball! Had to be removed in surgery. I worry all the time about what my pups will eat next. Hoping they grow out of it very soon


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## Amystelter (Jul 31, 2013)

carolinehansen said:


> Random question, but what do you use to shampoo your carpet? I'm interested in shampooing mine!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk




I use natures miracle carpet shampoo because it's formulated for dogs. I like the products that are specifically for dogs for safety. Some shampoos and cleaners can be harsh.


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Amystelter said:


> I use natures miracle carpet shampoo because it's formulated for dogs. I like the products that are specifically for dogs for safety. Some shampoos and cleaners can be harsh.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


I didn't realize NM had a carpet shampoo. I do use clean water after the soapy water, or make it less concentrated, and then rinse well and dry with a fan so hopefully that makes it better for the pets and kids.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

GoldenLabMix said:


> Thought you'd like to know I started the pumpkin today.


I just saw this! Have you noticed a difference yet? I can't remember how soon after we started the pumpkin that I noticed a difference, but it was pretty quick. Just be sure that you're starting with a small amount of pumpkin (I started with half a tablespoon) before you increase it, otherwise W might have some diarrhea.


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

I started with a heaping teaspoon. I could see it in his poo... but it wasn't causing issues. Then I got lazy. However, the Acana seems to be firming things up a lot. After giving him a little in each meal, I have been doing breakfast of his existing food, and dinner of Acana. I think the old bag of food will be gone in a week or two.

How's everyone?


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

GoldenLabMix said:


> I started with a heaping teaspoon. I could see it in his poo... but it wasn't causing issues. Then I got lazy. However, the Acana seems to be firming things up a lot. After giving him a little in each meal, I have been doing breakfast of his existing food, and dinner of Acana. I think the old bag of food will be gone in a week or two.
> 
> How's everyone?


I'm so glad he's doing better on Acana!! Just a word of warning, apparently some dogs are having serious issues with Acana. Not sure if it's just happening to the Canadians (I think maybe Acana has a Canadian branch and a United States branch?) but thought you should know.
http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/golden-retriever-nutrition-feeding-recipes/430978-acana-food-poisoning.html

Otherwise, Kaizer and I are going good!! Do y'all think it's possible for dogs to still be teething at this age? It's just his molars, they don't look like they've come up all the way yet (at one point they had all been there). Plus he's started going after the wood furniture again (he hasn't done that since he first started teething) and he's been chewing on my hand too, it's kind of gentle but it can hurt. And he was chewing on his bone today and there was some blood on it. His poops are loose too, not liquidy poop but enough to leave a stain when we go to pick it up. Usually it comes cleanly off the ground (tmi, sorry). He's acting a lot like he did while he was teething.

I've been told that large breed dogs especially can teeth well into (and past) their first year, but I've also read that all the adult teeth is supposed to be in by eight months. 

Although he might be in pain too? Not sure, he has this nasty rash next to his balls and it hasn't gone away despite medication, so I'm going to contact his breeder and ask her opinion. Plus his ears have been weird this week, he shakes his head so much that one of his ears droops. It's happened twice within the week and each time, I clean out the ear and then his ear set goes back to normal. I should note that there's not really much that comes out when I clean his ears (but he's funny because I guess it feels good or something because he sits there and makes little happy grumbly sounds, like he does when we scratch in just the right spot). His ears look a little red and they're kind of warm to the touch, so I guess that could be the reason he's cranky. Not sure what's going on with him.


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## ndirishkmk (Jan 23, 2016)

*Hi!*

Hi everyone,

Just saw this thread and wanted to introduce myself! Gipper is a Golden rescue and am working on getting him caught up on the training that he never got as a puppy (A challenge!!). He's a sweetheart but a nutcase sometimes! He turns into a psycho going after his leash in training class, pulls like none other on his leash during walks and loves to carry my shoes around. I'm a new doggie mom so I'm still learning how to train him but it has been a fun ride so far. I'm enjoying making my way through this thread learning about everyone else's dogs too!

Happy Thursday!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Welcome to the thread!! Gipper is adorable, I love his name


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

This is so exciting!! The June pups welcome you  Do you know anything about Gipper's past at all? Also I love his color, I have a dark golden too


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## ndirishkmk (Jan 23, 2016)

Thanks for the welcome! Nice to meet everyone!! Looking forward to hearing more about your pups!  

Don't know a ton. I know that he's purebred (but not which breeder he came from, lines, etc). A young lady got him from the breeder as a puppy when she got a house and decided she needed a dog. She quickly realized puppies are a lot of work and she didn't do much with him except let him in and out and play with him every now and then. He was kennel trained and I think spent a lot of time in there. He was also not socialized at all (the foster noticed this quickly as her goldens had to teach him the play stance and how to play). There wasn't any training that I can see either so he's a bit behind in his behaviors I think. He's now allowed to be in my bedroom/bathroom while I'm gone and does well in general (one incident where I came home to let him out and left right away for about 15 min which he let me know about by chewing on my bed sheets!). We're in training classes and he's working on the skills for Canine Good Citizen but has a ways to go! Despite being in doggie daycare 2x a week, he still gets anxious when we go to class and are around other dogs and reacts by the crazy leash chewing and tugging I mentioned. This is the only thing I'm worried about and hope he grows out of it!


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

aesthetic said:


> I'm so glad he's doing better on Acana!! Just a word of warning, apparently some dogs are having serious issues with Acana. Not sure if it's just happening to the Canadians (I think maybe Acana has a Canadian branch and a United States branch?) but thought you should know.
> http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/golden-retriever-nutrition-feeding-recipes/430978-acana-food-poisoning.html
> 
> Otherwise, Kaizer and I are going good!! Do y'all think it's possible for dogs to still be teething at this age? It's just his molars, they don't look like they've come up all the way yet (at one point they had all been there). Plus he's started going after the wood furniture again (he hasn't done that since he first started teething) and he's been chewing on my hand too, it's kind of gentle but it can hurt. And he was chewing on his bone today and there was some blood on it. His poops are loose too, not liquidy poop but enough to leave a stain when we go to pick it up. Usually it comes cleanly off the ground (tmi, sorry). He's acting a lot like he did while he was teething.
> ...


Thanks for the Acana link. I just read the whole thread and it looks like the OP exaggerated the likelihood of it being actual poisoning. Was more likely a stomach virus or possible food/ingredient intolerance but not an actual dangerous issue with the food. I had read that they recently changed some formulas and are also producing the US food in Kentucky now. 

It kind of sounds like Kaizer is having food allergy issues. Wonder if it could be affecting his behavior as well. This is just an example, but a lot of children with sensitivities to ingredients/dyes/flavors have behavioral changes as a result. (My own act like nut cases with red #40.). I know you feed good food so it's not artificial stuff but maybe an ingredient. My brother was telling me they realized their Bassett can't tolerate chicken. Had a horrible break out after they randomly switched from the non-chicken they had him on since puppyhood. I'm wondering if that's W's issue as well. I'm not tossing the last of his food because it's not causing any major issues, but I wonder if we'll see changes in a week or so when he's completely off the chicken based food. I'm still hoping his odor will reduce but it may be that is just a product of him being half lab and having an oiler coat for breed/swimming reasons. Who knows.

Wilder hasn't had an uptick in chewing - it's been pretty steady for a while now. But he definitely needs to chew daily. He's got his toys and he uses them. He also occassionally tries to steal stuff and is supervised still 100% of the time he's not crated. He has his crazy moments where he gets zoomies when he hasn't had enough exercise. I think all the mouthing is just par for the course with retrievers. My family's lab was the same way. They just use their mouths more. So that is what makes me also wonder if it's due to an allergy for Kaizer and something is itching his mouth or causing inflammation and making him try to smooth that with chewing, in addition to the rash and loose stools.

WELCOME Gipper! He's so pretty! He's lucky to have you!

Hello to everyone else! Hi Hank, Hi Q!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Yeah, Kaizer's probably having some kind of food issue. His ears are all gross again, even though I JUST cleaned them out a couple weeks ago (I suppose I could be making it worse, but I just clean out the outer ear and pour some liquid ear cleaner down his ear). He threw up today too, it was nasty. It looked like undigested kibble (it was mush) with chunks of apple. Smelt suspiciously like chicken broth, which doesn't make sense. I just increased his food too so I'm not sure if he threw up because there was too much food or if it's the food itself. My dad's been giving him unripe bananas recently too, so maybe that plays a part in it? I'm going to look for a new food to try, but in the mean time, I'm going to completely wipe his diet of everything except his kibble. I'm not entirely convinced it's his food that's causing the issue as much as it is something else he's eating. I know he's fine with chicken, because that's basically all I use to treat him and he's never ever had an issue with it. 

These are the ingredients in his food, any ideas to what he could possibly be allergic too?

Chicken Meal, Brown Rice, Sorghum, Chicken Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols (Vitamin E)), Rolled Oats, Dried Beet Pulp, Menhaden Fish Meal, Menhaden Oil (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols (Vitamin E)), Brewers Dried Yeast, Flax Seed Meal, Carrot, Celery, Parsley, Lettuce, Watercress, Spinach, Lecithin, Fat Product (Algae, Source of Fatty Acids), Salt, Calcium Carbonate, DL Methionine, L-Lysine, Cranberries, Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product Dehydrated, Oligofructose, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), Niacin Supplement, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate, L-Carnitine, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid, Choline Chloride,Potassium Chloride, Zinc Proteinate, Betaine Anhydrous, Iron Proteinate, Selenium Yeast, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Calcium Iodate.


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Could be any of the grains. Sorghum, rice, oats? Could you switch to a grain free chicken formula? I know it's counter intuitive but the time I tried a simple chicken and rice on Wilder, he had bad diarrhea - the only time he's cried in his crate before wake-up time. It was california natural, which was the food that stopped my former cat from having food allergy reactions! Anyway, I would expect rice to firm up stools, not give diarrhea. I did two trials, weeks apart with very little added to what he was on. 
I think with food allergies, it can start as no reaction, but then the body starts to get more and more intolerant of the substance and react worse each time there is an exposure. 
I can't remember what brand/formula you are feeding. Are you in a position to try something else? Hopefully you didn't just crack open a new 28 lb bag! If it were me (and it's not!) I'd go to a grain free chicken or even a limited ingredient grain free chicken, and give it 8 weeks, provided nothing got substantially worse. It's such a pain in the ass to try new foods. Such a slow process. Keep us updated!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Nope! Actually it's worked out in that we still have enough of his old food, but need to buy a new bag. And it's funny because Chewy automatically sends us his food every 6 weeks, which is when we run out usually and my mom's credit card declined on the most recent purchase (I'm pretty sure it just recently expired). I think it's a really funny coincidence. I'm still trying to find a good food before I buy it, but I need to do that ASAP otherwise we won't have enough of his current food to do a slow transition. I might take your advice and go for a grain-free chicken based food, or a grain included chicken free food.

You're totally right about the allergies though. I have severe peanut and tree-nut allergies, I've always had them. When I was younger, they were not as severe, I'd get hives, maybe a fever and I might throw up, but now I go into anaphylactic shock. The general thought "back then" (early '00s) was that more exposure to the allergen would cause the body to start accepting it (maybe my doctors were just dumb). Then in 2006-7-8, another doctor told me that I needed less exposure to nuts. Actually, 2015 was the first year ever that I was allergic reaction free.


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

How's K doing? W is all on Acana for several days now and I think it's working! I know...how exciting is the continuing saga of his rear-end glands! I bathed him yesterday and checked externally and they were empty. His stools are definitely firmer. I should probably check all his treat items now. They're all grain free but if chicken is actually our issue I should make sure I don't buy anymore. I think he's pooping less - down to 2-3 times a day - but then I've caught him eating it twice in the past two days so I wonder if there are piles I never know about -- I pick up the yard once a day after school generally. Maybe I need to get the pumpkin out again and do the meat tenderizer in it but really this dog will eat ANYTHING so maybe there isn't so much I can do.

Our new issue is sort of funny but annoying. There are so many busy squirrels in our yard and neighbors' yards lately that he's too distracted to play fetch. Which means he's been not getting enough exercise and has been crazier in the house. And he's really hard to get inside the house sometimes. Difficult when we're leaving for school or need to get somewhere. It can take an extra few minutes. Treats don't seem to be any incentive.

So...when is he supposed to calm down? I was hoping by 18m but maybe he's one of those who will be crated until he's 5. Klepto.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

He's doing fine, I suppose. Still has the rash, still itches like crazy, still has nasty ears despite frequent cleaning, still has the same energy level, still crazy for food, still poops regularly (and theyre nice too!), still a brat  Nothing has changed much here. (Actually it's ironic, but as I typed that, he vomited some water. i guess he drank too much too quickly). 

I'm thinking of changing his food to Annamaet Aqualuk. It's grain and chicken free (though I'm not sure if those are his problems, considering this all started in fall I'm wondering if it's seasonal allergies, esp since I've noticed him licking/biting his paws right after we come inside). I don't know why, I'm just so so hesitant to switch his foods (maybe because he's done so well on it prior to September? maybe because I'm not 100% sure if it IS the food causing these issues because he's done so well in the past?). I suppose I just need verification that I'm doing the right thing for him (because I don't feel like I am). PLus when I look at the ingredients of the foods I'm considering, I just don't think they're great (Aqualuk, for example, has peas in it. I am not a fan of peas in dog food). 

He had a fun day today though, we went to a little tourist town in Pennsylvania and he got lots of pets and compliments  He got to play in the leaves too. My brother got some pics on his phone. When he sends them to me, I'll post the good ones. 

I'm so glad W is doing good on the Acana!! Kaizer has that problem too, not necessarily with squirrels but the outside is so much more exciting than chasing a ball (although chasing a human or a stick is a different issue), so we're struggling a little bit in the exercise department too. When he has a lot of energy, he'll go outside and run it off but when he has enough energy to be annoying but not enough to be over energetic, he goes outside and lies down with a stick, then comes inside and is a brat. And for what it's worth, Kaizer hasn't calmed down either. We were doing pivots the other day, and instead of getting on the pivot, he grabbed it in his mouth and took a joy run around the room. He did the same with the target too. It's funny in hindsight, but so so annoying when I'm trying to train.


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## ndirishkmk (Jan 23, 2016)

*Regressing in behaviors*

Hi everyone,

Has anyone had any issues with regression into bad behaviors? I've heard that the "adolescent years" can be challenging but not sure what to expect. Gipper has been allowed in my bedroom/bathroom while I'm gone for about a month and I've had no issues. But all of a sudden last week, I came home and it was clear he'd been nibbling on my bedsheet. Twice this week I came home and he'd literally ripped open a quilt that was on the back of my chair and pulled out the pieces (I'd just turned it around the first time, so it was the same quilt at least). I'm worried about what he's going to go after next (furniture, bedding, etc). He's also started jumping up on me a lot more when he gets anxious almost aggressively. None of this was an issue before last week so I'm not sure what's going on. He's going to doggie day care 2x a week and getting almost a 1.5 mile walk each day (as long as it isn't raining). Do I just need to be patient or is there another issue here? Back in the crate for him til he settles down again?? (he's closed in the bathroom today with just his dog bed while I figure this out!). Any thoughts are appreciated for this first time mom!


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

My advice would be to keep crating him. I would try to leave Hank out and he would ruin things and get separation anxiety so I continued to crate him because he couldn't handle it. After a few months of maturing I tried leaving him out in little increments until he successfully didn't ruin anything and now he can be out for hours with no damages  I should add he goes to a doggie daycare every single day because I am a full time college student so he is super tired and sleeps whenever he is out.


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## ndirishkmk (Jan 23, 2016)

The interesting thing is that I did do the incremental thing at first and he was just fine for a month all day while I was at work. He just all of a sudden started to do this!


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Wilder is still a klepto when we're *in the next room* so he's never been left out. Crated at night and when we're not home. I really thought he'd be done with a crate by now but it is what it is.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Kaizer's never been left alone while we're gone, and I doubt he will be for awhile. He's physically mature, but he still has the brain of a 3 month old puppy. I was hoping his brain would catch up to his body by now (he'll be 17 months in a week), but I guess not. He has slow-maturing lines so I suspect it'll be a long while before he fully matures. It doesn't help that he has a naturally playful, mischievious personality lol. He's been regressing too! I'm so glad it isn't just him! He was outside off leash today while we were moving stuff from the garage to the shed, and he was grabbing everything in his mouth - plastic, styrofoam, all the trash. I haven't had to deal with that since he was 14 weeks old, so I was very annoyed. Then he threw a fit when I was trying to wipe his paws off (it was raining yesterday, so he was all muddy). He was doing anything he could to get away from the wipes - pulling his paws away, play bowing, rolling over, tucking his paws underneath him, etc. I'm ready for him to grow up a little honestly. (we do train, but there are things you can't train out - like Kaizer's abhorrence of growing up a little bit).


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

OK so I think I made him look really bad. He's good most of the time, but there are a couple of things he still does so we just can't trust him.

He was audibly passing gas all last evening but acting normal. Then at 11:30 he threw up a lot of nastiness in his crate. I had just fallen asleep and his whining woke me up. He had only been in the crate for 20 minutes or so. Anyway, I took him out because I honestly wasn't sure if it was puke or diarrhea at first. Cleaned up, made sure he was OK as far as I could tell and we went to bed again. This morning he ate just fine. I did find a mushroom in the back yard that was half mutilated so I think he must have eaten a little. That's all I can think of. He's been maybe slightly less energetic but really nothing is concerning me about his behavior so I'll just watch him. Someone will be here most of the day. Some days it's like having a 3rd kid. Poor guys still smells a little puke like so he's getting a bath this afternoon. Seriously he is bathed every week or two one way or another.


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

Anyone heard anything about their golden throwing up in the early morning? Hanks been throwing up 2-3 times a week at 6 AM randomly. I don't know what's going on 


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

What does the vomit look like? Digested, partially digested, or not digested food? Spit- cloudy and white? or stomach acid like? And what's his schedule like around the time he throws up?

Kaizer threw up at 5-6pm a handful of times over the last two weeks. The first time looked like partially digested kibble, the second and third time had one piece of kibble, the last couple times were just spit. It always happened between 5-6pm, right after he was outside running and right after he ate/drank, so I've been spacing everything out now. We go outside for an hour, then he gets a bit of water when we come in (not too much - when he's breathing that fast or when he's excited, he tends to inhale his food and air, which makes him choke/throw up a bit). An hour after we come in, he gets dinner. Oh and he doesn't get any water 15 minutes before we go out. Ever since I started doing that (i.e. waiting until he was calmed down and his breathing and heart rate went back to normal), he hasn't thrown up. So if Hank gets to run around every morning, and then immediately comes in and eats/drinks, maybe that's the reason?


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## Lambeau0609 (Aug 3, 2015)

Lambeau a few weeks ago was throwing up around 6am 3x a wk and I though it was weird since he never did it before but seems to be ok now.


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## Lambeau0609 (Aug 3, 2015)

Lambeau hasn't used a crate at all since he was 6 months old and does great with the run of the house. But he has started to get very excited when around other people and is now jumping on people when he greets them which he never did until recently. He's getting so bad now that I try to avoid having him around other people. I am at a loss on how to prevent the jumping.


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

aesthetic said:


> What does the vomit look like? Digested, partially digested, or not digested food? Spit- cloudy and white? or stomach acid like? And what's his schedule like around the time he throws up?
> 
> Kaizer threw up at 5-6pm a handful of times over the last two weeks. The first time looked like partially digested kibble, the second and third time had one piece of kibble, the last couple times were just spit. It always happened between 5-6pm, right after he was outside running and right after he ate/drank, so I've been spacing everything out now. We go outside for an hour, then he gets a bit of water when we come in (not too much - when he's breathing that fast or when he's excited, he tends to inhale his food and air, which makes him choke/throw up a bit). An hour after we come in, he gets dinner. Oh and he doesn't get any water 15 minutes before we go out. Ever since I started doing that (i.e. waiting until he was calmed down and his breathing and heart rate went back to normal), he hasn't thrown up. So if Hank gets to run around every morning, and then immediately comes in and eats/drinks, maybe that's the reason?




It's always mid sleep, early morning. I hear him on my bedroom floor throwing up and it's always yellow bile. I read that it can be from having an empty stomach but he's for sure fed enough and he never did this up until recently.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

i thought yellow bile meant the dog needs smaller meals, more frequently. So instead of 2 meals a day, three or four meals a day. Not 100% sure though


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

NO advice for the early morning vomiting. I'd never heard of it. I'd think their stomachs would be pretty empty. Wilder eats at 7:30am and 3:30-5:00 pm. He had been fine but I found vomit in his crate again this morning. Not nearly as gross as last time and he wasn't whining. Who knows. The last time, we also realized true Green had come that day when he threw up that night. We've never had an issue before with their stuff but we had stopped them for several months. Didn't have them do the back yard for the majority of summer. We'll just keep an eye on that next time. They might not be back until the spring.

He's been getting to come up on the sofa with an invitation sometimes now. But now he's getting demanding about that...standing at the edge and whining until he's invited up. Cute, but annoying. LOL we need more furniture in our main family room. It's just one sofa and an upholstered chair for the 4 of us. No room for him.

I brought one of my former students home today. She's 4. He was crazy at first but finally calmed down. Obvs he just wanted to sniff and lick her. My kids friends are a little older and used to him so I was really keeping an eye on them. 

Happy Fall-Back weekend!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

How are Hank and W doing? Any more vomiting episodes?

We're good here, I think. Besides some of the skin issues we've been having, Kaizer's been acting as normally as ever. We're watching the election coverage on the news.

Anyone have any idea how to tell if a dog has fleas? I think that there's something biting Kaizer (there are bumps on his skin, under his armpits and his stomach - nowhere else though) and I've seen stuff that I think is flea dust but I'm not sure. I'm hoping it's not ticks, but the field where I take him to run has a lot of little bugs that fly around (and I may or may not have forgotten to put his flea/tick medication on last month. I thought I did, but the more I think about it, the more I'm not sure). He's so so healthy, save for his skin which has bumps and rashes in only those two specific areas (his stomach and armpits).


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

No more vomiting for W. However he's got scaly spots on his elbow and some other places. Like, half the diameter of a dime. There are probably 10 of them over his body. I'm wondering if he's allergic to something in the new food. Which bites because his anal glands have been great lately. No issues the last week. And he definitely smells better because of it.

What are you using for fleas? We have bravecto and then interceptor for the other. I do it generally the first weekend of the month. I sharpie on the box the date I give it each time and save the boxes until I buy a new one and do the first dose on that box. I don't know how to describe flea issues. We has them on our cats years ago brought into the house by a foster cat.

Back to election coverage. This is insane.


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Here's the scales. Everywhere there's a spot that looks strange on the fur, it's a scaly spot. This elbow is the worst.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

I use Simplegard for fleas/tick. It's topical and I hate it, but i've always been too scared to give an oral tick/flea to Kaizer. I'm considering making the transition because it's such a pain in the ass to plan our exercise schedule around his medication time. I'm thinking of going to Nexgard.

Kaizer has a similar thing on his elbow/armpit! I'll get some pictures of his skin issues tomorrow and show you (he's got a couple). Could it be environmental allergies? Kaizer's only started near the end of august/early september.


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

aesthetic said:


> I use Simplegard for fleas/tick. It's topical and I hate it, but i've always been too scared to give an oral tick/flea to Kaizer. I'm considering making the transition because it's such a pain in the ass to plan our exercise schedule around his medication time. I'm thinking of going to Nexgard.
> 
> Kaizer has a similar thing on his elbow/armpit! I'll get some pictures of his skin issues tomorrow and show you (he's got a couple). Could it be environmental allergies? Kaizer's only started near the end of august/early september.


IF it makes you feel better, Wilder has had no issues with the flea/tick/heartworm stuff from the vet. THey used Nexguard when he was a puppy but the office switched to Bravecto. It is nice to only give once every 3 months. We used topical on my dogs growing up but now I'd be too concerned about them getting on furniture, my kids getting it on their hands etc. And he gets bathed so often that I wonder if it would be effective.

Well, the allergies are getting worse. I'm researching other foods to try - limited ingredient types. Though you've got me thinking that if K is having the same issues, it could be environmental. It just started wishing the last 4 weeks. I was so thrilled we fixed the anal gland issue so switching foods is something I'll do if I have to but I'd prefer not to. He's got a bunch of red almost raw looking spots on his stomach/lower stomach. He does lay and play in the yard a alot. I did bathe him this weekend. It had been 2 weeks and he rolled in either deer or goose poop on a walk and we HAD to.

Any opinions on whether I should get him a vet appointment soon or just ride it out a bit longer with the seasonal changes? Or buy a new food? We're only about 1/4 into the second bag of acana heritage (red bag) beef/lamb/pork I think. The treat he's getting are treats he's had his whole life and are grain free and not poultry. I'm at a loss.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Can you show a pic of W's stomach? Kaizer had weird bumps there too. He also rolls around and lies in the grass a lot, which has me thinking. I still haven't gotten the pictures yet, I've been busy, but the vet gave us this spray back in late August (I think it's Cefpodoxime) that I used on Kaizer's tummy rash for a couple days last week or so, and his tummy looks clear right now. We were originally supposed to use it for some other bumps/rashes he had around his pit area but those cleared up after some rounds of Benadryl (which leads me to think it's allergies again) and I just never used it.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

We took him to the vet today to get more heartworm/tick/flea medication. I asked for Nexguard this time around because I'm so tired of the topical, so I'm hoping he does okay with it. The vet has to get it shipped to us, so he won't be getting that this month anyway. I'm hoping that since it's November, the ticks and bugs will be dead or hiding from the cold. He's 69.3 pounds, which is a good weight for him. Right now, it seems that his ideal weight is somewhere between 68-69 pounds. 67 pounds looks a little too skinny, 70 is too chunky.

I forgot to mention this, but Kaizer's paws (specifically the back paws) are bright red and they seem to be hurting him because he will just not let me cut his nails or do anything with his paws. He flinches and moves them away every single time. We're apparently overdue for an annual checkup, so I'll bring it up then (I thought we had already done it, but apparently not lol).


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

I will try to take pics tomorrow. I saw him itching badly this morning and ordered a bag of nutrisca (the brand we were using before acana) but the fish instead of chicken. I did some searches and it seems the fish is less likely to cause allergies than chicken or beef. Who knows. I figure the only issue he had on the nutrisca chicken was the anal glands but no rash/itching stuff. So if it's one of the other ingredients, some thing acana uses but nutrisca doesn't, maybe I can figure it out...such a puzzle.

I had his annual check but got a card to do a heartworm check (bloodwork I think). As he had that done last at his neuter. I'll probably put it off until January when he'll be boarded for a couple nights, if they need it. He's been on preventative every month. 

He did a bad thing tonight...the cat's been getting canned food and it makes him so jealous. Tonight he went after her a bit when I was giving it to her. Like food aggression. She was just jumping from counter to counter and he didn't hurt her but he growled and snapped. That's really alarming. I did let him lick the spoon before I gave her the bowl so maybe he thought it was his.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

That's so scary!! I hope everyone was okay. Has he done it again? I hope the food works out too, it's about time you and W got a break!


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

So I did the cat feeding thing again but with my husband in the kitchen and W got loudly scolded and pulled away so he got the message. He had his shameful face on. I'll try again some time. It hasn't transferred to daily life, just when she's getting canned food, so that's a relief.

Well, his belly looks better and there are no new spots. It happened too soon to have anything to do with the Nutrisca fish. So, maybe a lawn issue??? I've been giving him half and half of the foods for dinner. His breakfast is just the acana land animal because it's not always me and DH or DS just scoops his normal food. I've smelled some anal gland the last couple days. Can't win

I did look at my chewy.com orders so it seems like we go through a 25-28 pound bag every 4-5 weeks. I thought it was a little longer.

How's everyone????


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

I'm glad it's only that time this happens, hopefully you guys will get this figured out soon!

Everything's been good here, Kaizer's been such a sweetie recently. Very cuddly, and best of all, usually well behaved. I'm hoping I didn't just jinx it lol, I feel like every time I said that when he was a puppy, he wasn't very good the next day. Mom says he smells a little bit again, but I haven't been giving him pumpkin recently (I haven't been home for his dinner in awhile), so I have to start that again. 

In other news, tomorrow is my 16th birthday, so I get my permit!! I'm the youngest in my grade (I'm a junior), and I'm the only person in my grade who can't drive at all yet (there are sophomores older than me!), so I'm excited. Plus I love birthdays


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Happy Belated Birthday!!!! How exciting! And Happy Thanksgiving to those who will be celebrating tomorrow. We'll be local with our good friends because it's such a short weekend to try to travel. Looking forward to some calm.

I've been getting Wilder to sit while I give the cat her food and then treating him or letting him lick the spoon AFTER she safely gets her wet food so he seems to look forward to it now. No more nastiness at this point.

I'm so happy for you that he's been cuddly! That's the best part. Wiler continues to show a strong preference for my husband....it's hysterical. He LOVES to be right by his side. And DH is the one who started letting him on the sofa and our bed for tv watching snuggles. Oh well. I hate the dog fur on the bed but we just put a large fleece blanket over and can peel that back to get a fur-free zone.

I'm still slowly working on DH about a second dog. He says NO WAY! But in a year or two when the cat and guinea pig are gone and Wilder is more chill, I think he'll cave.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, or a wonderful weekend if you didn't celebrate (I know, I'm so late! Sorry), I was sick all of last week with costochondritis (aka the inflammation of the tissue/cartilage that connects my rib cage to my sternum). Went to the doctor on friday and got diagnosed + got some really mild steroids to help with the swelling, and it's done a good job. i haven't been in pain since Sunday.

Anyway, Kaizer turned 18 months on Sunday and W turned 18 months yesterday, yay!! It's a big milestone, I remember feeling like 18 months was so far away last year. Nothing much is new here, except Kaizer's back feet are red and painful. I spotted this hotspot looking thing on his one toe so I bet that's why they're red. Poor puppy, he did not like me touching them at all. 

How are your pups?


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Hello everyone! It's been a while since I've been on and I miss seeing your babies!! Our summer was insanely busy, then when I attempted to log on, I had some challenges…okay, I forgot the password, and time just got away . How are you all, and how are the handsome fellas? Getting big, I'm sure.

I just quickly browsed through some of the recent posts, and it looks as though there has been a lot going on. You've probably all resolved the challenges you've been facing, if you have, just ignore the following.

GoldenLabMix - I'm sorry to hear about W and the itching. That was happening a lot with Q, along with a terrible (horrible and stanky) yeasty ear infection that never went away, regardless of how we treated it. We switched to a grain free (petcurean Go! Sensiivity+Shine Limited Ingredient Duck), and it has helped immensely!! It's a CDN brand and they do sell in the US, but I'm sure there are similar products there. Since we switched her over in the summer, she doesn't go after her paw, aggressive itching has stopped, and not only have her ears cleared up, her ear cleaning regimen has changed from daily, to weekly to monthly. And even then, nothing appears on the cotton ball. Poops are good and less (2x and smaller) and little to no flatulence.

Aesthetic - I'm not sure if K's rash and ears cleared up, but the above grain free food miraculously fixed all of Q's issues. They also recommended to go to an entirely different protein with as little ingredients as possible. Apparently, most foods have unnecessary fillers. For example, if you fed chicken, switch to salmon, etc. We switched to duck. LIMITED INGREDIENT Duck Recipe for Dogs | Petcurean

Carolinehansen - Again, I'm not sure if Hank's early morning vomiting epi's have stopped, but if it's worth anything, our bridge baby Dakota used to do that too, and it started at about a year old. It seemed that going so long without food in her tummy bothered her. One night, we tried giving her a bigger/heartier treat before bed time (more apple/carrot slices, piece of bread) and that fixed the problem. We continued that for 10+ years and it was never an issue again.

Here's a pic of Q I just took yesterday. She's been awesome, except for the month of October. She was quite the princess and brat, not listening to us, chewing up corners of pillows, jumping - it drove us insane. Thankfully, she calmed down by the time we got her spayed, which went very well. She didn't even need the cone of shame. She didn't go at it, not even once (we were shocked). I'm going to look into giving her Bach's Rescue Remedy if she goes through that phase again, when we have guests. My Mom just had knee replacement, and Q jumped all over her and put her in a lot of pain. 

Again, I hope all is well.


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Yes - Yay we're officially 18m! It does feel like a milestone for whatever reason. He's not any different but someday...

Sorry about the illness aesthetic! I hope you're all better now!

We had a play date with the 22m old golden that lives next door to my inlaws last weekend. We hadn't had a play date with any dogs in 2-3 months and he'd never met this dog so I was hesitant but they were great. I even brought out his long rope tug and gave them each one end. He can get possessive of toys to again, I was careful. Watching them run around with it together was the cutest thing EVER.

So, the food update. I got the fish (Nutrisca) and he got more stomach spots. I bought the meats (no poultry) version of Whole Earth Farms (Merrick's bargain brand) and he's been OK but I then more anal gland issues. All this time I've only been giving him maybe 1/4 of his meals as the new food and 3/4 still his Acana red meats. I just buy the 25ish pound bags because they are so much cheaper per pound but I've got like 75 pounds of dog food in my closet now and at least 25 of it he can't have. I need to check with my neighbors if they want it. The Acana has been good as far as allergy and better for the anal glands though he does pass a good amount of gas on it. He started having issues on Nutrisca Chicken so maybe there's something in Nutrisca? I'm so tired of analyzing ingredients. He at Whole Earth Farms chicken/turkey for a few months before all this but we switched to the Nutrisca chicken for more fiber. But he never has the red spots and dry spots until nutrisca. So I'm hoping I can still use the Whole Earth meats SLOWLY mixed with the Acana so I don't have to waste that purchase too. I do think he has some chicken issue and maybe there wasn't enough in the Whole Earth to really cause skin issues??? Whatever...I maybe try a limited ingredient when I get further through this giant supply I have in my pantry. Of course the Nutrisca fish I dumped in the vittels vault and don't have a bag for it. I was hoping the Whole Earth would work because it's $40 a bag vs $60 for Acana but it's not that huge of a deal. I would obviously rather spend the $20 a month to keep him healthy. I'll check out the limited food you linked when I'm ready for more!

My son's party is tomorrow. Wish me luck with lots of kids in the house. Hope everyone else is good! Hi Q, H, K, and all the other doggies that stop by occasionally.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

tessmk - Q's beautiful! I'm so glad she's doing well on her new food. I'm glad her spay went okay too.

goldenlabmix - I hope you get his food issues figured out soon! I definitely agree he might have a chicken intolerance, and I'm thinking maybe there's a grain intolerance? There's a facebook group called Canine Nutrition and Dog Food Discussion that could help you.

We went to the vet on Saturday to check on Kaizer's paws and ears. I can't remember how much he weighed - I keep thinking 64.8 pounds, but that means he's lost 5 pounds in November and there's no way that's right. Maybe it was 68.4..Anyway, he has the beginnings of a yeast infection in his right ear and yeast overgrowth in his left (Vet says I caught it really early), so we got some drops (Miconazole) for it. Once a day for 21 days. Then vet said that his ears + his paws + the rash on his stomach that's in this awkward healing phase is due to environmental allergies, so he prescribed Apoquel. I can't tell you how well he's doing on it, but he's been really tired recently. He has spurts of energy where he'll run and play with me for 15 minutes, but then he's calm for the rest of the day. He'll just be lying down and/or cuddling, which is nice and I love it, but he's not usually like that. He usually has more energy and spunk. Oh well. I can't even tell if it's making his paws better or not. Vet wants him on Apoquel 2x daily for 14 days (the last day is Christmas day) so I guess I'll find out then. 

Our fence is finally coming up! We were supposed to have it up at the beginning of November, but apparently our neighborhood has an HOA now (it's a relatively new neighborhood, so they waited til all the lots were gone before forming one) and having a black fence isn't allowed. Of course, we found out the day our fence was supposed to come up, so we had to get a new fence (in white!) reordered. It'll be completely up tomorrow .

How are you, and your pups? Carolinehansen, we haven't heard from you in awhile!


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Awww. Poor K! I know it's sort of nice when they are unusually chilled out but not if it means they don't feel well. 

W's only ever been on grain free so at least I know that's not it. We actually seem to be doing well - no new red raw spots on his lower belly! I'm still doing 3/4 acana red meats, and 1/4 whole earth red meats. The whole earth is much less 'rich' than the acana, which has a lot more protein and fat. The whole earth also has a lot less fiber. So for now, I'll continue with that. 

We have an inch or two of wet snow this morning and W was such a happy guy! Romping around in it! It's so nice to have a living thing in our house that is pretty much happy all. the. time.


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

tessmk said:


> Carolinehansen - Again, I'm not sure if Hank's early morning vomiting epi's have stopped, but if it's worth anything, our bridge baby Dakota used to do that too, and it started at about a year old. It seemed that going so long without food in her tummy bothered her. One night, we tried giving her a bigger/heartier treat before bed time (more apple/carrot slices, piece of bread) and that fixed the problem. We continued that for 10+ years and it was never an issue again.



Tess! I've missed your Q updates. I thought about the both of you all October when your Blue Jays made it to the post season! Thank you so much for your advice on Hank's vomiting. He still continues to do so randomly. I think we will start giving him night time snacks like you suggested! 

Hope all the June pups are doing well, and happy holidays to you all. ❤










My crazy man is loving all the snow. I'm actually not with him over the holidays because I'm celebrating Christmas out of state this year. Miss him so much. He's a year and a half today! 




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## ndirishkmk (Jan 23, 2016)

Hi everyone! Love reading all of the updates about your pups. Big celebration for reaching 1.5 years old! Gipper is doing well. He is loving the crazy amounts of snow here in MN and rolls around in it and runs like a madman any chance he gets! I feel so bad with how much he's itching again. We had a period when it got better after fall allergies and before the heat was on in the house, but now it is worse than usual. I know it is because it is dry in the house, but not sure how to help the poor boy! 

Keep those updates coming! This was him the other day waiting to be released to eat!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Merry Christmas, guys!! Hope the June pups are getting extra spoiled tomorrow  I know Kaizer is - he already got a present from the neighbors, and I went out today and got him four new toys (oops). 

goldenlabmix - I'm glad you've found a food mix that works for W! I guess it was just some kind of adjustment period?

Carolinehansen - Hank is as cute as ever! I'm so jealous you have snow, Kaizer and I are so ready for a snow storm.

ndirishkmk - I'm jealous of your snow too! I hope you get those allergies figured out :-(

Kaizer's been off the Apoquel for the last four days and there's a noticeable lift in the amount of energy he has. He doesn't want to stay still and cuddle anymore LOL (except he's still open for nighttime cuddling). We played a really lowkey game of fetch yesterday and today - by lowkey I mean I rolled a ball and he'd speedwalk to it and then bring it to me. There was no running involved lol. Then he played tug with me!! So I'm chalking up his lethargy to the Apoquel.

I'll post some pictures tomorrow of Kaizer and his Christmas gifts!


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Merry Christmas, everyone! The fur kids are growing so fast, and oh, so handsome. I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday's so far. Quinsy couldn't contain herself with all of the commotion and attention she got this morning. I think from here on in, every time she see's her tree, she'll understand what (kinda) Christmas means: Toys, treats, people, attention and tons of fun!!! Here she is proudly posing in front of her very own tree.

Hope everyone is well. We had a ton of snow this past week here in Ontario, Canada, but the temperatures are co-operating (not so cold). Nothing like waking up to a white Christmas. We were in Hawaii last year and it just didn't feel the same.


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

I missed seeing the posts and faces, too. Hank is gorgeous, and he looks so happy. Q doesn't walk in the snow, she dives through it, and she digs her head into the drifts like a ostrich. Sometimes it worries me that she can't breathe. I've counted up to 23 seconds before she finally comes up for air. 

It was an exciting season for the Jays again...hopefully your Cards will do well this upcoming season.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

tess that's funny!! We haven't had snow here since January, but I remember Kaizer loved chasing snow balls.

Christmas here was a success!! Kaizer got a Chuckit Flying Squirrel (it's a frisbee of sorts), a Chuckit Fetch Wheel, a Chuckit Launcher and a chew toy. The Squirrel toy was a hit, as was the chew and the Launcher. We still haven't tried the Fetch wheel but he had some fun with it when he dug it out of the box  Did yall get anything for your pups?


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## ndirishkmk (Jan 23, 2016)

Love hearing about all of your Christmases!! Gipper got spoiled too and it was so fun spending our first Christmas together!











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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Belated Merry Christmas to you all! LOVE those pics of spoiled doggies! I bough W some Hanukkah gifts but then just gave them to him early because Hanukkah was so late this year (last night is tonight!). I'll try to post a pic I took of most of his toys about a month ago. It's a little crazy. Please tell me he's not the only one that has a collection like that! I think it was even before the Hanukkah stuff.
I saw that snow on the news - I grew up near Rochester, NY so I was seeing what my hometown was getting. W dives like that too. Hysterical. We haven't had but an inch yet this year. I'm sure we'll get something in the next couple of months. I'm glad Q had such a great time!

Still doing well on the food. I mixed the two kinds that seemed to be working in his vittles vault and he's been good. He stinks much less too. He actually went 3 weeks between baths - which is a record for him I think. I think there's some general smelliness that's gone from the lack of food that was bothering him, and then he's not licking anal gland nastiness all over his rear end either. Yay. My husband said he looked a little skinny lately. Has anyone noticed that with their dog? I'm thinking it's his body using extra calories to put on a winter coat and keep warm in the cold??? He's not out any excessive amounts of time but I guess enough to be different than summer. I'm rounding his food scoop a bit to see if that helps. 

He's been so happy to have us home this past week. Definitely more chilled out because he wasn't crated as much. Will be sad to go back to work on Tuesday.

I just made W a reservation at the kennel for late January. I'm going away with DH for part of a trip he's on. Someone is staying here with the kids but the dog is too much for them. I'm only gone 2 nights but it's 3 days with an early morning leave and a late night return so I've got to keep him there 4 nights It's the daycare during the day so I'm sure he'll be tired. I just hope he's not too stressed. It's all indoors and he held his poo a bit when he was there for one night in the summer. I looked at another place that has an outdoor yard but it was sketchy. He's so easy going and loves everyone so I'm just going to hope for the best. I have friends from puppy training class that live sort of near the kennel (it's 25 minutes from us) and they have volunteered to be the emergency contact and can handle big doggies. There's also a daycare camera so I can snoop him online while I'm away...

Have a great New Year's Eve! Talk to you in 2017!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

I hope your 2017 is off to a good start! So far, mine has been going well  

On Monday, we're going to Jersey to visit Kaizer's breeder for the first time since we picked him up in July 2015. I know his breeder owns his mom, one of his littermates, and his grandfather so I'm hoping to get a picture of the four of them together. I think it'd be nice to take Kaizer back to the place where he was born and raised til he's 8 weeks. I've gotten kinda behind with my grooming though (I can't remember the last time I trimmed his nails), so we're doing a nail trim, fur trim (the fur between his paws), bath and blowdry this weekend. I have midterms next week, so I need to study and I'm hoping to rearrange my bookshelf, so my weekend is pretty booked.

Are you guys doing anything for the long weekend?


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## tessmk (Aug 30, 2015)

Hello everyone and their beautiful Goldies! 

Our kids are or will be 18 months this month...where has the time gone?

aesthetic: how did your visit to K's breeder go. I love visiting Q's (who was also our bridge baby Dakota's). We're often in touch with them and I just learned from Q's half brother that Q's birth mamma has just been retired and has found a wonderful forever home. I'm so jealous, I have many years before I can say, or even think about that...but not as many as some of you young'uns .

ndirishkmk: Gipper is so handsome, and I lo-ove the name. How did you come about choosing it? Also, have you tried a humidifier?

GoldenLabMix: That's aaaa-l-ot of chew toys, Q would be so jealous. We did notice that Q was looking rather slim, so we've upped her intake by a 1/2 cup, and she's looking a lot healthier now. I wonder if that's a thing. How is he looking since you've rounded up on his scoops?

Here's a picture of Q. Sorry it's so blurry...DH just took it quickly for me. Hope to see some pix of yours soon!!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Tess, I thought our pups were 18 months last month (although it's totally possible that I fudged my math up!). I've been telling people Kaizer's 19 months, yikes. The visit to his breeder went well! We haven't seen her since we picked up Kaizer July 2015 because of scheduling conflicts (everytime we tried to schedule a visit, something came up either on her part or ours). She was really happy with how Kaizer turned out and said we were doing really well with him. I didn't get that group photo I wanted because it turns out that Kaizer's dam went back to live with her owners (I completely forgot that Flash is coowned), his grandfather passed last year and his sister was in heat. His sister is a lot darker than Kaizer is (kaizer takes after his sire, while his sister takes after Flash). They're really alike in a lot of ways though - they're both little spitfires (you should see the way she was running around). They share a lot of the same mannerisms too. Kaizer likes to play with his food bowl - he'll flip it upside down and pounce on it until it rolls on one side, then he'll chase it around before grabbing it in his mouth. Apparently his sister does the same too. 

His breeder was also showing me how to groom Kaizer. I do his paws and nails, and bathe him myself but she showed me how to do his ears. He looks like such a different dog with his ears done! Before and after pics


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

I'm glad the breeder visit was so much fun. That's really cool about having the same mannerisms. He's such a cutie!

W is good with the little extra food. He looks the same. I picked him up this morning from being at the kennel since Tuesday late morning. I packed him about 3/4 cup extra a day (1/4 cup in each meal and I sent him a 1/4 cup for a lunch snack.). I knew he'd be using more energy playing all day. He looks exactly the same so I think I guessed well. I spied on him on their online came when I had a chance and he was always happy and his tail was wagging. He seemed to always be playing with another lab type.

Anyone else have snow nose? W definitely does.

So, in some really big news, my husband said, out loud, that he now considers himself a dog person. He was a lifelong cat person. He used to have NO interest in having a dog ever. You guys, this is HUGE. I think that's the biggest honor for a dog, to turn a cat person into a dog person. We still LOVE our cat, BTW.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Glad W did so well at the boarding place! Hearing how well he did makes me feel better about possibly needing to board Kaizer this summer. I start applying to colleges this fall during my senior year, so I've been rushing to get things done that I can put on my application, especially since my grades are so average (I'm generally a mid-high B student). I can't remember if I've mentioned this, but this summer I'm volunteering in India to teach orphaned children how to speak English. There's a good chance my mom and brother are going to be coming with me to visit family (my parents are Indian immigrants and we have family in India we don't get to see often), which means Kaizer would need to be boarded for 18 days. We boarded him once, for a day (not even a night!), and he didn't poop at all and barely peed. Not sure if that's because he wasn't comfortable not being with us or because he didn't know where it was okay to go. He had access to the outside, but i guess he just didn't know he could go? I don't know.

Anyway, yeah Kaizer has the winter/snow nose too! He didn't have it last winter, so it's weird he got it this winter. Not sure if it's noticeable in the pic I sent last time.

I'm glad W has won over your husband! These dogs have a talent for it. My parents have always been wary of dogs (India has a lot of strays, they're not always friendly), but ever since Kaizer came, they're much much more comfortable with dogs. 

I have big news here too! There's a good chance that we might be possibly getting another golden in 2019!! It's still in the planning stage - my mom's on board but my dad has no idea about it, and I have to figure out if I can make it work. 2019 would be a great time to get another dog, I think, because Kaizer would be 3-4, meaning he'd still have all his puppy energy but he'd also be at a point where I don't have to worry about needing to train two puppies at once. It also gives me a good 2-2.5 years to put some titles on him. Again, it's not a full-fledged plan yet, so it might not happen/happen the way I thought it would.


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Hey Everyone! How are we (on the east coast anyway) enjoying the warmer weather? It's so nice to get out more. I don't think there's much new going on here. Still crated when not supervised. I've been taking him to school pick up with me (even though we aren't supposed to have dogs on school grounds) so he can get out more and learn to be calmer when greeting people. I keep him away from anyone and just let people approach us. 
Still struggling with eating poop and anal glands - I think the pumpkin pineapple ice cubes I made him to deter the poop eating made his poop too soft and re emerged the anal gland issues. I'm trying a new pill call Stool No that my friend recommended. So far so good. Also just trying to pick it up sooner.
My neighbors with the Weimer got a german shorthair pointer pup about a month ago, so he's around 3m now. He's super cute. Wilder can't play with him yet because W might hurt him but someday... He should be almost W's size when grown. He did play with the Weim the other day and had a blast.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Kaizer and I are definitely loving the warm weather, although I'm concerned because it's so warm. I'm sorry about W's anal glands :-( I've noticed that some particular bones give Kaizer loose stools and then cause his anal glands to act up, but after a week or two without the bone, his anal glands regulate themselves again. Maybe W's will shape up after some days without the pumpkin-pineapple ice cubes. No advice on the poop-eating, but I'm so glad the new pill is working!

Nothing much new here either, Kaizer's still crated when we are away and at night and he's still confined to one room (not my idea, my dad's. we spend all our time there anyway).

But, Kaizer and I are starting agility class next Thursday! We haven't been to a real-life class since last February (my mom had a lot of work and couldn't drive me to class), so I'm kinda nervous and really excited. I know Kaizer will be a hot mess when we walk in and may or may not have the best focus. I'm getting new treats just for agility class, so hopefully we'll make a quick recovery.


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

Oh my, I am overwhelmed with all the cute holiday festivities and exciting news with the June pups!
Whether it was pictures of Gipper's first Christmas or Q in front of her very own tree! 
GoldenLabMix, I am so glad your husband now considers himself to be a dog person (the only way to go).
And aesthetic, I think I screamed a little over the possibility of you guys getting another golden in 2019!
I would love for Hank to have a little sister! But with me going to law school soon, probably not the smartest idea right now. Someday.... someday...


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Law school is exciting!! Congratulations.


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Oh my Gosh! I'm so excited for the possibility of a puppy in 2019! We're going to need lots of pics when the time comes! I recently read an article that said between 2 yrs and 6 yrs was the ideal time to add a second puppy - for all the reasons you said. Agility should be fun for you both.
Caroline - Congrats on law school. Yeah...probably not an ideal time to add another pup to the mix. LOL but it doesn't stop the desire to get another I'm sure. 
I took W last week to the vet to get his glands expressed. I am now substitutung a 1/4 cup of LID Lamb and Rice to his on the theory that fiber is good to a point but he needs the bulk to help as well. I think it is. Oh, and he's eating poop again, because, of course.

I feel so bad on the days we have evening things for the kids. I try to make sure get him out mid day when I can but it doesn't always work. I'm sort of transitioning into an administrative role at work and sometimes we are short staffed, and I take the hit and work through lunch instead of putting that on anyone else. I run him more and all after school but still. We're still looking at mid-summer for the earliest possible time to get a second. And I go back and forth between being overwhelmed and excited. I'm thinking it'll be like adding a second kid - not nearly the life/schedule changes of the first but another living things to attend to. Obviously a yearling won't be the work of a baby puppy. We'll cross that bridge in the summer.

aesthetic, do you have any other options besides boarding him? I'm sure he'll do fine and what a wonderful adventure you'll have. And really if the kennel has daycare, the activity will be absolutely wonderful for him. I can't imagine that kennel bill though...4 days in January for Wilder was $200. Actually we're planning to go for 8 or so days in the summer so that's going to be a nice bill too. I totally wish we were closer I would take him and that would give us a good chance to try out life with two.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Depending on what your kids do, maybe you could bring W along? When my brother used to play rec soccer, people would bring their dogs to the games. I'm sure it's worse on you than it is on W. These dogs are really good at adjusting to new schedules. I'm excited to see your new addition though!! I bet W will love a new brother or sister and s/he'll keep him nice and tired out! I imagine you'll have a lot of "what did I just do?" thoughts before you get used to having two dogs. I'm sorry you're having trouble with W eating his poop again:-( I was really hoping those pills would work.

Whenever I get my second puppy, you guys will get SO many pictures! I'm hoping for 2019, but realistically, I'm looking at 2020. There's a lot I want to do with Kaizer first, so I want to see how that goes. I definitely want to get a second puppy before Kaizer gets too old to enjoy one, so really the latest I'd wait is 2021. I think getting a second when Kaizer is 4 (2019) is the best timing, because he'll be young and energetic, but also mature enough. My struggle is that in 2019, I'll be finishing up my freshman year of college/starting my sophomore year of college. I'm not sure how busy I'll be. Can you tell I've thought about this a lot?

Actually, turns out I may not have to board him! My brother isn't coming to India with us, so he can stay home with my dad and take care of Kaizer. Actually, Philly is less than an hour from me, so really, you're not tooooo far


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

I forgot to mention - one of my good friends is getting a golden puppy soon! I've sent her the information for a litter to be born April 1, so if she contacts them and everything works out, she'll be bringing a puppy home in June!! I'm so excited for her (and for me lol).


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Not sure where you've all been for the past two months, hope everything is okay with you all!


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Hi All! Everything is good here. Been bogged down with finishing the school year. Only 3 weeks left! W is good. I cannot believe he's going to be TWO soon. In his ongoing food saga we tried Natural Balance LID Lamb and Rice to firm up his stools and maybe help with the glands. It works! I don't like the lower protein so I've been mixing higher protein Merrick with it. But maybe that's going overboard and I should just not overthink it.
Still crated....of course. But not chasing the cat like he used to.
I traded in my minivan for a midsize SUV this week. Can still fit W in the back but I am getting used to the lack of room. I ordered a 36" wire crate with 2 doors for the back. I had been using a 40" airline crate but I can't fit that in. This might actually be better because he will be higher up and can see out the windows from the crate. We'll see when it comes.
LOL definitely no room for a second dog now... there's just one much going on now anyway so we'll revisit the idea in a while.
C


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

I'm so glad the new food works! Hopefully your days of constantly switching foods are over! Can't help you with the protein thing, but if the mixture you're feeding now is working for W, I wouldn't stop it. I'm glad he's not chasing the cat! These dogs take a little while to grow up, don't they  I can't believe they're going to be two soon! Just a couple weeks left. Isn't that crazy? It feels like we just brought them home. Maybe next year will be a good time to add another puppy 

Tomorrow is officially the first day I can drive by myself! Just in time for the summer and for Kaizer's birthday (i have a whole day planned). I'm thinking of putting his soft crate in the backseat when I drive with him in the car. We have a seatbelt harness, but we honestly rarely use that because someone's always in the backseat with him. He doesn't like being restricted by the seatbelt harness (he can't alternate looking out the windows) and he's managed to wiggle himself out of his harness a couple times. It'll be a distraction, so I'm hoping the soft crate will keep him safe but still let him look out the windows. He's never been crated in a car before so here's to hoping it all goes well! I should have worked with him on this months ago but..

This upcoming week is my last week of school, then we have finals, then we're done! I can't believe I'll be a senior next year. I've told my parents that Kaizer has to be in some of my graduation pictures


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Happy Birthday month to all of our Golden friends! Wilder had en uneventful day. He got one new toy. Luckily he has no clue. My husband had just gotten home from 2 weeks in China at midnight so Wilder was not the focus of the day! Poor guy. But I'm done teaching and just have some work from home for the summer so he's in his crate a lot less. Not a lot else going on here but just wanted to say Happy Birthday to everyone!


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## carolinehansen (Sep 16, 2015)

Someone is ecstatic to finally be 2 years old!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Happy birthday to all the June pups!!


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## ndirishkmk (Jan 23, 2016)

Happy Gotcha day to Gipper!! A big summer for him! Now a two year old and settled in his new house for a whole year. Side by side last year vs. this year!! [emoji3]










Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

How are all the June pups doing?


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Hello Everyone! I was thinking about how well Wilder has been doing lately and wanted to check in. He's really mellowed out. No doubt us me being home more has helped but he's just maturing as well. I haven't had the gates closed in a long time. He has the run of the house but knows in general that he's supposed to stay with a person. He stopped challenging the kids and they can actually survive him now. The cat no longer fears him. I have a pic on DH's ipad of them snuggling on the bed yesterday. It didn't last long but the fact that it happened is amazing. We're coming up on our 2 year gotcha day anniversary on the 29th of August. Still crated at night and when we're gone. But I think the night crating is going to end in the next few months. He sleeping in my son's room. They are SO bonded it's adorable. My son has a whole cartoon series based on him. I think we'll start gating him in there and just leave the crate door open soon. 
My daughter's guinea pig died last month. She was 5 and had some lymph node leak/malfunction. Vet put her on a couple drugs but she died a few days later. And our 18 yr old cat is down to less than 5.5 lbs. She was only ever 8 or 9 lbs at her biggest so always tiny. But in the past few weeks she's not eating much and I've been checking her on my postage scale. We did massive testing a while ago and her kidneys are probably slowly failing. She's still able to jump up on the counter and is happy and behaving normally so we'll just watch her and make a call when that changes. We're past the point of putting her through anything uncomfortable and are not even planning on doing more bloodwork at this point. Just seems cruel. Or maybe she'll surprise us with another year...when she had the stroke episode almost 2 years ago I never thought she'd see 18.
We did a 2 night shore trip in June, 12 night trip in July, and 4 nights last week - DH had a work trip and I took the kids to my parents'. So W has had plenty of play kennel time. I'm so glad he likes it there so we can travel without guilt. I *could* have taken him to my parents' but between the car sickness and being August and not being able to leave him in the car at all and no fenced yard at their house, it made things SO much easier to kennel him
So, that's our update. Getting ready for back to school here! My work schedule is a little lighter right now but I'm looking for a new job and who knows what that will be. No matter what, it won't be too far away.


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## Lambeau0609 (Aug 3, 2015)

Lambeau was 2 on June 9th. He is such a wonderful dog. Makes me wish that I would have had Golden Retrievers for my last 2 dogs before Lambeau. He was very easy from day 1. We was never a chewer or a landshark. He's been a joy to take on daily walks. He definately is my favorite dog. He has been out of this crate totally since 6 months old and has always had the run of the house since than even when we r not home. I'm still having problems with his over exciteness when people come in our house. I'm hoping as he gets older he will calm down. Any other time he is such a mellow dog.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Glad to see W is finally calming down!! I know how long you've been waiting for this, glad to see your hard work paid off! And Lambeau sounds wonderful I've taken to gating Kaizer in the family room whenever we have guests over (not often, which is part of the problem lol) and then letting him out when he calms down, which doesn't take too long. I've not really thought about fixing the behavior, although I probably should lol. I've been focusing my efforts elsewhere.

Kaizer has been calm in the house for as long as I can remember, but we're struggling with getting that calmness outside the house. I've kinda been working on it for the past year, but only started really working on it in the last couple months. We've made some really good progress already, so I'm hopeful that we'll turn a corner soon. He's such a good boy, he makes training him so easy.

Kaizer also went in to get neutered today, so fingers crossed that goes well.


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## Lambeau0609 (Aug 3, 2015)

Good luck with Kaizers neutering. I need to have that done this fall with Lambeau. I think part of Lambeaus craziness when people come over is also the lack of people that usually come over also. We moved into our new house 1.5 yrs ago and just recently have started to meet the neighbors so hopefully he will start to mellow out when people come over. We have always spent alot of time outside walking and hiking so he is very good with his walking and commands. Lambeaus weight is 65 pounds. I try very hard to keep him right at this amount.


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Thank you! We had a rough first night and day, but it seems to be getting better now. Hopefully it'll stay that way. Picture of Kaizer's new favorite sleeping position.

We moved to a new state 2 years ago too, so we didn't know anyone who could come visit while Kaizer was a puppy. That was also part of the problem. If we were still in Jersey, there would've been people to come visit (friends, family friends, neighbors, etc.). His outside greeting manners are very polite though - he's still all tail wags and body wiggles, but he goes into a sit or leans on them.

Kaizer is currently 68-70 pounds. I've been trying to get some weight on him because he's too skinny (you can clearly see every one of his ribs and occasionally his spine makes an appearance) but it's not really working. He has managed to gain 4-6 pounds since the beginning of June though! The lack of any physical activity in the next 2 weeks will hopefully put some weight on him, but I'm monitoring really carefully so he doesn't end up overweight.


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Aww, I'm so sorry K had a tough night. I remember with W that his first night was awful and sad but then he bounced back quickly. Is K back to himself? We found it was hard to restrict activity because he was feeling fine.
Lambeau is so cute. The excitement with new people seems to be a running theme. We have kids in our house enough so W is fairly calm with most of them after the initial greeting. (Our next door neighbor's son might as well live here some days.). He's worse with adults. We've been working on him sitting when the front door is opened, now that I put the gates away. I don't want him running out. 
Well, Wilder is now an only pet. Our cat deteriorated quickly over the past several days. We euthanized her this morning. It was terrible. We decided Saturday and all four of us had been sobbing all weekend. The kids had plenty (maybe too much) time to see how old/ill she was and get some closure. My daughter has had such a rough summer losing her guinea pig and now the cat that slept with her a lot. She's been crying a lot but understands. Sad.
I think W is 70 pounds. He seems about right. If he needs to lose, it's just a pound or two. We'll see when we go for shots in a couple of weeks. TOMORROW is his 2 year gotcha day. Bittersweet with all that has happened over the past couple of days, but we are glad to have him!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

I'm sorry about the loss of your cat and your daughter's guinea pig, I can't imagine how much that hurts. So glad you have W though!! Happy gotcha day!

Yes, he's back to normal! It's gotten to the point where we have to keep him on leash all the time because he's so full of energy and trying to run around constantly. I'm being really careful with him because he has three incision sites so we're not doing much training either (the stuff I was teaching him prior requires too much movement for me to be comfortable continuing with him). Only one week left!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

I'm sorry about the loss of your cat and your daughter's guinea pig, I can't imagine how much that hurts. So glad you have W though!! Happy gotcha day!

Yes, he's back to normal! It's gotten to the point where we have to keep him on leash all the time because he's so full of energy and trying to run around constantly. I'm being really careful with him because he has three incision sites so we're not doing much training either (the stuff I was teaching him prior requires too much movement for me to be comfortable continuing with him). Only one week left!


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

i don't know why it posted twice, 2 hours apart, sorry!


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## GoldenLabMix (Dec 3, 2015)

Hi All - I got an update on a random old thread I responded to and decided to check in here. How is everyone doing?

Wilder is, obviously, three now. He was 68.8 pounds at the vet this summer. He's an only pet for the last year since the elderly cat passed. However we are still on the wait list to adopt a 'failed' guide dog and have also applied and been approved to a local-ish Golden Retriever Rescue. Probably waiting for the guide dog, even though it would likely be a Shepherd, but could be a lab, because it would be smaller (50-65 pounds is how big they breed them) and be solid as far as disposition. With the Golden Rescue, finding a combo of size and temperament has not happened yet. Many either need to be only dogs, or are not good with kids, or are 90 pounds, LOL. My kids are still smaller - both (10 and 12 years old) are between 60 and 70 pounds, and we really want a smaller one so one kid and one parent could walk both dogs, instead of needing both adults to be home. We have also considered a smaller friend -- my daughter is pushing for a corgi -- but have not found any appropriate rescues and we just don't feel like starting fresh with a new puppy at this time. So, we'll wait and see what fate has in store. In the meantime, he plays with a friend's Bernedoodle and other neighborhood dogs when we get a chance, and goes to the play-kennel when we travel. They moved and added a water park so you know he's in heaven there.

Wilder is GREAT. He's such a loving guy. Knows exactly how to lean in to us to get pets when he wants. My husband, who initially wasn't thrilled about getting a dog, LOVES the dog and says he's no longer a cat person. Wilder clearly loves him back - they have a bromance of sorts. He sleeps in my son's room. We do still prop the gate up against the door simply because he would visit us and nose us awake during the night. And my daughter's room has a gate propped on the door because she has so much craft stuff all over her floor and room and he will go in and chew it if the gate isn't there. Otherwise, the house is gate free and he's a good boy unless he gets a paper napkin or tissue occasionally. I was so excited when he stopped destroying soft toys because he's got a collection of them now. He will often use them as pilllows and it's adorable. I just started back to teaching pre-k last week. He's definitely bummed that the kids and I are not here as much. Older kid started Jr high and we're all out of the house a little earlier. I can still come home for lunch but this past week had been so crazy that I have stayed at school and feel guilty but really he just sleeps all day.

He still goes nuts when someone comes over but now it's about 10-20 seconds instead of the incessant 10-20 minutes of a couple of years ago. He settles quickly and just wants pets. The kids' friends, and their parents, are quite used to him.

Would love to hear about your June puppies!!! Anyone have a new friend? Update when you can!
Cate and Wilder


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## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Cate! It's been forever, how are you doing? I'm so glad to hear W is doing well - it's crazy how much these dogs have changed! I know everyone said it was gonna get better, but it sure didn't feel like that 3 years ago LOL.

Kaizer's been having super odd health issues (mainly skin issues) for the last year and a half now. We've been in and out of the vets and I've spent way more money than I actually have, and he's still somewhat of a medical mystery. You would never know by looking at him though - he is still my sweet, playful, happy boy! I was hoping we'd have everything under control by now, but we do not. We're making due though!

Unfortunately, no new dogs in my household  Just can't do it between Kaizer's skin issues and college. Maybe in the next couple of years.

Can't believe our June babies are almost 4!! It doesn't feel like we brought them home all those years ago!


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