# when do goldens fully mature?



## lynnzieandme (Sep 27, 2009)

so Lynnzie is about a year and a half and she still just seems so crazy! like i want her to be able to be in the house more couse she is almost a full time outside dog  and i really dont like it. but i dont like her inside that much either couse she is crazy she jumps on the couches (Leather!) and chases the kids and the cats, and it all just can be a little to much some times. But my friends have 3 golden retrievers and they spend so much time in the house and there so calm there is 2 fully grown adults (idont know their ages) and then they have a 6 month old puppy and she is so calm and i just dont get it. I know other dogs are calmer then others but is there a certain thing you can teach them to be playful out side but inside they HAVE to be calm??
thanks


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## Chloe Braun (Aug 21, 2010)

Golden Retrievers usually mature at around 2years old. Well physically anyways...  Mentally is a different story with it being not usually before 3 years of age.


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## lovemydoggiesx2 (Sep 5, 2010)

I think most of it has to do with training and socialization. Most of us on the forum have our dogs inside. Mine only go out to pee or play when supervised. I think your girl is wild because when she does GET to come in the house she is overcome with joy and excitement that it shows. I am sure if she just spent more time inside you would see that she calms down. Also maybe try to play with her and tire her out a bit before you let her in. Or maybe obediance classes would help.


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## Mileysmom (Feb 11, 2009)

Miley is almost 3 and in my house it's just the two of us. When I am at work she is allowed to roam but has not destroyed anything (badly) when I am not home...infact...when I get home she is slowly getting off the couch to greet me! But..once I get home all bets are off!!! Has to grab & touch & bring me anything that she is able to grab then she calms down. I think she is just as excited to see me as I am to see her but she can be a handful at times. I limited the "space" she could be left alone in at first and make it "kid safe" and it worked.
Good luck...


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## Maggies mom (Jan 6, 2006)

Doesnt sound like she has had much training or exercise. That is a lot of your problem.I have 4 goldens who are inside... one of mine Abbie(4) is very high energy, if she doesnt get her daily walks-3-4 miles, she rocks anyones world....We walk rain or sun, warm or cold.. Try getting her in a training class and give her more exercise


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## amy22 (May 11, 2008)

I agree with lovemydoggiesxs2...your pup is sooo happy to be inside with her FAMILY that she cant control herself. The more she is inside the more she will get used to being inside. Poor baby she just want to be with you.
Training and tiring her oout will also be of great help.
Good luck...


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## AmbikaGR (Dec 31, 2007)

Nature and nurture are at the root of the problem not the age or maturity of Lynnzie. Like you stated some dogs are calmer than others, we will assume yours is not the calmest one of the lot.  That being said a lot can be accomplished by nurturing, training. And it is far from just retraining the dog, it will involve retraining yourself, your children and whoever else might have regular contact with Lynnzie. If she is getting very limited inside time then she is on excitement overload when she does come in. You will need to gradually extend the time, but it is critical that she be under adult supervision every second she is inside. Then she is corrected every time she does an undesired behavior and rewarded for being good. At first I would strongly recommend doing this without the children also being present. Later the children can be added to the equation but they must learn that roughhousing and excitable play with the dog inside are not permitted. And things that you do not want the fog to do must ALWAYS be unacceptable. So if you do not want the dog on the furniture she should never be allowed up on it, even if given permission. This goes for everything like jumping up on people (anyone), etc. As others have said formal obedience training would help immensely! 
It will not be easy as the dog is already set in a pattern but it can changed and especially being a Golden Retriever.

Good luck!


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## Willow52 (Aug 14, 2009)

I think exercise is the key. I know that being in the fenced yard isn't enough for Hank. We installed an invisible fence on about 1 1/2 acres so he can really run and chase a ball. It's amazing how much this helps and I can really tell the difference when it's a rainy day and he doesn't get to run.

Of course not everyone has that much room but some off-leash time at a park or school yard will help.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

lynnzieandme said:


> so Lynnzie is about a year and a half and she still just seems so crazy! like i want her to be able to be in the house more couse she is almost a full time outside dog  and i really dont like it. but i dont like her inside that much either couse she is crazy she jumps on the couches (Leather!) and chases the kids and the cats, and it all just can be a little to much some times. But my friends have 3 golden retrievers and they spend so much time in the house and there so calm there is 2 fully grown adults (idont know their ages) and then they have a 6 month old puppy and she is so calm and i just dont get it. I know other dogs are calmer then others but is there a certain thing you can teach them to be playful out side but inside they HAVE to be calm??
> thanks


I hate to say this, but it's going to take a lot of patience on your side and keeping the dog INSIDE on a leash until she settles down.

The zoomies are probably partly her being young and goofy, but the rest is that she doesn't know how to be comfortable and quiet in the house, because her comfortable and quiet place is usually outside. 

Her being inside is a novelty and she is very happy and excited to be inside with you and those big squirrels you keep in there with you. 

Our first guy was exactly the same. He was born outside and spent his first six months outside. During that time and even a year or so later after we smacked ourself upside the head for stupidity and made him an indoor dog, he couldn't settle in the house and was pretty much like a bull in a china shop. He DID settle down, but it did take at least a year. 

My current golden is the only one that actually settled down before three. My previous guy (Danny) did not mature and calm down until he was almost 5! But he knew how to behave inside and was perfectly calm. He knew being outside was for playing (and in his brain, running), and he saved his wild time for being out there. 

Dogs who are inside the house from day one learn our routines. They learn early on where all of the comfortable nap places are in the house. They learn early on to respect the cats. They learn early on how to be indoor dogs. 

Your dog did not have that early advantage, which means you have to give her time to do all that learning now. The only difference (unfortunately) is instead of teaching a little pint sized puppy how to settle in the house and so forth, you will be dealing with a full grown dog who has never spent much time in the house. 

It can be done, and I recommend doing what we did with our first golden and keep her on leash and either umbilicaled to you, or completely dog proof one room in your home and spend your evenings in this room with your dog, with the door shut or a gate up to keep your dog in the room and the cats out. 

Give her a bone to chew. Give her toys she can play with. But don't spend too much time fussing over her. She will have to learn that she can occupy herself in this "quiet" room with you or she can nap. 

The more you give her time to relax in the house (without throwing her back outside to sleep, remember you don't want her thinking that playtime and attention always happens in the house and sleep time is for outside), the nicer your dog will get. Again, you have to be patient and keep yourself relaxed. <- And that's the other thing. When you get frazzled and frustrated, that makes it more difficult for her to settle down. Because she can feel all that.


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## solinvictus (Oct 23, 2008)

Many goldens take a long time to mature. That really doesn't sound like that is the real problem though. Many of the goldens that take a long time to mature still have great house manners as they were trained on how to act inside the house.
It takes a lot of time, patience and consistency to get a dog to have good manners. Sending the dog outside isn't giving the dog the skills to act appropriately in the house. 
Make a plan.
What do you want the dog to do in the house? What behaviors do you want to reward and then start training for those? Get the whole family involved so that everyone is being consistent on those behaviors. 

I would suggest focusing on the behaviors you want to encourage and not focusing on the behaviors you want to discourage. Give your dog things to do to replace the unwanted behaviors. 

Dog jumping at the table/ teach the dog to lie on a mat and reward
Dog chewing inappropriate objects/trade and give appropriate objects
In the beginning of training there should be a lot of management to prevent most of the bad behaviors that have become habits over time.
Use gates and crates to limit access to unwanted objects. 
The most important things are having a plan and having everyone being consistent.
Set your dog up for success!


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

AmbikaGR said:


> Nature and nurture are at the root of the problem not the age or maturity of Lynnzie. Like you stated some dogs are calmer than others, we will assume yours is not the calmest one of the lot.  That being said a lot can be accomplished by nurturing, training. And it is far from just retraining the dog, it will involve retraining yourself, your children and whoever else might have regular contact with Lynnzie. If she is getting very limited inside time then she is on excitement overload when she does come in. You will need to gradually extend the time, but it is critical that she be under adult supervision every second she is inside. Then she is corrected every time she does an undesired behavior and rewarded for being good. At first I would strongly recommend doing this without the children also being present. Later the children can be added to the equation but they must learn that roughhousing and excitable play with the dog inside are not permitted. And things that you do not want the fog to do must ALWAYS be unacceptable. So if you do not want the dog on the furniture she should never be allowed up on it, even if given permission. This goes for everything like jumping up on people (anyone), etc. As others have said formal obedience training would help immensely!
> It will not be easy as the dog is already set in a pattern but it can changed and especially being a Golden Retriever.
> 
> Good luck!


This is excellent advice and yes, your road to retraining her is going to be more difficult because she is already in a pattern, unfortunately. You must also get everyone in your family on board so there is consistency.

I have one of those natural high energy Goldens at home. He is almost 7 and while he is finally slowing down a little bit, he constantly challenges us on the rules and keeps us on our toes. He is a rescue with an AKC registration. We adopted him less than a month after his first family picked him up from a breeder. He was much too high energy for them and they contacted a rescue group within days of bringing him home. Later I traced his pedigree and his high energy was explained by the long line of field champions in his lineage. Despite that he is a loving, cherished family member and is with us inside the house all of the time, except for potty breaks and daily walks. We would never dream of keeping him outside, ever, because Goldens are people dogs and need to be with their people to be at their happiest. To do otherwise is not fair to the dog and will only escalate behavior issues. Spending most of her life outside with limited human interaction or stimulation is no way for a dog to live and, to be brutally honest, she would be better off released to a rescue group if changes cannot be made soon.

Formal obedience training, consistent supervision and loving enforcement of house rules along with lots of exercise and mental stimulation are the keys to a well balanced and settled Golden family member. I suggest lots of daily exercise to tire her out as well, whether it is ball retrieving, long walks or starting up with something like agility. Your children can be recruited for this responsibility, if they are old enough.


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## NuttinButGoldens (Jan 10, 2009)

Physically, around 2 years.

Mentally, year 3 seems to be the average sweet spot.


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## lynnzieandme (Sep 27, 2009)

Thank you all so much it helped more than you know.


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## Oaklys Dad (Dec 28, 2005)

I have a 5 year old and a 3 year old and they both need lots of exercise. Just bouncy happy dogs. They do now finally settle once they have had their exercise and loving for the day.


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