# desperate advice for rehoming a 2 year old golden



## Ffcmm (May 4, 2016)

Bumping up!


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## CCoopz (Jun 2, 2020)

Hi, sorry not an expert but firstly I would want to ascertain did the golden bite or mouth? Did he snap/lash out bite and maim?

We rescued a golden at 18 months who resource guarded toys somewhat. It wasn’t super bad to us. He would latch on and mouth our forearm or wrist. Sometimes accompanied by a growl. He never bit down on us. We adopted him via our regional GR club. I believe you have well established such clubs and regional GR rescue organisations in the US.

He came from a home with a baby and child. The rehoming was due to divorce no mention of issues with the children.

We trained him to trade his toys and then to give them up when told to drop. So it can be done. But I think it probably helped that we didn’t have kids so we didn’t have that worry when we were training him. Teddy is fantastic with our nieces/nephews etc, very gentle. It’s adults men he’s more likely to push it with.

My thoughts would be to try to rehome the golden through local golden retriever rescue club, not any old shelter. As they will have breed knowledge and will be able to place him with a suitable home. Such as with a person or couple without young children who have experience of the breed.

Maybe I am being harsh to the family but I’d rather see the golden have a second chance with an experienced golden home than stay with people who didn’t training her properly and have caused this situation. Not the poor dogs fault.


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

The dog needs to be returned to the breeder and then she can properly assess the possibility of placing the dog in an experienced adults only home. The training and management of the dog and the children may not be there but the reality is that this dog very likely has a genetic propensity for resource guarding that is higher than normal and the safety of children comes first. The bite history means most rescues can't take her for liability reasons. The family also has an ethical responsibility placing a dog with a known biting history. This is not an easy solve, a good breeder is a safety net for the dog and should be contacted.


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## pawsnpaca (Nov 11, 2014)

If the dog came from a reputable breeder the owners may be contractually required to return the dog to the breeder. If the dog did NOT come from a reputable breeder, then I agree the next option would be to contact the local golden retriever rescue group(s). Although they can't take a dog with a bite history, there is a difference between a dog who snapped or nipped vs. one who gave a serious bite. It's worth asking and/or talking with the rescue group(s). They may have ideas for other resources. If you strike out there, my next suggestion would be to contact some local trainers to see if there are any would might foster/train/rehome the dog. Final option would be to find a foster for the dog (if he's truly a threat to the kids he needs to be removed from the home sooner rather than later) until an appropriate adult home with experienced owners can be found. It also doesn't hurt to reach out to the local GR club or reputable breeders who might have a member willing to take this dog in and assess/train/rehome him as appropriate.


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## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

Best choices above- Lisa's right, most rep breeders do have a return clause and would require this. Secondarily a GR rescue- and it does matter whether bite or nip. And GRCA member club is another good resource- they are listed under member clubs on GRCA.org site


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## debbie624 (Aug 10, 2018)

Prism Goldens said:


> Best choices above- Lisa's right, most rep breeders do have a return clause and would require this. Secondarily a GR rescue- and it does matter whether bite or nip. And GRCA member club is another good resource- they are listed under member clubs on GRCA.org site


Thanks everyone. The family contacted the trainer at my club because she runs the local golden retriever rescue in our area and they can't take a dog with a bite history. So I suggested that if they got the dog from a breeder, to first call the breeder because they would likely take her back. I haven't personally been in touch with the family so I don't have a lot of those details. Because my own 2 y/o golden resource guards too, and I have been training her and know how to train with "fair trade", I thought it could be an option for me to take her in. It is still something I am considering as a last resort for this family if giving back to the breeder (if there is one) isn't an option. But if I can't take her in, I am looking for other options. From what the trainer told me, the dog actually bit the kids on the hands. The kids range in age from 7 to 11. They said not serious but she bit and she growls when they walk by. They don't want her in a home with children for obvious reasons.


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## CCoopz (Jun 2, 2020)

Growls when they walk by 😬 probably a fear based behaviour to keep kids away after bad experiences with the kids. 

This is a very delicate situation. You sound like a great person to foster and assess/rehabilitate the golden then consider finding a new home for her. 
Good luck, wishing the golden girl all the best


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## debbie624 (Aug 10, 2018)

CCoopz said:


> Growls when they walk by 😬 probably a fear based behaviour to keep kids away after bad experiences with the kids.
> 
> This is a very delicate situation. You sound like a great person to foster and assess/rehabilitate the golden then consider finding a new home for her.
> Good luck, wishing the golden girl all the best


Thank you. Yes, I suspect that the dog started to growl and resource guard bc the kids were taking toys away and no one bothered to teach the kids to respect the dog or train the dog to fair trade. It is very sad. I considered adopting her myself but that still may not be an option bc I worry what if the dog became aggressive or resource guarded with my golden. My golden is a tiny tot, she's only 45 pounds. English creams tend to be larger I think. I'm very much on the fence but feel drawn to help this family. I was hoping maybe someone here on the forum would possibly be searching for a golden to adopt and if not, to provide some resources of places who can take a dog like this. I will give the family the Golden retriever club of Illinois info too. Maybe they can help.


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## debbie624 (Aug 10, 2018)

nolefan said:


> The dog needs to be returned to the breeder and then she can properly assess the possibility of placing the dog in an experienced adults only home. The training and management of the dog and the children may not be there but the reality is that this dog very likely has a genetic propensity for resource guarding that is higher than normal and the safety of children comes first. The bite history means most rescues can't take her for liability reasons. The family also has an ethical responsibility placing a dog with a known biting history. This is not an easy solve, a good breeder is a safety net for the dog and should be contacted.


I am curious on how you train with resource guarding. My 2 y/o golden resource guards too. She used to growl and has gone to nip at my daughter (age 16) but I have really been focusing on teaching her fair trade which is really helping. It isn't necessarily stopping her from resource guarding, but it is successful in distracting her with toys so she drops her prized possession or I will trade with a treat and she drops her prized possession even quicker. So we are managing it better and the growling has stopped and she has;t nipped anymore. I wonder if the resource guarding will always be Coco's tendency and its a matter of how we manage it. Wondering your opinion on if it's possible to get the resource guarding to stop altogether.


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## CCoopz (Jun 2, 2020)

Just an idea but could you ask the current owners to meet you somewhere neutral like a dog training hall or secure field and see how the two dogs get on? After a while introduce a ball or toy to see if they resource guard from each other. 
Because our boy is naturally submissive with other dogs, very happy go lucky, he doesn’t resource guard balls etc around other dogs. He does give you a confused look if they attempt to trot off with his ball.

Just wondering if resource guarding from humans doesn’t always translate to guarding against other dogs.

Although thinking out loud I suppose this is a risky strategy as you wouldn’t want to spark an all out fight between them. Hhhmm 😬


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## CCoopz (Jun 2, 2020)

Ps you could try starting a new post on here explicitly stating in the headline golden available for adoption (state in) 

As some people maybe not reading the current post as they think it’s just advice wanted


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

debbie624 said:


> I am curious on how you train with resource guarding. My 2 y/o golden resource guards too. She used to growl and has gone to nip at my daughter (age 16) but I have really been focusing on teaching her fair trade which is really helping. It isn't necessarily stopping her from resource guarding, but it is successful in distracting her with toys so she drops her prized possession or I will trade with a treat and she drops her prized possession even quicker. So* we are managing it better *and the growling has stopped and she has;t nipped anymore. I wonder if the resource guarding will always be Coco's tendency and its a matter of how we manage it. Wondering your opinion on if it's possible to get the resource guarding to stop altogether.


There are people who have worked through it. I don't know the situations personally though and if it really truly is behind them or if they just have a lower threshold for risk than I do. Personally I would NEVER trust or turn my back on a dog who has exhibited multiple resource guarding tendencies with a child or anyone outside the immediate family. I just am cautious and would not. Meaning, when I had company over who had children I would crate the dog or if it were adults I'd be sure all items were picked up that are a potential problem and be sure the dog was either with me at all times or leashed or gated. It's just not worth the risk. You have to decide if that's how you want to live for the next 10 years.

You know, you've hit the nail on the head - half of this problem is simply managing the dog better. People who have never been through this with a dog simply have no idea that it's even a thing that can happen. So they start off raising a puppy with out a structure to prevent it. I absolutely think that while it is normal dog behavior, some dogs are genetically programmed for taking it too far and it's probably a muti-faceted issue. There's a reason that the problem happens so much with children, there's a reason that one of the biggest solutions for heading it off is obedience training and structure and that some dogs only show the problem in certain settings - some of these dogs need more structure and clearer boundaries and expectations about obedience because it's a respect issue. I am a believer in "Nothing In Life is Free" for dogs who seem to want to push the boundaries. And more structured obedience than the average pet home where the dog is treated more like a person. 

I'm so glad you're having success with working harder on teaching your 2 year old to trade. Keep up the good work, set her up for success by keeping things picked up that she could pick up, don't backslide with obedience work, keep on top of this for life. Don't ever get complacent when children visit. Best of luck with your decision on the other dog. I suspect if you gave her a trial visit and treated her like a dog, worked on obedience and Nothing IN Life is Free with her, you may very well have a different experience with her than her current family because she will have more respect for you. But I would never forget that she is willing to put teeth on young people.


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## debbie624 (Aug 10, 2018)

Thanks for your honesty. Its interesting bc I started Coco off in obedience classes at about 4/5 months and had a private trainer before then for a couple sessions. She grabs socks, underwear, scarves, etc to make a game at first but running around the house with her prized possession. When it comes time to give it up, she resource guards. I stopped chasing her so as not to reinforce the game. And I offer trade with a toy or treat. When it comes to "off limits" dangerous stuff, she doesn't resource guard and drops immediately even without being told. Its odd. She is a Malagold and I have stayed in regular contact with Jessica but I don't think her dogs do this. I need to reach back out to her and find out. Initially, when Coco would resource guard, I would power struggle with her and discipline her to get her to drop but then changed over to the trade and building her trust since the trainer at my club advised me to do so. Thankfully it is working. My last golden never resource guarded so this is very new to us. Thanks for your feedback. By the way, the golden needing a home has found a new home.


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## debbie624 (Aug 10, 2018)

Hello everyone. I wanted to update everyone and let you know that the family I was trying to help find a home for their golden, they have found a home for her. Thanks to everyone who responded so quickly to my desperate need. I was very very worried about Abby.


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Thanks for the update, glad you were able to help this family and this girl.


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