# Goldens born in August 2010



## JackandBeau (Oct 20, 2010)

*Aug baby*

Hi 

I also have an August baby. He was born 8/28 and we are still waiting to bring him home. The breeder should be calling any day now as he will be 8 weeks this saturday.


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## JCR (Sep 23, 2010)

Sophie was born 8/15 and we got her on 10/15. It's been a tiring 5 days to say the least  

Is anyone crate training? How is potty training going?


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## Naila (Oct 1, 2010)

Hi! Naïla is born on the 25th and the potty training is more difficult than the first days...maybe because we don't crate her for sleeping. She's crying to much and my husband don't tolerate that. We put her in the bathroom with her bed, a lot of toys and pee pads. She does pretty well. I know that this is maybe confusing for puppy, because we accept pee indoors in the night but not in the day...


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## Naila (Oct 1, 2010)

There is a pic of Naïla  :


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## luv2smile (May 27, 2010)

*Cajun*

Our pup, Cajun, was born on 8/20. We brought him home on Sunday and all is going well. He is being a really great puppy. 

We are crate training although he hasn't been in it as much during the day as he will have to be once I go back to work. I'm just trying to get him used to it. 

Last night was wonderful. He had already started falling asleep with us in the family room so we took him out to potty and then into the upstairs crate next to our bed. He didn't whine once and went straight to sleep which was around 11:30. He made it until almost 3 before he woke us up. We went to potty and then he slept until 6:30.....yay :doh:

Potty training is going really well. We had a couple pee accidents yesterday during play times that we caught him in the act on. Other than that, he's learned that going to the door and whining means that he will get to go outside. I think I'm going to try bell training him to go out...we'll see. No accidents at all at night in his crate or in his crate during the day...."keeping fingers crossed".

He is following me all over the house too and laying by my feet. So far bitter apple spray seems to be working on the chewing although he's not much of one yet...."keeping fingers crossed again". 

More pics of Cajun (there are some others in my introduction post). As you can see from the last pic, he likes snuggling with my shoes...slippers, sneakers, it doesn't matter. At least he isn't chewing them


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## kerry (Oct 2, 2010)

Hi to everyone, It will be interesting to see how they all grow. 
We haven't started crate training yet. I plan to start this weekend. Oscar has been sleeping in a travel cot since we brought him home. He sleeps from about 11pm untill 3am has a wee, and then back to sleep untill 6.30am. Potty training is going well, we are in an apartment so he is paper trained for now. We have only had a couple of accidents. I thought I'd really puppy proofed here but boy..he finds the strangest things to try to eat, tiny bits of fluff, he even pulled a raw plug ( that a screw fits into) out of the wall. Lucky that I am observant! Is anyone else feeling quite tired? lol
Only 10 more days until I can take him out!


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## Dixiesmom (Oct 6, 2010)

Dixie was born 8/9. We brought her home at 6 weeks and later found out we shouldn't have gotten her so early. Makes me wonder about the breeder but she's been fine. She is being crate trained and we leave the crate downstairs at night. The first few weeks I would set my alarm and take her out around 2 or 3 am but then she was always asleep and I started letting her sleep and waited to see if she whined. She never did, she sleeps from about 10pm until 7 - 7:30 am!! I'm very happy about that. The chewing and biting was driving me crazy for a bit but that's getting better already, thanks in part to bitter apple spray. She's very friendly and beautiful and a wonder playmate for the kids.


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## JackandBeau (Oct 20, 2010)

Beau came home yesterday and loves our male black lab who is 6. The lab however isn't quite sure as Beau loves to nibble on his tail. So far potty training is going well and we are working on crate training today. We let him sleep with us last night and I took him out about every 3 hours when I noticed him trying to change his position a bunch. Hoping our crate training will go well! For now my Lab is also crying when the puppy cries


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## Z064ever (Oct 22, 2010)

My pup, Finn, was born August 15, and we brought him home October 18.


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## wenryder (Oct 21, 2010)

Obie was born 08/08. 

We have also been crate training him, and have had no accidents in his bed. He's been pretty good, always gives us a little cry when he needs to go out in the middle of the night. For the last few nights, he's been holding it all night (to bed at 10, up at 6) and then it's a rush to the door once he wakes up.


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## Torbitudes (Aug 7, 2010)

Cookie was born August 20. She came home on Oct 8 (7 weeks). She is pretty good about holding it in the crate but piddles everywhere in the house. She also despises her leash with a passion and is quite stubborn. She is a sweetheart though - she really enjoys crawling into laps for a cuddle and snooze. She is also pretty good about coming when she's called. I love seeing a little golden pup galloping towards me


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## kerry (Oct 2, 2010)

How is everyone else dealing with the biting and pulling on clothes (or is my pup the only one who is doing it?) We are tring to teach Oscar to play nicely and not bite hands, feet, legs.arms etc when playing. I don't mind him playing tug with toys but do not let him tug on our clothes. Problems arise when he is playing with our 7 year old and they both get over excited...so the play is very supervised.


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## Naila (Oct 1, 2010)

Hi kerry! I'm dealing with the same issue, biting is really a problem here with Naïla, 8 weeks old. My husband told me yesterday that this have to improve soon or we should gave or sold Naïla to someone else. I'll try to explain, but my english is not very good (I'm french canadian) so excuse my faults. I have two children, they are only one year and two years old. I know, they are too young to have a dog, etc...Everybody was telling me, so don't tell me...But I know some people that did it and it was okay. 

So, I started crate training Naïla for the night since two days (I have try before but it was the panic, she cry to much). The first night was difficult, she was crying a lot, maybe for 10 minutes. The second night was a dream, she slept from 10 pm to 6h30 am!!! Last night (third night) was so so (she cry 5 minutes and wake up 2 times to pee and poop). So this morning I decide to also start crating her when she is biting to much or become over excited, like I read on other treads here. It was the first time I put her in the crate during the day, and she was crying very much...but now, after 10 minutes, she fall asleep... I read in a book that they are often biting when they need someting (are hungry, thirsty, need to pee or poop, etc). I will continue to read about crate and biting...and I will tell you if it's seems to work...if you have ideas you can tell me too!


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## Torbitudes (Aug 7, 2010)

kerry said:


> How is everyone else dealing with the biting and pulling on clothes (or is my pup the only one who is doing it?) We are tring to teach Oscar to play nicely and not bite hands, feet, legs.arms etc when playing. I don't mind him playing tug with toys but do not let him tug on our clothes. Problems arise when he is playing with our 7 year old and they both get over excited...so the play is very supervised.


We were dealing with a very mouthy puppy. However, she has improved significantly because we have been teaching her the difference between a gentle nip (which is ok and warns children when they are playing too roughly with the puppy) and a hard bite (not ok). When she bites hard, we yelp 'Ouch!' and walk away and ignore her. If she bites clothes/her leash etc., we (1) hold her muzzle shut (gently) while saying no! or (2) giving her a light smack on the snout (emphasis on light) if (1) is not working.


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## Torbitudes (Aug 7, 2010)

Naila said:


> Hi kerry! I'm dealing with the same issue, biting is really a problem here with Naïla, 8 weeks old. My husband told me yesterday that this have to improve soon or we should gave or sold Naïla to someone else. I'll try to explain, but my english is not very good (I'm french canadian) so excuse my faults. I have two children, they are only one year and two years old. I know, they are too young to have a dog, etc...Everybody was telling me, so don't tell me...But I know some people that did it and it was okay.
> 
> So, I started crate training Naïla for the night since two days (I have try before but it was the panic, she cry to much). The first night was difficult, she was crying a lot, maybe for 10 minutes. The second night was a dream, she slept from 10 pm to 6h30 am!!! Last night (third night) was so so (she cry 5 minutes and wake up 2 times to pee and poop). So this morning I decide to also start crating her when she is biting to much or become over excited, like I read on other treads here. It was the first time I put her in the crate during the day, and she was crying very much...but now, after 10 minutes, she fall asleep... I read in a book that they are often biting when they need someting (are hungry, thirsty, need to pee or poop, etc). I will continue to read about crate and biting...and I will tell you if it's seems to work...if you have ideas you can tell me too!


Puppies tire easily, thankfully! Our puppy cries for a bit after going in the crate (sometimes), but she complains a lot less if we lure her in with a food treat. We usually give her a second treat once she's inside the crate and we've closed the door. Sometimes she even goes in on command. We found that it was helpful to put her crate in our bedroom for the first few nights.

They also grow out of the 'biting' stage, with proper correction. Retrievers, in general, are very oral (hence the 'mouthiness'). She likely isn't teething yet, but she will be soon. Please see my above post regarding what we do to correct our puppy - hopefully it's somewhat helpful!


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

Hey guys, just saw this thread now.

Here is Jackson, born 8/11/10. We took him home on 10/8/10 at just over 8 weeks old.

First 2 pics are at just about 8 1/2 weeks

Next 2 are at 10 weeks

The last 3 were taken yesterday at 11 weeks. (actually is 11 weeks old today!)

Big difference 2 weeks can make, huh? :woot2:


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## luv2smile (May 27, 2010)

We almost named our August puppy Jackson as well, but ened up with Cajun...those were our two name choices. Cute puppy....he looks so tiny at 8 weeks compared to the otehr photos. Cajun is about 2 weeks younger than Jackson. Welcome to the board and give Jackson hugs and kisses for everyone.


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## kerry (Oct 2, 2010)

Aww Jackson is very cute! Welcome to August pups


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

Introducing Chili, born on 8/28 and home on 10/23. We've been busy and only had a chance to run to the park for pictures two days ago. First couple days were great, except when in the crate (howling, whining, you name it). He's since settled in nicely. Now he'll cry/whine for the first few minutes and then play or sleep. Generally he's been a doll so far. Doesn't get too mouthy otherwise play stops for 10 seconds. I tell the same to strangers he meets, and he's great with them! He's great on a leash, responding to a gentle tightening of the leash and adjusting his pace to match mine (except when there are distractions or his collar causes an itch - still getting used to that pesky thing). He is a bit mouthy with objects though. He wants to chew everything he sees! We'll have to work on that, but for now we say NO and divert his attention to one of his toys. His energy level is MUCH higher than my last golden many years ago. He's like an energizer bunny and already gets bursts of the zoomies inside the house. I can't wait until he's old enough to start training on an invisible fence so I can let him run off leash to burn this energy! Oh, and he's learned "sit" really well! I'm working on "down" now, but that's taking a little longer. Also working on his impulse control around feeding times. He has to sit and remain calm when I put the food and water down. I still have to hold him in case he leaps at it, but most times he'll wait a full 5 secs until I'm done putting everything down and release him. 

Here's a few from our park outing the other day. It was a long day, starting with the vet, trip to the outdoor mall to meet people and wrapping up at the park. He did really really well!


















The leaves are peaking this week. His first introduction to water!


















Pooped!! (surprisingly, he still had energy to play after dinner!!!)


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## Naila (Oct 1, 2010)

Welcome, RKA! Chili is a beautiful puppy!


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## kerry (Oct 2, 2010)

Hi to RKA and Chilli!


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## Naila (Oct 1, 2010)

We'll have first kindergarten class this afternoon with Naïla...

She know sit, we work on down and stay. She does very well on go search, come back and give (with rewards, of course). She now sleep in her crate every night, without whinning or crying, and most of time she sleep from 10hpm to 6h30 am!!! and potty training is going very well, only one or two accident daily... She'll have her second shots monday (first visit with the vet for us). But she' still very mouthy and biting. She weight 14.5 pounds. And how are yours?


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## kerry (Oct 2, 2010)

Glad things are going ok Nalia 
Oscar discovered he can get on to the sofa today, so I cannot leave him even for a second in the living room incase he jumps on and then off the sofa.
He is very mouthy too but it is improving, apart from when he has his mad time (zoomies) at about 8.30 every evening and I mean MAD!
He now weighs 19.1lbs.


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## luv2smile (May 27, 2010)

Cajun is definately becoming very bitey and mouthy when he's hyper and full of energy. Tugging on my cloths, hands, arms, leash...anything he can get...he definately thinks it is a game so we are trying hard to correct it without much luck so far it seems anyway. Once he's burned some off, he's chill and will lick you.

His zoomies are absolutely hilarous though. 

We are slowly getting the hang of potty training again after the setback of being sick. 

BTW, Chili was a name I was thinking about also, lol.


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## Golden23 (Sep 7, 2010)

Hi, 

Keva was born August 14 and we brought her home on October 15. 

She is crazy one moment and sweet and calm the next.

Went to her 1st dinner party last week and did great! Was fine with the 5 kids, 6 adults and 1 large black lab. Boy, did she sleep good that night!

Hopfully, she will do good tonight with the trick 'r treaters! If we get any, this is our first halloween at this house.

1st picture, October 16
2nd October 23
3rd October 31


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## wenryder (Oct 21, 2010)

Hi Rhonda,

Keva is very sweet! I love the photos with all the leaves.
Thanks for sharing!!


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

Funny, I got a chuckle when I saw Cajun in the August puppies! I had to show my wife!

Got a few more pics from the weekend! It's unbelievable how fast they grow! We've been socializing him a lot and he's doing great! So much so that it's hard for me to walk down the street with him as others pass by. He stops to wait in case the person decides to greet him. He's learned to retrieve his ball and bring it back to me already! (so he can chase it again of course!) I had *just* finished telling a friend it might take a few months before he catches onto the idea, and 10 mins later, he's doing it! He's got the leave-it command down pat. That is coming in very handy, since nothing is disqualified as a "chew toy"!


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## kerry (Oct 2, 2010)

Some really beautiful pics on this thread! I think the August pups are the best lookers


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## wenryder (Oct 21, 2010)

I agree, Kerry! =)

Greats pics RKA, Chili is very photogenic!

How is everyone doing with basic commands (ie: sit, stay, lay down, give paw, etc?) What ones are you currently working on?


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## luv2smile (May 27, 2010)

We have sit down for the most part except when he is really, really distracted. Stay we are currently working on. Cajun is doing well on that as long as there are no distractions. 

We're also bell training to go potty and he's doing pretty well at it at 10.5 weeks...I'm pretty happy


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

Chili knows sit and leave it. I inadvertently taught him that down means get in attack mode and lunge after the food. We're working on reprogramming that one.  He's getting the idea behind the crate command, but it will only work with food in hand. Last night we started the stay command. No real progress in the first session.

We have noticed now that he's getting comfortable with the neighborhood, his leash manners aren't so perfect anymore. He's great in unfamiliar surroundings, but in the neighborhood he's always lagging or charging ahead. So it looks like we'll have to work on that too. Potty training is fine with a crate, outside the crate, I just don't think he's grasping the concept yet. Well, maybe he does, but he doesn't see the need to hold it like he would in his crate, so while he's good for 3 hour stretches inside the crate, outside the crate 1 hour is the most I'll see him hold it.


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

You know, my wife wanted to try that bell training too, but somehow I can't see him treating it as anything other than a toy. I think *I* need something more obvious because it's hard for me to differentiate his different signs: I don't want to be restricted to the dog bed and crate, I'm sniffing and exploring, I want water, I'm cranky and really need sleep but don't want to sleep yet, I want to follow you and see what you're up to and finally, I really gotta go pee but you're too dense to understand me!


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## luv2smile (May 27, 2010)

For us, after about 4 days at home, Cajun started going to the back door and whining when he wanted to go out and most of the times, he'd go potty so I knew he was catching on to housetraining. That's when I got the bell.

Sometimes he does grab at it and start playing with it, but I can usually tell. He is now sitting or laying by the door when he needs to go out after he taps at the bell. If he really grabs and starts pulling at it, it is usually playing and we discourage him. 

There are some false alarms meaning he really just wants to go out to play, but I figure we'd have those without the bell to since he would just sit there and whine.


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## Brenna (Aug 27, 2010)

This is Fozzie. He was born 8/6/10 and is 13 weeks today!


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

Hehe, absolutely. Great that he's caught onto the bell! Chili pulled a fast one on me y'day. He's tugging the Kong out of my had, all the while peeing on the dog bed! *sigh* I think I just have to adjust his outings to every 45 mins if he's awake and playing/parking/whining. 

Fozzie is a cutie!


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## wenryder (Oct 21, 2010)

Hello Fozzie!


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## kerry (Oct 2, 2010)

Hello Fozzie! 

I let Oscar off the leash for the first time today to play with a labrador. He absolutely loved it. 
The lab belonged to a elderly gentleman who had 4 labradors, they were all wonderful and really gentle with Oscar. He was trotting along very proudly with his new gang of friends...wish I had taken my camera out with me.


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## Brenna (Aug 27, 2010)

So...Fozzie has had a major setback.  Last night at puppy play group, another dog attacked him out of nowhere for seemingly no reason. (The owner said "I don't know, he just seemed to not like him or something!" Great.) He didn't get bit, but he was snapped at pretty hard and the trainers had to help us get the other dog off him. It was awful; I was on the verge of tears. I'm very concerned that he won't grow up to be a dog that can be around other dogs because of this. This morning on our walk he met some very laid-back Labs who were tolerant of him and allowed him to sniff around, etc., and that went well, but when another dog of about the same size as last night's aggressor came toward him he immediately started growling, showing teeth, and barking in what I am sure is fear aggression. I'm so sad this happened. He is not an aggressive dog by nature!! My only consolation is that the other dog has been banned from the play group. 

Here are a couple more pictures of my little bear.


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## Tanyac (Jun 18, 2008)

Hi all

I've just seen this thread and am thrilled that I have an August puppy too! Am I still allowed to join even though we bred the litter? lol!

Anyway, I'd like to introduce our lovely "Flo" who is the bitch we kept from the litter born on 21st August. She will be 12 weeks old this coming Saturday and is growing so much. Flo was one of two small puppy bitches in the litter, and was just so darned cute, in personality as well as looks, it had to be her that stayed here with us. We love her so much and she has settled in so well with Obi my big bear and Izzie her mum.

Some pictures taken last week when she was 10 weeks:










With her half-sister Lexi, who was born May 2009:









Here's one of Izzie (mum), Obi and Flo aged about 9 weeks. As you can see they all get along fine - it's a good job Obi is a pushover because Flo now likes to dive on him and wrestle!!









And here's one of my favourites of Flo chewing a flower pot aged about 7 weeks:









Here's a picture of the whole litter (minus Flo) a few days before they went to their new homes...









I love the pictures of all your puppies, and am interested to read of the issues such as biting/house training and how we all deal with it.


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## Baxter10 (Oct 18, 2010)

*I have an August Puppy!*

Hi, Baxter was born on August 26th. He is growing leaps and bounds right now, I look forward to being able to take him on walks. He really wants so badly to go out of our yard and venture but he still needs to have his third set of shots, can't wait!


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Tonka, our Male Samoyed Puppy*

Our Tonka, Male, Samoyed Puppy, was born on August 19, 2009!


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## LincolnsMom (Sep 28, 2010)

Lincoln my white cream golden retriever was born on the 8th. We have had a few issues but he is doing great. We are going to woofstock in a few weeks


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## LincolnsMom (Sep 28, 2010)

Just wanted to share pictures of lincoln


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## Anlina (Jul 2, 2009)

Brenna,

I'm so sorry about your pup's setback. I think if you create a separate post
about it, it might draw more attention.

I hope Fozzie's back to normal by now.


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## kerry (Oct 2, 2010)

Poor Fozzie! I'm sure that one bad experience could be put right. It may need quite a lot of good experiences with similar type dogs to get his confidence back. I agree a separate post on the forum would be a good idea as there are a lot of really knowledgable people to give the right advice. I too would be really upset if it had happened to Oscar.
Welcome to all the new pups, Flo, Baxter, Lincoln and Tonka!


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## Brenna (Aug 27, 2010)

Fozzie actually _is_ doing better!! I can't believe it! The trainer had said to slowly reintroduce him to other dogs (not nose to nose but nose to butt) while praising him and giving a high-value treat if he does well, and both last night and this morning on his walks he met a bunch of dogs--a couple of Goldens (big ones), a cockerdoodle (is this a new dog breed? they're so cute!) and a teeny little pug, and he behaved himself. I was super proud. He's a resilient little guy, I guess! Thanks for asking.  

Pic of hubby and Fozzie at the park attached. Welcome to the other new doggies!!


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## kerry (Oct 2, 2010)

Thats fantastic news! Well done Fozzie!


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

I was thinking along similar lines. If he's resilient by nature, he may just take it slow the next time, but that's it. Great news!


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## Tanyac (Jun 18, 2008)

Hi there, I just wondered if the dog who jumped on Fozzie was an adult or pup? If it was an adult, what was it doing at puppy play group? If it was another puppy, having had a litter here until recently, I can tell you they sometimes look like they're killing each other...lol! Just like humans, dogs have very different personalities, some will be dominant, some not so, and some just take the back seat with everything.

One of our puppies came back to us for the day after only having left our house for a few days. The pup who came back immediately jumped on Flo, growling, pinning her to the floor and acting pretty much like she didn't like her! We were all a little shocked, and the owners said they were worried all day!

Well I waited until they had gone and then put pups back together, in no time at all they were racing around the garden, sharing toys, even sleeping together in Flo's crate (I emailed photo's to them).

I'm glad he's not had any lasting fears since this incident, it could just be that this more dominant puppy, could see he wasn't dominant and decided to treat him like he did his littermates.



Brenna said:


> So...Fozzie has had a major setback.  Last night at puppy play group, another dog attacked him out of nowhere for seemingly no reason. (The owner said "I don't know, he just seemed to not like him or something!" Great.) He didn't get bit, but he was snapped at pretty hard and the trainers had to help us get the other dog off him. It was awful; I was on the verge of tears. I'm very concerned that he won't grow up to be a dog that can be around other dogs because of this. This morning on our walk he met some very laid-back Labs who were tolerant of him and allowed him to sniff around, etc., and that went well, but when another dog of about the same size as last night's aggressor came toward him he immediately started growling, showing teeth, and barking in what I am sure is fear aggression. I'm so sad this happened. He is not an aggressive dog by nature!! My only consolation is that the other dog has been banned from the play group.
> 
> Here are a couple more pictures of my little bear.


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## wenryder (Oct 21, 2010)

Brenna said:


> Fozzie actually _is_ doing better!! I can't believe it! The trainer had said to slowly reintroduce him to other dogs (not nose to nose but nose to butt) while praising him and giving a high-value treat if he does well, and both last night and this morning on his walks he met a bunch of dogs--a couple of Goldens (big ones), a cockerdoodle (is this a new dog breed? they're so cute!) and a teeny little pug, and he behaved himself. I was super proud. He's a resilient little guy, I guess! Thanks for asking.
> 
> Pic of hubby and Fozzie at the park attached. Welcome to the other new doggies!!



We had a similar situation at a puppy playgroup a few weeks back, where two 6 month old pups pounced on poor Obie, barely 11 weeks at the time. We decided to try a different playgroup today, one that only allows pups 18 weeks or younger, so they are all smaller in size. I'm happy to say Obie dealt with it really well! He was hesitant at first, and stood off and barked at the other pups playing. After some correction and encouragement, he eventually worked his way in running and playing with the other pups.


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## JackandBeau (Oct 20, 2010)

Finally I have uploaded some pictures of Beau. He will be 12 weeks tomorrow and recently started puppy Kindergarten. He has been great and is very independent. He goes to the door when he needs to go the bathroom but waits about 3 seconds so I have to be quick to catch him. He loves playing with my lab. Only a few more weeks until he gets his final seet of shots and I can't wait to take him to the beach and dog parks! He is already 18 pounds! I think he might be a big boy


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## wenryder (Oct 21, 2010)

Beau is very cute! I love the pic in the car with your lab.
Welcome!


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

Chili at 12 weeks has become quite the handful. This week he got a bout of the flu or something (probably related to the shots he got last weekend). Came and went in 24-48 hours, but had us worried for a bit. He's growing too fast!


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## LincolnsMom (Sep 28, 2010)

The are all growing too fast!!! I can't believe it Lincoln use to be this big --> 



 look at how tiny he was and how he did no damage to my house..now look at him! 




Sigh...I'm starting to miss how easy he was to care of back then...lol


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

Haha, what is it with these guys and their beds??  Mine did the same thing and when he started using it as a pee pad, I had to take it away.


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## lovemydoggiesx2 (Sep 5, 2010)

LincolnsMom said:


> The are all growing to fast!!! I can't believe it Lincoln used to be this big --> YouTube - Golden Retriever puppy bed-digging look at tiny we has and how he did no damage to my house..now look at him! YouTube - Golden Retriever Carpet hunting
> 
> Sigh...I'm starting to get miss how easy we has to care for back then...lol


I have 2 july babies so they are a few weeks oldern than yours but I had to comment on this cause I was laughing reading....sooo true how easy it was to take care of them when they were new...now they are huge monsters!!!


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## LincolnsMom (Sep 28, 2010)

Lol I know right? Pee pads are now Lincolns favorite tear toys if he gets one i'm sure to be cleaning up the remains around my house for days.


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## wenryder (Oct 21, 2010)

omg look at Lincoln! He's grown so much!!!!!!!!
When does he get his 3rd set of shots?


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## LincolnsMom (Sep 28, 2010)

Lincoln has already gotten his third set, and since we always go to dog parks we got him a Kennel cough shot too. We are hoping to go to out to woofstock this saturday. He needs a picture with Santa


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## LincolnsMom (Sep 28, 2010)

Sprry for the double post just wanted to share cute pics of lincoln.


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## wenryder (Oct 21, 2010)

we're going to Woofstock too!!!! Wow, in some of those pictures he REALLY looks like Obie.


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## LincolnsMom (Sep 28, 2010)

They could be twins -minus the coat colour.- We will have to meet up at woofstock and make sure that the two meet especially since they are born on the same day!


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## kerry (Oct 2, 2010)

I was just thinking how some of the pics could be Oscar! Our babies are growing sooo fast!


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

Hi everyone! I just found this forum and think it is a great idea to share our experiences together. Kobe is the name of my golden and I got him at 10 weeks old. He was born August 22nd. I feel like he is practically housebroken. He has always been good about going to the bathroom when I take him outside, but he had to have a few accidents in the house before he realized inside was not ok. It took about 3 times of correcting him inside, but I haven't had an accident with him in about a week now. I am sure there will be an occasional accident until he is older, but I am happy with the progress.

One thing that I've noticed is that he loves to chew! I do not recall my childhood dalmatian chewing this much at all. He loves bully sticks, but because they are so expensive, he hasn't had any for a while. They do keep him busy though. They are great if I need a break from him but don't want to crate him. 

One problem I've had with him is that he can climb baby gates. I used to put him in the kitchen with a baby gate when I get ready for work. However, the other day I found him on the other side of the gate! I am glad he didn't hurt himself! Now I just have to crate him or take him with me.

I will post pics soon! Right now I've just taken pictures from my iPhone, but I ordered a Canon S95 that should be here Monday. I couldn't take not having a good digital camera any longer and didnt want to miss getting anymore of his growth on camera.


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

Here's a picture of Kobe! This is him after learning his new trick (high five)


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

Hahaha, very cute! You'll love that S95 btw! It's the best thing this side of an SLR!


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

The camera should arrive today, so expect some more pictures within the next few days 

I used to have a G10, until it got stolen in my checked bag in Las Vegas. I loved the G10, so I hope this performs similarly. Even if it doesn't, I think I prefer the compactness of the S95.


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## Brenna (Aug 27, 2010)

Do you have any tips for teaching the high-five? Fozzie is struggling with that one...


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## JackandBeau (Oct 20, 2010)

Ghuss37-
Do you have a costco near you? They sell Bully sticks in a package of 10 for a really good price. With two chewers I go through those often! They also sell these dog ghranola bars that both of mine love.


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

I have a Sams Club. Perhaps they have something similar? I will check.

On teaching the high five, it is essentially the same thing as teaching him to shake. I first taught him to shake and the high five came natural for him. I placed my hand up in a high five position and he would meet it in the air.

I had difficulty teaching him how to shake, but here is how I did it... The first method recommended to me was to put his paw in my hand, say good boy, and then give a treat. Repeat this numerous times until he figures out his paw in your hand gets him a reward. After 2 sessions of this method, I made no progress at all and tried a different method.

The method that worked was putting a treat in my hand, and letting him know it was there. Then I would fist the treat so he could barely see it. I let him sniff/lick/drool all over my hand until he pawed at my hand. Kobe took a while to paw at my hand, but after a minute or two of licking/sniffing, he finally did. I immediately said good boy and gave him a treat. I repeated this a few times and he would paw sooner and sooner until he realized paw=treat. 

Keep in mind, at first I never said "shake" until he was consistently pawing at me for the treat. Then, I gave him the word and moved the treat to my left hand and when he offered me his paw I would grab it with my right hand. It was pretty simple from this point and then I just raised my hand higher to get him to do the high five. It is a fun trick, but now when I am eating or doing something he wants to be part of, he will offer me his paw


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## wenryder (Oct 21, 2010)

after reading this post, Obie and I started working on high-5... and he picked it up SUPER quick! It's one of his favourite's now, swatting at me with those paws.. LOL

I also wanted to do a check in and see how all the August puppies are doing! We're each getting up to the 4 month mark as time moves on. How is everyone doing with house training? training and obedience? biting? Has anyone found any teeth missing yet?

Out of 6 teeth, I've found 2 of them! Here's a pic I got that shows those incisors coming in. I started noticing blood on one of his toys, and sure enough, the teeth were cutting through. He lost the first 4 in less than 24 hours!!!!!


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## sadiegold (Nov 3, 2010)

Hi Everyone, Sadie was born 8/7 and has it ever been getting easier by the day. She weighed 22 at her 12 week check up then 34 at her 16 week! She has tall legs and great thin body shape but gaining so much in one month seemed nuts. How much is everyone pups weighing?

It seems like I havent taken any pics this week so I will get on that tomorrow. Here is one of her vegging.


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## wenryder (Oct 21, 2010)

Obie is 18 1/2 weeks, and weighing in at 28.5 lbs. He has long legs and a long body, and is quite slender. The vet says he is lean but very healthy.

Edit: Added pics. The first pic is Obie at 12 weeks in front of our ottoman. The second pic is from today, in front of the same ottoman. Hehe look at the difference!!


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

Hi everyone, I got my new camera and have been taking some shots with it. I need to mess with the settings. Kobe will come out a different color depending on the settings. I'd say the flash off tends to work best for in the house.

Kobe is almost 4 months now and weighs 27lbs. He is starting puppy training this Sunday at petsmart. I hope it goes ok. He just goes crazy sometimes around other dogs so I think he will just want to play with every dog he sees. He knows how to sit, lay down, shake, high five, and drop it. I need to start working on stay and leave it.

Here are some shots of him over the past 2 weeks.


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## Brenna (Aug 27, 2010)

Fozzie is 36 pounds these days! He's lost a couple of teeth but not as many as I think he would've by four and a half months! Our major issue is jumping. Especially on strangers at the dog park (and of course, usually on the ones who are the least understanding!). I'm trying everything I read on these boards but I think it may be something that takes time to sink in. My favorite thing to say when he does that is "We're working on it." Oh! And he also has a girlfriend! Her name is Shelby and she lives down the street. She is older by just two weeks--they locked eyes from across the street on a walk one day and the rest is history. Pic attached--not staged! If I even say the word "Shelby" in the house, he goes bananas. I can't wait for the two of them to play in the snow together.


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

So, I went out on Friday night to go hangout with friends and watch Inception. I was probably gone 3 hours. Before I left, I put Kobe in his crate. When I got back, Kobe was sleeping on the couch! He escaped from his crate somehow. He got into the bathroom (door was probably open) and brought the trash into the living room. All things considered, it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. All he did was tear up the trash (and probably ate some) and peed in the kitchen. Nothing valuable was damaged, thank God. I wonder how long he was out of his crate.


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## wenryder (Oct 21, 2010)

sounds like Kobe is a bit of an escape artist!!! In the last two pics, he looks alot like our Obie.

How did the first puppy training class go?


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

The first class went ok. She basically told me stuff that I already knew. Like how to schedule feedings at a regular time everyday so you can easier potty train them. Also she talked about clicker training how we should only use positive reinforcement and there are very few times when punishment is really necessary. There are 3 other dogs in the class, one 2-3 month old mix who is pretty small. And then there are 2 other dogs about Kobe's size. One is a pit mix and the other is a golden (also named Kobe but spelled differently (Coby)). The pit tried to mount Kobe a few times and you could tell Kobe is a very submissive dog while his pit was more aggressive. They all got along great though.

Kobe was definitely the most hyper one there. He doesn't like to sit in my lap while the other golden was basically passed out most of the class. I took Kobe for a 20-30 min walk before the class, but he still had some energy in him because he was so excited to see all the puppies. I expect he will calm down over time. 

I am supposed to work on a command with him for next class. The command is "watch me" and he is supposed to be able to look at me for a good 10 seconds without being distracted.

A funny thing that Kobe did was when we all dropped our leashes to let them play, he picked up a toy and the other dogs chased him around. The pit mix could not get close to catching Kobe


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

Chili's been a little sick lately. Not sure if he caught something or it's a food allergy, but he had a bout of diarreaha last week, did fine the following few days and as soon as we got him back on his regular food, it returned and he vomited. So for now the little guy is on chicken and rice (and he's not at all unhappy about that!). He's got all his energy and enthusiasm...not a care in the world. We left him home during puppy k yesterday. We hated to do it because he loves it so much, but in case he does have something, it's better that way. Vet started him on antibiotics and probiotics and said it would be a few days before the fecal test came back (this one is much more expensive than past ones). If it's not pathogenic in nature, then maybe it's a food allergy? We've got him on Orijen LBP formula (no grains), so maybe that will help narrow down the culprit. Not sure about his weight at 16 weeks, but I'd guess 32 lbs. He's been leaning out on the chicken and rice in the last week. I think I might need to increase the qty a bit. Anyone know the correlation of chicken and rice vs. regular kibble? I used to feed 1 1/4 cup kibble 3 times a day. We're at 1 3/4 of rice/chicken 3 times a day and it just doesn't seem to be enough. Granted, there is a huge moisture content in there, so maybe I need to be between 2-2.5 cups at each feeding?

Potty training is a mixed bag. On one hand, when he had diarreaha he woke me up in the night 3 times to go out, which is unusual. As I learned that night he was sick and did NOT want to go in the crate. He didn't go outside the crate either...waited for me to get suited up and take him outside. He most definitely knows that's the place to go...but the family room is still a suitable place too!  *sigh* We're restricting his access to that room to times when we can closely supervise and usually after he's already been outside. Maybe over time he'll stop associating this room as a potty-playground? 

We've been working on his loose leash walking and hoovering of things on the road. Lot of treats and rewards when he follows along and ignores distractions. The neighbor's dogs are still too much of a distraction, but it's going pretty well.

Oh, he FINALLY let me sleep in this weekend!!! At first he would wake me up at 5:30-6AM because he had to go out, then once he could hold it a bit longer it was because he HAD to eat!  For the first time since we've had him, he let me sleep in until 8:30 on Sat, and 9:00 on Sunday! I'm not a particularly late sleeper, but after 2 months of sleep deprivation, I have some catching up to do, and I'm soooooo happy!

Love the pics of all the pups! I've been neglecting to do that the last few weeks and have to get back to it this weekend. Puppyhood is so short! Will post some up next week!


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

I really hope Chili gets better.

Make sure when you clean up his messes in the house that you are completely removing the smell. I followed Kobe around like a hawk when he was about that age and when he started to pee, I would go into beast mode and give him a loud "Hey!" and then tell him outside and he would go. After about 3 times of catching him "in the act" it got a lot better. Also, I think one of the key things to do is to realize what his sign is. I taught Kobe that every time before we went out he had to jump at the door and we would go out. After a couple days I found he was jumping at the door when he had to go outside. The bell tactic works too, but Kobe destroyed the string that was holding my bell. 

I am not really sure how long Kobe would hold it inside. I am still pretty paranoid about accidents and take him out ever 1 to 2 hours when I am home. 

The past few nights Kobe has been waking me up at 4am. I let him out at 4am and then put him back to bed, he handles this fine. However at 6am he wants to go out again and I know he is just wanting to play so I just ignore him and he settles down in like 5 minutes. Usually the next time he wakes me (around 8 am), I will get out of bed for good.


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

Thanks! I do my best to clean the carpet with a carpet shampoo-er and nature's miracle, but at the end of the day, if something soaks down into the padding, there is only so much I can do, and his nose is a lot stronger than mine. The previous owners of our house had a dog and two kids as well...so who knows what's in there? (ewww) We had planned to replace it after we bought the house a year ago, but after making a decision to get chili, we put that on hold. Now I'm wondering if that was a good decision...or a bad one?  Anyway, when the new carpet eventually gets laid, I'll be sure to get a moisture resistant padding. 

Haha, I did the same with Chili once I caught onto the fact that he didn't have to go, but he just wanted food or was bored. But when it comes to meal time, he seldom tolerates my procrastination and he's usually quite vocal!


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## claireb (Dec 21, 2010)

Hey everyone, newbie here (waves!). I thought I'd introduce our boy Alfie who was born on August 18th, we've had him since October and are still adjusting to the chaos he has brought to our lives. We've had two previous Goldens but somehow forgot how much hard work puppies are lol. 

He's been having training in our home since he was about 12 weeks and is progressing really well, sitting, fetching etc but he's still a tyrant when it comes to jumping up and biting (we're all covered in bite marks and scratches!). 

Not had a chance to fully read through all the posts in this thread yet but does anybody else's puppy have mad moments when they can be playing nicely but will suddenly 'flip' and start attacking and running like a mad thing around the house?? I'm guessing he's just being a puppy but he can be quite scary sometimes!

You've all got some lovely boys and girls on here, going to read all the previous posts to catch up now 








7 weeks, the day he came home















Taken last week


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

Just do a search for "zoomies". It's a common golden trait. Sudden burst of energy and they just gotta run...to where?...doesn't matter, just RUN! Mine has little areas of traction on the first floor (mostly tile and hardwood), so he does it in slow motion kinda but he speeds up when he hits wall to wall carpeting in the family room. He wants to run, but he doesn't want to run into a wall!


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

Yeah Kobe has the zoomies sometimes. Usually it after getting one of his favorite treats, or when he is wet from rain or a bath. I have only given him one bath since I got him. I am planning to give him another bath tonight because we are traveling to Kansas tomorrow! I hope he enjoys the ride...I am sure we will stop plenty.


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

More Kobe pictures


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## wenryder (Oct 21, 2010)

I lovelovelove your photos of Kobe. He's a sassy one! The one of him falling asleep in the blinds is so cute!!

How much does he weigh?


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

Thanks  I like the blinds picture too. I wish he wouldn't run into them so much, but I guess that is part of being a puppy. He doesn't chew the blinds anymore so I let him have some fun unless he gets out of control. He weighs a whopping 30lbs now!


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## claireb (Dec 21, 2010)

Kobe is gorgeous, lovely colouring. We weighed Alfie tonight and he's 20 kilos (about 44lbs?) and he's just turned 4 months....I think he's going to be a big fella when he grows up!

Thanks for the comments re his "zoomies", don't know how I hadn't heard of them but nice to see that he is just being a normal golden puppy! Hours of entertainment anyway


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

Thanks  I look forward to hearing more stories from you guys. Alfie seems like a big boy! 

I was just talking to my mom on the phone and telling her how good Kobe has been and how he hasn't had an accident in 4 weeks. Well, at one point I heard Kobe whine a little bit and just ignored it. I took him out after the phone call ended and he barely went at all. That is never a good sign and sure enough, I found a pee spot behind my couch  

At least he gave me a warning though. I look forward to the day when he will hold it in the house for more than a couple of hours. To his credit, we had a training session at 6ish and then I gave him a half bowl of water to wash it down. He had probably been holding it for 1hr to 1.5 hrs after I gave him that bowl of water. He usually needs to go out within 30 mins of eating/drinking.


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

How is everyones puppies doing over Christmas? I traveled 15 hours to Kansas with Kobe. We stopped every 2-3 hours and he was great. He whined a little bit in the beginning but after maybe 30 mins he was completely calm the entire ride and slept most of it. 

He met my brothers 6 month old pup. It is a lab mix and is about 50lbs and quite a bit bigger. Kobe loved her and she is the first dog that I have seen him mount. 

He has peed a few times at my moms house. It concerns me that he is not potty trained in other people's houses. I hope he catches on soon that it is not ok to pee inside anywhere. I haven't caught him in the act of doing it yet. He always goes in the kitchen though so I will be watching him like a hawk the next few days when he goes in there. He probably isn't even fully house trained in my apt, it is just that I let him out so often. I am thinking about teaching him to ring a bell and maybe he will do that. He is getting to the point where I trust him in the living room while I am in my bedroom, but that also means I might miss him jumping at the door.


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## wenryder (Oct 21, 2010)

Obie was great over Christmas! We have been away from home for the last three days, visiting my grandma, my parents for xmas eve, and the in-laws over xmas day and boxing day. At one point, there was about 25 people over at my in-laws, including 3 children between 5-10 yo... many of whom he had never met, and he was so calm and well socialized. I was a proud mommy! Plus we were able to show how he's such a well behaved boy and demostrate all his tricks. =)

There was one moment at my parent's house, my mom has a Pomeranian who got a little nasty with Obie (alpha male? dominance? who knows) and snippy, and Obie took less than a second to pin him down and make some pretty nasty noises. No biting, just mouthing.... but it was a bit scary as I had never seen him do that before. We pulled them apart, but the Pom left him alone for the rest of the night, even though Obie did try to play with him multiple times..... 

Overall, Christmas was wonderful, very busy but enjoyable!!!!


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## LincolnsMom (Sep 28, 2010)

Lincoln's christmas test is tomorrow. I'm a proud mommy in that he is fully housebroken and very well behaved I can't believe it. We simply let him get his energy out by playing before hand and then he is just a doll afterwards. Tomorrow he will be in a house of about 20 so we will see.

He has learned few tricks were working on behavior more than anything else. We are to the point where I say AH and he stops dead in his tracks and drops what ever he has in his mouth. For actual tricks I kinda made a boo boo I taught him sit -he is a freaking pro at that  then I taught him leave it. I can put a treat on both paws and one in front of his nose and he won't touch it. Which is great..until I tried to teach him down and other tricks. Because I taught leave first he doesn't follow the treats down because he thinks he can't have them until I give them to him. Nice to know he's learned; 10X's harder to teach tricks lol

Recently we did have sucess in down by not doing leave it for a few weeks and now he will follow it down and still remembers leave it thank god. Next is stay he has issues being away from me so that one is very hard for him. 

Funny note: I tied to take a bath today- he had to be there with me and then my cat joined us in the bathroom too..by sleeping in my bathroom sink while Linc was on the floor. It was cute but unsettling a bit...


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## LincolnsMom (Sep 28, 2010)

Quick note: I weighed Lincoln today he's a whopping 45 lbs how much do all the other august cuties weigh?


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## wenryder (Oct 21, 2010)

Obie is 32.5 lbs. We've been told from the vet that he is growing and developing at the right rate, not too fast, and he is lean and healthy. Although the number seems small compared to other goldens, she is very happy with where he is at. He played today with another golden (5 months of age) and they were very similar in size.


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

Last week Kobe was 30lbs, now he is probably 33ish. I'll have to weigh him when I get home.


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

So we just got back to Kansas from SC and Kobe was amazing during the 15 hr trip. He just slept in his crate in the back seat and barely whined at all. He really accepts his crate now. When he goes in, he knows whining will not get him out. I fed him a lot of treats in his crate to reward his good behavior on the ride.

The best part was when we got to my apartment. He was so excited to be home and did the zoomies all around the house. That definitely made me smile. I thought he might miss my brother's lab puppy who he had a lot of fun playing with. Turns out he loves his home


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## wenryder (Oct 21, 2010)

I just wanted to give a special hello to Alfie and Claireb!!


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## claireb (Dec 21, 2010)

Ah thanks, hello to you too!! :wavey:

It's so nice to be able to post on this board, we'd been without a golden (or any dog) for about 3 years before we got Alfie so coming onto a board like this was torture...now we've got him it's fab to be able to actually take part


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## Tanyac (Jun 18, 2008)

Hi all, our little Flo is not so little any more... I swear she's growing every day! I had her weighed at Pets at Home the other day and she was just shy of 18 kg! Am I right in thinking that's 45 lbs? Oh my, what a chunky monkey she is. She isn't carrying any extra weight either, but has good bone (maybe that makes a difference?).

She'll be 20 weeks this Saturday and is actually a little gem... she recalls faster than my other two dogs & is always trotting round with things in her mouth! My husband came home from work a while ago, and she was walking circles around him, tail wagging, with a shoe in her mouth! We did laugh...

I'm wondering how much exercise all your pups are getting? I find that if I don't give her much off lead running around, she's climbing the walls at home. I know how bad it is to overdo it, but when the alternative is a whirling dirvish...

She gets 3 walks a day. Morning usually with other dogs, anything up to 45 mins (some of it on-lead), then a quick 15 min before lunch on her own to practice walking on lead etc, then out again about 4pm for a repeat of the morning. I would add, that as I have two adult GR's also, we do often cut her walk short and carry on with the others.

I'd be interested to know what your routines are...


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## LincolnsMom (Sep 28, 2010)

Lincoln and I go out for around 6 walks a day. The bf walks him quickly before he's off to work- it's very early- then when I wake up it's out for our 45 off leash walk. We live right beside a field so honestly Linc is never really on a leash because he has such a good recall -thank god.- after that it's after lunch for another 45 min- before dinner 30 ish min- after dinner the time depends on him for this- late night and then when bf gets home we go for about another 30 min all three of us. 

Lincoln isn't a puller on leash so I'm not worried about him not training to walk proper; my little 4 year old niece walked him over x-mas I was so happy to show him off! He even sat and did down for her whenever she asked -poor linc too it was a lot!- I was such a proud mommy <3<3 But maybe I should do some training just to be sure he stays that way!

Linc is growing like a weed up to 48lbs now and he hit another miles stone. He hasn't been able to jump out on to our bed or couch until recently; he still has issues with the bed because it is so high but with a running start he can. It's so cute we have to guide him to get him to jump up on the bed I do believe he will be an amazing agility dog. I'm considering finding one in Hamilton area because of it lol!

He's also learning consequences for his actions. He is still a mouthy puppy which we recently decided will not be tolerated because he is getting too big and it's time he learned that humans are not toys. So now he gets 2 chances to stop play biting before he goes into the crate for 5 min or calms down then when he gets out it;s some obedience so he remembers good behaviours etc. I admit he's not horrible & he's never actually hurt us but he's getting so big and some people will not accept -he's a puppy- anymore so it's for Linc's safety more than our own. 

How is the mouthy-ness going for all the other August puppies? Are they at the same stage as Linc or past it? He's also tearing all his stuffys to shreds it's time to move up to the big stuff seems he's going to be a big chewer lol!


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## kerry (Oct 2, 2010)

I usually walk Oscar 3 times a day. We've gradually built up to 30 mins x2 off lead and 15 minutes in the evening on the lead. I must admit I do worry sometimes as he tears around like Taz sometimes. He has been able to jump on the bed from about 10 weeks old, not something we encourage. We took him to a dog bar on Christmas Eve and he jumped up on to a stool and put his paws on the bar. I swear he is a Golden x goat 
And of course every time he jumps on something I have to lift him down, my poor back!!


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

Chili is still having a tough time with potty training. He knows not to go inside, but hasn't found a way to communicate to us that he needs to go. We put up bells near the door last week. He's not catching on yet. This morning I was getting his food ready, and he was squirming like he had to go...I kept doing my thing hoping he would signal to me...nothing. He just held it in, waited until we fed him and then took him for his 1/2 hr walk. As soon as we got outside though...sure enough, he had to go! 

Lincoln sounds like an absolute doll! We didn't really have that issue only because we didn't encourage it right from day 1. My wife was afraid of dogs (and puppies), and the teeth were a big no-no for her. Sounds like you're on the right track...he's smart and he'll pick it up in no time. If all play and attention stop when the teeth come out, he'll get it pretty quickly. 

As for schedules...we do 1/2 hr walk in the AM, indoor playtime/walk (depending on weather) at 11AM and 2:30PM, 1/2 hr walk at 6PM, and some playtime/training at 8PM. He really needs more than that (he has had endless amounts of energy since day 1), but with both of us working, that's the best we're able to manage. Weekends we try to squeeze in more play and exercise.


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## kerry (Oct 2, 2010)

Oscar is not very mouthy anymore and doesn't really chew anything he shouldn't. He does love to shred up toilet rolls and steals them from the bathroom 
Lincolnsmum, can you give any tips for a good recall? Oscars was great untill a couple of weeks ago but now he is getting braver and has developed selective hearing


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

Kobe is now 35lbs. I have found unless I give him plenty of exercise he can be quite the handful. A tired dog is a good dog. He is a leash puller and that is something we are trying to work on, but often when we go outside I just want to take him for a long distance so I can wear him out.

He has finally learned how to bark. He will sometimes bark at me on the couch. I am getting tired of the barking though. I need to figure out a way to let him know it is not desired.

He is pretty good with the housetraining, except he doesnt give me any signs that he needs to go out. We have a pretty set routine of going outside every 2 hours or so, but eventually I am hoping that I can leave him be for 4 hours without having to take him outside. 

Kobe eats all kinds of stuff outside. Today he brought in another nail. I really hope he isn't swallowing these things. I try to monitor him closely but it is tough in the dark. Stupid apartment complex with loose nails/bolts everywhere!

On the brightside, SC is expecting 5 inches of snow by Monday! I will have plenty of pictures if it happens!


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## Tanyac (Jun 18, 2008)

Kerry, I have started using a whistle for recall. If you start in the house by a peep of the whistle before feeding, and the same before calling in from the garden and treating, in no time, you can do the same whilst out on walks and the pup will stop whatever they're doing and come (make sure you treat every time to begin with).


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## wenryder (Oct 21, 2010)

*5 months old today*

Today Obie is 5 months old! Wow, time flies. 

The whistle for recalls sounds like a great idea. Obie seems to be really good with his recalls, but lately is going through a stubborn stage, not wanting to listen to commands he knows REALLY well, including come and sit. His selective hearing I'm sure is just a phase, but I want to work through it properly.

So Obie and I have signed up for an obiedience course starting on Jan 24th, a class that will help reinforce commands without treats. I'm looking forward to it!

This week, I had to travel northwest for work, to Blyth, Ontario, and I took the snuggle-bug with me. Here is a pic... I'll post the rest in the pictures forum. We got a real dumping of snow, and he LOVED it!


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

Nice pic, looks like he had fun!

Is anyone having any issues with random accidents? I Kobe is about 5 months old, but he seems like he will only hold it outside his crate for 1.5-2 hours. Is this normal? Kobe has only had a couple accidents in the last month, but it is kind of frustrating that he doesn't give me any sign that he needs to go outside. These last 2 accidents I didn't catch him in the act, but I knew he had an accident because when I took him outside he didn't have to go very badly. Sure enough, I found a wet spot inside. Maybe I will see if I can get him to ring a bell again without destroying it.

I guess this might be normal for a 5 month old dog, but I am curious when these accidents will completely stop. It just seems weird that he will only hold it for 1-2 hrs outside his crate, but he can hold it 8 hrs overnight and 4-5 hrs during the day in his crate while I am at work. 

One thing I have noticed that he will whine when he has to poop, but not when he has to pee.


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## Lhotse (Nov 12, 2009)

Morgan's a few days shy of five months and until yesterday I would have said completely housebroken, but as we were heading out for her evening walk, we ran into a big dog who lives in the building and is a little too rambunctious for Morgan. Morgan ended up having an accident in the lobby of our building. :doh:

My wife and I walk her a lot, though, and that may help. Sometimes, if we're busy, we might wait up to five hours or so between walks, but usually we have her out every two to three hours. 

I'd like to train her to give more notice when she needs to go and not have to rely on noticing her "I need to go" behavior. I've ordered a bell for the door -we'll see if it works....


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

Do you leave water out all the time? Kobe would never hold it for 5 hours inside. I am going to try to start him on the bell again later this week.


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## claireb (Dec 21, 2010)

Alfie is usually really good at letting us know when he needs to go, he'll sit at the back door and whine. He isn't lasting completely through the night yet and varies between waking us up to let him out or peeing and then waking us up (strange dog...). I swear he also has a purposeful accident every now and then, mostly if he's playing up and gets shut in the kitchen for a time out....

He hasn't pooped indoors for a while now so we're hopefully past that point. 

Do any of your pups have an issue with going to the toilet outside of their normal space (ie the garden), we've starting taking Alfie on longer walks which involve a 20 minute drive and about 45 minutes off of the lead so we're out of the house for about 90 minutes and he doesn't go....he'll wait until we get home and bolt for the back door. I think he's shy!

He's also got most of his adult teeth now, all the front ones including the canines are now grown and he's got a full on smile....I'm guessing this is where the heavy duty chewing begins! I think we're going to have to upgrade to foofy puppy toys to big boy rough and tumble ones


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

I have Kobe so he will pee/poop on command. He generally goes in the same area, but he will go in other areas as well. 

He hasn't had a poop accident in a couple months, just the occasional pee accident. From the sound of things, this is common.

How is loose leash walking going with everyone? If I let kobe use my long retractable lead, he will run far in front of me and not pull very much. However, if I keep him close (like I should be doing) he will pull sometimes. One thing that i have found to work is to put his collar very high on his neck. It is true that if the collar is low, he will pull all day but if it is high, they don't pull as much. Kobe also likes to chew on his leash/play tug of war with it if he isn't getting his way. I have found the best way to combat this is to give him a stick to carry.


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

A picture of Kobe carrying a huge stick  He carried this for the duration of the walk (20 minutes)


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## LincolnsMom (Sep 28, 2010)

ghuss37- I've been thinking about the issues your having with Kobe and I think it is acutaly because you take him out too often and he has never learned to hold it. A few weeks ago Lincoln ended up being home alone for 12 hours because Bf got stuck at work and when he came home he was shocked to find that Linc didn't have a single accident. -boy did he have to go tho!- I think that you need to gradually stretch out the times between going out. Lincoln hasn't had an accident in well over a month and a half I think it was a 3 months that we said he was officially house broken. I'm sure that Kobe is just so spoiled because he has such a devoted mummy.

As for off leash Lincoln is actually pretty attached to me so it's always been really easy for me to get him to come when i call. But when my bf calls it wasn't so good so we made a game out of it. There is a field across the street and when we walk him at night we would play a game of calling and sending him back and forth between us for treats. It really taught him to learn that it's good when someone else besides me calls him.

I am also proud to say that thanks to all your advice we have a dog that no longer nips! It took about 3 days and he got it really quick after he was playing rough and i put him in his box. He didn't even cry! Since then we haven't had to use it once.

My current issue with Lincoln is that he's not very good at listening to commands from the bf or accepting corrections. He Kevin tells him to sit it takes a few times but if I take one step to him he plunks his little bum down. As much as I appreciate that he listens to me so well this is starting to frustrate the bf a little and I understand it lol I am definitely alpha in this house!

I also wanted to know how you correct your puppies? Usually I will correct Lincoln but taking his muzzle in my hand look him in the eye and say |No| while he is sitting that usually stops the unwanted behaviour. 

As for pulling on a leash not to bad a few jerk corrections on the lead and i he quickly remembers. Then I let him on a loose lead without need for corrections I admit I am a little bit of sucker for spoiling him but oh well


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

Ugh, Kobe just won't hold it. He had another accident today, and the last couple of times have been in the same spot right behind the recliner. I clean it thoroughly with resolve every time.

This is getting frustrating. I had just let him out 30 minutes before and he started barking at me while I was lifting weights. I was just sitting there and next thing I know there is a puddle right next to him. This is probably only his 4th or 5th accident in the last 2 months but I really thought he was housetrained. Now I am starting to wonder... Surely he can hold it for more than 45 minutes! He holds it for 4-5 hours in the crate when I am at work. In hindsight, the barking was probably a warning, but he has been barking at me a lot the past 3 weeks so I just figured he wanted attention again. I am not sure why the barking started 3 weeks ago and it is starting to make me wonder if something is wrong with him. His stool has been soft for a while now. I might see if I can get a vet appointment or something and make sure he is ok.


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## wenryder (Oct 21, 2010)

Perhaps Kobe has a UTI? We've been through two of them with Obie.

Here's the thread I tagged along in....: http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com...-bladder-infection-mystery-my-poor-puppy.html


And two other threads I found that might be useful: http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/golden-retriever-puppy-up-1-year/88792-possible-uti.html

and: http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com...-problems-issues/90632-help-pee-problems.html


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

Thank you for the link. It definitely seems like something is wrong with him to me. His stools are soft and he only held it for 30 min-1 hr this past accident. Something is up... I am going to take him to the vet and see what I can find out.


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## LincolnsMom (Sep 28, 2010)

yes i would definitely take him in  I was thinking 30 min is wayy to short. I'm sure you will figure it out


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## Lhotse (Nov 12, 2009)

ghuss37 said:


> Do you leave water out all the time? Kobe would never hold it for 5 hours inside. I am going to try to start him on the bell again later this week.


Yes, we leave water out for Morgan. 

Good suggestion from Lincoln's mom - Morgan had a UTI, too. She would pee as soon as we got outside and then, on longer walks, pee every couple of minutes through the course of the walk. After a week of antibiotics, she was fine.

Good luck!


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## wenryder (Oct 21, 2010)

How is Kobe doing?

Obie and I start a basic obedience tomorrow - specifically targetted at basic commands without the use of food or treats. He knows the commands (sit/down/heel/stay/recall) but I want to reinforce the commands without cookies. Also, I'm not confident with how I am working Heel, so this will help me too. I'm looking forward to it!

Meanwhile, at home these days, we're working on "Take it" which is getting him to hold certain objects for a period of time (2-10 seconds usually). We're slowly building up on the length of time. I'm working eventually towards "Roll in a blanket" which is take it and rollover combined. I can get him to roll with a toy in his mouth, but not yet with the blanket. We'll see how it goes!


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

Well, I took Kobe to the vet...I am somewhat disappointed with the vet staffs lack of knowledge on dogs.

I wanted to get him checked out for a number of reasons. His poop has been extremely soft lately and a couple weeks ago I saw a round worm even though I would think he would be rid of them by now. Well, the vet took a poop sample (3rd time they've done this $20 each time!) and they didnt see worms. They said this normal as the worm detection method only works if they have a ton. So, they decided it would be best to give me a $40 dewormer pill. Kobe ate 2 tablets and later in the day his poop was basically pudding. So gross...

Anyway, I didn't get him checked for UTI because the past few days he had done really well holding it and seemed to be acting a lot better. He hasn't had any accidents since the last time I posted. I am going to try to gradually increase him time between trips outside. So far he is going 2 hours strong. going to try to keep him inside for another hour and eventually try to get him so he can go 4 hours inside without needing to go out. He can easily do 6+ hours in his crate.

I have been working very hard on Kobe's loose leash walking skills. I spoiled him early by allowing him to be on a long lead and run 20 ft in front of me. Now I am keeping him by my side and it seems to be working. He pulls a little bit but he is getting a lot better every walk. 

We have been doing a puppy class every Sunday but some of the other puppy owners have stopped coming. I am getting merged in with another class that has Huskys and 2 german sheps. I am curious to see if they show any toy aggression with Kobe. I hope not as Kobe likes to steal stuff from dogs. 

That's enough for now, but I'll update everyone soon on Kobes progress. Barking is still an issue, but he hasn't barked at all tonight so maybe he is getting it!


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

Oh, about my disappointment with the vet, they had no real recommendation on getting Kobe's stools to harden up and to get rid of his gas.

I am happy to announce that his stool is a little harder than it was and his gas isn't near as bad now that he took that dewormer pill. Not sure if it was a coincidence or what. I was thinking maybe he was having issues with some dog food ingredient...


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## LincolnsMom (Sep 28, 2010)

ghuss37- What food are you feeding? You may want to try adding some pumpkin that stuff works wonders. 

I would all switch vets in my opinion from my own experience and everything I've read on this site your vet should exceed your standards if he doesn't then go get another one; for your sake and Kobe's too.


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

Well the information I got was from the lady that took the stool sample. If I had seen the vet it would have counted as an exam and cost another $15-20.

The vet seems very expensive. I have a week long of corporate training in March and I was considering getting Kobe neutered that week and boarding him at the vet since I won't be in town. The cost would be $440 for neutering (with mandatory blood work), microchipping, and boarding for 7 days. Is this a reasonable price? Seems expensive.


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## LincolnsMom (Sep 28, 2010)

Hmm with 7 days boarding I would say that is about standard. 

Lincoln has been having diarrhea lately. I've tried pumpkin he won't touch it. Rice..nothing..chicken is the only thing but i'm not sure if that will really bind him up..

Any ideas?


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

I hope it gets better! I am going to try giving Kobe some pumpkin. Does peanut butter cause the runs at all? I give Kobe a little bit of peanut butter in a Kong 3 times a day when I have to put him in his crate. He loves it.

Oh, I heard to put the pumpkin in an ice cube tray and freeze it. Worth a shot?


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

How much does everyones dogs weigh at 5 months? Kobe weighed 40-42lbs at 5 months.


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

Chili is going to the vet on Sat for his rabies shot. I think he's around 37 lbs or so...hasn't been gaining much weight with the loose stool issues, but now that we've had him back on dog food for 3 weeks now, he seems to be gaining again. 

I tried two good foods and he had loose stools with both. Decided to follow the vet's suggestion with science diet i/d (presription). Much as I'm horrified about the contents, it agrees with Chili so we'll stick with it for now. After a month on chicken and rice on and off, he was starting to look like a malnourished street dog, and he's finally starting to look normal again. I hope I can get him off this food and back to a quality food in a month or two. Wish I knew what is causing the problem though. All the fecal tests were neg.


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

Gah, Kobe just had another accident.

The day went like this...

7am woke up and went outside
8am went to poop/potty after eating went into crate
12pm got home from work and got out of crate and went outside
1pm went to go poop and then back to crate
530 got out of crate and went outside
6 went to go poop after eating
730 whined at door so we went outside and he peed
830 whined again so went outside and he did go quite a bit (had just drank a lot of water)
10 as I was in the bathroom with the door open, he stood there in the doorway and peed on the carpet. He peed quite a bit so he obviously had to go but he gave no indication of having to go that badly. He has been getting better at going to the door and whining.

Ughhhh Kobe why can't you stop peeing on my carpet. Oh well, I really do hope these accidents stop soon. I mainly avoid my friends apartments with him because I don't want him to pee on their carpet. Maybe I need to start regulating his water intake a bit. He probably had 3 bowls of water from 5pm until 10...


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

Another accident today. Time to stop fooling myself, he obviously isn't housetrained.

Time to go back to what I was doing originally. Click and treat when he goes to the bathroom outside and reward him greatly. Time to try to teach him how to ring the bell again. 

On the bright side, I think it is good that he is having a few accidents inside, because I get a chance to let him know that is not desirable activity (as long as I catch him in the act which has been the case the past 2 times). Before, he had only had a handful of accidents and I only caught him in the act like twice, so he probably doesn't understand that it upsets me if he goes inside. And since I've stopped giving him treats for going outside, he has nothing to look forward to. I have to think like a dog I guess.

He WILL be housetrained


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## Tanyac (Jun 18, 2008)

ghuss37 said:


> Another accident today. Time to stop fooling myself, he obviously isn't housetrained.
> 
> Time to go back to what I was doing originally. Click and treat when he goes to the bathroom outside and reward him greatly. Time to try to teach him how to ring the bell again.
> 
> ...


I found that the quickest way to housetrain was to be vigilent and Flo learned quite quickly. Trouble with him being crated during the day is that he isn't able to follow his natural rhythm so to speak. Re the water consumption, I would suggest that until he's dry, to pick up the water after say 8 pm & then give him a chance to wee before bedtime. It shoudn't hurt overnight. Is he being walked before & after work? With him being crated for such a long time during the day he needs as much mental stimulation as he can get when he's out of the crate. As long as he hasn't got a UTI then going back to square one and being extra vigilent is the only way. Must be VERY frustrating for you!!


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## wenryder (Oct 21, 2010)

ghuss37 said:


> Another accident today. Time to stop fooling myself, he obviously isn't housetrained.
> 
> He WILL be housetrained



Hang in there! I've been quietly following along, and we're all here to support your frustration! Your positivity at the end of your post is great. Kobe and you can do this!!


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

Tanyac said:


> I found that the quickest way to housetrain was to be vigilent and Flo learned quite quickly. Trouble with him being crated during the day is that he isn't able to follow his natural rhythm so to speak. Re the water consumption, I would suggest that until he's dry, to pick up the water after say 8 pm & then give him a chance to wee before bedtime. It shoudn't hurt overnight. Is he being walked before & after work? With him being crated for such a long time during the day he needs as much mental stimulation as he can get when he's out of the crate. As long as he hasn't got a UTI then going back to square one and being extra vigilent is the only way. Must be VERY frustrating for you!!


I don't think he has a UTI because he holds it for 4-5 hrs in the crate while I am at work. I would think he might have crate accidents if that was the case. He hasn't had any accidents the past 2 days, so I am keeping the faith. I am going to try to regulate his water a little bit more. I have to think, if I drank 3 bowls of water, I'd probably have to go pretty bad over the next few hours. I do pick up his water around 8 or 9 unless we go for a walk at night, then I let him drink a little bit after the walk and he still holds it through the night fine. I walk him during lunch and in the evening after work. I am starting to walk him occasionally in the morning, but he is always such a bum in the morning that I am not sure he needs it (though it would be good for both of us to have the exercise)



wenryder said:


> Hang in there! I've been quietly following along, and we're all here to support your frustration! Your positivity at the end of your post is great. Kobe and you can do this!!



Thanks! I don't think it will take too long, just gotta stick with it.

Just got back from Kobe's puppy class. We learned leave it on the leash and are working on the come command. He also is learning how to stay. He does well with stay at home, but when we are on a slick floor at class, he wants to lay down. 

I got merged with another puppy class and there are 2 huskys and a german shep. All 3 of those dogs seem to have no energy and do not want to play that much with Kobe. I am shocked at how little energy their dogs have and how good they act on a leash. I have been working on loose leash walking and it is getting better. Still a challenge though.


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## Tanyac (Jun 18, 2008)

It sounds like you're doing all the right things with Kobe, I'm sure you'll get there in the end. They're like children I guess in that some just "get it" quicker than others. Must be very frustrating for you none the less. Hang in there, it will get better. It sounds like he's doing so well in other areas, you'll get there!!


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

It is just frustrating for me because I thought he had it...I got him at 10 weeks and by 15 weeks I was very comfortable with him in the house and I am still pretty comfortable in the house with him. I just want him to hold for outside the crate for more than 1-2 hrs, haha. I really thought he was a natural with housetraining because he would go outside right away and then run back up the stairs to go inside. Oh well, just got to stick with it.


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## wenryder (Oct 21, 2010)

We also started a new class with Obie last week. With it being the first class, they are focusing on sit and heel. Obie knows these tricks, but is stubborn when it comes to doing them without a food reward. This last week we have practiced everyday and he's really coming along strongly with his sits. Although we were really having trouble with him pulling on leash. 

A few weeks after getting Obie, we got him a harness. We've used it on him for the longest time for walks, because it was easier than the flat collar. Our instructor told us last week that harnesses encourage pulling (it's what they use on sled-dogs to get them to pull - so it makes sense) so we took it off him and now we're back at square 1 with the flat collar. This whole week has been a challenge with it, as he simply ignores the 'checks' and tugs for correction.

Today, after a lot of thought and research, and a recommendation from our trainer, we decided to try a prong collar. Within the first gentle tug, Obie learned quick!!! The pulling has ceased. We plan on ONLY using it as a tool for heeling and training walks. I attempted a quick walk with the flatcollar again this evening, and it has improved in less than a day! I am happy.


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

wenryder said:


> We also started a new class with Obie last week. With it being the first class, they are focusing on sit and heel. Obie knows these tricks, but is stubborn when it comes to doing them without a food reward. This last week we have practiced everyday and he's really coming along strongly with his sits. Although we were really having trouble with him pulling on leash.
> 
> A few weeks after getting Obie, we got him a harness. We've used it on him for the longest time for walks, because it was easier than the flat collar. Our instructor told us last week that harnesses encourage pulling (it's what they use on sled-dogs to get them to pull - so it makes sense) so we took it off him and now we're back at square 1 with the flat collar. This whole week has been a challenge with it, as he simply ignores the 'checks' and tugs for correction.
> 
> Today, after a lot of thought and research, and a recommendation from our trainer, we decided to try a prong collar. Within the first gentle tug, Obie learned quick!!! The pulling has ceased. We plan on ONLY using it as a tool for heeling and training walks. I attempted a quick walk with the flatcollar again this evening, and it has improved in less than a day! I am happy.


What prong collar did you buy? I've noticed that if I place kobes collar high on his neck he doesn't pull as much because this isnt comfortable for dogs. Though, the problem is the collar will slide down his neck as the walk progresses and then when it gets low it is all pull again. 

Did you actually tug on him or was the gentle tug you are speaking of when he tried to pull?

Kobe had a small accident today. My friend came over and we got Kobe real worked up and we were near the door and Kobe just started to pee. I saw this happening and quickly made him stop and took him outside. I wonder if he suffers from excitement peeing? I have noticed that a couple accidents he has had have been when I've been playing with him a lot and he gets real worked up.


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## wenryder (Oct 21, 2010)

We got a Top Paw 18" one. It has the larger prongs on it.

We tried it on him in the store, and he lunged down the aisle, and it startled him. With a VERY gentle tug of encouragement, I got him to heel with me up and down some of the aisles, and it was as if I was walking a completely different dog.

His flat collar never stays up high on his neck. I cannot walk him confortably by constantly fixing it, so I want to try and train him to walk properly with the prongs, and transition him back to the flat collar.

also, Obie still has "excited pees" every once and a while. I've read that it is something they will grow out of.


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## Z064ever (Oct 22, 2010)

Finn weighed 54.8# at 5 months.


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## wenryder (Oct 21, 2010)

I'm so happy to say that Obie's heeling and sit stops when walking are improving so quickly! I've tried him twice today without the prong and he is amazing. He is really getting it. I still have to correct every so often because he starts sniffing the ground, but he's starting to understand the difference between when it is ok and when it is not (when heeling). I'm so happy!

I weighed him just now and he is 39 lbs. He will be 6 months old on Feb 8th. He is tall, long, and slender. By comparison it sounds light compared to other pups, but he is the same size as another golden we know who is 2 weeks older. Here's a picture from today. You can see he has a tuck at his waist, and he has a healthy layer of fat over his ribs (aka not showing) so I'm not worried about him being too thin... he is a VERY active dog. We take multiple walks per day, at least one in the morning that is 45 minutes minimum - which is more of a run and play in the snow than a "walk" per se.










He also seems to have a flatter coat (like his mum) as opposed to being fluffy.. although I'm sure his coat is still growing in. You can see the longer hair on his back starting to grow. He also has his "angel wings" which are the patches of lighter fur on his shoulder blades. A family member pointed them out before Christmas and now I always see them.









I just wanted to share an update. =)


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## LincolnsMom (Sep 28, 2010)

Lincoln is easily 50 lbs he's a beast, so was both his mother and father about 80 lbs each so i expect him to be a larger g/r/. His breeders bred for good temperament more than standard I think. Which is fine since he is a cream and will never be standard anyways ;p

Is it weird that I can't wait for Lincoln to grow up? I keep thinking to myself "you are going to be sooo hansom when you grow up" right now he is in his 'puppy uglies' because his fur is growing out he's starting to get feathering on his taill and legs. I'll update with pics soon.


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

Good updates. Kobe has those angel wings too! Just weighed Kobe, he is 45 lbs! He is still growing fast. I look at some of his puppy pictures from November and it is hard to believe how much he has grown


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## kerry (Oct 2, 2010)

Hi all, Great reading all the updates. How our babies have grown. I took Oscar to the vets today for a weigh and worm. He weighs 53 pounds. I asked the vet about exercise and she adviced me to cut it down. I was walking him off leash for 30 minutes x2 daily. She said 30 minutes X 1 with part of it on the leash would be better. I must admit Im a little dissappointed as I love our woodland romps, Oscar does run around like a loon sometimes though. What is everyone else doing exercise wise?


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

What was the reason for cutting down the exercise, and exactly what kind of exercise do these romps entail? 

With the weather in the NE being particularly challenging, I'm sad to say, Chili isn't getting enough exercise. At a minimum he gets a 30 min walk every day, and some playtime indoors, on weekends at least 2 30 min walks a day. He's always on leash because his recalls aren't 100% and because we don't have a fenced in area. But you can see the pent up energy in him...he'll come back from a walk and start the zoomies as soon as he walks in the house and gets off leash. Can't wait for spring, unfortunately with the winter we've had, it'll be mud season come spring! I want to get Chili accustomed to running along a bike when the weather permits, but not sure when it's appropriate to subject his bones to all that (hence my initial query to you).


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

RKA - I was always told that goldens shouldn't be doing that kind of activity, i.e. running with us, running while we bike, etc. A) it's on a hard surface which is no bueno, and B) with all the health issues related to golden's hips and elbows, running them like that really isn't recommended either. I was bummed when I was told this, but it does make sense.


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## sadiegold (Nov 3, 2010)

Sadie turned 6 months old yesterday. Here is a pic of her this morning after we got back from intermediate training class. Have not had her weighed but we are guessing upper 40's.


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## kerry (Oct 2, 2010)

Hi RKA, There was no reason for cutting back the exercise, I just told my vet what I was doing and she said she thought it was too much. It differs, usually in the morning he meets up with another similar sized pup and they have a bit of a play and a run around, chew some sticks and dig holes. In the afternoon he runs around in the woods and into the river for a swim. Oscars recalls are now pretty much 99%. I am going to have to put him on the leash when we get to the big hill though as he ran down it full pelt a couple of days ago eek!

Sadie is beautiful! Happy 6 months Sadie! x


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

I thought the limited exercise was during their growth period, and once they reached maturity it would be okay, but I haven't researched enough to completely understand the issues, concerns and consequences, including how much is internet anecdote vs. more substantial evidence. Your vet's recommendation seems a bit extreme, as nothing I see there remotely fits in my definition of overdoing it (but I'll freely admit I know little about this).


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## kerry (Oct 2, 2010)

Thanks RKA. I thought that the exercise I was given him was fine too. I meet people all the time that are not bothering to monitor it at all. 
I will cut it back slightly in the morning and afternoon but not drastically. He doesn't get to run about in a garden so needs to be outdoors. She said to be careful until he was 9 months. Apparently the growth plates do not close until 18 months. 

If anyone is visiting their vet in the near future it would be interesting to get some other professional views on exercise.


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## LincolnsMom (Sep 28, 2010)

I just realised something guys...Were all roughly a month away from the 'terrible teens'

Sharpen your training; and lock up your treats. This is going to be a rocky ride!


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## kerry (Oct 2, 2010)

It will be good to have each other for support. How long does the terrible teens last? :uhoh:


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## LincolnsMom (Sep 28, 2010)

3 months bahhh


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

Chili decided to turn into houdini last night. Up until now we've gotten away with putting chairs and other objects around the openings to the kitchen to keep him confined. Well last night he crawled under the chairs and between the legs and cross supports under the chairs. No problem I thought, I'll just invert another chair on top of the two existing chairs, so the backs of the other chairs will prevent him from going under. 5 minutes later, I hear some noises, and within a minute he escapes. It appears he moved the two chairs I stacked on top just enough so he could squeeze under the two upright chairs. No easy feat to perform that squeeze! The baby gates were ordered less than 5 mins after that!


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

Kobe has already started his terrible teens...


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## Limerick Main (Sep 17, 2010)

This is the funniest picture I have seen yet. And it is all that I can do to keep the same thing from happening in my house! Limerick LOVES remote controls!


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

I could not believe it! He ate all the way up to the 1 2 3 buttons! Today, in his poop I found pieces of the circuit board. I am just glad he did not eat the batteries! He definitely tried to chew them.

What happened was I had to work late so he was in his crate most of the day (I came home to let him out and such), but instead of going to bed at 11, I felt a little bad for him and wanted to let him play some more. So I took a nap on the couch at 11, woke up at 12:50 am to him chewing on the remote! He had just finished his bully stick before I went to bed so I am guessing he just needed something to chew on. He has never really tried to chew the remote before, just for a few seconds and then he realized it didnt taste to good. I guess last night was an exception. I need to be more careful now that his molars are coming in and he is chewing more.


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

Bells Bells Bells, FINALLY!!! Chili hasn't figured out a way to tell us he's gotta go out. For the most part, he just relies on our schedule, and if he really has to go while he's indoors, he does. 3 weeks ago we started using the bells. We're constantly pointing to the bells when we're at the door, and he'll go ring them if we ask, THEN he gets to go outside. But he never rings them on his own. I spoke with the trainer last week who suggested letting him get to the brink while inside the house, THEN stop him, bring him to the door, ring the bell and go out. Well, that was a great suggestion, but not one I've tried yet. Today we get up, go down to the laundry room, and I'm doing my usual routine of putting on shoes, jackets, ear muffs, grabbing the potty bag, leash, etc. I've barely even done one of those things and he goes to the bell and starts ringing!! I spin around and smile, but I'm not ready!!!! But I can't delay, I want him to know he gets to go right outside when he rings them, so here I am grabbing my jacket, potty bag and leash in one swift motion, and jumping into my shoes in another, all without my morning coffee. Hopefully this continues and he'll stop being so passive about things (his houdini trick last night seems to confirm a change in his behavior). Now I gotta hide all the remotes!


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

Haha! Hide the remote! Kobe has been pretty good lately (besides eating the remote and 2 blurays). He hasn't had an accident that I am aware of in a few weeks. I still might try the bell tactic just so when he is older he can let me know when he needs to go outside.


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

Has anyone started to feed their puppy 2 times a day instead of 3 times? I think 6 months is the time right? I will probably give it a shot next week. Kobe is almost to the point where he is skipping a meal so I think he is ready for it.


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## kerry (Oct 2, 2010)

Lincoln is gorgeous!
The remote pic really made me laugh 
I am going to gradually cut Oscars meals down to 2 over the next couple of weeks, he has 3 at the moment.
Here are a couple of pictures taken today after he had been for a swim


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## luv2smile (May 27, 2010)

ghuss37 said:


> Has anyone started to feed their puppy 2 times a day instead of 3 times? I think 6 months is the time right? I will probably give it a shot next week. Kobe is almost to the point where he is skipping a meal so I think he is ready for it.


We have been feeding Cajun twice a day since he was 16 weeks old. We didn't really have any issues making the switch. He gets a kong at lunch during the week when he's in his crate during the day. He does let us know when it is time to eat...promptly at 6:30 am and 5:30 pm he knows what time it is and wants his food.


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

When you fill a kong, do you completely fill it with peanut butter? I usually put in about a Tbsp or two. This keeps Kobe occupied for about 10 minutes. He cleans it out so fast, but he definitely loves it. If I freeze it, I might get an extra 10 minutes.


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

kerry said:


> Lincoln is gorgeous!
> The remote pic really made me laugh
> I am going to gradually cut Oscars meals down to 2 over the next couple of weeks, he has 3 at the moment.
> Here are a couple of pictures taken today after he had been for a swim


Nice pictures 

I can't wait until it warms up enough that I can introduce Kobe to the water.


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## kerry (Oct 2, 2010)

ghuss37 said:


> When you fill a kong, do you completely fill it with peanut butter? I usually put in about a Tbsp or two. This keeps Kobe occupied for about 10 minutes. He cleans it out so fast, but he definitely loves it. If I freeze it, I might get an extra 10 minutes.


 I just smear it around the kong. I have mixed kibble with cottage cheese and frozen it in the kong. Just take it out of his meal allowance. Also mashed banana in the kong works well. Oscar loves bananas


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

Awwww, Oscar's baby face is gone! He's so handsome though! 

We had more success and failure with the bells this weekend. Saturday I took him to my parents and were fine giving him the run of the house (didn't bring the bells). No accidents, but I had to interpret his nervous behavior and get him out. Sunday we got back from training class, he did his business outside, went inside and within an hour he's ringing the bells. I jumped up, ran straight to the door and got him outside...oh yeah, he definitely had to go! Told my wife and we stood there with our eyes open and our mouths agape. That was no coincidence, he definitely told us he had to go! What a good boy! Less than 5 mins later he rings the bell again. Now given that he did #2 less than 3 hours ago and just did #1, I'm thinking he's playing, but let's humor him if for no other reason that to reinforce what happens when he rings the bells. Get him outside and within 20 seconds #2 is done! Go back in and tell my wife, and again, we're staring at each other in amazement! He really gets it!!!! Oh thank god! 45 mins later I hear my wife yelling in the kitchen, I wander over and there is Chili peeing on the floor! :doh: Apparently he wandered into the laundry room twice, just prior to this. If he rang the bells, he rang them so softly that nobody heard and then he gave up. All that activity during class caught up with him, he probably swallowed a quart of water in the span of an hour and in retrospect, I probably should have kept an eye on him. Oh well...he'll get it soon enough. *sigh*


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

So we had Jackson at the vet on Saturday, doing a pre-checkup before he gets fixed this week. They took blood and will let us know if anything looks out of the ordinary.

Everthing is going well with him though. He turned 6 months old last Friday. Oh yeah one more thing - *HE WEIGHS 62 LBS!!!! :--smirk:*

Couldn't believe it when I saw the scale - he sure doesn't _look_ 62 pounds lol

Here are a couple of pictures from the park yesterday. Was our first true off-leash experience together and I think he walks better and more closely to us when he is off-leash rather than on the leash lol.

Oh and here's a quick little video I took on my camera

YouTube - Jackson's Day at the Park


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

Have any of your guys started to lose interest in lunch?

The last couple weeks Jackson has been kind of "take it or leave it" with his lunch. While we were at the vet on Saturday we asked him when we should start to cut down to 2 meals a day.....his answer was - 'he'll let you know, he will kind of lost interest...it should be happening about now'.

And that's what has happened. At first I was concerned, but breakfast and dinner are fine. This is the first I've ever heard of "he'll let you know".....anyone else see this?

Jackson's also due to get fixed on Wednesday :crossfing Vet said he doesn't give the larger breeds the cone collar to wear, but just keep an eye on him and if he is trying to lick and it is bothering him then I'll need to go in and get a cone for him. IDK about this since he is in a crate by himself for 4 hours before lunch and 3 hours after....how am I gonna watch this if I'm not home


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## luv2smile (May 27, 2010)

Here are some new pictures of Cajun- he is quickly coming up on 6 months. He's only 40 lbs, but he still feels like he's growing like a weed. He had a play date over the weekend with our friend's dog, Lily, who is a golden/ black lab mix...he had a blast! Cajun graduates from Puppy Star class next week...hopefully


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

I've read the same about losing an interest in lunch. Consider it a blessing that he's telling you he's ready. Mine spends his entire day thinking about food...you'd think I don't feed him! Regarding the cone of shame, can you take a day off following the surgery to see how he does? Personally, I would put the cone on for good measure if you can't be there to supervise. If he pulls the stitches or licks, you've got the potential for infection (not to mention it could be hours before you get home to see/do something about it).


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

RKA said:


> I've read the same about losing an interest in lunch. Consider it a blessing that he's telling you he's ready. Mine spends his entire day thinking about food...you'd think I don't feed him! Regarding the cone of shame, can you take a day off following the surgery to see how he does? Personally, I would put the cone on for good measure if you can't be there to supervise. If he pulls the stitches or licks, you've got the potential for infection (not to mention it could be hours before you get home to see/do something about it).


Even if I can get off the day after surgery, thats only one day. There will definitely be times where nobody is home and nobody can watch him....so I think we'll opt for the cone no matter what. When we are home we can take it off and keep an eye on him, but for those times when we aren't home there's no way to watch him


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

Wow, Jackson is huge compared to Kobe. Kobe is mid to upper 40s.

Cajun is adorable!

I am really concerned about Kobe. Ever since he ate that remote, he has been having issues! He has been having the runs like crazy. I went through a similar instance when he ate a plastic cap. It took him a few weeks until his poop hardened up again. It is sad to see him have to go through this twice. 

This evening he pooped a long chunk of plastic that he ingested and I was hoping that was the last piece. I don't think so. His poop this evening was really runny. After he pooped once, before we came back inside he tried to poop again but barely anything came out. He definitely is having some issues passing it. I also noticed a hint of blood in his poop (like I did with the plastic cap).

I am going to be watching extremely closely. If he stops being able to poop or if he loses his appetite completely, I am going to take him in and see what they can do. I really really can't afford a $1500 surgery though, so I am going to hope it passes just like the plastic cap did.


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## luv2smile (May 27, 2010)

ghuss37 said:


> When you fill a kong, do you completely fill it with peanut butter? I usually put in about a Tbsp or two. This keeps Kobe occupied for about 10 minutes. He cleans it out so fast, but he definitely loves it. If I freeze it, I might get an extra 10 minutes.


This is my standard kong receipe:

High value goodie treat at the bottom with some kibble or other broken up treat pieces. Then I fill most of it with a mix of yogurt, carotts chopped up, and crumbled apple treats. I fill in the top of the whole with a layer of peanut butter and freeze. The last time I watched him finish one a month or so ago, it took an hour....although he's probably quicker than that now at it.


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## wenryder (Oct 21, 2010)

We transitioned Obie to 2 meals a day in early January. I started working fulltime (I finish this week! Yay!) and had no other means to feed him at lunch time. It was an easy switch, and he adapted rather quickly.


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

ghuss37 said:


> I am really concerned about Kobe. Ever since he ate that remote, he has been having issues! He has been having the runs like crazy. I went through a similar instance when he ate a plastic cap. It took him a few weeks until his poop hardened up again. It is sad to see him have to go through this twice.
> 
> This evening he pooped a long chunk of plastic that he ingested and I was hoping that was the last piece. I don't think so. His poop this evening was really runny. After he pooped once, before we came back inside he tried to poop again but barely anything came out. He definitely is having some issues passing it. I also noticed a hint of blood in his poop (like I did with the plastic cap).
> 
> I am going to be watching extremely closely. If he stops being able to poop or if he loses his appetite completely, I am going to take him in and see what they can do. I really really can't afford a $1500 surgery though, so I am going to hope it passes just like the plastic cap did.


I would consult with a vet immediately. The runs are the body's way of saying something doesn't belong in here (intestines) and the body's response is to push it out. That's fine, but the blood is definitely not. Given what he ate (volume is more than a plastic cap), and how sharp some of those plastic bits potentially are, I would check with your vet. The downside that you don't want to face is that you've waited too long, the obstruction has been there too long, and tissue in his intestines is infected, dying or torn. At least with a vet involved you can proceed with more guidance and potentially avoid an ugly outcome. Trying to avoid $1500 now might cost you and Kobe much more down the road...it's not worth it.


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

Everybody please keep Jackson in your prayers, he is at the vet getting fixed today :crossfing:crossfing:crossfing

I was in the lobby with him this morning filling out some paperwork and a guy walks in with a female chocolate lab....she was there to get fixed too. I think Jackson fell in love lol. I asked the owner if he wanted to give them one last shot to make it work before they both get fixed - I don't know if he knew that I was joking HAHAHA


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

just got a call from the vet - everything is going fine with surgery! 

How much did you guys pay for microchipping? They called to ask if I wanted this done while they have him in there and he is still under - for $35 I didn't even have to think about it!


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## kerry (Oct 2, 2010)

RKA said:


> I would consult with a vet immediately. The runs are the body's way of saying something doesn't belong in here (intestines) and the body's response is to push it out. That's fine, but the blood is definitely not. Given what he ate (volume is more than a plastic cap), and how sharp some of those plastic bits potentially are, I would check with your vet. The downside that you don't want to face is that you've waited too long, the obstruction has been there too long, and tissue in his intestines is infected, dying or torn. At least with a vet involved you can proceed with more guidance and potentially avoid an ugly outcome. Trying to avoid $1500 now might cost you and Kobe much more down the road...it's not worth it.


 I think that is really good advice RKA. If Oscar was having those symptoms I'd take him to the vet. Hope Kobe is OK. x

So pleased Jackson is OK! Probably a good thing he didn't get it together with the chocolate lab, he is better of not knowing what he is missing
I paid £15 for Oscars microchipping, not sure how our currencies match up.


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

How's little Kobe doing?


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## sadiegold (Nov 3, 2010)

We will be making an appt to have Sadie spayed in the next month or so, our vet will charge $450 and an add'l $65 for the chip. I like our vet alot but have a recommendation from a dear friend and excellent dog owner for her vet in business over 30 years and they will charge closer to $300 for both, what has everyone in our group been paying?


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

Kobe's appetite has gotten better. He seems to be normal. Though, today, he went to poop and a little drop of blood came out. He hadn't had any blood in several days. I kind of panicked and went to call the vet to get advice but the vet isn't open on Sunday. I am going to check his poop again in the morning and hopefully everything is ok. 

A friend watched Kobe on Saturday because I had to leave town. She said he threw up twice! He hasn't thrown up since he was like 2-3 months old. He has had no issues today with puke.

I have done some reading and it seems the blood is probably from his lower intestines due to the plastic rubbing in there. If I see blood in the morning, I'll call the vet and get him checked out.

I setup an appointment to get Kobe neutered in 2 weeks. Part of me wishes I would wait until a year like the breeder recommended. However, it worked out that I have to leave town for a week due to some training for work. This seemed like the perfect time to get it done since I have to board him anyway. I hope he doesn't hate me! Haha...


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

sadiegold said:


> We will be making an appt to have Sadie spayed in the next month or so, our vet will charge $450 and an add'l $65 for the chip. I like our vet alot but have a recommendation from a dear friend and excellent dog owner for her vet in business over 30 years and they will charge closer to $300 for both, what has everyone in our group been paying?


I got quoted for about $400 for neuter, chip, blood work, and boarding for 7 days.


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## kerry (Oct 2, 2010)

How is Kobe?


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

Everything was fine this morning. His poop was completely back to normal it seemed and no signs of blood. I think he is fine. I will still keep a close eye on him though.

He ate maybe half a cup of food this morning. He doesnt seem to have an appetite in the morning. He will eat at lunch and dinnertime. Is this normal? Should I change his meals from morning and evening to lunch and evening?


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

sadiegold said:


> We will be making an appt to have Sadie spayed in the next month or so, our vet will charge $450 and an add'l $65 for the chip. I like our vet alot but have a recommendation from a dear friend and excellent dog owner for her vet in business over 30 years and they will charge closer to $300 for both, what has everyone in our group been paying?


I paid around 350 for everything. neutering, chip (35), 7 days of pain medication, and bloodwork taken beforehand for a baseline


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

Now I see why some people wait until their dog is a little older before having them fixed.....keeping a 6 month old dog "calm" with no vigorous activity for 7-10 days is resulting in lots of mischief around the house  :no::no::no:

How many of you _really_ waited 7-10 days before doing anything? I don't know if I can make it to the weekend lol, between being 6 months old and having no exercise the corners of my walls and tables are big targets lol


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

LOL!!! Interesting perspective and one I didn't consider. All the more reason to wait, although somehow I don't think I'll be much better off at 18 mos. than at 6 mos. Good luck...odds are if you make it through the first couple days, there will be some "room for interpretation" in the docs orders. :crossfing


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

have any of you solved the notorious jumping problem yet?


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

ghuss37 said:


> have any of you solved the notorious jumping problem yet?


I have a bulk order of velcro on the way. Will keep you posted with results :crossfing :bowl: :


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

In all honestly he is very good when it comes to me and my family. He gets excited as heck when you first walk in the door, he almost goes in circles he's so excited. He may jump once, jsut because it's TOO MUCH to hold inside lol, but once is all and then he remembers to sit for love.

The problem is with new people, people we see on the street during walks, etc. He goes bananas with excitement. I know he loves people but nobody wants a dog jumping on them. i know i dont


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

Kobe just has issues with the initial meeting of someone. Like someone on the street or someone who comes in my house initially. After that he settles down but he is big enough that his jumping to greet visitors initially is becoming an issue.


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

We've staged encounters with strangers over the last 2 months or so. Strict orders were given, turn around, no eye contact, no attention, not a word if Chili's butt isn't on the ground. He wants that attention so bad that he's willing to do ANYTHING for it. Didn't take long for him to understand the bum stays down. My wife tried it with a 5 yr old and his mom when she was on a walk last week. The little boy pulled away as soon as the butt came off the ground and Chili got the point! Chili still tests the limits, but the instantaneous response to his butt lifting off the ground quickly reinforces what he knows. Don't tug at the leash to accomplish this, it doesn't work. The attention is his reward, take that away and he'll go crazy trying to find a way to get that attention. Best to find a dog friendly people to start this with...so they can go crazy with attention when he does it right. That binary response to his actions really drives the point home quickly.


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

Have any of you started teaching a "go to place" command or something similar? We started this last week, and he's doing great, so we're wandering a little further from his "place" (blanket) but he's figured out he can pack up his blanket and take it to go! *argh* It's kinda funny to see them get creative, but I know our trainer isn't going to be amused when we show up for class next week!


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

RKA said:


> Have any of you started teaching a "go to place" command or something similar? We started this last week, and he's doing great, so we're wandering a little further from his "place" (blanket) but he's figured out he can pack up his blanket and take it to go! *argh* It's kinda funny to see them get creative, but I know our trainer isn't going to be amused when we show up for class next week!


How are you doing this? Any special techniques?

Since we gave Jackson the freedom to come in the living, we took his bed out of his crate and put it on the living room floor in front of the TV. (we got him a bigger crate so the bed didn't fit anymore)

So we put his bed on the livingroom floor, and what we did when we first started letting him into the livingroom was brought him to his bed right away. First thing we did with him when he left the kitchen. Now he knows that the bed is where he belongs, and 90% of the time when we let him out of the kitchen he goes directly to his bed. mind you this is the bed he's had since he was 8 weeks old so that probably helps too


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## sadiegold (Nov 3, 2010)

*August puppy weight*

Sadie just weighed in at 54 pounds and she will be 7 months in about a week.
She will be spayed Tuesday so good thoughts please!


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

Kobe weighs about 50 lbs now. I haven't had any accidents in a while. He will usually sit next to the door and just stare at me if he needs to go. The other thing he does is come to me and start whining. I like that he gives me signals at least.

I have Kobe trained so that he will go to his crate if I ask him to. Though, he will only do it for a treat, he will not do it without a treat. Eventually I want to minimize the use of the crate and give him a bed outside the crate. This probably won't happen for another 6+ months though. 

Does anyone have any issues with their male puppy trying to hump things. Kobe new thing is to grab his bedding out of his crate and hump it. Hopefully this goes away once he is neutered in a little over a week.


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

sadiegold said:


> Sadie just weighed in at 54 pounds and she will be 7 months in about a week.
> She will be spayed Tuesday so good thoughts please!



Sending good thoughts your way!


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

ActionJackson said:


> How are you doing this? Any special techniques?


The trainer had us start by saying the command and throwing the treat onto the mat. As he arrives at the mat, we have a second treat waiting, and hold it down on the ground between his front paws. He gets it when he lays down and not before. Don't say the word down though...the idea is that action is implicit when you say the "place" command or whatever word you choose. Continue feeding them treats as long as they stay on the mat, or issue your correction word if they get up and stray. After 30 secs or 1 min, give them the release word, praise like crazy and start over. 

Soon you will notice that you don't need to toss the treat to the mat, he'll just go. In that case, give him the treat when he goes to the mat, continue feeding treats, release and praise. Once he gets the hang of that, stand 6 feet back from the mat and practice the same. Walk to the mat and treat when he's laying down, continue treating but increase the time intervals. I'll sometimes give him the release word when I can tell he's thinking about getting up. I want him to be successful initially. This is about as far as we've gotten in two weeks, but he's doing it consistently. We're going to up the time intervals and distance to 10-12 feet. It's harder from them when you ask them to walk away from you. They know you have the treat so the temptation is to wait at your feet. So be patient doing this and only increase the distance when you think he is consistent.


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

RKA said:


> The trainer had us start by saying the command and throwing the treat onto the mat. As he arrives at the mat, we have a second treat waiting, and hold it down on the ground between his front paws. He gets it when he lays down and not before. Don't say the word down though...the idea is that action is implicit when you say the "place" command or whatever word you choose. Continue feeding them treats as long as they stay on the mat, or issue your correction word if they get up and stray. After 30 secs or 1 min, give them the release word, praise like crazy and start over.
> 
> Soon you will notice that you don't need to toss the treat to the mat, he'll just go. In that case, give him the treat when he goes to the mat, continue feeding treats, release and praise. Once he gets the hang of that, stand 6 feet back from the mat and practice the same. Walk to the mat and treat when he's laying down, continue treating but increase the time intervals. I'll sometimes give him the release word when I can tell he's thinking about getting up. I want him to be successful initially. This is about as far as we've gotten in two weeks, but he's doing it consistently. We're going to up the time intervals and distance to 10-12 feet. It's harder from them when you ask them to walk away from you. They know you have the treat so the temptation is to wait at your feet. So be patient doing this and only increase the distance when you think he is consistent.


Sounds good! Will give it a try


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

*THEY DO EXIST!!! :yuck::yuck::yuck:*

Well, after hearing so much about this hideous creature from fellow golden retriever owners, I have witnessed the beast with my own 2 eyes......the LAND SHARK :no::no::no: :yuck:

Jackson was neutered last Wednesday - so for the last week we were restricting his exercise (per doctors orders). He was starting to get antsy with all the pent up energy - and he started to exhibit signs of the dreaded land shark. Chewing on the walls, then my limbs and clothing :uhoh:

We waited a week before we started exercising him, and on the 7th day he was AWFUL. He would not stop biting my hands, arms, feet, and pants. It was insane. Toys did not work. Nothing worked. Then he ended up knocking over a houseplant, dirt all over the carpet. Then while the plant is on the floor he decides he's going to start eating the plant :doh: I knew it was due to the lack of exercise and was glad that it was the last day of restrictions. Tomorrow would be better. I hoped. :crossfing

My dad wanted to get the training collar, but I said lets hold off and see how he is once we start exercising him again. So for the last 3 days now he's been getting back into his normal exercise routine. And he has been MUCH MUCH better now that we are able to drain the energy. 

But yesterday, the vicious LAND SHARK came out of the depths again and reared it's ugly head :--devil:.....read below

We took him for a 1 mile walk at about 8 am. Then at about 2pm I took him up to the field for some off leash running and playing. We got home and he was zonked. Ok, good. Jackson is sleeping. See Dad - the exercise worked! :nana: Then we gave him dinner at about 7, followed by another 30 minute walk. We got home and he was great. Then out of nowhere the beast appeared. Attacking my arms, hands, and shirt while I am sitting on the couch. Gave him a firm 'NO' and he turned for my feet. Starting to bite my feet now.....then onto my pants leg...pulling like all hell.  I was pissed but at the same time I knew 'he is just a puppy, can't get mad at him'. And I didn't. I was proud of myself for that. He got a good timeout in the kitchen behind the gate. I think he got the hint.

But it just amazes me how he can go from being a great dog to a LAND SHARK in an instant. Maybe he was just overly tired???  Maybe he's just being a bratty teenage pup?  I don't know....

My dad still wants to get the electronic training collar....anyone here use one?? I thought for sure that lots of exercise would help with the chewing and unwanted behavior....but I'm thinking maybe the training collar will be a good idea.....


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

Ahh I am having the same problem with kobe! The beast has been unleashed. He seems like he turns into a monster at times...barking at me biting me etc... I know he just wants to play though. He will nip at my feet and then run away. What am I supposed to do? He doesn't seem to understand "No!" The only thing I have been able to do is throw him in his crate and hopefully he will settle down. I hope this is just part of his teen stage.


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

ghuss37 said:


> Ahh I am having the same problem with kobe! The beast has been unleashed. He seems like he turns into a monster at times...barking at me biting me etc... I know he just wants to play though. He will nip at my feet and then run away. What am I supposed to do? He doesn't seem to understand "No!" The only thing I have been able to do is throw him in his crate and hopefully he will settle down. I hope this is just part of his teen stage.


I'm no expert, but I'd be careful using the crate for timeout. This could make him really hate going in his crate. I know of people that do it, they make it a game and put their dog in the crate with a happy face on and giving happy praise. So they are really punishing the dog without the dog knowing it.......I don't know if I buy this though. I'd be careful doing it.

The setup we have seems to work pretty well......our kitchen is gated off, and his crate is in the kitchen. So is his food and water. If he is really being a brat, he gets put in the kitchen. He hates this, but he has to learn that if he does certain things he ends up in the kitchen. Hopefully this will be incentive enough to not misbehave! However, we never put him in his crate if he is bad. He actually loves his crate - during the day we leave the kitchen gate open and his crate door open, and we will find him laying in his crate with everything wide open :wavey:

He really has started to not like going in the kitchen though - he knows that everyone hangs out in the living room, so thats where he wants to be. He only voluntarily goes in the kitchen to a)eat/drink, b)sleep, and c)when he hears me getting his leash out of the drawer


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

At this age, I wouldn't worry about them hating the crate. By now they should be accustomed to the crate. The key is not to be yelling at them, not to have an angry tone, but simply to give them a place and some time to settle down when they get a little crazy and they are not in a state of mind to listen. Chili has never liked his crate...to him it keeps him isolated from everything that is going on (much like your kitchen). He does accept it though, and so far it's the only place he really settles down and sleeps. And when he gets a little crazy, he goes there to settle down as well. When I get really mad at him though...the crate isn't part of the picture.


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

RKA said:


> At this age, I wouldn't worry about them hating the crate. By now they should be accustomed to the crate. The key is not to be yelling at them, not to have an angry tone, but simply to give them a place and some time to settle down when they get a little crazy and they are not in a state of mind to listen. Chili has never liked his crate...to him it keeps him isolated from everything that is going on (much like your kitchen). He does accept it though, and so far it's the only place he really settles down and sleeps. And when he gets a little crazy, he goes there to settle down as well. When I get really mad at him though...the crate isn't part of the picture.


Funny, my guy is the same way - the only place he really settles down and sleeps is behind the kitchen gate (whether it be in the crate or on the kitchen floor.)

I'd say that at this point, 80-90% of the time he is out in teh livingroom with us and is great. He's even great during dinner - he will either lay under the table or in the living room. Not a nag at all.

It's that othe 10% or so of the time that he needs a little break in evil kitchen


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

Chili missed his 6 mos. birthday! He was born on Aug 29th, and since there is no leap year...I guess today is it! My wife and I keep asking ourselves "when will he grow up?". The answer: somewhere between 18 more months and forever....


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

Does anyone else's dog love to have their paws rubbed? Jackson will give me his paw and keep it there....and when you rub it you can see him melt. Then after 5 minutes he will switch and give you his other paw lol Funniest thing I've ever seen.


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## wenryder (Oct 21, 2010)

Opposed to paws, Obie is a belly rub baby. If he's laying on the floor, he'll shift slightly and turns his body so you can easily rub his belly. He's been like this since the day we picked him up at the breeder, he toppled over, belly up for a good rub! Sometimes, he'll ssttrreettcchhh right out when you pat his belly. It's very cute. 

Sometimes from across the room, I'll put my hands up, like monster claws and wiggle my fingers, telling him I'm gonna get him! I watch him roll over and get ready, paws up, it's so funny! Haha...


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

wenryder, did you have success with that prong collar? I am getting to the point where I am tempted to try a gentle lead or a prong collar to try to get Kobe to walk better without pulling. He also picks up EVERYTHING he can find on the walks and it is realllly frustrating. He knows leave it pretty well, but once he is outside he does what he wants.


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Tonka*

Our *Tonka,* was born on August 19, 2009- He is a *SAMOYED!!*

Our *Tucker, *Golden Retriever was born on Sept. 14, 2008.


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## wenryder (Oct 21, 2010)

ghuss37 said:


> wenryder, did you have success with that prong collar? I am getting to the point where I am tempted to try a gentle lead or a prong collar to try to get Kobe to walk better without pulling. He also picks up EVERYTHING he can find on the walks and it is realllly frustrating. He knows leave it pretty well, but once he is outside he does what he wants.


Yes! Very much so. We've also had a trainer work with us using it, so that has been helpful. It's important to tremember to save gentle corrections when they are needed, more like pops thans pulling on the collar.


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

ghuss37, try the gentler leader or an easy walk harness. I'm using one, and another golden in our class is using the other, and it's made a huge difference in both dogs. Put the flat buckle collar back on and they return to their old habits though.  There is a pointer in our class that is using a pronged collar...I hate them for the way they are designed (and even more for the people that never learn how to use them properly), but with that particular dog, the trainer agreed it was the best approach and I can see an improvement in his training. Leave this as a last resort if your dog really isn't responding to the other collars/harnesses.


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

RKA are you going with the gentle leader or the easy walk?


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## wenryder (Oct 21, 2010)

We had Obie on a harness when we started the class, and our instructor told us that harnesses teach them to pull (think sled dogs). You may not feel it when the harness is on, but more so when you switch to the flat collar.

She said after a flat collar, try a martingale, the n a chain collar, then a prong, in that order. Some dogs just have personalities that require these devices. They are learning tools, to teach them how to behave properly on a flat collar, so eventually you walk them without the tool.

As for haltis and gentle leaders, we used them on our labs when I was a teenager, and they worked fine, but unless we had that piece of equipment, we could never walk him without it. It becomes a crutch for walking them. 

Just something to think about.


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

wenryder said:


> We had Obie on a harness when we started the class, and our instructor told us that harnesses teach them to pull (think sled dogs). You may not feel it when the harness is on, but more so when you switch to the flat collar.
> 
> She said after a flat collar, try a martingale, the n a chain collar, then a prong, in that order. Some dogs just have personalities that require these devices. They are learning tools, to teach them how to behave properly on a flat collar, so eventually you walk them without the tool.
> 
> ...


I was always taught that the flat collar would make them want to pull. The pulling didn't have so much to do with whether it was a collar or harness, but it had more to do with _where_ the point of tension was coming from. A dog's neck is where all their power is.....so if you are using a flat collar, and the point of pressure is on their neck, it will instinctively make them want to pull.

We have been using the easy walk harness for about a month now and so far so good. He is like a different dog. When we had the flat collar on he would just pull too much to the point where he was choking himself - wasn't enjoyable for either of us. 

As for the crutch theory, I thought the exact same thing. I talked to the trainer about it and she said that the easy walk, gentle leader, any of those devices are all tied back into what you just said above......they are meant to be tools for you (and your dog) to be taught the proper walking techniques. So even though I am using the easy walk, I still must give corrections as opposed to just chugging along with the collar on. The whole point is the dog is supposed to learn that when he pulls, it's not comfortable. And not rewarding. If you use these devices as learning tools the theory is eventually it wont matter what type of harness or collar the dog has on.....the training is supposed to translate. Of course the jury is still out on this - I'm hoping by next summer when he is a little older, a little more not-so-excited, that the use of the harness will pay off.


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

my "problem" on walks isn't that he is pulling persay, he is more curious. I mean he has his nose to the ground the entire time, sniffing along. He almost gets caught up in the sniffing and just chugs right along sometimes.....this is when I have to give a slight correction, stop him in his tracks, and show him that 'hey - we will get there eventually, just stick next to me, we'll get there'. Part of me feels bad b/c this is just him being a golden retriever - sniffing along and looking with his nose. I don't want to discourage that, but at the same time I want him to learn that we will get there, you just have to walk next to me in order to do it. 

It's not like he is cujo, up on his back legs, pulling and going nuts. (well, at least not until we see a person walking lol) :


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

ActionJackson said:


> my "problem" on walks isn't that he is pulling persay, he is more curious. I mean he has his nose to the ground the entire time, sniffing along. He almost gets caught up in the sniffing and just chugs right along sometimes.....this is when I have to give a slight correction, stop him in his tracks, and show him that 'hey - we will get there eventually, just stick next to me, we'll get there'. Part of me feels bad b/c this is just him being a golden retriever - sniffing along and looking with his nose. I don't want to discourage that, but at the same time I want him to learn that we will get there, you just have to walk next to me in order to do it.
> 
> It's not like he is cujo, up on his back legs, pulling and going nuts. (well, at least not until we see a person walking lol) :


Sounds exactly like what I am experiencing. He has his nose to the ground and when he see anything like a leaf, acorn, stick he just tries to attack it. This is when he will jerk the leash. It is very frustrating because he has already ate several things that have given him issues. He knows leave it, but once he is on a leash there is no stopping him.

I may try some kind of gentle lead or something like that soon.


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

ghuss37 said:


> Sounds exactly like what I am experiencing. He has his nose to the ground and when he see anything like a leaf, acorn, stick he just tries to attack it. This is when he will jerk the leash. It is very frustrating because he has already ate several things that have given him issues. He knows leave it, but once he is on a leash there is no stopping him.
> 
> I may try some kind of gentle lead or something like that soon.


I don't have the problem you do with grabbing stuff. Jackson is more of a sniffer and a looker - once in a while he will pick something up but usually drops it 5 feet later.

Question for you - You said your guy knows the "leave it" command.....but did you ever practice it outside when there were real life distractions such as pinecones, acorns, leaves, etc around? If you're like me, most of your "leave it" practice was done indoors. Again, Jackson doesn't have an issue like your guy does, but maybe I'm onto something? Just a thought


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

Meh, I think he is just being himself being a retriever. He is extremely well bred and has all those wonderful golden traits like carrying everything with him. He will actually not pick up anything if I give him a stick or something to "hold onto" during our walk. He's not perfect with leave it by any means. He def struggles with it on a leash and I haven't been working on it with him much now that my puppy class is over. It's kind of like when I'm inside and he decides to grab the toilet paper and run with it. I say drop it and he won't listen. I think he is hitting is stubborn time period but I also need to spend more time training him. Unfortunately, I don't have a whole lot of time to be able to train him until May comes around.


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

We're using the gentle leader, and I have to agree with you 110%, it is a tool. I was resistant to do it because we had already spent a lot of time doing a loose leash walk, and I didn't want this to become a set back. The issue was my wife and dog walkers were having a really difficult time walking him and one of the dog walkers has a bad shoulder. I had to find a quick fix soon. I still practice the loose leash walking with a flat buckle collar though...in the hopes that none of these special collars or harnesses will be necessary in a year or so. I really prefer that collar for convenience sake...that's the one that has his name tag, dog license and frankly, it's always on him.

ghuss37, mine's a hoover and this has made it easier to issue corrections constantly. instead of a full body motion, it's two fingers and a gentle reminder and he gets the message. Eventually he needs to understand he can NOT pick up things on a walk unless I give him permission, and his attention should be focused on me. Retriever or not, I want him to be able to walk off leash and we can't get there unless he understands these things. That's why I continue reinforcing the behavior I want. And no walks occur without a bag full of treats. Even when he glances over at me while we're walking he gets a "good boy" and ocassionally a treat. And when he spots something tempting, sometimes he'll hold himself back and look at me for the treat. He gets it...just not all the time!  

Keep working on the leave it command. That usually bails me out when Chili starts running towards something and I'm not paying attention. Once he gets it in his mouth, all bets are off (we haven't worked on drop it enough, so as far as he's concerned, finders keepers). If he does well in the house, increase the distractions. Put out toys and other things but reward him with a better treat. Work your way outdoors and keep the treats close so he knows he gets something good when he "leaves it". When he masters that, try other people and dogs (at a distance), then slowly close the distance gap. You're just increasing the temptations slowly while reinforcing the behavior. He'll get there quickly.


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

Yeah I just need to work with him more. I hardly ever bring treats on walks anymore. It is tough working 60 hr weeks and trying to train a good dog...May couldn't hit any sooner.

Kobe is going to the vet today, where he will stay for a week while I am traveling for training. I hope he doesn't get too much separation anxiety. He is getting neutered on Monday!


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

Kobe has been boarded for about 8 hours now and I already miss him!


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## 2dollys (Jan 24, 2011)

*Easy Walk*

Hey there,

Mango (born August 25th) is using an easy walk harness. It's been a really great tool for when I don't have time to work on loose leash walking. It is so automatic.

I heard some time ago that "everything is training" and hadn't thought about that before. :doh:

So I was trying to never let her pull me at all on her flat collar/leash. That is great training (we are using the turn around and go the other direction method), BUT it is really not helpful when we are trying to quickly get into the car to go to puppy school or somewhere. So for those times when I don't have time to train her that pulling is always bad, the easy walk is great. Because the leash attaches in the front of the harness, it doesn't really let the dog pull you. If they pull, it turns them around so they are facing you. It's gentle but effective.

To keep it from being a crutch, as mentioned above, we continue to work on collar only training too, as well as working on heel off leash and loose leash at school.

Good luck to you. Mango is great but she's definitely a little harder-headed lately!

Lee


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

Haha...I suspect this is going to be harder on you than him. He'll get through it just fine. You? Well, one way or the other, the end of the week will get here. 

BTW, if your time is limited, try to stick to a short daily routine of training. We've found 10-15 mins a day is better than 1 hour every 4th day. Whatever you can muster on a daily basis, heck even 5 mins. I know how you feel at the end of a long day. 

2dollys, it's funny you mention that...I was picking up chili from a grooming appt y'day and the girl asked me if we're doing any training with him. I said every day and every hour is training this a 6 mos. old golden! (we were in the middle of a wait command while dangling a biscuit to keep him from going bananas over the other dog in the waiting area...food > *)


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## claireb (Dec 21, 2010)

ActionJackson said:


> *THEY DO EXIST!!! :yuck::yuck::yuck:*
> 
> Well, after hearing so much about this hideous creature from fellow golden retriever owners, I have witnessed the beast with my own 2 eyes......the LAND SHARK :no::no::no: :yuck:


I had to come on here to see if you guys were experiencing the same issues with your pups....Alfie has transformed over the last week or so into a bit of a monster. He's okay with my dad (top dog in the house) but I can't go near him anymore without being attacked. I'll sit next to him and he will constantly try to bite me and if I remove my hands from sight he'll start on anything else he can reach....and if I ignore him he just starts barking. He's also started humping everything like mad. 

It just seems to be that he's really trying the boundaries of what he can/can't do but as he's used to my dad's low voice disciplining him he takes no notice of my mum or I. 

Are any of you having issues with your pups being scared of things? Alfie is a bit of a wuss...he's had a bit too much of a sheltered life so far as he's only ever been walked up our quiet road (or to the forest - with no cars in sight) so is scared of anything different (cars, pushchairs, airplanes, ducks...even got freaked out by a traffic cone earlier). I'm trying to acclimatise him to new things by taking him further out into a busier area and he is getting better with cars but it's been very slow going. Feel like a bit of a cruel momma when he's cowering away from a car as it goes past but I don't know how else to go about it?

Saying that he's doing great in other areas, going through the night without peeing and being a star on the lead so it's not all bad, I just want my cute lil' pup back!


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## 2dollys (Jan 24, 2011)

*fear*

Claireb--

We've gone through this with Mango too. She was a super confident puppy until about 5 months old and then she became afraid of most things. Like you said, cars (even parked), noises, wind blown leaves, garbage cans, etc.

But today (she's about 6.5 months) we went on a walk in a new park and she was better! People were playing frisbee golf and the flying disks and the sound of the frisbees hitting the chains around the goal didn't phase her at all. I'm hoping we are coming out of this fear time.

Our trainer said it's totally normal. We had a period around week 8 and then dogs often get another fear period sometime between 5 months and a year. She said that it is really important not to push her too hard and force her, but to keep exposing her gently.

Good luck!

Lee


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

Yeah The Land Shark™ still makes his appearances......like I said about 90% of the time Jackson is great. But for some reason last night he was "antsy" and wouldn't stop biting, barking, just going nuts. Got his normal exercise yesterday too.

He actually ripped a section of the wallpaper off the wall :doh: A little corner must have been loose, he was literally standing right at my side, and i heard a ripping sound. Looked down and he had grabbed the corner of the wallpaper and with on swift turn of his head.....ripped about a foot of it off  I put him in the kitchen (behind the gate) and he promptly crashed.


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

Not seeing any fear in Jackson, thankfully.

He used to try to chase after cars, but I started training him to focus on me (with the help of a treat) whenever a car passed by. Now I don't even need the treat, the passing car doesn't phase him.

We had him down at the beach for the first time on Saturday - he really loved it. I bought a 20foot leash so he could have some freedom on the beach.....really wanted it so he could go up to the water on his own terms, it wouldnt be me walking him down there. He went up to the edge of the water, and when teh first wave came in, he jumped back. When it went out he went back to the edge of the water, got down on his front 2 paws, and did that silent bark thing where they turn their heads back and forth lol. After watching a few waves come in he was ok and by the end of our trip he was running through the water up to his belly. We ended the trip with a nice walk on the dock - Jackson loved scaring all the seagulls away.


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

Seems like the testicles are descending this week. Chili has been consistently doing a gruff deep toned bark when he sees things outside. Really, who does he think he's gonna scare off!???! He's a big baby who's afraid of the trash can. I try to give him a quick tug at the leash to discourage it, but it doesn't seem to make a difference, so now I just ignore whatever has captured his interest. He's also been eyeing my wife's leg, and I keep telling her he wants to hump her leg, but she insists he's still a baby and that's not possible. She'll have to take a stand eventually, I think I'll let the two of them work it out.


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

ActionJackson got me thinking...it might be time to give Chili access to some water. Unfortunately, most ponds and lakes around me are littered with goose poop, but the ocean is only 45 mins away. Found this site below. Seems like some beaches do allow access to dogs on leashes during the off season, but by May 1, they will ban them. Got another 7 weeks to make it out there!

Dog friendly beaches, pet friendly beaches, dog beaches, dog beach USA


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

RKA said:


> ActionJackson got me thinking...it might be time to give Chili access to some water. Unfortunately, most ponds and lakes around me are littered with goose poop, but the ocean is only 45 mins away. Found this site below. Seems like some beaches do allow access to dogs on leashes during the off season, but by May 1, they will ban them. Got another 7 weeks to make it out there!
> 
> Dog friendly beaches, pet friendly beaches, dog beaches, dog beach USA


BE WARNED - RANT BELOW :wavey:

I gotta tell ya - before I got a dog, I never realized how many places say "no pets"....I mean ***? do they think people will be out there walking their pet Tiger or something  It is such a sad sad world we live in where a tax paying citizen cannot bring their dog to the public beach. What a joke. I went to the beach anyway, even though it said no pets. What are they gonna do, arrest me? :uhoh:

Even 2 weekends ago, I was gonna take Jackson up to the community center at the end of my block....they have a big fenced in field where the town soccer games are played. Figured this would be a great place to do some off-leash running and playing. Sounds good, right? Well, I pull up to the field, big sign on the fence "NO PETS UNDER PENALTY BY LAW - Help Keep Our Community Healthy"  So a dog isn't allowed in there, but the flocks of geese and all the pleasant "gifts" they leave behind are healthy for our community? I remember when I was a kid playing soccer on that field, there were goose landmines literally everywhere you step.....I guess botulism isn't a health concern for the community.

There was another great sign on the fence too - "USE OF FIELD BY PERMIT ONLY. $250 FINE FOR TRESPASSING." Ok, this one I can understand. I'm reasonable. I mean, they can't have taxpaying residents of the community using the open field down at the community center all willy nilly whenver they feel like it....could you imagine the chaos that would ensue if people just showed up to the field without written consent and did what they want whenever they please??? Yowza, good call Town of Babylon. Keeping the community safe - one off-limits public community center at a time


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

Luckily in the summer we are able to pull our boat up to a limited access beach with a big long sandbar and hang all day. Been doing this for years - it really is great it's like having your own private (expensive!) beach all to yourself. Great place to dig up clams too! Jackson will love this. We can bring him there with us and not worry about him going anywhere....unless he decides to swim to England :no:


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

RKA said:


> Seems like the testicles are descending this week. Chili has been consistently doing a gruff deep toned bark when he sees things outside. Really, who does he think he's gonna scare off!???! He's a big baby who's afraid of the trash can. I try to give him a quick tug at the leash to discourage it, but it doesn't seem to make a difference, so now I just ignore whatever has captured his interest. He's also been eyeing my wife's leg, and I keep telling her he wants to hump her leg, but she insists he's still a baby and that's not possible. She'll have to take a stand eventually, I think I'll let the two of them work it out.


I thought he was neutered already?

It was funny, we had a consultation with our vet a few days before we had Jackson neutered. Before we could even ask, the vet said "the calming effect this will have on his temperament will be very very minimal" :doh: We were soooo counting on this to make a nice sweet calm dog. What a letdown haha. he was right though. if anything he is acting worse now....almost like he is getting even with us for doing that to him hahah


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## Tanyac (Jun 18, 2008)

Hi guys, hope all your pups are doing well. Had Flo weighed she is now 27 kg (60 lbs). I had changed her to 2 meals a day but she was acting so hungry, I've put her back to 3. She's continuing to be really energetic & naughty!

I'm thinking about getting a long line because she's recently started running off to say hi to other dogs & being a bit of a nuisance! She is fairly submissive still so hasn't come to grief... yet! More problematic is that she thinks all the humans are her best friends and has jumped up at a couple of joggers!

She had her second show last Saturday. We had to wait for hours before our turn which was soooo boring! My OH took this picture of her...








I can't believe how much she's changing & starting to look like a proper dog now.

She has started to act a bit fearful of new situations, especially people with funny hats on. Now I know why we had to wear silly hats in puppy class

I heard from her litter brother's owner a couple of days ago that he had been attacked by a Turkish Kangal, a huge mastiff type dog & very scary! Needless to say the puppy came off worse. I felt really sick with worry when I heard, especially when I googled the name of the breed of dog.... OMG!!!


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

ActionJackson said:


> I thought he was neutered already?
> 
> It was funny, we had a consultation with our vet a few days before we had Jackson neutered. Before we could even ask, the vet said "the calming effect this will have on his temperament will be very very minimal" :doh: We were soooo counting on this to make a nice sweet calm dog. What a letdown haha. he was right though. if anything he is acting worse now....almost like he is getting even with us for doing that to him hahah


OMG, that's too funny! No, Chili hasn't been sniped yet. I want to wait until 12-18 mos. (til he's fully grown). We'll see. 

I'm having the same issue with towns around me. Drove past one thinking "this would be a perfect place to...."No Pets"...what the )(&*(%$&^*()&)!". I think we have irresponsible dog owners to blame for this. And unfortunately if you do have access to a dog park near you, that will confirm there are enough lazy dog owners out there to justify the No Pets signs. Grrrrrr! (another rant) I've even got some neighbors in my development who have the audacity to walk their dogs on my lawn and leave it there. If it continues, I will spend whatever it costs to record activity 24/7 until I catch them! *ugh*


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

Tanyac, thanks for that! I've been contemplating 2 feedings, but he's shown NO lack of interest in his mid day meal, in fact exactly the opposite, he acts like we never feed him! So I've been resistant to change his feedings. I want to get a long line too...Chili's recalls aren't anywhere near 100%, but he really wants to scamper around and a 6 foot leash doesn't cut it. Any idea what's usually good enough for large dogs that like to run? 30 ft, 50 ft, ??


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## claireb (Dec 21, 2010)

We've got an 8m (26ish ft) lead for Alfie which is enough for him at the moment...he tends to stick pretty close to us still but he has room to run around a bit and do his own thing. 

We're quite lucky on the walking front as we have a huge reservoir 15 minutes from our house, dog friendly thankfully. Although it holds something like 30,000 million litres of water he's too scared to go further in than his two front paws, can't wait for the days when he will want to splash around in it 

Took a couple of pictures at the weekend, bit murky (it's England after all lol) and this is probably the muddiest he's ever been!


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

Claireb - looks like fun! 

Question for ya (and any other folks from across the pond in England) - are most of the goldens over there white/cream colored? Maybe it's just me but it seems the vast majority of pictures I see from England the dogs are always very light in color. I can kind of see why people get confused and think that "english style" goldens has something to do with color.
Just curious :wavey:


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## kerry (Oct 2, 2010)

ActionJackson said:


> Claireb - looks like fun!
> 
> Question for ya (and any other folks from across the pond in England) - are most of the goldens over there white/cream colored? Maybe it's just me but it seems the vast majority of pictures I see from England the dogs are always very light in color. I can kind of see why people get confused and think that "english style" goldens has something to do with color.
> Just curious :wavey:


We get all shades of golden here too  but I do see a lot more creams rather than the deeper shades.


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## Tanyac (Jun 18, 2008)

ActionJackson said:


> Claireb - looks like fun!
> 
> Question for ya (and any other folks from across the pond in England) - are most of the goldens over there white/cream colored? Maybe it's just me but it seems the vast majority of pictures I see from England the dogs are always very light in color. I can kind of see why people get confused and think that "english style" goldens has something to do with color.
> Just curious :wavey:


I think there is no doubt that especially in the show ring the colour of the Goldens has become progressively lighter. We only have the very dark Goldens in the working Goldens. There are a few show types which are very dark but they are few and far between.

I'd say that most of our Goldens are a mid gold, and start out life a very light cream. They go progressively darker as they grow older, with changes in coat. So most young dogs here start life as creams, and will go a golden colour as they age.

We can judge what colour a puppy will turn out by looking at the colour of their ears generally. The rest of the body will be cream.

I'd say it is definitely a fashion thing which has crept in over the past few years, but the vast majority of Goldens in the UK are light to mid golden.

Our Flo is only going to make a light champagne gold, she will never be dark, but then again her father was light. Izzie (her mum) started off really light and has got progressively darker each year. The litter had a mixture of shades from cream to gold.


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## claireb (Dec 21, 2010)

We went to see a couple of litters before we found Alfie (as stand by's) and must say that most of the pups we saw were more cream. He's a very pale boy and I don't think he's going to get much more golden as his ears aren't much darker. Weird how 'trends' change, saying that we brought our last GR 15 years ago so I suppose it's been a gradual thing.


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

I'm talking more adult dogs - its sometimes tough to tell with the pups but the adults always seem to be the lighter colors as opposed to the typical "gold" color. Interesting to see how things vary around the world....


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

On another note, I just got back from my lunch hour and I am in such a great mood. Jackson and I had such a great walk today - the last 3 days have been awesome, only 1 or 2 corrections each time we go out. I took him down a block we've never been down and he was really into it - lots of new smells and sights for him.

Like I said he's been getting better but what an absolute joy today was. No struggling or anything. I know lightning will strike me eventually but that is expected.....for now I'm enjoying the golden high! 

*Feeding/Eating*

Also over the last week or 2 Jackson has been losing his appetite for the mid-day feeding. Anyone else experiencing this? Today was the first day where I didn't feed him lunch. Last couple weeks during lunch it's almost been, I don't want to say force feeding, but I'll put the bowl down and he will go over to it a half hour later or so. He hasn't seemed eager to eat lunch. So today I decided to not even offer it to him. The vet did say that Jackson would let us know when he wasn't interested in that 2nd feeding....and he is doing just that. He is otherwise healthy so I'm not concerned that there's something wrong with him


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## luv2smile (May 27, 2010)

Updates on Cajun:

He was 6 months on Feb 20. We weighed him last Saturday and he's 45 pounds...on the smaller side compared to some of the ones on here, but he's put on 5 pounds in the last 2 weeks. 

He graduated from Puppy STAR class showing a great improvement from when we started  But we still have a long way to go.

Our trainers recommended a martingale collar and a prong collar. We use the martingale on our walks and he is getting to be a great walker 90% of the time. I use a treat in my hand, but have extended the time between giving him treats. He heals and looks back at me for most of the walk like "ok, can I have my treat now". He does pull some, but I stop when he does and he stops too. He does well with leave it too. For the most part, he can walk by people if I say leave it and he'll listen. He has his moments though where he doesn't want to listen.

Greeting people though is another story. This is where the prong comes in. We used it on Saturday in Petsmart and he reacted well to it. I even took it off after a little bit and he acted ok on the flat collar. This is going to take a lot of work though. He just gets so hyper and excited that all he wants to do is jump and nip. 

Nipping at us when he's hyper- this is another tough one. 90% of the time he is great- but he gets in these moods where he just wants to nip at us. I try to redirect to a toy, but he dodges the toy and goes after my skin. 

Barking- he has started barking at things outside so he sense of surrounding has definately kicked in. He barks for attention inside too which we are trying to work on, but not much progress.


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## luv2smile (May 27, 2010)

ActionJackson said:


> On another note, I just got back from my lunch hour and I am in such a great mood. Jackson and I had such a great walk today - the last 3 days have been awesome, only 1 or 2 corrections each time


Doesn't it feel good? I know that feeling! We struggled on walks with Cajun for so long that when we started having walks that he didn't pull the whole time, I was so excited (and still am). It is such a great feeling to go from them pulling your arm off to walking calmly next to you with a loose leash. At least for us though, it is a yo yo...some days are definately better than others.


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## Tanyac (Jun 18, 2008)

luv2smile said:


> Doesn't it feel good? I know that feeling! We struggled on walks with Cajun for so long that when we started having walks that he didn't pull the whole time, I was so excited (and still am). It is such a great feeling to go from them pulling your arm off to walking calmly next to you with a loose leash. At least for us though, it is a yo yo...some days are definately better than others.


It's a good job we do have good days isn't it? I've just had the walk from hell with Flo! I take my other two in the mornings, and thank goodness they both walk really well - it is really windy here today and Flo continually dashed forward to grab leaves etc.. grrr, have come home now and am feeling calmer.

I think I'm going to get a martingale or something similar for when I'm walking all the dogs together. With the first two dogs, I managed to persevere with walking on the flat collar and now they will walk on a linker, behind my back if I need them to be, but add a third big strong puppy & it's turning into a nightmare.

Perhaps I just had a bad walk, and our walk later will be better...


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

luv2smile said:


> Doesn't it feel good? I know that feeling! We struggled on walks with Cajun for so long that when we started having walks that he didn't pull the whole time, I was so excited (and still am). It is such a great feeling to go from them pulling your arm off to walking calmly next to you with a loose leash. At least for us though, it is a yo yo...some days are definately better than others.


Felt great!

I have to admit, I haven't _fully_ enjoyed walks until the last few days. And yesterday was awesome. I will not be surprised if we have a day or two where he tries to revert back to his old ways of wanting to go off ahead of me sniffing away.

I think one thing that was hindering us was the use of the rectractable leash. Whenever my dad would take him out, he would use that leash. I kept telling him, and finally convinced him, that using that leash didn't teach him to walk next to you - it teaches him to run off ahead of you. We haven't used it in a month (unless we are at the beach or at the woods) and I think it helps. I will take full credit for solving the problem :

Here's to a nice walk today during lunch time!


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

Congrats on the first glimmer of hope!!  I'm still waiting, meanwhile I'm keeping a hawks eye on his mouth and everything within reach!


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

Just got Kobe back from the vet. I barely recognized him! He was so happy to see me 

He seems to be walking a bit weird. Did anyone else notice this after the surgery? I suspect it is just a temporary thing...


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

Slow motion zoomies!  That's what happens when they get the zoomies, but have nowhere to really run. Gotta get this on video someday!


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

*ugh* Chili's hoovering instincts never end. Trainer had the class go outside for a field trip to practice recalls on a long line. New place, lots to see, naturally none of them was very interested in recalls and treats, but they did it. Except my Chili...see it turns out goose poop in the park is more attractive than the treats I feed him (I'm taking his word for it). :doh: Why do I buy Zukes mini naturals at $7/bag when goose poop will do perfectly fine???


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

I feel your pain. There are so many fields I can't take Jackson to because of the goose poop. Turn your head for 10 seconds and he's got a mouth full. It is disgusting...try pulling it out of his mouth without vomiting. I dare ya :uhoh:

Funny part is all these fields that are littered with goose poop are all "No Pets Allowed" kind of parks.....funny how that works, huh?  I have a friend who works at a golf course and they've encouraged him to bring his dog in to chase the geese away

It's weird though, Jackson won't touch dog poop....his or another dog's. Is Chili the same way? He will sniff the heck out of it, but has never even picked up a piece yet.


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

He generally ignores it, but I still have to keep an eye on him...every now and again.... And when he see's THE HAND coming after him, that just encourages him to hurry up and swallow! Just as well, because I'm NOT fishing that out his mouth. 

You make an interesting point about 1 dog being able to ward off the geese, and it happens to be as humane as you can...unless Jackson catches one! 

On another note, what the heck is everyone doing about disposing of the poop?!?! Warmer weather is coming, and that trashcan in the garage...well, it's getting a bit ripe by day 3 if you know what I mean. I'm going to have to set up a collection can outside, but it needs to be windproof, rodent proof (if they are so inclined), and more importantly waterproof (not wanting to deal with poop soup).


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

How's everyone doing? Kobe seems to be fully recovered since getting neutered.

I dropped him off for doggy daycare at petsmart on Friday because I was traveling. He also stayed the night. I picked him up at 12pm on Saturday and he was soooo tired. He basically slept all Saturday. I guess he had a good time


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## sadiegold (Nov 3, 2010)

Hi Other August people! Sadie is doing well (was gonna say great but after 8 weeks of perfection she had a potty accident today luckily it was on the tile). She was spayed two weeks ago and we were hoping for a few days of down time but she was only sleepy the night of the surgery then right back to her bad ole self. I am also shocked at how big she is (not in person but looking back over the pics) and how time is flying. Hope everyone is doing well. PS just so it doesnt sound "all good" she needs like a few hundred hours of work on recall.


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## nurseangie2 (Oct 25, 2010)

*Unbelieveable . . .*

Izzy turned 7 months yesterday. It seems like it was JUST October and we were picking her up from the breeders. Amazing how far we have come . . the chewing, the biting, the housetraining/crate training, counter surfing . . all those things that were potentially going to drive me to drink . . she's pretty much past now!!! She's a great dog . . just have to work on the jumping when excited and visitors come.

She was spayed last Friday and other than that day is back to her self. She weighed 60 lbs! I wonder how much more she will gain. 

Gosh, I love her . . as a self proclaimed non-dog person, I'm here to admit . . . I have changed my ways!!! :--heart::--heart::--heart:


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

I'm just starting to feel like that hard part is behind us. He finally started using the bells to let us know he has to go out (and the other 90% of the time to let us know he would like to go out to play...which is all the time). Manners around strangers are pretty good, but he does still give into temptations. He finished his second training class and is starting the third next week. It's made such a difference in his ability to focus, listen, behave, and he plain loves it (although it would be nice if he'd stop trying to hump the other dogs)! Got him a 50 ft long line has week so we can start working with him outdoors. Lots more work to do, and yesterday I found the first piece of baseboard moulding that I need to fix! *sigh*

Is anyone here in the central NJ area interested in setting up a play date?


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## nurseangie2 (Oct 25, 2010)

RKA said:


> He finally started using the bells to let us know he has to go out (and the other 90% of the time to let us know he would like to go out to play...which is all the time).


Izzy has been using the bells since we trained her about at 8 weeks . . but like you, we were ALWAYS hearing the bells when she figured out she could just go out and nose around, lol. She was so obsessed with it at one point that every 2 minutes she'd go nutso on the bells and jump on them and scratch at the door if noone came . . . gonna have to refinish that molding to the side of the door one of these days! :-(


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

I'm starting to think maybe I should be more strict on Kobe on his ability to get on the couch. I don't have too many visitors, but when I do, he thinks it is completely ok to jump on the couch and get in their face. He also will grab a toy and put his paws on them to get them to play with him. It doesn't bother me, but I can see it being a problem...


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

You could just teach him to go on the couch only if he's been invited. Best of both worlds.

I just set up a Chili Cam in the house so I can get my Chili fix any time of the day!  It actually came in handy this morning while I was in the home office and saw him going back to my baseboard moulding (the one he destroyed the other day). I yelled "Leave It" from the office and watched him walk away. HA! Got a leg up on him...for now!


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

*ugh* I'm watching one of the dog walkers right now playing with Chili. He's constantly saying "sit-down" over and over. They are two separate commands...how do you expect a dog to listen if you're confusing him???


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## LDGrillo (Dec 20, 2010)

RKA said:


> *ugh* I'm watching one of the dog walkers right now playing with Chili. He's constantly saying "sit-down" over and over. They are two separate commands...how do you expect a dog to listen if you're confusing him???


so true, a lot of people would never figure out in a million years the confusion they are sending.


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

RKA said:


> You could just teach him to go on the couch only if he's been invited. Best of both worlds.
> 
> I just set up a Chili Cam in the house so I can get my Chili fix any time of the day!  It actually came in handy this morning while I was in the home office and saw him going back to my baseboard moulding (the one he destroyed the other day). I yelled "Leave It" from the office and watched him walk away. HA! Got a leg up on him...for now!


How do you do this? Do you just teach him "couch" or "up" means he should jump on the couch?


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

***** ARGH ***** I left him alone in the kitchen for five minutes, hear something odd, walk over and find him chewing on the vacuum cleaner cord (still plugged in from having used it before I took my eyes off him)!!! Crisis averted and another thing for me to fix. I spent $100 in toys and treats this week, which happens every 2 months or so and he likes the vacuum cleaner cord?!??

Okay, going back to the couch...when he gets on the couch what will he do if you get up and walk away (maybe to another room)? If he gets off, that's good. Anytime he climbs up, walk out. There is no reward here, you're just taking away his reason for wanting to be on the couch by leaving. After 1-2 dozen repetitions, he'll probably take a pause as he's thinking about climbing up. At the moment you see that, praise him. Once you feel like that rule has been established, you can teach him UP/COUCH as you pat the couch cushion to invite him over. Continue enforcing both, and he will eventually understand that the rule of the land is he should be off the couch unless invited.


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

As much as I'd love to have Jackson up on the couch with me sometimes, my house is strictly 'no dogs on the couch.' 

I get it, and I respect it, but I don't like it :no:

Although now that Jackson knows the couch is off-limits, what he will do is put one paw and his head in your lap.....this way he is technically not touching the couch, and 3 of his 4 paws are still on the floor. I guess in his mind it's justifiable lol


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

Hahaha...they ways they find to skirt the rules are hysterical! Chili knows when he meets people, the butt has to stay glued to the ground, so he drags his butt around because he can't stand to be in one place. He knows he has to lie down when I'm putting down his food and water bowls. Every once in a while he'll get impatient while I'm fiddling with his food or whatever, and he'll crawl on the ground to get closer. Technically still down, just a "moving" down. What else has everyone's dogs come up with to skirt the "rules"?


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

RKA said:


> ***** ARGH ***** I left him alone in the kitchen for five minutes, hear something odd, walk over and find him chewing on the vacuum cleaner cord (still plugged in from having used it before I took my eyes off him)!!! Crisis averted and another thing for me to fix. I spent $100 in toys and treats this week, which happens every 2 months or so and he likes the vacuum cleaner cord?!??
> 
> Okay, going back to the couch...when he gets on the couch what will he do if you get up and walk away (maybe to another room)? If he gets off, that's good. Anytime he climbs up, walk out. There is no reward here, you're just taking away his reason for wanting to be on the couch by leaving. After 1-2 dozen repetitions, he'll probably take a pause as he's thinking about climbing up. At the moment you see that, praise him. Once you feel like that rule has been established, you can teach him UP/COUCH as you pat the couch cushion to invite him over. Continue enforcing both, and he will eventually understand that the rule of the land is he should be off the couch unless invited.


I don't think this would work with him. He doesn't always get on the couch for attention unless it is a visitor. He usually just wants to chill for a few minutes.


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

Has anyone tried a gentle leader? I just bought one for $13 and I am going to give it a try. I was really against using it, but I think it might be what I need. Let's say I am outside talking to the neighbors and they have their dogs with them too...Kobe will generally be nice and stay near me, but every 10 seconds or so he looses it and charges the other dog to play with it. These jerks are annoying and I think I've heard the gentle leader will discourage him from doing this. We'll see...

He has also started to do this thing where on our way back from the walk, once he knows we are almost home, he will start jumping at me and biting his leash like he wants to play tug! I think that he is trying to tell me he doesn't want to go back inside. This is becoming extremely frustrating. I am going to try a different way home and see if he still does it. He also likes to nip at my feet and attack my couch randomly at times. This must all be part of the naughty teen phase, but it is tempting me to get a E collar. He doesn't seem to understand verbal corrections. Timeouts work somewhat, but after 20 minutes he will do it again...


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

Gentle leader will help manage him, but you still have to work on the training so he understands what he should and shouldn't do. Keep your distance from the other dogs at first, and work your way closer as you notice him doing better around them. 

Chili does the same with his leash, but it's just him wanting to play. His walking regimen doesn't involve a lot of freedom, so when he gets back to the house he wants to play methinks. We've taught him THAT'S ENOUGH using a tug toy to signal the end of play, and I use that when we get to the door to put an end to his self-directed tug session. I don't mind that he gets the urge to play, as long as it doesn't continue after I've decided I don't wanna play anymore.


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## kerry (Oct 2, 2010)

I have been using a Gentle leader on Oscar for a month now and love it! It has made such a difference to our walks. It took a while for Oscar to get used to it though.


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

I am very excited to try the gentle leader. Hopefully it will result in a more pleasant walk for both of us.


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

I've gone with the easy walk harness, works great. Jackson is like a different dog.

ghuss - have the two of you been in an obedience class together? This could help with the problems you are having (nipping at feet, not listening to verbal commands, etc). I was close to getting the e-collar but decided against it - instead I reverted back to hardcore reinforcement of our training from puppy class and it seems to help with his "idle minds" syndrome . The training really tires them out (mentally). Hardcore training reinforcement and some good exercise sessions make Jackson an entirely different dog. I still may enter he and I into an intermediate obedience class though - can't hurt!


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

A glimmer of hope...We started an advanced obedience class with Chili last weekend. There are stretches during the class where the trainer is working with another dog, setting up some fences or explaining the next exercise. During those point the dogs routinely get bored and start acting up, so we use those times as an opportunity to work on commands and keep their attention. At one point another dog was walking around behind him just exploring, so I got chili's attention and told him to sit, then stay. He stayed focused on me even though the other dog was bumping into him, stepping on his tail as he wandered, and otherwise being a perfect distraction for Chili. Chili didn't flinch, he was 100% focused on me (well, to be fair, the treat). Now if I could only get him to be that good without the treats!!

These successes come in small increments, but every now and again, we get a little reminder that there is some improvement. Of course, it doesn't take more than 30 seconds for him to turn around, lock eyes on the other dog and scamper off to play ignoring anything I say or do, short of a tug on his gentle leader. Baby steps...baby steps! 

Now I have another dilemma...I wasn't planning on having him fixed until 18 months (when he's fully developed). I have a wedding I need to attend in Sept. Chili can't enroll in any kind of day care unless he's fixed. What do they do with dogs that are boarded but not fixed? Leave them in a crate? I can't do that to him for 4-5 days, that would be cruel. I doubt he'll be at a point where I can trust him alone in the house for long stretches...right now he's plenty capable for getting into trouble, so he's crated and has dog walkers coming twice a day to let him out and play. 

Oh, one more thing...in case anyone cares, I just learned that Petco offers a self serve dog wash in many of their stores. You can search on their website to find one near you that has it. They have all the equipment (tub, hose, dryer), soap and towels, just bring a comb, your dog and his/her vaccination records and it's about $10. I called my local petco, and she said no reservation is required, but they ask for a courtesy call before you come in. I think that's because the groomers are using the same equipment and it helps them manage their schedule knowing when a self serve customer will be coming in to use the facilities. I don't mind an hour or two of my time, but I hate doing this at home because of the mess it creates and because I'm improvising with buckets and a small hair dryer intended for a normal human not a furry beast (which means it takes 3 hours plus clean up time in the bathroom)! My last visit to the groomers was $40 + a tip.


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

ActionJackson said:


> I've gone with the easy walk harness, works great. Jackson is like a different dog.
> 
> ghuss - have the two of you been in an obedience class together? This could help with the problems you are having (nipping at feet, not listening to verbal commands, etc). I was close to getting the e-collar but decided against it - instead I reverted back to hardcore reinforcement of our training from puppy class and it seems to help with his "idle minds" syndrome . The training really tires them out (mentally). Hardcore training reinforcement and some good exercise sessions make Jackson an entirely different dog. I still may enter he and I into an intermediate obedience class though - can't hurt!


Yeah I did a basic puppy class with him. It was ok...he definitely had the most energy of any of the dogs. One thing that is frustrating is that if he grabs something that he knows he shouldnt have, he will run away with it. He won't respond to drop it, but the second i pick up a treat and say drop it , he will drop it. 

We used the gentle leader today. He walked a lot better. He did paw at it occasionally but hopefully he will adjust to it. It may have been a little tight...it is really hard to tell.

I am considering an E collar to work on recall. I don't understand why everyone is so against them. They dont hard the dog and you adjust the power to a level where he responds to it but it is not overwhelming. I heard most of the time you just have to use it it a couple times and then you just have to use the vibrate function.


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

ghuss37 said:


> Yeah I did a basic puppy class with him. It was ok...he definitely had the most energy of any of the dogs. One thing that is frustrating is that if he grabs something that he knows he shouldnt have, he will run away with it. He won't respond to drop it, but the second i pick up a treat and say drop it , he will drop it.
> 
> We used the gentle leader today. He walked a lot better. He did paw at it occasionally but hopefully he will adjust to it. It may have been a little tight...it is really hard to tell.
> 
> I am considering an E collar to work on recall. I don't understand why everyone is so against them. They dont hard the dog and you adjust the power to a level where he responds to it but it is not overwhelming. I heard most of the time you just have to use it it a couple times and then you just have to use the vibrate function.


These dogs are smart....your dog may be learning that in order to get a treat he has to grab something, run away from you, and then a treat will be soon to follow. I would recommend to stop bribing him with the treat to drop it....otherwise what you are starting to see could be a problem where he won't do anything for you unless he gets a treat. For a while my dad was bribing Jackson with a carrot to get him to come back in the house - soon Jackson learned that when he was outside, a treat was soon to follow. This led to Jackson wanting to go out every 5 minutes so that he could be lured back in with a treat :doh:

The other day Jackson grabbed a piece of paper out of my computer room, he knows he isn't supposed to have that, and he gave me "the look" like LOOK WHAT I HAVE! He instantly wanted me to play the "come chase me around the living room" game. I didn't even acknowledge him. It was actually REALLY funny. He was trying like hell to get me to notice him and his piece of paper.....after a couple minutes he dropped it and walked away. My brother will chase him and give Jackson the satisfaction he wants. No bueno.

E-COLLAR

I'm not really "against" it, I'm open minded on just about anything. I just don't know how to properly use it so I didn't want to get it and use it in a way that I _thought_ was the right way. Besides, so many people have owned and trained so many dogs in the past without e-collars that I figured hey lets see if we can't get this done the old fashioned way first....if all else fails I'll spend the money and get the e-collar.

Another option for recall work is a 50' leash. Just a thought. Get some really high value treats your dog loves (small pieces so he keeps coming back for more), and start off with close work. Maybe when you guys are in the backyard, or when you are in the house, randomly call the dog to you with a word that you would designate and use ONLY for recall. Could be "come", "here", whatever you choose. So you start off with close work when you are home. Do this a LOT so that he will associate that word with coming to you and getting a nice treat. Then I'd take it a little further - maybe go for a walk in the park and give him 10-15 feet of leash, call him back with your word, treat. Do that distance a bunch, then just increase the distance slowly.


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## sadiegold (Nov 3, 2010)

Sadie is doing something quite funny when she gets something she shouldnt have, she comes up right next to you with it in her mouth (like this am it was my flannel pjs) and she positions herself so she is sitting on your feet leaning up against your body and she is wagging her tail like a helicopter...not sure if she is proud..she knows she is going to have to "leave it" but she is so blissfully happy for that moment, and she will never get something we dont know about as so far she comes up to us each time she has a prize!


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

ActionJackson said:


> These dogs are smart....your dog may be learning that in order to get a treat he has to grab something, run away from you, and then a treat will be soon to follow. I would recommend to stop bribing him with the treat to drop it....otherwise what you are starting to see could be a problem where he won't do anything for you unless he gets a treat. For a while my dad was bribing Jackson with a carrot to get him to come back in the house - soon Jackson learned that when he was outside, a treat was soon to follow. This led to Jackson wanting to go out every 5 minutes so that he could be lured back in with a treat :doh:
> 
> The other day Jackson grabbed a piece of paper out of my computer room, he knows he isn't supposed to have that, and he gave me "the look" like LOOK WHAT I HAVE! He instantly wanted me to play the "come chase me around the living room" game. I didn't even acknowledge him. It was actually REALLY funny. He was trying like hell to get me to notice him and his piece of paper.....after a couple minutes he dropped it and walked away. My brother will chase him and give Jackson the satisfaction he wants. No bueno.
> 
> ...


Actually just started the treat thing a couple days ago to see if it would work. I wanted to make sure he had a clear understanding of the word drop it. He does. I don't generally bribe him, so that isn't the problem. And the thing is if he grabs something that he absolutely cannot chew then I can't just ignore him and let him destroy it, it has to be dealt with.

I also want to use the E collar to work on jumping on people. I can't seem to get him to calm down when I have visitors. It is almost so bad that I don't think my visitors want to visit anymore. I have tried just about everything. He just can't calm down.


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

ghuss37 said:


> Actually just started the treat thing a couple days ago to see if it would work. I wanted to make sure he had a clear understanding of the word drop it. He does. I don't generally bribe him, so that isn't the problem. And the thing is if he grabs something that he absolutely cannot chew then I can't just ignore him and let him destroy it, it has to be dealt with.
> 
> I also want to use the E collar to work on jumping on people. I can't seem to get him to calm down when I have visitors. It is almost so bad that I don't think my visitors want to visit anymore. I have tried just about everything. He just can't calm down.


Well I hope the e-collar works for you. I know some people that have used it with great success. I'm pretty open minded....like I said, I know some people that have used the e-collar with much success, then I know people on the other side of the spectrum that are strictly old school with their training. I'm somewhere in the middle :wavey:


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

just be careful with that giving treats to get what you want....only takes a couple of times before your guy will "get it" :bowl:


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

ActionJackson said:


> Another option for recall work is a 50' leash. Just a thought. Get some really high value treats your dog loves (small pieces so he keeps coming back for more), and start off with close work. Maybe when you guys are in the backyard, or when you are in the house, randomly call the dog to you with a word that you would designate and use ONLY for recall. Could be "come", "here", whatever you choose. So you start off with close work when you are home. Do this a LOT so that he will associate that word with coming to you and getting a nice treat. Then I'd take it a little further - maybe go for a walk in the park and give him 10-15 feet of leash, call him back with your word, treat. Do that distance a bunch, then just increase the distance slowly.


That's exactly what our trainer had us do, starting inside the house with a minimum of distractions, and each week progressively increasing distance or distraction levels (not both at the same time). She encouraged use to talk in a high pitched tone (dogs do respond better to that), have a playful and fun attitude (in her words, be the most exciting thing in the world to your dog), and regardless of the circumstances, never never never behave in a way that would cause a dog to question whether the come command might be associated with a negative outcome (ex. calling the dog when you're angry because he ate your paycheck). 

In general, the difference between this approach and something like an E collar is positive vs. negative reinforcement. Reward for something good and ignore the bad or undesirable...vs...a correction for the bad or undesirable. Current thinking tends to favor the former for best results. In looking back through our training each has it's place. Obviously with the negative reinforcement you need to be careful not to associate the correction with something else...say being outdoors or being on a leash or..... For this reason, I think the E collar might be more effective for undesirable behavior like barking or jumping on people/furniture, but not the right tool for teaching recall, etc. With the barking there is one undesirable behavior, and the *zap*. It's so easy that a caveman could extablish the correlation! When teaching recall, he could look at the squirrel, walk in the other direction, lie down, pick up a toy. Issuing a correction for the myriad of things he could do will only get confusing.


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

So I forget to give an update last week.....

We took Jackson to the vet just for a general check-up. He hadn't been back since he was neutered.

He is 7-1/2 months old and weighed in at 68lbs. The weight was nice to hear....he seems to be leveling out. When he was in last month for his pre-neuter checkup, he was 62lbs! That was a HUGE jump from his previous weight.....so in the last month he only gained 6 pounds. Not too shabby....hopefully he will continue growing into his body and leveling himself out


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

Wow! He's a big boy!


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

sadiegold said:


> Sadie is doing something quite funny when she gets something she shouldnt have, she comes up right next to you with it in her mouth (like this am it was my flannel pjs) and she positions herself so she is sitting on your feet leaning up against your body and she is wagging her tail like a helicopter...not sure if she is proud..she knows she is going to have to "leave it" but she is so blissfully happy for that moment, and she will never get something we dont know about as so far she comes up to us each time she has a prize!


LOL! Oh how I wish mine would do that! Too cute!


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

Today was Kobe's 3rd day using a gentle leader. I must say this thing has completely changed him during walks. He is a lot more fun to walk. If he starts to get ahead of me it only takes a slight pull on the leash to get him to slow down. I hate how it looks, but it works!


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

ghuss37 said:


> Today was Kobe's 3rd day using a gentle leader. I must say this thing has completely changed him during walks. He is a lot more fun to walk. If he starts to get ahead of me it only takes a slight pull on the leash to get him to slow down. I hate how it looks, but it works!


That's awesome!

It took about a week with the easy walk harness before Jackson "got it"....but it's a great feeling to have an enjoyable walk with the dog

One thing my trainer told me about using any of these walking devices was to remember to use them as a tool to teach the dog the right way to walk....rather than just putting the device on and trotting off....use it to teach the dog the right way to walk nicely with you. Not saying you arent lol, I'm just speaking in generalities lol


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

Jackson was so friggin bad last night 

The worst he's ever been....and just think, I got him 2 new toys yesterday morning :doh:

He was chewing up the carpet, I yelled at him very sternly, put him in timeout for about 15 minutes, let him out, and he went right back to it. Put him in timeout again for about an hour and a half, I let him out, right back to it. 

He finally gave it up, then decided to zoom around the house.....but this was the most insane zoomies I have ever seen....not only was he running laps around the living room and dining room, doing his usual weave around the tables and chairs, he would also jump up on the couch, ran right over my mom while she was laying on the couch. He was out of his mind.

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!  Just a frustrating night. But momma said there'd be days like this :uhoh:


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

Yikes! Hopefully today will be better! Any chance he's just got cabin fever with the icky weather lately? Weekend should be good for some windsprints around the yard!


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## luv2smile (May 27, 2010)

Cajun is 7 and a 1/2 months now and is definately catching up in weight and size. At 7 months he was 50lbs and I think he's probably gained 5 more since then. 

My husband had to go out of town last week due to a death in the family. It was the first time that Cajun had not had both of us at home at night since we brought him home. To say the least, he was a handful. He usually tests me more than my husband and with just me around, he was rebelling. I had to remove all blankets and pillows from the couch....he wanted to pull them all off and chew them. He does it when he gets mad at us because he knows he's not suppossed to. 

He walks great now using just the martingale collar and commands. If he does start to pull, all I have to do is say heal and he looks back at me and slows down. We can do it without treats now too. I had a friend walk with us once last week and he walked right in between us and stepped in line with us...it was so cool. 

Greeting people is still a challenge. We are seeing ever so slight improvements though. Sticking a bone in his mouth seems to help. A toy just wouldn't work, but he's more interested in the bone. It is so funny to watch though....he'll stand there with a bone in his mouth while a visitor is petting him and he whines this happy whine that he does and the more he is petted, the more he whines and the louder it gets. It keeps him from jumping or trying to mouth the person though. 

He is testing us at night though. Unless he is completely exhausted, he's been scratching at his crate and whining when we put him to bed. Take him out and he lays down and is quiet. I know he wants to be a big boy and sleep out, but we don't trust him to stay out of trouble just yet. We will probably try it soon after we make sure we puppy proof our room and just closee door. 

Hope everyone is enjoying these teenage months


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## luv2smile (May 27, 2010)

ActionJackson said:


> Jackson was so friggin bad last night
> 
> The worst he's ever been....and just think, I got him 2 new toys yesterday morning :doh:
> 
> ...


Oh, I've been there. Cajun does zoomies outside more than in these days, but the ones inside can be absolutely insane. I know exactly what you are talking about....the usual weave around the table and then into the family room....but add in a much bigger puppy and jumping onto the couch at full force....WATCH OUT!


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

luv2smile said:


> Oh, I've been there. Cajun does zoomies outside more than in these days, but the ones inside can be absolutely insane. I know exactly what you are talking about....the usual weave around the table and then into the family room....but add in a much bigger puppy and jumping onto the couch at full force....WATCH OUT!


Yeah 70lbs of puppy jumping on us, while still cute, can bring with it some unwanted pain :doh:

We had a great walk through the woods yesterday, tired his butt right out.....I'll show him!!! :bowl:


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

We went for a real nice walk through the woods and blazed a few trails yesterday.....here are a couple of pictures....


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

He's filled in nicely! Looks like he's having a blast out there!


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## 2dollys (Jan 24, 2011)

*gorgeous*

Wow, he looks so great. He's so filled in, it's hard to believe he is the same age as Mango.


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## LogansMommy (Apr 2, 2011)

Add me to the list of 08/10 moms!


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

so it's official....

Jackson has officially reached the punk-ass bratty teenager phase of his life :doh::no::yuck:. 

trying to chew the carpet, the ends of the tables, pretty much _trying_ to do whatever he's not supposed to be doing.

I guess he's just testing the boundaries 

I've heard they go through their second teething phase anywhere between 6-9 months of age, so I supposed that could be contributing to some of the urges to chew on everything thats "off limits". I'm redirecting with toys like it's my job, but having the attention span of a rock makes him want to get into EVERYTHING right now :doh:

But hey, it gets better, right? :uhoh:  : :crossfing:crossfing:crossfing


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

LogansMommy said:


> Add me to the list of 08/10 moms!


nice! how's your pup doing?


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

Well, that explains it. Been noticing some similar behavior with Chili lately. He's getting very mouthy when I'm playing with him, and last week he found a new section of baseboard trim to chew up. The miter saw is on standby...until he gets past this stage. He's systematically turning the house into a war zone...some of which was expected, but still no easier to look at. Grout is turning black, vacuum cleaner runs several times a week, baseboard trim needs to be painted (or replaced), walls need to be spackled and painted, hardwood floors have taken a beating, carpet is being replace...and we're only at 7 mos. so far.


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## wenryder (Oct 21, 2010)

I find that Obie for the last month has been going through a secondary teething stage - he's chewed three nylabones right down to nibbs, two I've had to take away for fear of him choking on them. This all started when DH and I went away for 5 days to a family wedding in Calgary, and he was with family friends. When I came back to pick him up, he had almost destroyed every single toy we left with them. I thought maybe it was stress related, but it kept up even after we were home for a few days. 

I have replaced the nylabones with the Petstages Orka BONE toy, as per reommendation from a friend with a Lab... They seem to have amazing durability and are practically indestructable. Petstages - Developmental Toys for Dogs - Orka Chewing Does anyone else have these toys?

I find that by training a LOT (many many short sessions a day) and interactive toys keep his mind so busy, that when he's not out with us walking, or playing, he's sleeping. No destructive business. It's good all around.

Here's a recent pic of our boy - he's even got a kibble-dispensing toy with him in the shot:


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## LogansMommy (Apr 2, 2011)

ActionJackson said:


> nice! how's your pup doing?


He's doing great; thanks for asking! He's going through the bad boy chewing phase like some of the other posters have described... In the last couple weeks he's gotten my glasses off the kitchen counter, my shoes that he broke into the bathroom to get, and a speaker wire/the carpet that was over the wire. He is just too precious to be mad at for very long though, and it's been better in the last few days. He can consume a large rawhide in about 5 minutes! I just got him the durable Nylabone and that has lasted him a few days so far. I finally got him enrolled into Puppy Class (was having a really hard time finding one) and found someone to hopefully help me with show training, so I'm really excited about that.

Next up-- Microchip and Pet Insurance... Anyone have any recs for insurance companies?


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## LogansMommy (Apr 2, 2011)

wenryder said:


> I find that Obie for the last month has been going through a secondary teething stage - he's chewed three nylabones right down to nibbs, two I've had to take away for fear of him choking on them. This all started when DH and I went away for 5 days to a family wedding in Calgary, and he was with family friends. When I came back to pick him up, he had almost destroyed every single toy we left with them. I thought maybe it was stress related, but it kept up even after we were home for a few days.
> 
> I have replaced the nylabones with the Petstages Orka BONE toy, as per reommendation from a friend with a Lab... They seem to have amazing durability and are practically indestructable. Petstages - Developmental Toys for Dogs - Orka Chewing Does anyone else have these toys?
> 
> ...


Logan has the large Jack that has held up well and he chews on pretty often. We tried the stick with rope toy and that only lasted about a day. Maybe we should try the bone as well.


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## LincolnsMom (Sep 28, 2010)

Hey everyone,

Sorry I've been away for so long. Lincoln is doing pretty well, except for one tiny thing...He will NOT listen to his daddy!! Sigh* I know why this happened it's because Kevin was so worried about being Lincolns friend that he wasn't his master first. 

Other way around Lincoln and I are closer for the respect we give each other. 

He isn't teething too much, but this not listening to his dad is getting out of hand..he's doing his snarly face when kevin tries to tell him know. I know he isn't taking him seriously you know when you can just tell right..

He got fixed about a month ago, he's recovering well didn't even notice the difference.



Also big news in his life! I became a foster mom for the Canadian Chihuahua rescue of Canada. So soon he will have a new friend to keep him busy while were away


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## LincolnsMom (Sep 28, 2010)

So I just spoke to the owner of Lincolns brother Cooper he's approx 55 lbs

Lincoln was 56 when he got fixed, I always thought his parents were bigger but apparently they think that he will oly be about 55 lbs ...he's already there but were not sure...


How big are all your babies?


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## Tanyac (Jun 18, 2008)

Hi all, nice to catch up on the posts from the last couple of weeks. Flo is definitely turning into a whirlwind! We have started taking her on slightly longer walks, and can easily manage 45 mins to an hour now. I have two other dogs Obi and Izzie (Flo's mum), and when its just the 3 of them it's not too high energy. The zoomies usually happen when we come across other dogs and then Flo has a quick burst running around. All is fine unless Obi joins in when we have to stand by trees etc for fear of being mown down lol!

Do those who have experienced problems with destructive behaviour manage to get their pups out for decent exercise? I only ask because I know for a fact that Flo would be unmanageable if she didn't get the two proper off-leash walks daily. I have also started to take around 30 mins at lunchtime for extra training etc.

Definitely a challenging age to be sure. I remember when obi was this age, my house was a complete war zone. He chewed walls, door frames, doors, flooring, furniture, rugs, ruined the whole garden. The only thing which cured him was getting another puppy, Izzie, when he was a year old. Then the chewing stopped and never returned!!

We had a lovely day out on Saturday to a national park a few miles away. It was Flo's first chance to swim in a lovely river we found there and she absolutley loved it! She had zoomies and was leaping everywhere like a nutter! It was quite a warm day, so the dogs cooled off and were happy. 

Here's the river...








And here's Flo and her mum taking a dip...
















BTW Flo's the white one...

I have just decided after the weekend with Flo going to a new place and dragging us everywhere that I'm going to use a Gentle Leader or similar. I have a new unused one I purchased to use on Obi but never did. Taking three dogs out on lead is no fun when one is surging forward and jerking your arm out of the socket!!

Oh, and this morning, when they were all in the car on the way to their morning walk, Flo decided it might be fun to shred her lead.... doh!!!!


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

Nice pics of all the dogs...gotta take more of mine one of these days! Mine's not getting very much off lead time at all. I hate to say this, but I don't think this will happen for a long time (yard isn't fenced and someone...perhaps me...hasn't installed the underground fence yet). I'm lucky to find a park around here that will allow dogs, and there is no place near me that would accept an off leash dog...let alone one that doesn't want to come back unless you're holding a rib eye. We have been working on training with a 50 ft lead in our front yard and this allows me to get my hands on him when he does something inappropriate or in the event that he gives chase to someone or something. He's been pretty good so far, but I'm not taking a chance. Last night I let him off the leash in the garage before closing the door and he took off like a jackrabbit. I managed to get his attention and interest and had him back in my hands in 30 seconds...but there was a good bit of luck involved!


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## sadiegold (Nov 3, 2010)

Sadie at 8 months, and loving her more every day.


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## LogansMommy (Apr 2, 2011)

My big boy weighed in at 68 pounds yesterday! He is one lean muscular dude. I love him a ridiculous amount! I took some bath photos the other day and need to post them soon!


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

Chili had his first experience with a thunderclap last night...he's not a fan!


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

RKA said:


> Chili had his first experience with a thunderclap last night...he's not a fan!


Surprisingly Jackson didn't mind it.

He gave a good bark when the first clap hit....but after that he was just on guard whenever the booms came. No hiding, no crazy barking. I was surprised

Sure was a good storm tho!


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

LogansMommy said:


> My big boy weighed in at 68 pounds yesterday! He is one lean muscular dude. I love him a ridiculous amount! I took some bath photos the other day and need to post them soon!


Whew, now I feel better.

I'd guess Jackson is right around 70lbs now, and it seemed like lots of the other August puppies were nowhere near that weight.

2 months ago (at 6 months) he weighed 62lbs...which was a big jump at the time. Then we had him checked up 2 weeks ago and he was 68lbs, so he seemed to level out. I'm guessing he hasn't gained much since then.


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## kerry (Oct 2, 2010)

Hi all, Great to catch up on how all the pups are doing 
Oscar is getting bigger by the second, is very strong and a total dream dog. So laid back indoors but full of energy when out. We take 2 40 minute off leash walks now, which include about 10 to 15 minutes of swimming. I am lucky that I live in the middle of beautiful countryside with plenty of woodlands and rivers and lakes. Last weekend he had his first experience of cannons and musket fire, I am an English Civil War reeanctor, and thankfully he was not to fussed.  He was 8 months old yesterday!


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Tucker*

Correction: Our Tucker's Birthday is September 19th, but our Samoyed, Male, Tonka, was born on August 14th!!


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## wenryder (Oct 21, 2010)

LogansMommy said:


> Next up-- Microchip and Pet Insurance... Anyone have any recs for insurance companies?



Obie is booked in to be Microchipped this Wednesday!

As for insurance, we have been with PetCare since Obie was about 4 months old. We've only had to submit once (read my post about Obie and the Tampons in another thread here: http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/what-did-you-do/93559-he-ate-unused-tampons.html#post1375516 ) and they were really quick about the turnaround.


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

luckily for every horrible day like we had a couple weeks ago (chewing the carpet, table, plants), there are 10x more good days. 

90% of the time he is awesome - couldn't ask for anything better! It's that 10% of the time that makes me think I'll never see the 90% again :yuck:

But ever since we had that blowup a couple weeks ago, where he would NOT leave the carpet alone, he hasn't touched it since. I guess all in all we are pretty lucky!


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## ActionJackson (Oct 25, 2010)

How we doin' August 2010ers???

Anyone else's pup starting to mellow out a bit? Jackson is definitely more mellow than he was a month or two ago. Still has those moments, i.e. temporary OCD with chewing a corner of the table or something like that, but he's coming along beautifully.

Getting ready for the boating season....he took his first swim on Saturday when we brought him down to the marina for the first time.


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## sadiegold (Nov 3, 2010)

Sadie is also maturing into a wonderful lady, well that is a bit too strong, but she is really doing super, she has many more mellow moments, and is the perfect newspaper retriever(well she only has to go down our front walkway down few steps to the sidewalk to get the paper)!
She lets us sleep until 7 AM, and is interested in the pesky rabbits that are eating our plants in the backyard but as of this typing has not caught one...


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

Hey guys, sorry I haven't been on here much. Kobe is doing great. He does a lot better when he is worn out  I will post pictures soon


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

Chili @ 9 mos. next week. He only sleeps like this when he's in his crate...but when he's in there, half the time he's on his back.


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

Kobe sleeps the same way!


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## wenryder (Oct 21, 2010)

Here's one of Obie from about a month ago. Too funny!











All sizes | Nap time | Flickr - Photo Sharing!


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## Sasha (Mar 4, 2011)

Hello. Sasha was born 2nd July 2010. (i can't find the july born babies so i've been reading the august babies) She's absolutely superb. She's never chewed anything in the house - and is left alone while were out working 4 hrs every day! Although she loves digging up the garden! My trouble with her is she eats everything - when we take her for a walk she's 'hunting' waste food all the time.. so at times this is no fun. I caught her last week eating a baby chick in the garden :0( I was so worried she'd be ill but all seems well. She's just so greedy for food. I hear from lots of people this is in the breed. She was spayed in January.


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## 2dollys (Jan 24, 2011)

Hope everyone's pups are doing great! Mango is good, but she started her 1st heat today. Any advice?

We are not letting her into the fenced backyard except on leash. We aren't taking her anywhere off leash, nor are we planning to walk her. We have her in some cool denim dog pants which she seems to be OK with so far. She is supposed to start a new class on Saturday and there are no unneutered dogs in class, and it is in an enclosed facility (inside) so if the trainer gives us the OK we might try to go. 

It's been about 14 years since we went through a heat, anything else we should know?

Thanks!


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## Sam Adams (Jul 15, 2011)

ActionJackson said:


> luckily for every horrible day like we had a couple weeks ago (chewing the carpet, table, plants), there are 10x more good days.
> 
> 90% of the time he is awesome - couldn't ask for anything better! It's that 10% of the time that makes me think I'll never see the 90% again :yuck:
> 
> But ever since we had that blowup a couple weeks ago, where he would NOT leave the carpet alone, he hasn't touched it since. I guess all in all we are pretty lucky!


We celebrated Sam Adams birthday August 1st...he also seems to have stop tearing up the carpet. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Bought him 12 special treats for every month he had.


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

Kobe's birthday is in a couple of weeks! He went through a carpet destroying spree a couple months ago. Since then, I've moved to Nevada and we don't have much carpet. The little carpet we do have he leaves alone. He will still jump on counters and grab papers and eat the trash out of the bathroom, but he is coming along. He is still super active but is getting more mellow.


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## newport (Aug 8, 2011)

We just adopted Lola a week ago- she was born on August 17th 2010. The previous owner did not have time for her- and no training - thus she was *and is* a wild child. I will enjoy sharing info with you who have the same age golden. Lola has a very sweet personality and no aggression and she is smart- so hopefully she will take to training well.


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## MillysMom (Nov 5, 2008)

newport said:


> We just adopted Lola a week ago- she was born on August 17th 2010. The previous owner did not have time for her- and no training - thus she was *and is* a wild child. I will enjoy sharing info with you who have the same age golden. Lola has a very sweet personality and no aggression and she is smart- so hopefully she will take to training well.


Hush and Lola have the same bday


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

Welcome! Our chili spent 5 months in training classes and learned plenty, the most important being "it's only worth it if there is a treat to trump whatever I really want to do". We've sought the counsel of a behaviorist, and she's helped us make remarkable progress in the three consultations we've had. A word of warning, they may not subscribe to the positive reward - treat based training protocols most people use these days. I have an E collar sitting next to me that will go on next week when we have our next consultation and our dog walker has called me three times out of concern over this tactic! BUT, as unpleasant as it is, we've found the unpleasantness is usually very brief and once he learns, it's only there for reinforcement should it be necessary. My point is, if you've got a wild child that's smart, I'm sure with the right guidance you can turn that around in a matter of months. Or you could spend the next few years spinning your wheels trying to work with her...only to discover years later she's been training you all along!


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## newport (Aug 8, 2011)

So how are all the August 2010 puppies doing today?? Lola is such a joy in our lives... Born August 17,2010. She is about a year and a half old now.... so full of life- joy and just plain happiness. Loves her toys!( she has two baskets of them now) Her favorite thing to do is to try to pick up two or three at a time. We call it her"sandwich". She is smarter that a whip and knows how to get what she wants.... but all in all she is a good girl. She LOVES to fetch a ball or a frisbie- and collects EVERYTHING in the yard she can find... rocks sticks- you name it Lola will find it! I can not imagine life without her in our house today. 
And how about YOU?:wave:


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## Debles (Sep 6, 2007)

I don't know if I have written in this thread or not. Our Sasha was born Aug.4,2010. Friends here at GRF arranged for us to be blessed with this beautiful boy after we lost our Selka.

Sasha has been through almost two years of Obedience training but we haven't decided whether to put a CD on him or not. Too busy with daily life.

He and his big bro Gunner are best buds and they both keep me company. Some day he may be a therapy dog like Selka. We'll see.

Included recent pics of Sasha and Gunner (Gunner has one eye due to losing from having glaucoma)


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## newport (Aug 8, 2011)

Almost time for another birthday! Number 3! Lola is just the light of our lives! A wonderful dog who just gives love and happiness to the world. I am so grateful Lola came into our lives.


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## RKA (Sep 20, 2010)

You know, it's amazing how much changes from year to year! 2 years ago we had a healthy golden. 1.5 years ago some strange issues started to crop up. After that he couldn't hold food down and gradually lost about a pound a week. A year ago we found out he had Megaesophagus and Inflammatory Bowel Disease. The first 3 weeks on his new diet he lost 5 pounds and was down near 50 lbs (barely enough energy to make the walk for his bathroom breaks). And now at birthday #3, he's topped 75 lbs and my wife won't listen to me when I tell her we need to cut back on his food just a little to keep his weight in check.  Below is a pic in his bailey (feeding) chair. Meanwhile he continues to get himself into trouble for reasons we still don't understand. He swallowed a tennis ball which required a visit to the vet, almost ate a potential pet sitters dog toy, and just days ago swallowed a plastic bag somewhere on the street while out with the dog walker (waiting for that one to be evacuated on it's own).

Hope all yours are healthy and happy! Happy Birthday to all of them!


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## sadiegold (Nov 3, 2010)

Sadie turned three on the 5th and I had a short post about crying at the beginning as she was so wild and bitey and about her being the cutest smartest prettiest (blah blah blah you get where Im going with this) love bug ever at 3.

Hugs to all 3 year olds!!

PS Brown noses rule, thought Sadies would turn back to black over the summer but nope.


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