# New! And new puppy! How much should a 5 month old be sleeping?



## photoweborama

Boy, he sure looks full golden to me...
As far as sleeping.. sounds about right...
My 7 year old golden seems to sleep about a total of 36 hours a day!!!!


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## mamalamb

Doesn't he? We think he looks more Golden, too! Supposedly he is half and half though! And thank you!


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## MikaTallulah

Welcome to the Group 

When to neuter is a hot issue around here. Mine have all gotten spayed or neutered at some point after the age of 2.

Puppies sleep a lot. They are either full of themselves or passed out in my experience 

They say goldens grow til they are 2 but my previous golden did not fill out til he was 5 or 6 years old 

I prefer homemade treats for mine. All toys are fun to puppies. I am not a fan of rawhide chews or rope toys either 

Could get as big as 70 pounds or more  or be smaller like a border collie 

The 2 are very cute together.


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## Max's Dad

He is really adorable. Our first dog was a border collie, Tip. She was high energy, and really smart. Hard to say how big your pup will be, but he looks a lot like a Golden. A Retriever with herding instincts. Should be an interesting combination.


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## vcm5

Otis is ADORABLE! I think the sleeping sounds about right to me too!


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## Bentleysmom

He is adorable! And thank you for adopting his cat too, not many people would have done that but I bet it means the world to both of them!
My pup Bentley plays hard but then it's like a light switch, wherever he is he just passes out...click. 
Otis looks like a Golden to me too. I think you just bought yourself many years of fun, fun, fun. Enjoy them


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## Ljilly28

I agree, he looks so very golden. What a great mix- he might be a genius, lol. Those border collies are so smart.


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## Willow52

Congratulation on your new guy! 

His sleeping pattern sounds normal to me. IMO, it's good that he runs around outdoors for several hours then comes indoors for his nap. He knows his "indoors manners". He sounds like a well behaved, mellow boy. Lucky you!


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## Goldens4Life

He is adorable as well as the cat!! That was nice of you to adopt both! I just picked up my boy about a week ago! You will have a lot of fun!


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## mamalamb

Thank you all!!! We are amazed by him, in the last day he learned how to go "down" and then "wait" for his food until we tell him to eat! 

We do need help with not pulling and zig zagging on the leash though, LOL.

And 1 or 2 times, while chewing on his Nylabone, he has done a slight growl at someone (once my husband, once our 5 year old) at someone approaching...? We did a VERY stern NO, is this the correct handling of this? Does this mean he is going to be aggressive? Other than this he does not seem a dominant type at all.

How often should we give him a bath?


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## OutWest

I researched this once because I was worried about my dog. Was shocked to learn that dogs can sleep anywhere from 18 to 23 hours a day! Puppies especially sleep a lot just like small kids. Eat-poop-play-sleep. Repeat.  puppies often just lay down where they are when their energy runs out. They'll sleep in very odd places. 

Hard to say how big your guy will be as a mixed breed. Do you know the size of his parents? That's your best indicator. 

He sure is cute tho, and it's great that he came potty-trained! 

Have fun. Hope you'll stick around. We have lots of part GRs here, and a handful who aren't GR at all. They just like to hang out here.


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## OutWest

mamalamb said:


> Thank you all!!! We are amazed by him, in the last day he learned how to go "down" and then "wait" for his food until we tell him to eat!
> 
> We do need help with not pulling and zig zagging on the leash though, LOL.
> 
> And 1 or 2 times, while chewing on his Nylabone, he has done a slight growl at someone (once my husband, once our 5 year old) at someone approaching...? We did a VERY stern NO, is this the correct handling of this? Does this mean he is going to be aggressive? Other than this he does not seem a dominant type at all.
> 
> How often should we give him a bath?


Re: the growling, it's called resource guarding. Does not mean he's aggressive, just protective, but you do want to stop that quickly. Search for the topic on here and you'll find lots of good info. 

Same with grooming and bathing. Search around for lots of info. He should probably be brushed once a day or 3-4 times a week. Some people wash frequently some once a month, some only a couple times a year. Depends on what you do outside with your dog and personal taste. Be sure to use _dog shampoo_ though--dog skin has different ph values than human.


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## mamalamb

Thank you!! I'll look up "resource guarding", wasn't sure what phrase I was looking for before LOL.

And how do you teach a dog to walk the fine line of barking? Like, barking at strangers on the property good, barking at people at soccer practice bad? lol


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## OutWest

mamalamb said:


> Thank you!! I'll look up "resource guarding", wasn't sure what phrase I was looking for before LOL.
> 
> And how do you teach a dog to walk the fine line of barking? Like, barking at strangers on the property good, barking at people at soccer practice bad? lol


Barkings a tough one ... At least it has been for me. You don't want to always be saying "no" and seem upset with a dog, especially a puppy. Best tactic for right now probably would be to say "no" or "ack" then distract or redirect the puppy. You should search for discussions of barking on here too ... Lots of info on here. At a soccer practice, perhaps walk away with pup ... or bring something for him to chew on (unless other dogs are around--could create tension). Hang in there. It gets worse, better, worse, better, etc., but you'll end up with a great dog.


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## OutWest

Also, re: leash. Takes dogs a while to get used to human-style walking. If you haven't signed up for puppy kindergarten, you should right away. A good class will help with that.


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