# 2 year old golden, will she ever stop playing?;)



## Sophie2017 (Jun 21, 2019)

Hello All! 

Hopefully you experienced golden owners will help me to best understand my golden. I have always had Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. We decided on a golden because our four boys are older and old enough and strong enough to physically handle a larger dog, plus we LOVE our cousin's golden. Sophie is two years old and it has been QUITE the challenge!! We walk her and run her at least twice daily. We have gotten over the constant biting stage, but the biggest challenge is that I feel like she is a toddler and we always have to be with her or have her on the leash in the house because she is always wanting to grab ANYTHING she sees and runs with it or tears it apart. I really think that she is just wanting to play, because it does turn into a chasing game with my boys or it is a way that she gets attention, even if negative. I would love to be at ease with her in our home without having to clear the room of anything that she can grab to run with or chew. We have multiple toys that she has gotten better at not tearing apart. She has bones to chew and kong balls that the boys use to play with her, it is just very exhausting to let her roam in the house or expect her to sit with us when we are watching TV or generally trying to be calm in the house.

Any ideas??? I do feel like she has calmed down a little bit, but will she ever just "chill" without major training or should we really focus on the training? She's a sweet girl and we all love her, I just want to be able to enjoy her being with us. Also, we have a 9 year old Cavalier and we always have to keep them separate because Sophie uses her paws to try to "bat" at her like a toy.:surprise:

Thank you! C


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

Sophie2017 said:


> ...Hopefully you experienced golden owners will help me to best understand my golden....We walk her and run her at least twice daily. We have gotten over the constant biting stage, but the biggest challenge is that I feel like she is a toddler and we always have to be with her or have her on the leash in the house because she is always wanting to grab ANYTHING she sees and runs with it or tears it apart. I really think that she is just wanting to play, because it does turn into a chasing game with my boys or it is a way that she gets attention, even if negative. I would love to be at ease with her in our home without having to clear the room of anything that she can grab to run with or chew. ...
> Any ideas??? I do feel like she has calmed down a little bit, but will she ever just "chill" without major training or should we really focus on the training? She's a sweet girl and we all love her, I just want to be able to enjoy her being with us. Also, we have a 9 year old Cavalier and we always have to keep them separate because Sophie uses her paws to try to "bat" at her like a toy.:surprise:
> 
> Thank you! C


The best way to understand your Golden is to remember that she is a sporting breed, originally created to retrieve birds and small game for hours on end. She is not a lap dog. It also sounds like she is still more of a puppy, it may be that she needs more time to settle a bit.

Can you explain more about what her daily schedule is like? If she is spending a lot of time during the day sleeping in a crate while the family is busy, she just is a normal Golden. When you say that you all 'walk and run her twice a day' exactly what are you talking about? A leash walk is not exercise for a healthy young Golden. At all. She needs 20-30 minutes of aerobic exercise that leaves her tired and panting - swimming, retrieving and sprinting. A couple times fetching a tennis ball till she gets bored and quits won't do it. It can be very difficult to exercise a young dog, so I'm asking for specifics so we know what's going on.

It sounds like your girl most likely needs more mental challenge as well. You are wondering if she will ever just "chill" without "Major Training?" Does this mean you all took her to obedience class as a puppy and quit? She's not in training anymore? I will tell you that Yes , it sounds like your dog needs the training to learn self control and because mental work would be wonderful as an outlet. Someone in your family needs to take Sophie to classes and spend time workin with her. She is smart and just needs more investment from you all.


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## eeerrrmmm1 (Apr 15, 2018)

She's really young still and needs an enormous amount of exercise. A tired puppy is a good puppy. If you have the time and interest maybe consider training her in agility or check out a local dog training school and see what options they have. If you don't have the time, energy or interest consider looking around at doggie daycares in your area. We still send our golden 3-4 times per week and it's awesome. She loves it and comes home happy and tired. If neither of those options work for you then training and a lot more exercise are needed.


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## Maggie'sVoice (Apr 4, 2018)

Goldens don't mentally mature until 3-4 years of age. They are a high drive sporting dog. If you give them the exercise they need, they will be very calm in the house when it's time to chill. Training is paramount and teaching enough, or easy when they get out of hand and too rambunctious will go a long way. They need a time out sometimes to get them calm. Teaching them to down and stay should also help with that. Sometimes if your dog is well behaved on a leash, can be a good idea to put them on a leash and use the easy or enough command and when on the leash if they become calm, then praise and let off the leash. There are quite a few methods to achieving this. Redirecting that hyper energy with a chew bone can help. Chewing relieves a lot of anxiousness. Don't keep chews down on the floor all the time. They will get boring and when you need to redirect them like this, they will just look at it and think "whats so special about that, it's always just there". Keep it up and pull them out when you need them to be calm in the house.


Edit.... try not to use rawhides... they can be a intestinal blockage hazard.


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## puddles everywhere (May 13, 2016)

Stop playing? Guess my question is what else have you taught her to do?

Think about your kids... you bring home a babies. You spend years teaching the kids to walk, feed themselves, how drink from a cup, how to use the potty. As they get bigger you send them to school to learn how to write their names and read. 
What have you taught this dog? They didn't get a manual on how to behave... they don't know how to be anything but a puppy and sounds like this one is doing that well. If you have never trained a dog before you all need to be involved in the training, a class is to train you to train your dog.

Everyone takes classes or has some sort of training to learn how to do their job. Shoot just learning to ride a bike or skate takes help.

If nothing else watch some training videos on youtube... might start with kikopup just to learn some basic manners. Teaching a golden is so much easier when they are small but it's never too late to start. Sit in the floor with some kibble from their food bowl and teach a down or a sit... how to shake hands or bringing back a toy when you toss it. All these things can be learned from youtube videos. 

All those wonderful goldens you see being the best dog ever didn't just happen, it's the result of a great deal of time, effort and training. If you are expecting this pup to suddenly become a couch potato it could be a very long wait. Breeding/instinct is pre programmed to work for hours running in the fields or swimming to retrieve ducks. Just hanging out isn't really in their DNA.

But they are really smart and want to please you so use this to your advantage and learn how to help them be the companion you envisioned when you got this pup. Good luck and remember that training is about having fun and engaging your pup in organized games.


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## TheZ's (Jun 13, 2011)

Try having your kids teach her some tricks. It's fun for the dog and the kids. It will use some of her energy and can help with focus. You can find videos online or books on the subject. _101 Dog Tricks: Step by Step Activities to Engage, Challenge, and Bond with Your Dog_ by Kyra Sundance is a good one. You can start with the easy ones, see how good she can become at them, and then see how many more tricks she can learn.

Sounds like she still needs to settle a bit but to me it's kind of sad to think of a Golden who doesn't want to play.


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## Brave (Oct 26, 2012)

What do you consider "major training"? Cause without training, a dog doesn't know what behaviors are expected of it. Leave-it, give/drop it, settle, down, sit, off, up, quiet, etc are all really basic commands that most dogs should be taught. I know that there are more high energy dogs than what mine are, and teaching a settle can be frustrating when you are starting out but once it's there, it's super beneficial. Lana is cooped up in the house for most of the day during the week and she goes to class twice a week for one hour a time (one day is obedience class and one day is conformation handling class). Other than that, she runs around the backyard with our other dog and we plan fetch if the foxtails aren't too bad. When I get home from work, she has the run of the front half of the house (so we can keep our eye on her) but she will either window watch or grab a chew stick and settle down next to us to chew on whatever her favorite is at the moment.

You just gotta teach them how to settle down when it's not-play time. Ya know? This breed was designed to go all out and then sit for long periods of time, waiting for when it was go time again.


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## StarBright (Nov 11, 2015)

*It takes time, exercise and training.*

Goldens should always want to play, that’s why we love them. I have a two year old boy and he is the first of ours to not be allowed alone loose in the house at two years old. But he’s great when we are home, he has learned to chill with a toy or bone when we don’t want to play. But he does require regular exercise, running, hiking, agility and obedience training. If not done daily he can be relentless in demanding attention. Goldens thrive on exercise, play and training. And in between can be great at just hanging out with you. Each one can be different in the amount of energy they have. And it’s our responsibility to give them what they need to become the best they can be. Some, like my current boy, require a year or two extra to really grow up. But try and enjoy it, just help them shape it into useful chores they can do for you. You can easily teach them to bring found items to you to trade for treats. Someday, before you blink, you’ll be sitting with a senior and praying you could have more years with your best friend. I know it can be hard in these young years, but try to laugh, enjoy and make memories. Their lives are so short. I’m still missing my best girl, Star Bright, gone almost 4 years now.


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## Peri29 (Aug 5, 2017)

I guess all said & explained.
If a golden does not play, than there is a problem.
The time will come when you will pray & beg deeply for a playful act of your dog as a sign of vitality.
I hope that it arrives as late as possible.


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