Our Golden Retriever puppy as a very cute ten week old.
Perfect dog
If you were to meet Georgie, our four-year old Golden Retriever
you would rightly think she was a near-perfect dog. She’s well-mannered (only occasionally jumps up - usually if you have food in your pocket), great fun when you want a game, relaxing company when you want your dog to lay by the fire and snooze, cuddly when you want a smooch, and great with all kinds of people (except the drunk and disorderly).
HOWEVER, she wasn’t always like this.
Puppy phase
During her puppy phase she often drove us to distraction, making me cry out of sheer frustration on more than one occasion. When she joined our household we wondered what had hit us and whether she would ever settle down. Things did get better as she grew older and as we watched more and more dog programmes, devoured more books and asked questions of any passing dog owner who would give us the time of day.
There’s no easy answer I’m afraid. You need:
bucket loads of patience
a sense of humour bordering on madness
consistency
some knowledge of dog psychology (Cesar Millan’s the man for this)
some healthy and highly desirable dog treats
to say goodbye to any sense of being house proud. Accept that there will be stains on your carpet and if you’re lucky only the occasional chewed table leg/skirting board/cushion/flower pot/favourite shoe/mobile phone case/food item/place mat - yes all this has happened to us and more.
Being the Alpha
I’m not a dog trainer - I’ve learnt all my knowledge ‘on the job’. But if there’s one piece of advice I’d like to pass on it’s that you do need to show your puppy that you know best; that you are in control of every situation even when you don’t really know what you’re doing; basically that you’re the boss - the alpha.
If you don’t do this, your dog will sense the void, apply for the job, complete the audition and have finished his first day before you even realised the job was vacant.
In short he or she will become Top Dog in your house and believe me, this isn’t something you want.
You must take on the alpha role. This doesn’t mean you have to shout and scream and walk round with a rolled up newspaper under your arm. It means firm, assertive behaviour.
Try and gently expose your Golden Retriever puppy to as much as you can while there’re still young.
We’re now trying to socialise Jessie, the dog we rehomed, who came to us without much of this basic foundation in place. It’s much harder but it still needs to be done and it‘s still as essential.
the dog we rehomed,
who came to us without much of this basic foundation in place. It’s much harder but it still needs to be done and it‘s still as essential.
Centre of town
We live in a very busy part of town. I knew that I would have to prepare Georgie for the big, outside world even before she had had her final vaccinations. Until she was able to go on a lead walk, I would scoop her into my arms and go walk-about.
Often we’d head for the railway station (a two minute walk) and simply walk up and down the platforms. Of course everyone wanted to say ‘hello’ and she was delighted to reciprocate. Sometimes we’d just sit on the concourse watching everyone rushing by, some with baggage trolleys, listening to the trains and general announcements. I‘m convinced this is part of the reason why she‘s so unflappable now.
On the buses
When her course of vaccinations were complete I was ready for ’proper dog walking’ - the kind of walks I’d imagined doing before we got Georgie. For the first year of her life we didn’t have a car which meant ... public transport.
I admit that our first journey was way too ambitious. My husband - AKA ‘The voice of reason’- was in France on a work trip so without his advice ringing in my ear, I packed a bag, put the lead on Georgie and set off to catch the bus to a local beauty spot. Bear in mind this was her first bus-trip and probably her second or third day walking outside on a lead.
To top it all I chose an open-top bus and of course I wanted to sit on the top deck with her on my lap - well she had to see the fantastic views too. After ten minutes or so she suddenly realised where she was and panic set in. It began as gentle squirming and ended up with total mayhem as she scratched me wildly, desperate to get off my lap and down to a place of safety. Passengers started moving away. Then to add to my embarrassment she refused to come down the stairs - more scratching as I picked her up and carried her down. Every bone in her cute little body was screaming, “GET ME OFF THIS BUS!”
Open Country
Well we made it to open country and had a lovely walk with lots of admiring ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ from other dog walkers. But in the back of my mind I knew we had to get home. And that meant only one thing - another bus ride.
I’d learnt my lesson and sat on the lower deck with Georgie between my legs. Unfortunately it got worse and this time she was sick all over the floor, several times, and nobody helped. Funnily enough when your puppy’s vomiting all over the place you find that you don’t have so many admirers after all.
Anyway we eventually made it home. Actually I got off a couple of stops early cause I couldn’t stand the ostracism any longer. Georgie was absolutely exhausted so I carried her part of the way and when we got back she fell asleep almost immediately. I headed for the chocolate stash. What a day!
Here's a fabulous site I came across if you have a puppy or are thinking about getting one:
The Puppy Dog Place
This fun and friendly guide has all the tips, advice and information new puppy owners need! Find help with topics such as choosing a healthy puppy, picking the perfect name, housebreaking, basic training, behavior problems, health care, bathing and grooming and much more. There's also fun stuff like photo contests, puppy personality tests, videos, jigsaws etc. PUPPIES ARE OUR PASSION and it shows.
As a little addition to the page, I found this great video on YouTube of a litter of Golden Retriever puppies at 25 days old. Such cuties!
