Having any dog is likely to change your lifestyle, you can
expect the same when you own a golden retriever; a puppy will especially disrupt
your home life for a time. Dog proofing your home can be a good idea and so is
enrolling your new addition in behavior training classes.
Being very intelligent
dogs, if you make it clear to a golden retriever what you expect, they will try
their best to make you happy. They enjoy carrying things in their mouths, and
chewing on things; it is a good idea to anticipate this and have a number of items
that are okay to carry around.
A dog will need its own space, a place it
is allowed to be a dog; either in a yard or garage, maybe even a crate in your
home. Gauging your new dog’s entertainment level at various times will prevent
unnecessary frustration for both of you; a bored dog is a mischievous golden retriever.
Changes In Your Routine
As with any new addition to a family, you can expect
a golden retriever to change your routine. A puppy will need several trips outside
per day for nature related purposes and even more trips just for fun; if you are
not a person that enjoys being outdoors, a golden retriever may not be for you.
If you do enjoy the outdoors, you will probably need to increase the amounts and
times that you spend outside; a puppy especially may need the backyard in the
middle of the night or very early in the morning.
You can also expect your
golden retriever to cause you to find a ‘baby sitter’; if you go on a dog-free
vacation, someone will need to stay with your pet for the duration of your leave.
Golden retrievers are very social animals and do NOT like to be left alone, they
require a lot of attention and time to be energetic; having a person available
that will be able to play ‘puppy/doggie sitter’ will be helpful for both necessary
and unexpected times of absence.
What To Expect From A Golden Retriever
With Your Family
Golden retrievers are known to be good family pets. They
are friendly and tolerant with lots of different people; they do bark at strangers,
but don’t expect them to generally be a good watchdog, they are generally too
tolerant of strangers. You can expect a golden retriever to be very happy and
accepting of children; however, very small children and a golden retriever puppy
may not be the best mix, golden retrievers like to jump up and lick a lot and
a small child could be overwhelmed and scarred by this. Also because of the jumping
a golden retriever puppy may not be the best for an elderly person if they have
any sort of disability that makes them unbalanced. A family with an active life
style, a large back yard, and older kids would really enjoy having a golden retriever
puppy.
The most important thing to remember is that if you select a golden
retriever puppy it is hard to predict what to expect from your golden retriever
as puppies change with time and when you purchase one you are purchasing the possibilities
of the dog, and there are no guarantees. With an adult dog, most of the dog’s
personality and behaviors are proven and you are purchasing the dog as it, it
is easy to predict what to expect from a golden retriever as an adult. Deciding
whether an adult dog or a puppy is the best for yourself or family should start
with information from reputable golden
retriever breeders.
Attention: To discover how
YOU can have the Happiest, Healthiest and Best Behaved Golden Retriever,
get a copy of this Golden Retriever Guide
NOW!