Coat Color And Grooming
Golden Retrievers have a dense, water-repellent outer coat with a thick undercoat. Some coats are wavy, some are straight. The fur feathers on the back of the front legs and underbody, with heavier feathering on the chest, back of the thighs, and tail.
Golden Retrievers come in all shades of gold, from light to dark gold. Some breeders have begun selling “rare white Goldens,” but the American Kennel Club does not recognize white as a coat color for the breed.
Golden Retrievers shed moderately in the winter and summer, and heavily in the spring and fall. If you live with a Golden, you’ll need to adapt to a certain amount of dog hair in your house and on your clothes.
The Golden’s thick coat means lots of grooming. Daily brushing is recommended to prevent tangling, and once a week is the bare minimum. Your Golden will also need a bath at least once a month, often more frequently, to keep him looking and smelling clean.
Brush your Golden’s teeth at least two or three times a week to remove tartar buildup and the bacteria that lurk inside it. Daily brushing is even better if you want to prevent gum disease and bad breath.
Begin accustoming your Golden to being brushed and examined when he’s a puppy. Handle his paws frequently dogs are touchy about their feet and look inside his mouth. Make grooming a positive experience filled with praise and rewards, and you’ll lay the groundwork for easy veterinary exams and other handling when he’s an adult.
Make Your Home And Garden Safe For Your Golden Retriever
Golden Retrievers are a highly intelligent breed and with this comes an unstoppable urge to test, learn and explore. Particularly during their puppy years they can get themselves into all sorts of trouble around your home and garden so you have to undertake a certain amount of puppy-proofing your home:
- Fence off swimming pools or ponds in your yard as they will get in there but being so small they may not be able to swim well and could find it impossible to get out unaided.
- Research the plants and flowers you have in your home and garden as there are in excess of one hundred plants known to be toxic to dogs and Goldens love a good chew!
- Remove or make safe any sharp items in your home that your Golden may play with, rub against or walk over in their playing.
- Hide away any electrical cables because a dogs sharp teeth and electricity are a particularly dangerous combination.
- Install child-proof latches on all your kitchen cupboards and drawers. Goldens can learn to open simple storage units and household chemicals therein are extremely dangerous to your dog.
- Dont leave rubbish, or in fact pretty much anything lying around. Puppies explore with their mouths and whatever they find they will play with and chew and its very easy for a dog to choke on small items, particularly trash thats easily swallowed with the edible scraps they were really seeking.
Golden Retriever Puppy Biting And Chewing
All puppies bite. Even Golden Retrievers! Biting is linked to teething, but its also an important part of play between puppies and other dogs.
Biting down on fur isnt too painful. But biting on skin really hurts and puppies have to learn not to do this.
Play biting is commonly mistaken for aggression because puppies snap and growl when they are playing. For this reason, biting is by far and away the most common reason for new puppy parents to seek help in our support forum.
Our complete guide to stopping puppies biting will help you quicky through this phase in your puppys development.
Its a phase that all puppy owners will experience. But, rewarding calm behavior and ignoring biting will encourage the phase to pass more quickly.
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Tips To Care For Golden Retriever Puppy
According to the AKC report 2014, Golden Retriever is one of the most popular dog breeds in the world. If you also have brought a newborn golden retriever puppy to your home, you need to be extra careful in handling him. It is significant to note that newborn golden retrievers should not be handled like human babies. In this article, I will suggest you 10 tips that will definitely help you to take care of a newborn golden retriever effectively.
Before owning golden retriever, it is necessary to know about his temperamentKnow everything about golden retriever temperament
Can A Dog Be Mad At You
Its hard to understand everything a dog is feeling, but I would say yes. Dogs both show and feel feelings like we do, and can clearly get very upset with humans if their negative experiences outweigh their positive ones. Dogs also feel jealousy and anger just as we do, though it will be expressed differently depending on the dog.Some owners mistakenly think that the way they scold or punish a puppy for bad behavior is not hurting or upsetting them because puppies dont know any better. The truth is that even these unthinking creatures can understand at least some of whats happening to them especially since negatives tend to take precedence over positives in such situations so this type of training really does hurt our best friends. That leaves.
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Common Health Problems In Golden Retrievers
Like any purebred dog, Golden Retrievers may encounter some breed-related health problems throughout their lives. Often, Breed Clubs will also be able to provide advice on what tests your breed may need and where to get these done. Make sure the parents of your puppy have had the relevant health screening to reduce the chances of your puppy being affected by these upsetting conditions.
Golden Retrievers are amongst a group of breeds classed as Category Two by The Kennel Club. These are breeds of dog that have been highlighted as having points of concern visible features which, if exaggerated, might potentially affect the breed in the future and cause health and welfare concerns. For Golden Retrievers, this is because they can have short legs in proportion to their body and a tendency to become overweight.
Some of the conditions Golden Retrievers are more prone to developing include:
Raising A Golden Retriever Puppy Settling In Time
It could take a while for your puppy to settle in properly to your home. It can be stressful for puppies.
After all, theyre leaving their mother, siblings, and the only home theyve known to come and live somewhere completely new and unknown.
You can help your puppy settle in faster by keeping them by your side so they arent ever alone and scared, and showing them how great their new life is.
It can also help to follow a routine for a while. This will include feeding your Golden puppy, training them, and socializing them.
Some common problems that new puppy owners face in those first few weeks include: biting, potty training accidents, waking at night, and over-excitement.
So, lets take a look at each of these issues next, and the best ways to establish a routine.
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What Is The Cheapest Puppy
The cheapest puppy is the one you adopt from an animal shelter.Please do your research on rescue dogs before deciding to buy a dog. These are living creatures with unpredictable personalities, they will house-train themselves in some instances, but not in others. Contrary to popular belief, not all rescues have gone through obedience or behavioral training courses with shelters that have them available. Often rescues are just transferred straight from the streets into homes where unsuspecting people take them in without realizing what theyre getting into with an older pup whose best years are probably over for good reasons unknown to the rescuer who only wants her forever companion so she can live out her retirement years peacefully and happily! Remember when senior citizens started.
How To Take Care Of A Golden Retriever
Can you picture a large, golden-colored dog romping through your backyard, sleeping on your couch, playing with your children and joining your family with whatever they are doing? If so, you might be the perfect candidate to get a Golden Retriever as a pet. Golden Retrievers, often simply called Goldens, are as friendly and fun-loving as they are beautiful. If you are thinking about getting a puppy or an older dog, here are the things you need to know to properly take care of your new Golden Retriever.
In This Article
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Top Tips For Choosing A Healthy Golden Retriever Puppy:
| Meet the parents | Check for obvious health issues, like skin problems or fleas |
| Make sure the parents have all their health checks | Make sure theyre a health weight no ribs showing! |
| Ask the breeder lots of questions and expect to be asked questions! | Look at the environment the puppies are kept in |
| Interact with the puppy are they friendly and bright? | Check theyve had their first set of vaccinations |
Best Undercoat Rakes For Your Golden Retriever
Here are some of the best undercoat rakes that will work well for your canine friend.
Oster Dog Rake and Shedding Brush
This undercoat rake is easy to use and is perfect for de-shedding, thinning, finishing, and shaping. It eliminates loose hair and undercoat without causing skin irritation if you use it every couple of weeks. The tool leaves your Golden Retrievers coat looking healthy and smooth. This undercoat rake is particularly designed for dog breeds that have thick or medium undercoats.
Whats more, you can easily clean these rakes. This brush is made of rust-resistant and durable aluminum and has stainless steel blades.
FURminator Grooming Rake
This grooming rake is perfect for dogs that have double coats and thick fur. It has an ergonomic non-slip handle that is ideal for long grooming sessions. The tool features long straight teeth that eliminate loose hairs, tangles, and mats with less skin irritation.
FURminator Undercoat Deshedding Tool
This undercoat rake is specially made to reach through your Golden Retrievers topcoat and eliminate loose hair without damaging the skin. It features a curved edge that conforms to your poochs natural shape. In addition to this, the undercoat rake also features a FURejector button to swiftly release the hair. The tool has an ergonomic handle for ease of use and comfort.
You can check out my full article about the FURminator here.
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Reasons To Adopt An Older Golden Retriever
If you believe the adage that you cant teach an old dog new tricks, you would be wrong when it comes to adopting a golden retriever.
No matter what their age, goldens learn quickly and are strongly motivated to obey their owners. Their loyalty to their new owners is intense once they have become established in the family.
Older goldens are far less likely to chew up a favorite piece of furniture or a pair of new shoes as that is puppy behavior, not that of an elderly animal.
Older animals have slowed down, as all humans do when they age, so elderly goldens are more settled and thus are less excitable. For this reason, goldens make excellent pets for the elderly or a growing family.
Because older goldens are so easy to train, they offer a great excuse for exercising by going for long evening walks. This encourages elderly people to get out of the house and enjoy socializing with their adopted golden and other pet owners in the dog park.
The Time Cost Of Having A Golden Retriever
Most people look at the financial cost of owning a golden retriever and make their decision solely on that, but there is another cost that is just as important the time you need to spend with your dog.
As explained before, goldens need a lot of attention, and this is just as important as their bills if not more. A healthy relationship with your dog requires you to spend at least one hour per day with your dog on their walk and daily brushing.
They also need playtime with you. Taking them to the dog park every now and then is important to grow their social skills and help them make new friends.
Goldens are happy to go with you wherever you go, so its not hard to choose a place to spend time together. Your backyard works great for playtime, and so does the dog park, and so does this empty parking area you know no one goes to anymore.
Your dog doesnt really care about the where and when as long as they get to spend the time with you.
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What To Buy For Your Golden Retriever Puppy
| Harness | |
| The food the breeder has been feeding them | |
| Toys | Play pens or baby gates |
| Grooming tools | |
| Puppy pads | Poop bags |
| Socialization |
Most new or prospective puppy owners have lots of questions. Sometimes you just need a quick answer.
You can click the links above to jump straight to any section. But first, were going to look at the research thats needed before you get a puppy.
Golden Retriever Puppy Socialization
Every new puppy owner will hear about the importance of puppy socialization. But not all puppy owners carry out this important process effectively.
Socialization means introducing your puppy to many new experiences before they reach the age when they become shy of strangers and strange objects. That age is surprisingly young and most dogs need to be socialized fully before they are 13 weeks old.
That means you need to get going right away with your new Goldie pup!
Your puppy needs to meet lots of different men and women, in different situations, children, other dogs, trains and lorries, and much much more. All from the safety of your arms. And all before he or she is four months old.
Puppy socialization is vital because it helps to prevent dogs becoming aggressive and increases the retention rate of puppies in their homes.
You can find an excellent puppy socialization plan and lots of useful information on The Puppy Plan website provided by the Kennel Club in association with international charity The Dogs Trust
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Fitness Exercise And Games
Golden Retrievers are a working, sporting breed and as such need a lot of exercise and mental stimulation to keep them happy and to stave off boredom.
This group of articles discuss how much exercise your Golden Retriever needs, the benefits it offers, what happens if you dont provide enough and the various fun and interesting ways you can provide it:
Completing The Grooming Of Your Golden Retriever
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