JJ: I graduated kindergarten! I graduated kindergarten! I am now officially in beginner’s obedience. Actually, yesterday was the first day of beginner’s obedience, but I am late to brag about my graduation! I am such a smart puppy!
Alanis: Everyone passes kindergarten, you fool. If you would have peed and pooped every week, you would have graduated.
JJ: Hush. You are just jealous because you never graduated kindergarten!
Alanis: By the time I got here, I was too old for kindergarten, so I went right to beginner’s obedience.
JJ: Whatever. You are just jealous. At four months old, I am one of the youngest dogs in this new class. There is even a dog there who is TWO YEARS OLD! There is another Golden who is 9 months old, I think. It is good for me to have some mature dogs. Two dogs from my kindergarten class are in this class as well.
Alanis: I understand you may be a bit underweight? The trainer told daddy you may need to gain a few, puppy!
JJ: Mommy will start giving me a little extra with my meals. This can be the toughest part of growing up as a Golden Retriever puppy – keeping my weight up as I grow like a weed over the next few months. I am at the stage where I should eat, eat, eat, eat. I burn off calories quickly with my frantic style of life and I am still a while away from being full-grown.
Alanis: What is not to like about being allowed to eat MORE? I wish we all could be told that we need to eat more.
JJ: I went to see one of my grandmother’s on Saturday!
Alanis: Without me, yet again. I am so disrespected around here.
JJ: Stop it, diva! You must admit that it would be wild if both of us went together at this stage of my development. It would have been crazy!
Alanis: Yeah, yeah, yeah. It would be nice to go for a ride with you one of these days…
JJ: Mommy took us both to the bank last week!
Alanis: That is a five-minute ride.
JJ: The teller didn’t give us any treats. I hear she usually does?
Alanis: Jeter used to make sure that the teller knew he was in the car. I don’t really do that, and you are still too small for her to see!
JJ: Am I more like Josh or Jeter on rides?
Alanis: Tough to say. I would say you remind me more of Jeter, because it seems you like to chill out and sleep on rides. Josh used to sit in the back seat and pant the entire time. I don’t know if he ever fell asleep in the car!
JJ: You don’t really fall asleep either.
Alanis: Nope. I am actually more like Josh in that I sit in the back seat and pant – just not nearly as loudly a Josh did…
JJ: I have met a lot of people and dogs on my walks. I am a fearless walker. I am a lot like Josh in that “everyone is my friend” is my philosophy. A young woman shouted, “Look, a puppy!” on Saturday, and that was all I needed to hear – I started walking towards her to get some attention. I saw a giant Golden Retriever as well, and we sniffed each other.
Alanis: You are much more outgoing than I am. I love to bark at people and dogs on walks. The barking is actually an invitation to say “hi”, but I am a big girl with a big bark, so I think it scares some people.
JJ: Not necessarily a bad thing – nothing bad can happen if people don’t want to approach you.
Alanis: True, that. I am just trying to be friendly though 🙁
JJ: Stop barking!
Alanis: I can’t. It is a part of my DNA.
JJ: My personality is starting to come out a bit more. When Daddy opens my crate to take me for a walk or to go outside, I like to run to my Mommy to say hi first. I don’t like being away from my pack, because (duh) I am a Golden Retriever. I am hyper, and love to play with as many toys as possible – often a dozen or so in one play session. Chasing the ball is fun, though I have not yet figured out how to bring it back. I am curious – I like to go up and down the stairs when given a chance, though they still block them off for my own good.
Alanis: He is getting bigger, both in his body and his personality.
JJ: Yes, I am!
Me: One of the things you may run into as a Golden Retriever parent is trying to control their weight as they grow. While many breeds of dog don’t grow much from puppyhood into adulthood, Golden Retrievers will grow at an extreme rate – and it is up to us to keep up with the food intake. On the flip side, an overweight Golden is prone to many conditions, especially joint conditions. You want to feed them just enough for their growth while not overfeeding them.
Luckily, there is an easy way to figure out if your dog is overweight, underweight, or just right. Feel around his rib cage. If the ribs are prominent, your pup is likely underweight. If the ribs are hard to find, your pup is likely overweight. If you have to dig far under your dog’s fur to find the ribs, your dog is likely obese. Don’t kill yourself over it – just reduce the kibble, find more ways to exercise the dog, etc. Remember, dogs don’t know anything about Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig. If you put a lot of food in front of them, they are going to eat it. Colleen has increased JJ’s food intake to get a little extra weight on him as he grows.
JJ is doing great in class. Colleen is still driving us to class as JJ is not yet ready to travel in the back seat by himself. I was able to get him to the vet a week ago by himself, but that is a five-minute drive down the street. Class is 20 minutes away on a busier road. Eventually, he will be able to hang out in the backseat by himself. For now, I just gently hold on to his leash and let him do what he wants to do, correcting him if he tries to jump into the front by Colleen. He hasn’t really attempted to do that.
Separation anxiety can be a big thing with this breed. They are pack-driven and don’t like it when they are away from their pack. You can’t really change that about them – but you can mold their behavior. If they have to be in a crate for part of the day, you have to make it a happy place. One way to do that is by putting them in their crate when you are home, and consistently walking into the room to give them a treat, or a hug or whatever works. Let them know that the crate is where the happiness is. Eventually, leaving the house for a few hours or more won’t seem like such a big deal to them.
JJ is the most active dog of the four dogs we have owned since moving in together. It can be challenging at times to keep up with him, but that is part of what makes the process fun.