Grooming A Golden Retriever - Not A Chore But A Perfect Opportunity To Bond With Your Dog

Golden Retrievers are a naturally beautiful breed of dogs, but that doesn't mean they don't need to be groomed. You have two choices for grooming a Golden Retriever: either go to a professional groomer or do it yourself. You might be a bit reluctant about doing the grooming yourself if this is the first dog you've ever owned. Most things you do for the first time, no matter what they are, can be a bit tricky. After doing something once, however, the task usually gets easier. Golden Retriever grooming works the same way.

You could always take your Golden to a professional groomer, but you'd be missing out on a great opportunity to bond with your pet. So, give grooming your dog yourself a try if you can. After you've done it a few times, you'll both enjoy your future grooming sessions because you'll be spending quality time together. And, it certainly beats watching all the negative news on TV!

Use a soft, gentle voice to talk to your dog while you're grooming, because it can calm and relax him. He'll come to look forward to your future grooming sessions together.

Brushing

Brush your Golden Retriever at least once or twice a week. He should be brushed at least that often because Golden Retrievers shed, and a weekly brushing can help keep his hair off your clothes. More importantly, you'll also want to brush him regularly in order to keep his beautiful golden coat gleaming and free of tangles and mats. However, the most important reason to brush him weekly is because it will help keep his skin and coat healthy by stimulating blood circulation.

Bathing

Golden Retrievers love water and they certainly love to swim. In fact, many of these dogs will jump into every pond or puddle they can. It might be a bit different, though, when you want to give your Golden a bath. He won't be afraid of the water itself, but he might be put off or even frightened by the bathtub, especially if it's his first bath. You can help him accept being in the tub by first putting him inside without adding any water. While he's inside the tub, give him a few treats and soothe him by praising him in a soft and gentle voice. Bring him out of the tub after a few minutes and give him plenty of treats and praise. Once he's used to the tub, add enough lukewarm water to get his feet wet. Repeat the process every day until he feels comfortable being inside the bathtub. After you're sure he's comfortable, you can start spraying his body with lukewarm water. Once again, praise and give your dog some treats. He's ready for his first bath when you're certain he's used to standing and being sprayed in the tub.

Nail Trimming

The most helpful thing you can do when you're trimming your Golden Retriever's nails is making sure he remains calm and still. It's essential to stop trimming before you reach the nail's "quick" - the black or reddish line running up the center of each nail. The quick is the living portion of the nail and if you cut into it, your dog will start bleeding and feel severe pain. Unfortunately, accidents do happen, and if you cut into the quick you can apply styptic powder or cornstarch to stop the bleeding.

Cleaning the Ears

You should also clean your Golden Retriever's ears on a regular basis. Because the ear canal stays moist, it can provide an environment where yeast and bacteria thrive. Ear mites and dirt can also get into your dog's ears, so you should check and clean them at least once every week.

These are the basic things that should be part of your grooming sessions. You can do some online research to learn even more about grooming a Golden Retriever.

Best Dogs for Children

In this fast-paced era where ever-busy parents find it really difficult to spend lot of time with children and entertain them, pets are great companions who can keep your child engaged tirelessly for long hours. Pets teach children about compassion toward other being.

Dogs have been domesticated for centuries together; hence many breeds are quite friendly with humans. However, parents should be careful while choosing the breed depending upon the age of the children. For example, large dog breeds like Mastiff or Great Dane are not suitable if you have infants or very small children at home. Similarly, very small breeds like Shitzu, Pekinese or Chihuahuas may find it difficult to cope up with hyperactive kids.

Some of the recommended dog breeds are as follows:

• Collies are suitable for almost all age groups. They are friendly and can be groomed easily.
• Golden retrievers are very gentle with children and are tolerant to all their naughty antics.
• Beagles are one of the most social breeds but they do not like to be disturbed when they have their food.
• Poodles are loving, loyal and trustworthy breeds as long as they are not mishandled.
• Newfoundland breed is suitable for children regardless of their age. These dogs are tolerant and protective about their owners.
• St. Bernard is advisable for older children due to its large size. However, they are gentle and extremely protective if well trained.
• Basset Hounds are gentle dogs who get along really well with children who know how to handle them well.

Golden Retriever Puppy Biting

We all know how cute puppies are, especially these ones. However, we are all guilty of mistaking them biting us as cuteness. Many owners don't realise that this so called 'harmless behaviour' can lead to aggressive and dominant behaviour in adulthood. You must therefore, ensure that you get rid of your puppy biting issue immediately.

Most Golden Retriever puppies learn to stop biting very early on as their brothers and sisters will bite them back. This usually happens around about 8 weeks old. If the biting doesn't stop after this point then it can become very troublesome to stop them biting...

Golden Retriever Puppy Biting Problems: Young and Naive

It is imperative that you act quickly and decisively as soon as you notice your Golden Retriever puppy biting problem If you have just got your pup and it is younger than 8 weeks old then at once is the time to act.

To begin, please don't hit your puppy when it bites you. This can sometimes be a major reason why they develop aggression problems in later life.

The best way to stop your Golden Retriever puppy biting is to address the cause issue. To stop your Golden Retriever puppy biting use the 'stick and carrot' method. The basic model of this is to reinforce and reward good behaviour and discourage bad behaviour. This doesn't insinuate punishing them!

Avoid any form of physical games with your puppy as this will encourage aggressive behaviour.The main aim is to be consistent in your actions. Please don't send mixed signals to your puppy such as encouraging rough games one week and not the next. This is because it can confuse them, and can lead to aggression in later life.

Golden Retriever Puppy Biting Problems: Education

Another great way to stop your Golden Retriever puppy biting is to begin some form of obedience training. The obedience classes are great because the trainers are experts at handling biting problems

By also enrolling on socialization classes your dog will become much more socialized. This also helps to decrease violence and worry problems.

Redirecting any biting behaviour is vitally important when trying to discourage biting.If you give them a chew toy instead of your finger then they will associate the chew toy with biting, not your finger.

You can teach your dog that biting is unacceptable by simply displaying pain whenever you are bit. This shows that biting is painful, and instantly discourages it.

By far the best time to train your dog that biting is unacceptable is when they are young. You can eliminate the biting problem within a few months if you start it early enough. This will cause much less stress in later life as it can grow to be much more difficult, although not impossible as the dog gets grown-up and develops habits.

Characteristics Of A Golden Retriever

The Golden Retriever is an exceptionally beautiful large and highly energetic dog. It is also known as one of the world's best family dog breeds. They do well as bird hunting dogs as well as serve as police helpers, a guide for the visually impaired, therapy do and assist as a service dog for the disabled.

These dogs are one of the friendliest and most useful dogs in the world due to their desire and eagerness to please as well as their capacity to love and trainability. They have also been ranked as 4 out of 79 recognized breeds for their working intelligence and obedience. Golden Retrievers are quite calm as well as responsive and affectionate, although they don't make outstanding watch dogs due to their over trusting nature and lack of suspicion of strangers.

They are quite difficult to match against any other breed in the world, which is why they are such a popular pet.

Their general appearance is beautiful, strong, well proportioned body. Their coat is medium in length with a feathery feel; they are generally cream to golden in color, with part of their coat water resistant. They have a strong broad shaped head and a powerful muzzle. Soft brown eyes with dark rims and pendant shaped ears, their muscular neck and thighs as well as broad chest map out their characteristic physic.

Golden Retrievers are such well behaved, lovable, intelligent pets with a lot of charm. They are loyal and quite confident, gentle and eager to please their owners. Although they are very active they do make the ideal family pet. They enjoy spending time with people and love training as a chance to spend more time with you and have excelled in many obedience competitions.

They are happiest when they around people but if isolated they may become mischievous and can cause a bit of chaos by tearing up things around the house. But they do make tremendous companions for people of all ages and are the easiest dog to train. They are very people orientated and will enjoy spending time with someone everyday.

Ideally, Golden Retrievers need regular exercises and prefer large backyards to play and move about it. They love playing games with balls, and sticks so really, exercise for them should be fairly easy. Without adequate exercise they can become difficult in their behavior within the home.

While they are easily trained and exceptionally patient and gentle with children, supervision is a must with a young child due to the dog's uncontrollable excitement can bump young children over without meaning too. They are friendly to anyone they meet including other dogs and family pets but have limited guard dog instincts, although will bark as a form of greeting that is sometimes intimidating.

Although like other dogs they have their fair share of health issues from hip dysplasia and cataract opacity they do generally live a fairly good life span of about 14 years. With a healthy diet and exercise they will live a fulfilling life when spending time with their family, they will give many years of companionship.

Lea Mullins, a long time dog owner, provides information on characteristics of a Golden Retriever. Visit TrainPetDog.com to learn about dog breeds.

Golden Retriever Physical Characteristics - What You Should Know About His Height, Head and Eyes

The standard Golden is a medium sized dog. Measuring a dog's height is done by using a yardstick and a flat surface, for example, a sheet of cardboard that is gently placed at the flat area where the neck and back meet. A Golden's height may vary an inch over or under and remain within the standard. The Golden should be slightly longer in body than height. The weight recommendations are meant for dogs of proper height that are in working condition.

Obviously, an overweight dog will not fall within these weights. The tendency for Goldens to be larger than the standard allows is due to certain trends over the years; a moderate sized Golden is more suitable for the various jobs it performs and will be subject to fewer soundness problems.

The way the head is proportioned and the facial expressions define the Golden Retriever. The stop is the area between the eyes from the top of the head to the beginning of the muzzle or nose.

There should be a definite difference in these two planes. A dog with no stop has only a slope from the head to muzzle as opposed to an angle that indicates depth. The muzzle should taper slightly to the tip of the nose, but it should not be pointed.

The eyes are the single most important physical characteristic of the Golden. The eyes mirror the dog's personality and character, which are what make a Golden what she is, intelligent, trusting and fun loving.

The eye abnormalities mentioned above need to be diagnosed by a veterinarian. Adult make Golden Retrievers are usually 23 to 24 inches tall, with females coming in at about 1-1/2 to 2 inches shorter.

The eyes are his most important physical characteristics, they reveal a lot about his personality.

Golden Retriever Dog Grooming - What You Should Know About Caring For His Ears and Teeth

As a breed, Golden Retrievers require a minimum amount of regular grooming to remain clean and attractive. A little brushing, an occasional bath and a bit of trimming pretty much cover the needs of a Golden.

Grooming should begin while a dog is a puppy and should become routine. Some breeders clip puppy nails weekly until they go to their new homes. This teaches the puppy to accept having his nails clipped.

Some breeders also use a fine toothed comb daily to remove dirt from the coats. Mouths and baby teeth are checked to see how bites are developing, and ears are observed for cleanliness.

All of these preliminary steps taken by the breeder will help make grooming easier for the new owner as long as the process is continued.

Your Golden's ears will need weekly cleaning. Even if they do not appear dirty, frequent care will prevent ear problems. Ear cleaning solutions are available in pet stores. Place several drops in each ear and massage the ear for half a minute.

This way the solution can penetrate the greasy dirt. Let the dog shake his head to loosen the dirt. To actually remove the dirt, use cotton swabs or cotton balls. Clean the exterior areas of the inside of the ear, getting into the nooks and crannies of the outer ear.

A need for more frequent cleanings may require veterinary attention. We rarely think about the cleanliness of our dog's teeth, leaving that to the natural cleansing action of chewing.

However, dogs develop gum disease and tooth degeneration just like humans. We can help counter this progression by brushing the teeth regularly. Canine tooth paste and tooth brushes are available and can be used daily.

What You Should Know About Golden Retriever Breed Standard and the American Kennel Club

What is a breed standard? A breed standard, a detailed description of an individual breed, is meant to portray the ideal specimen of that breed. This includes ideal structure, temperament, gait and type, all aspects of the dog.
Because the standard describes an ideal specimen, it is not based on any particular dog. It is a concept against which judges compare actual dogs and breeders strive to produce dogs. Ata dog show, the dog that wins is the one that comes closest, in the judge's opinion, to the standard for her breed.

The overall appearance of the Golden Retriever is described in the breed's official American Kennel Club breed standard, which was revised and adopted in 1982. The Golden should be an athletic dog whose overall attitude is as much a part of her being as any physical components.

It is important to keep in mind when reading the standard and trying to match one's own Golden to it that the standard describes an ideal Golden, and some sections are geared toward a show interpretation.

The American Kennel Club familiarly referred to as the AKC, it is a nonprofit organization devoted to the advancement of purebred dogs. The AKC maintains a registry of recognized breeds and adopts and enforces rules for the dog events including shows, obedience trials, field trials, hunting tests, lure coursing, herding, earth dog trials, agility and the Canine Good Citizen Program.

It is a club of clubs, established in 1884 and composed, today, of over 500 autonomous dog clubs throughout the United States. Each club is represented by a delegate; the delegates make up the legislative body of the AKC, voting on rules and electing directors.

The American Kennel Club maintains the Stud Book, the record of every dog ever registered with the AKC, and publishers a variety of materials on purebred dogs, including a monthly magazine, books and numerous educational pamphlets.

Golden Retriever

Description :
The Golden Retriever is a beautiful, sturdy, well-proportioned dog with a feathered, medium-length, cream to golden-colored coat. (The coat is not suppose to be red.) The outer coat is water-repellent and the undercoat is dense. The head is broad, with a tapering, but wide, powerful muzzle. It has a scissors bite and a clear frontal stop. The nose is black and the kindly eyes are brown with dark rims. The ears are medium-sized and pendant. Its neck and thighs are muscular and the chest is broad. The tail is long, but never curled.

Temperament :
These are lovable, well-mannered, intelligent dogs with a great charm. They are easily trained, and always patient and gentle with children. Loyal, confident, sweet and eager to please. It is active, loving and an outstanding family dog. Golden Retrievers enjoy pleasing their masters, so obedience training can be fun. They excel in obedience competitions. Friendly with everyone, including other dogs, the Golden Retriever has very little, if any, guarding instincts. While unlikely to attack, Goldens make good watchdogs, loudly signaling a stranger's approach. This breed needs to be around people who display leadership to be happy. The Golden Retriever may become mischievous and/or high-strung, over-exuberant and distractible if he is lacking in daily mental and physical exercise. Be sure to remain this dogs firm, but calm, confident, consistent pack leader to avoid behavioral issues. Some of the Golden's talents are hunting, tracking, retrieving, narcotics detection, agility, competitive obedience, and performing tricks. These dogs also love to swim.

Height :
Dogs 22-24 inches (56-61cm.) Bitches 20-22 inches (51-56cm.)

Weight :
Dogs 60-80 pounds (27-36kg.) Bitches 55-70 pounds (25-32kg.)

Health problems :
Prone to hip dysplasia and congenital eye defects. OFA and CERF certification are important from both parents. Parents should also be checked for Von Willebrand's disease and heart problems. Skin allergies are common in Golden Retrievers and require immediate veterinary attention.

Living condition :
This breed will do okay in an apartment if sufficiently exercised. They are moderately active indoors and will do best with at least a medium to large yard.

Exercises :
The Golden Retriever needs to be taken on a daily, brisk, long walk, jog or run alongside you when you bicycle. In addition, they like to retrieve balls and other toys. Be sure to exercise this dog well and do not overfeed, as he tends to put on weight.

Life expectancy :
About 10-12 years

Grooming :
The smooth, medium-haired double coat is easy to groom. Comb and brush with a firm bristle brush, paying particular attention to the dense undercoat. Dry shampoo regularly, but bathe only when necessary. This breed is an average shedder.

Origin :
The Golden Retriever was first developed in the British Isles, probably from crosses between a yellow Flat-Coated Retriever, light-coated Tweed Water Spaniels, other spaniels, setters and even the Newfoundland and possibly the Bloodhound. In fact the breed was first shown as a Golden Flat-Coat. The Golden is one of the world's foremost family companion dogs. Many of the top obedience competition dogs in the country are Golden retrievers. The Golden is also a fine bird dog on both land and in the water. He has an excellent nose and has been used not only for hunting and tracking, but also for narcotics detection. Because of his great desire to please and capacity for love and learning, the Golden Retriever is also used as a guide for the blind, therapy dog, and service dog for the disabled.

The Goldendoodles

Goldendoodles are a cross between the AKC’s 4th and 5th most popular dogs, Golden Retrievers and Poodles. Bred to be larger than a Cockapoo, the Goldendoodle is a friendly, intelligent dog.

Height :
20-24 inches (51-62 cm)

Weight :
45-75 pounds (21-34 kg)

Like the Labradoodle, the Goldendoodle is low shedding and generally hypo-allergenic. As of this time, Goldendoodles are not recognized as a breed and most of them are first generation.