Even though they're called golden retrievers, not all goldens have a yellow-gold coat. They can range from a very light, snowy white, to a yellow-gold, to a dark, coppery red. No matter the color of their coat, however, it's important to never cut your golden retriever's hair—doing so can put her at risk of skin cancer, among other health issues. Their coats are made up of two layers—the long, silky, waterproof outercoat and soft, warming undercoat—and act as insulators against all types of weather.
So, if you think to trim your golden's coat in the summer to keep it cool, think again! It'll be much cooler and its skin will be protected from the sun with its coat intact. As members of the Sporting Group, golden retrievers need lots of exercise—every single day. Bred to fetch waterfowl, golden retrievers love a good swim session but would be just as happy with long walks, games of fetch, or even agility games.
Aim for about one hour of exercise each day, but keep your dog's age and activity levels in mind—you may have to adjust accordingly.
Because golden retrievers were bred as working dogs so they love to have a job! If taken to a rescue site, for example, they can quickly learn how to perform search and rescues to help those in need. In addition to their smarts, golden retrievers' downright sweet demeanors make them the perfect pick for therapy dogs. They can bring a lot of comforts—and joy—to people who have experienced traumatic events, are living in hospitals, or are stressed out during college exams.
If you've ever owned a golden retriever—or have just eaten a meal near one—you know how much they love to eat. Their love of food can cause health problems like obesity , diabetes, and cardiovascular disease , so it's important to feed your golden the right amount of food for her weight, age, and activity level.
Not sure how much is right for your dog? Talk to your vet about a healthy diet. And take it easy on the treats! It's true that goldens love to eat, but they like to carry non-food items in their mouths, too.
Their mouthy nature makes everyday stuff such as sticks, shoes, or even the remote control a highly prized possession. Because golden retrievers have very gentle mouths, challenges such as the golden retriever egg challenge—in which a golden is tasked with holding an uncooked egg in its mouth without breaking it—have popped up all over the web. Because golden retrievers are so eager to please their puppy parents, they're one of the easier breeds to train—which makes them perfect for the silver screen.
Nearing 18 months and close to 24 months, the rebellious behavior diminishes. Expect bitches to experience one to two heats. Between months — in true teenager style — they will require adjustments to their caloric intake based on their continued growth and exercise patterns. Goldens are athletes and must be kept trim their entire lives. Adult bitches should weigh pounds; males, pounds.
Basic brushing and combing is a must to keep your dog neat and tidy. Trimming excess hair around the ears, feet, underline and tail reduces tangles, burrs, and the amount of dirt and mud it collects. Keeping nails short reduces injuries and malformities. While this should be a well-engrained protocol by now. Working together becomes fun and enjoyable. By two years, the breed has usually finished growing, although males may take another year to put the finishing touches on their physical maturity, especially head development.
This is around the time you should transition to an adult Golden Retriever dog food. Maintaining breed standard weight may be tricky because of the caloric needs of adolescent energy.
They may require more calories, but just as they are peaking with the need for more calories, their metabolism changes especially after sterilization and weight management becomes a challenge. Exercise demands continue to be high for this Olympic athlete. The personality and traits of the dog come into full bloom now, which may have gone underground during the previous stage. This is when the physical and emotional development reaches full completion and for the owner to seize the moment and build on the strong team training and foundation.
By now, it should be well acclimated to nail trimming, teeth and ear cleaning, shampooing, bathing and drying, and coat trimming. The Golden Girls trim nails weekly. I took the hemostat and pinched the umbilical cord about 2 inches from the base of the pups belly then cut the cord rather than let Raven chew it off.
I kept the hemostat on the cord for about 2 minutes to let it clout. The umbilical cord dries up quickly and then within a day or 2 it falls off. Raven was a good mama and took care of her poops. Puppy eyes and ears are closed at this stage and puppies army crawl around the whelping box looking for a teat to suckle. We did everything we could to make sure our pups stayed warm by adding a watt heat lamp to the whelping box and portable heating unit in the puppy room.
As I mentioned Raven stayed in the whelping box most of week 1 and of course… the puppy piles! So week 1 of our series on Golden Retriever pups is in the books! Check out our other Golden Retriever puppy growth week by week blog posts:. Have you ever had a litter of Golden Retriever puppies?
Are you about to raise a litter of puppies? Not raising a litter, but getting ready to bring home your first Golden Retriever puppy?
Puppies for Dummies will give you the basics on how to raise and train your new puppy. Check out more of our favorites on our New Puppy Checklist. Colby Morita has been raising and training guide and service dog puppies for over 13 years.
Colby has been writing to the PuppyInTraining. Here we are again looking at pictures…. Do you remember last years story about…. Time to get proactive for next years…. I was just going back through my…. We are seriously considering breeding Poppy and have a suitable fella named Phoenix.
My concern is the actual conception process. Do you have some insight or information you could share? Does the size of the female Poppy is petite effect the litter size? My job as a breeder keeper is to take care of the litter. We are partnered with a breeder that updates all health certifications, chooses studs, and handles the insemination. When I worked in rescue I had a Chihuahua mix litter that had only 1 puppy.
I also had a German Shepherd mix litter with 7 puppies. She has 8 healthy pups, 4 males and 4 females. I have been weighing them every week since they were born April 13, Week No.
They would not be telling a lie, as the definition of purebred is simply that both parents are the same dog breed.
Additionally, you have no health record for your pup from before his birth. The health issues are certainly passed down through canine DNA! Aside from not knowing if any health problems are inherent for your puppy, a pedigree is only essential if you plan to make your dog a show-dog, or if you plan on one day breeding your dog to sell purebred puppies.
However, one quality that they will share is that they are single-colored. This color distinction is often attributed to separating the American Golden Retriever and the English Golden Retriever. A cream-colored Golden Retriever is often slimmer in physique, with a greater variance between the male and female of the breed.
The color is not rare, and the range is wide for variation of the cream color, but again, the dog will be all one color. Additionally, his body will be more compact and streamlined. Rather, it is an extremely pale variation of the cream-color. A Golden Retriever puppy who appears to be pure white will exhibit tinges of cream or gold as the puppy matures. Each year in the United States alone, more than , dogs are euthanized annually for the simple reason of not being wanted!
For this reason, please consider a shelter puppy or a rescue puppy. There are two ways to observe your potential puppy. Is he the bully or is he being bullied? Is he playing socializing with the other dogs, or keeping to himself, away from the fray? Is he skittish or friendly? Full of lively energy or mellow? It does seem like the puppy is selecting his human in much the same way we select a puppy! While being vigilant in observing your potential puppy, there are some other things you should be on the look-out for, as well.
Do Some Research: In these days of instant information, there is no excuse to skip doing the research on any pet shop or breeder you are contemplating!
Read the reviews from people who bought their puppies there. Read the complaints, and take note of how the pet shop or breeder handled the concerns or complaints.
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