FEEDING
Your puppy
has been feeding on Royal Canin Maxi Starter. Your puppy is used to food four
times a day at around 0800, 1230, 1700 and 2200. You need to soak the food and
allow it to soften before serving. As the puppy approaches 12 weeks of age,
gradually soak less and less. The quantity to feed increases each week as
follows:
7 weeks 240g
per day 4
months 370g
per day
2 months 265g
per day 5
months 395g
per day
3 months 325g
per day 6
months 440g
per day
As your supply
of Maxi Starter starts to run low, you can start to change your puppy on to Golden
Retriever Junior or Maxi Junior. www.pet-supermarket.co.uk
stocks this and many other brands of dog food, though some brands are inferior
to Royal Canin and more likely to cause tummy upsets and/or food refusal.
If you want
to change to a different brand, you should do this gradually so as not to upset
the puppy’s delicate digestion.
Days 1 and
2 75%
current food and 25% of new food
Days 3 and
4 50%
current food and 50% of new food
Days 5 and
6 25%
current food and 75% new food
Days 7 and
after 100%
new food
You will
receive a small supply of Maxi Starter to ensure continuity as the puppy
arrives in its new home and, if ordered, a big bag for feeding as above.
Goldens
love their food and are unlikely to refuse it unless very tired. If you feed
your puppy scraps or training treats, remember to reduce its intake of regular
food. Take care not to leave other food lying around in places that it can
reach.
If your
puppy has loose bowel movements, feed boiled rice until they become normal.
Whatever
you feed your puppy, ensure it has access to fresh clean drinking water
throughout the day. Use filtered water if available as dogs do not like the
faint smell of the chlorine that water companies add in many areas. For an
occasional treat, you can give your puppy goat’s milk or rice milk to
drink. Do not give cow’s milk.
Aim for an
adult weight of 28-32 kg for a bitch and 32-36 kg for a dog. Your puppy should
reach half of adult weight at 5-6 months. You should be able to feel its ribs
but not see them.
INOCULATIONS
Take your
puppy to your vet for a full check over and for its first inoculation. Your vet
will advise you when to go back for the second inoculation. Complete these and
wait for them to have taken effect before exposing your puppy to places other
dogs have been. Carry your puppy in your arms or in a crate when you take it
for its inoculations or if you take it out for socialisation or any other
reason during this period.
WORMING
Your puppy
has had treatment with Drontal puppy paste at 4 and 6 weeks. Give worm
treatment again at 12 and 16 weeks and thereafter in accordance with your
vet’s advice. The most effective worm treatments are only available from
a vet.
FLEA
TREATMENT
Discuss
flea treatment with your vet. Prevention is invariably better than cure.
OTHER
HEALTH MATTERS
If your
puppy is sick once or refuses one meal, it has probably eaten some grass or
other indigestible substance. This type of problem usually resolves itself
quickly. If the dog has persistent sickness or diarrhoea, consult your vet.
Take your puppy to the vet immediately if it produces anything blood stained
from either end.
MICROCHIPPING
A microchip
or other form of permanent identification for your puppy is useful at
maximising its safe return should you lose it. The Welsh Assembly government and
the Kennel Club are both considering whether to make microchipping compulsory. Opinions
vary about the best time to microchip – consult your vet when you take
your puppy for its first inoculation.
TOILETING
Your puppy
will be in the habit of going on an area of newspaper or padding and probably
on grass. A young puppy has only limited ability to hold on and you will need
to take it out frequently (most books say every hour) to reduce the risk of
accidents. Your puppy is most likely to want to go after waking up, eating or a
period confined in a pen or crate. At such times, take your puppy quickly to
the place where you want the puppy to relieve itself. Praise it when it does
the right thing. You might like to use a small food reward and add a word of
command such as ‘busy’ as well. A puppy learns by habit; it will
return to where it can smell that it has been before. For accidents inside your
home, use a specially designed cleaning fluid. Ordinary cleaning fluids will
leave the tell tale smell behind. By about 5 months, the puppy will have good
control over its bodily functions and you can train it to have its bowel
movements while out exercising.
A human
night of 8 hours or so is a long time for a puppy to hold on and it will take a
while for the puppy to be dry at night. Unless the puppy sleeps outside, or you
wish to get up in the middle of the night, allow it access at night to suitable
material, such as newspaper or training pad.
Whenever
and wherever your puppy has a bowel movement, clean up after it. Nappy bags and
baby wipes are useful for this purpose. Having grown used to seeing its mother
or the breeder clean up, your puppy may take the job upon itself if nobody else
seems to be doing so – this can be a difficult habit to break once it
starts. In public places, irresponsible dog owners who fail to clear up give
the anti-dog lobby ammunition and in many places risk a hefty fine.
EXERCISING
A young
puppy needs plenty of activity but does not need lengthy walks. Too much
exercise at an early age can lead to mobility problems because the
puppy’s muscles and bones are not fully developed. Although an adult
golden will enjoy 90 minutes or more of walking a day, you need to build up
gradually to this. For the third and fourth months of a puppy’s life
going out should be more for socialising than for exercise. Avoid exercising
your dog soon after feeding whatever its age.
Many
goldens are as keen on or keener on swimming than walking. Start somewhere that
there is little current and you would be willing to go in to get your puppy out
if need be.
SOCIALISATION
So long as
the experience is positive, puppies find new situations and new friends exciting.
While with the breeder, yours will have met many people, prospective buyers as
well as friends and family of the breeder. However, it is unlikely that it has
seen everyday outdoor things that a human would take for granted or have gone
in a car. Under close supervision, introduce the puppy to the people, animals,
objects and situations that it is likely to meet during its life. Until the end
of the initial vaccinations, you should carry the puppy if you socialise it
outside. You have no need to wait to introduce the puppy to people and objects
in and around the house – the postman, the vacuum cleaner, the television
and so on.
Puppies
quickly learn that people like to make a fuss of them and that some have treats
in their pockets. You will need to play a more active part in deciding which
dogs to let your puppy meet. A dog of the gundog group walking off lead with a
young family is usually a safe bet for friendly dog with a good temperament.
Your puppy will have learnt a lot of canine body language from interactions
with its littermates and should know the difference between play and something
else. Dogs most naturally play with dogs of a similar age and temperament.
PACK
MEMBERSHIP AND LEADERSHIP
Dogs are
pack animals and as such need to feel part of a pack and to know their place in
the pack. Up until leaving the breeder, your puppy will have its littermates
and mother as playmates and companions. You will need to take over these roles,
giving it company and affection as well as involving it in your activities to
help it to feel part of a pack.
Your puppy
will be used to sleeping with its littermates and may take a few days to get
used to sleeping alone. Decide where you want the puppy to sleep and stick to
it. After a few days, you should find that any whining ceases. It may help to
settle the puppy to place an object with a familiar smell, such as a blanket or
toy that has been in with the litter, in its sleeping quarters.
The
dog’s position in the pack needs to come below that of all the humans in
your home. The extent to which you need to establish dominance varies from one
dog to another. A puppy is used to being below that of adult dogs and of the
breeder; it will readily accept your leadership so long as you act like a
leader.
Wherever
possible you should eat (or at least start to eat) before your puppy eats.
Between meals only feed the puppy as a reward for doing something for you.
Keep the
dog off chairs, staircases and other places that would put it physically above
you.
When walking
through a doorway go through before allowing your puppy to do so.
Make sure
that you look after the most interesting toys, putting them out of the
puppy’s reach once the game is over.
Groom your
puppy regularly. You will need to groom the puppy in any event to keep the coat
in good condition and to make sure there is nothing caught. A comb often works
well for a golden’s coat but some prefer to use a brush.
NEUTERING – PROS AND
CONS – BEST TIMING
Most golden breeders in the
For dogs and bitches, the
obvious benefit to neutering is the peace of mind that you and your dog cannot
produce any unwanted puppies – unless you are very lucky, an accidental
mating will produce crossbreed puppies, for which there is little demand.
For females, there are
health and practical benefits to spaying. She is far less likely to develop
mammary tumours (breast cancer) and she will not get uterine infections, some
of which (pyometra) can be life threatening. You will also not need to take
special precautions from to protect her from accidental mating when she is in
season.
For male dogs, net health
benefits are non-existent. Although you exclude the risk of testicular cancer,
neutering can increase the risk of other more common types of cancer, such as
bone cancer. As with females, neutering increases the risk of obesity,
increasing the risk of a variety of health problems. The main benefits are
behavioural. He will be less likely to indulge in scent marking, humping and
wandering off in search of a mate. In addition, other males are less likely to
be aggressive towards him.
For sure, neutering is not
right for all. We need to have some entire animals to keep the population
going. You will not be able to show your dog if you neuter. Your dog’s
coat will not be quite as neat and shiny after the operation as before.
Neutered dogs are more prone to becoming overweight, which means you will need
to pay extra attention to correct exercise and feeding for maintaining the dog
at a healthy weight.
While neutering may be right
for your dog, you should take care to do it at the right time, when fully
grown. Premature neutering can retard its physical and emotional development.
For a male, you should wait until after he has been cocking his leg for a
month. For a female, you should wait until she has had her first season and
things have returned to normal, which takes 2-3 months. Neutering a female
before her first season greatly increases the chance of incontinence. During
her first season, you should ensure she does not leave her scent near your
property or wander off looking for a mate. This means taking her for a drive
before a walk (carrying her to the car if you have to park on the road) and keeping
her on a lead whilst out on exercise. When you are not with her, ensure you
leave her in a secure place. In judging what is secure, think not only of
whether she can escape but also of whether an athletic dog like a collie might
get to her. If you do not think you could cope with looking after a bitch for
one season, you should seriously consider getting a male or an adult female
rather than a bitch puppy.
If you decide to keep your
dog entire, you will need to establish a higher degree of control and maintain
a higher level of vigilance than would be the case if you neuter. While most
breeders do not want see all their puppies neutered, they do want to ensure
that those who keep their dogs entire are aware of the extra responsibilities
involved.
For further information,
please see http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongTermHealthEffectsOfSpayNeuterInDogs.pdf
CHILDREN
The innate
innocence and playfulness of children and puppies give them a natural affinity
to each other. To start with, though, you must carefully supervise all meetings
of your puppy with young children. If left alone, the child might play too
roughly or in some other unsuitable manner. Although goldens have a very good
temperament, even they have their limits. The child might also feed the puppy
something toxic or give it a choking hazard. Only when you are confident of how
the child and puppy will interact with each other should you allow them time alone.
Puppies and
older dogs need their rest; teach any children in your home to respect the
puppy’s need not be disturbed.
TRAINING
The
intelligence of the golden and its great love of food incline it to respond
well to reward based training. It is a good idea to take your puppy to dog
training classes even if you have owned a dog before. A training class gives
great opportunities for socialisation and an expert trainer there can help you
to give the right praise, rewards and corrections to your puppy. This will give
you a local point of contact for any training issues that may arise and ensure
that your dog can behave itself even with the distraction of other dogs. The
time you investing in training should repay itself many times over. Some clubs
train for the Kennel Club Good Citizen Scheme awards and this gives you a great
way to prove and record what you have achieved with your dog. If you do not
know where to find a training class, ask your vet or other local dog owners or
search via the internet.
If you
train your dog to obey only a few commands, three are particularly important.
The first is of the no/leave/off variety. You need to be able to stop your dog
from doing something it should not be doing. The second is to walk on a lead.
In many places, it is unsafe and unlawful to walk your dog without a lead. The
third is to come back when called. A dog that you can allow to run free knowing
it will return will have a much happier life and give you a much better time as
well. If you walk for a mile with the dog on the lead, the dog will walk for
the same distance and over the same ground. With the same walk but the dog off
lead, the dog may well walk two miles, greet some doggie friends, chase a
rabbit or two and sniff all sorts of interesting smells just off the path.
Another
benefit of reward-based training is that the puppy quickly learns that your
hands are for giving it treats rather than for chewing. If your puppy does chew
your hands, a high pitched ‘ow’ usually works better than other corrections.
Puppies do like to chew and whenever your puppy chews the wrong thing, take the
object away and replace it with a suitable object. If you need to leave your
puppy alone for any great length of time, make sure you leave it with suitable
toys and chewable objects. Some human toys are suitable but many will not
withstand the rigours of a puppy’s teeth. Your local pet shop should have
a selection of chewable and other toys while internet shops have a vast array
of such items. Rawhide chews you should give only under supervision.
There are
plenty of good books on dog training available. The Perfect Puppy by Gwen Bailey and The Complete Dog Training Manual by Bruce Fogle I have read and can
recommend.
FURTHER
INFORMATION
If you have
any other queries that you think I rather than a dog trainer or vet is best
placed to answer then please feel free to contact me.
Telephone
01656 771092 yorkbeach@tiscali.co.uk
Further
info on puppy and along with dog
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