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Mid-life Crisis

11K views 71 replies 30 participants last post by  julianne85 
#1 ·
Some people get a little red car, we got a golden retriever. As our children grow (3 sons) we realized that the time to get a stick chasing, ball retrieving, hike in the woods, best friend dog was now. We have two older papillons that we love, but are not the play with me type of dog. I am Brian and the pup is Pippin. Pippin was born on January 17, 2016. He is our first golden retriever and our first big dog. Thanks for all of the information. I look forward to learning much.
 

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#4 ·
Hi and welcome to the forum, Pippin is absolutely gorgeous!.
 
#6 ·
Your post cracked me up - the mid life crisis pup ;) Pippin is precious and I'm sure you all are having a blast with him... Great shot of puppy and son (that would be in a frame on my wall), are they just crazy about him?

Glad you found the forum, it's a wonderful resource. Not much you could come up with that hasn't been covered here at some point. I've learned so much here about dog behavior and training and met some great people, I hope you enjoy it as well.

BTW, have you enrolled your puppy in obedience classes yet? If you haven't had a chance, it's not too early to find a good dog training club and get signed up. Pippin will be the star of the class with daily practice and you will end up with the big dog of your dreams :) Also, check out youtube "kikopup" is a trainer who has tons of videos teaching skills that will put your puppy on track to be a well behaved family member and your kids can get involved with teaching him things too. Golden puppies are super smart and mental work is just as important as physical exercise in making him happy and healthy.
 
#9 ·
Welcome and congratulations.
What a fabulous decision you made! Your post gave me goosebumps as the best thing I ever did was get our first Golden who my children grew up with but who was especially close to my son. A boy and his dog, or a dog and his boy, there's little that compares to a bond like that. :)
 
#12 ·
Down to the Lake

We took a short hike down to the lake to celebrate Pippin's 12 week birthday today. He is fearless and loves the water.

The boys love him. He is going through that landshark phase. A tired puppy is a good puppy. He loves them, too.
 

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#14 ·
I have taken 5 previous dogs through obedience training. We are working on the basics on our own until we have a full immunization built up. I am working with the methods from the Monks of New Skete. When would you suggest what kind of obedience class? What should I look for? I was hoping to begin something more formal with the summer (as I am an elementary school teacher). Suggestions? Thanks.
 
#31 ·
Welcome! Sounds like Pippin and your family are a perfect match. You will love him more everyday.

I have taken 5 previous dogs through obedience training. We are working on the basics on our own until we have a full immunization built up. I am working with the methods from the Monks of New Skete. When would you suggest what kind of obedience class? What should I look for? I was hoping to begin something more formal with the summer (as I am an elementary school teacher). Suggestions? Thanks.
I loved the Monks, too, for the understanding of how dogs learn. It applied to so much and helped me figure out how to teach things more effectively. The one thing I did, though, was totally ignore some of their methods - like grabbing the pup by the scruff. There were methods I found were too harsh for a soft Golden. Maybe they worked well with their German Shepherd dogs, but I just brushed by them for my pups. :)
 
#15 ·
Brian you are an obedience instructor's dream student. Since you are very familiar in working with dogs already, you and your pup will easily be the stars of the class. You could really do something with this little guy, and I think you might have luck getting your kids involved since you know what you're doing. Besides obedience, you all might enjoy trying agility or field training. Your puppy will love those activities like nothing you've ever seen in your life. It's really amazing to see if you've never been to a hunt test or field trial or agility trial in person.

I hope you are in an area where you can find a real obedience club with people who are competitors teaching classes. Try doing a google search or start a new post here on the GRF asking for a suggestion in your area. You are going to find there are tons of new ideas on puppy training beyond Monks of New Skete. Don't let anyone make you feel foolish that you started your puppy this way, it's a great book, it's just there are lots of different ideas out there and just like kids, some dogs respond better to different methods. I think you will enjoy learning different things as well. I will go through my list of books (I am not an expert by any means but I love to research and am lucky to have some very successful and talented 'mentors' and have compiled a list of good stuff).

Let us know what you come up with for training, you might even enjoy getting a few private lessons at home this summer. It's not cheap but it is unbelievable what you can learn with individual attention from a good trainer. Again, if I were you I would ask GRF for input on who is in your area. Facebook can also be a resource. Find something more advanced than petsmart and you might really find a great dog hobby out there for you and your kids.
 
#16 ·
Books by Jean Donaldson, Patricia McConnell, Dr. Ian Dunbar, Dr. Nicolas Dodman, karen Pryor and Susan Garrett for clicker training

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Control-Unleashed-The-Puppy-Program/dp/B0077BTNFS[/ame] Control Unleashed for Puppies by Leslie McDevitt

Sound Beginnings DVD by Jackie Mertens

Search YouTube for videos :

Kiko Pup has GREAT stuff. https://www.youtube.com/user/kikopup

Search for her videos on: attention, watch me, leave it, 'wait' , loose leash walking, "place", "touch", all these things are useful building blocks for more advanced training. You will be shocked at quickly your puppy can do these things.

Videos by Dog Trainers Workshop - Connie Cleveland

Youtube videos by Bridgette Carlson, Janice Gunn,

https://www.youtube.com/user/DogTrainersWorkshop -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6TrNm_ty8A&list=PLAFPQi8NhKxi3HvLJEBX1eq1ch02dah0I

White River Golden Retriever Club - Lebanon, IN and Columbus, OH GRC are both having specialites this spring - shows with all Goldens, conformation and obedience,

Region 6 - calendar for events in your region

United Kennel Club: Upcoming Events

United Kennel Club: Upcoming Events

https://www.entryexpress.net/loggedin/viewevent.aspx?eid=7989

AKC.org has a page where you can search a calendar for agility and ovedience events in your area, I noticed both Evansville and Indianapolis as well as Louisville all have very active event calendars for agility which is a lot of fun to watch.
 
#19 ·
Books by Jean Donaldson, Patricia McConnell, Dr. Ian Dunbar, Dr. Nicolas Dodman, karen Pryor and Susan Garrett for clicker training

Control Unleashed: The Puppy Program: Leslie McDevitt: 9781892694317: Amazon.com: Books Control Unleashed for Puppies by Leslie McDevitt

Sound Beginnings DVD by Jackie Mertens

Search YouTube for videos :

Kiko Pup has GREAT stuff. https://www.youtube.com/user/kikopup

Search for her videos on: attention, watch me, leave it, 'wait' , loose leash walking, "place", "touch", all these things are useful building blocks for more advanced training. You will be shocked at quickly your puppy can do these things.

Videos by Dog Trainers Workshop - Connie Cleveland

Youtube videos by Bridgette Carlson, Janice Gunn,

https://www.youtube.com/user/DogTrainersWorkshop -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6TrNm_ty8A&list=PLAFPQi8NhKxi3HvLJEBX1eq1ch02dah0I

White River Golden Retriever Club - Lebanon, IN and Columbus, OH GRC are both having specialites this spring - shows with all Goldens, conformation and obedience,

Region 6 - calendar for events in your region

United Kennel Club: Upcoming Events

United Kennel Club: Upcoming Events

https://www.entryexpress.net/loggedin/viewevent.aspx?eid=7989

AKC.org has a page where you can search a calendar for agility and ovedience events in your area, I noticed both Evansville and Indianapolis as well as Louisville all have very active event calendars for agility which is a lot of fun to watch.
I've signed up for Karen Pryor foundations course and it's really good. I've been having so much fun with my two and it makes training more of a "game" which is what I need to do with one of my boys. I highly recommend it. It's providing me with great homework to focus the boys and work towards some bigger goals starting small. They both get super excited now when I pull out the clicker. :)
 
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#17 ·
Pippin is 12 weeks old today.

Pippin had his 12 week checkup and shots today. He weighs exactly 19.0 lean pounds. This is 3 pounds over the 15-16 lb. mark on the slow growth plan. How much variance is OK? His sire and grandsire are a lean 80 lbs.

Pippin met for a playdate with a golden retriever puppy that is 11 days older than he is. This is the first time the two have met. They had great fun, but my camera is not fast enough to capture the two at play.

Agility would be a good match for this pup. Attached is a photo of him ascending a 5 foot ramp at the lake this past weekend. He did this on his own and again when called by my son. He has no fear.

I have found an exceptional trainer locally. She offers both obedience and agility training and offers classes for as far as I could take Pippin.

I have a papillon that could have excelled at agility, but found that nearly all of the agility events locally are on Sunday mornings and interfere with church service attendance.

Pippin is headstrong. He has the sit and heel commands learned. He does not like the down command. Sit and stay are coming along. Down and stay are not possible yet. Come is good if he is in the mood. He knows shake. He will ring a bell at the door to go out, sometimes on his own.... but he will also happily pee on the floor inside the house. When walking, he likes to walk me with the lead in his mouth. I have tried four different lead styles. Bitter apple helps somewhat, but not completely. I would prefer not to use a chain lead. Obedience class will be good, but I am an elementary teacher and have 3 boys playing baseball at different grade levels. Obedience class will have to wait until summer break at the end of May. Pippin will be 19 or 20 weeks at that time.
 

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#21 ·
Keep in mind that my last three dogs have been papillons.... How am I going to bathe Pippin as he gets larger? He FILLS the utility sink now. The bathtub is the next step. We built the house we live in twelve years ago. I want to go back in time and build a doggy shower in the laundry room. Pippin is a good little bather, but he does not like the hair dryer at all. Here are two "after" shots from tonight's bath time. Not at all possible to take a picture of the "during."
 

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#23 ·
Pippin is so cute. They do out grow being washed in the sink very quickly. Yes, it's the bathtub option next. When we did an addition to our house, my husband installed hot/cold running water for me. Before it was having to run the hose from the garage utility sink to outside. We had picked up a shower pan, that we never used, and now it's the dog washing station. Here is a picture of it.
 

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#25 ·
Camping!

Pippin went camping for the first time with me and my youngest son this weekend. He is such a good dog. No problem at all hiking, hanging around camp, walking on a lead near other strange dogs, being tied out (while supervised) for the first time, sleeping in the tent at night. This is a "can do" dog. I think I have heard him bark a total of four times in the six weeks we have had him. What a blast! How have I lived this long without a golden retriever?!!!
 

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#26 ·
I totally hear you with the mid-life crisis! I'm 45 with a 22, 18, 17 and 7 year old. Molly and my 7 year year old son have become the best of friends. We have our first grand baby coming in 4 weeks and I cant wait to have him grow up with Molly too. This was the best decision our family ever made by getting her. Welcome to the forum!!!!!
 
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