My Liberty is the most wonderful girl. She is sweet, loving, gentle and very well behaved. Yes, she has her issues, but who doesn't? Overall she is just awesome. I don't crate her anymore when I go out. I baby-gate her in the kitchen. She's chewed a cord hanging out of the cupboard once, but that's it. She is a lot of work and I'm constantly training her and trying to keep her busy, BUT she is so worth it! I've never loved a dog as much as I love her. She is just so special.

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Liberty - 10 months




Kim - Mommy to fur-baby Liberty and 2 human daughters 12 and 14 years old

Thanks, this was so good to hear. As far a puppy goes he is relly pretty good. He has his moments where he runs wild. We do have outside playtime to burn off energy. He asks to go outside to potty.He can sit,laydown and working on stay. He has a full day. I am home all day so he does not do to much crate time. He sleeps quiet in his crate at night and does not make a sound. He goes out at 4am when my husband goes to work, he goes back in his crate til 6am. He really is a pretty good puppy. It is an adjustment for me. It has only been a week and a half. LOL We start puppy class on Jan 5th! Looking forward to that! Thanks eveyone for the good stories!! Nice to hear and makes me feel a little better.

OHH! We grow up and settle down. It just takes a little while.

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"You own what you condone." ~ Mike Lardy

7 month old Bella has never chewed anything that's not hers, other than some little ribbon she pulled off the refrigerator once.

She only peed on the floor a handful of times. That ended at about 10 weeks.

She's never shown aggression toward any person or dog. Ever.

She was first in her class on graduation day for beginning obedience. That's not a huge deal, but it's a start.

She's also not afraid of much, and is very self confident.

I would not be able to report such good news had we not spent countless hours training her, and watching her like a hawk up until about 5 months.

It sounds like you're on the right track. Don't worry about it.

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Grasslands Liberty Belle "Bella" CGC (5-7-2012)

I'm assuming you are just being flippant here.... You would never consider selling a puppy you are hopefully bonding with, right?

Goldens go through a mouthy and obnoxious stage when they are puppies. Some of that is teething. Some of it is them just trying to see what they can get away with....

But the adult dog is what you make it. You put the training and patience and love into that puppy and young dog, and you will get the adult you want.

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Always loved, never forgotten, all our previous boys -

I too wondered if I was doing the right thing when I got BaWaaJige but I am sooo glad I did. He is perfect. I never crated him at night he never chewed a single thing he shouldnt. We have great fun together. I do spend alot time training him and I do think that makes a huge difference in what behavior you see in your golden. My boy was never a land shark either I waited but it didnt happen. He is hyper in the field and calm in the house.

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U-CH, CGC, TDI Top Flights Reap What You Sow " BaWaaJige"

I have a six pack of 'nice dogs', three were raised from puppyhood, three were adult rescue dogs. The oldest is just shy of 13 yrs the youngest is 2 yrs. They have all given a little grief here and there but that is long forgotten- the good times far outweigh the 'bad' times. It has been an amazing journey - no regrets!

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Until there are none, rescue one.

We got Max at 7 weeks old - he walked in like he owned the place, proceeded to do his business on the kitchen floor and that was one of the three times he had an accident till he was completely potty trained. I admit to setting a timer and taking him out every 15 minutes at first, but it worked, he was trained in a couple of weeks. The only time he ever chewed anything was when I thought he was sleeping and left him alone in the family room while I went off to the computer room. I came back to find happy puppy in the middle of a pile of what was once a pillow. Totally my fault again.
Is he an angel? Well, yeah, most of the time he is. He pulls like a freight train on leash, and he loves to jump on me, but he doesn't have a mean bone in his body and I wouldn't trade him for anything in this world.
Not every puppy goes through the teenage horrors, Max never did. He tested the rules once or twice, and still does, but I honestly think that as others have said, you decide what you can live with, and train for that behavior.

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Amber is a pain in the xxx but I love her. We are in the middle of a blizzard tonight. I let her out on a thirty-foot leash to go potty. She loves snow. She hit the end of her leash with me standing on an icy porch. The leash snap failed and she was off and running. Fun! Fun! Fun! I whistled into the wind but she was out of sight. I went back in the house for a coat and shoes [I was wearing sandals], but when I came back out she was running in circles in the yard. Full speed and jumping up to bite snowflakes. She stopped and looked at me, like "Do I have to come inside?" But when I held the door open, she bounded inside -- ready for her supper. Quite a scare! I had visions of her getting lost in the storm or hit by a car because of the limited visibility. But now she's napping at my feet like nothing happened.

Growing up, my grandpa had a golden retriever that was the best dog! He lived to be 14 and since him, I've fallen in love with goldens and have wanted one since. The time was finally right in our life for us to get a puppy, so of course a golden was the top of our list, and after a lot of research we decided to stick with it. I was really confident with our decision, until I started reading some of the more negative posts that seemed to always pop up on this forum. I was wondering the same thing! "What have I gotten myself into?!" BUT, people post on here because they need help and advice and reassurance. The positive posts are great, but this place is a great resource for people as well, so they may seem more negative. I haven't regretted my decision to get my pup at all. He is 8 months old now and training has been a breeze! Very few accidents (mostly within the first couple of days of bringing him home) and he has only chewed on his toys. He also has a wonderful temperament and it a total love bug and goofball. So don't panic I'm sure you will have your ups and downs, but your pup is def worth it!

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Ripley! Born April 14, 2012