Hello!! So glad I found this, because we are planning to add a dog to our family in the next few months, and are trying to decide if a Golden is right for us. We are not totally new to dogs, we have had 2 in the past, but both were small mutts that we adopted when they were 10 and 11, respectively, so they needed zero training, and little more than a warm place to sleep and people to hang out with LOL. We are a young active family, it is me, my husband, and our 2 kids, ages 5 and almost 2. Planning to add at least one more (human!) child down the line. I work mostly from home, with the exception of some appointments (realtor). We are usually home, sometimes in and out for errands/soccer/gymnastics/etc. We also have 2 cats. Currently renting, in the process of buying a home, the home we buy will probably be about 2000 square feet and have a yard, but in this area, they are not huge. This is my first concern. The yards range from .15 acres to maybe .30 acres. Pretty tiny! But we would like a large, somewhat sturdy, dog. Does a Golden need a larger yard than this??
Here are my main questions:
Yard/House size needed?
Amount of exercise needed? (Planning on as much fetch/romping with kids in the yard as possible, probably one walk/jog each day...how long?? ALso very excited to do the dog park thing =)
How tolerant do they tend to be with young kids? (We do teach our kids to be respectful of animals, but the occasional ear or tail pull sometimes is hard to avoid =)
Those that have them, how terrible is the shedding? Is it year round? No allergies or anything, but EVERY time I tell someone we are thinking about a golden they always say "OH GOD the SHEDDING!"
Will they bark or alert you at all if someone comes to the house? We are NOT looking for some kind of aggressive guard dog, LOL, but I would sort of like the (relative) peace of mind that comes with knowing you have a dog that would bark at least sound (a little) scary if someone came up. My husband works nights, so this would be a bit comforting....again, NOT expecting or wanting a dog that is actually mean, just one that could alert and maybe SOUND a little mean. LOL
Finally, what age would you recommend? Puppy? Teenager? Adult? We have done the geriatric dog thing twice now and definitely want to go younger this time, just not sure how young?
I know this was long, thank you if you made it this far!!!
Here are my main questions:
Yard/House size needed?
Amount of exercise needed? (Planning on as much fetch/romping with kids in the yard as possible, probably one walk/jog each day...how long?? ALso very excited to do the dog park thing =)
How tolerant do they tend to be with young kids? (We do teach our kids to be respectful of animals, but the occasional ear or tail pull sometimes is hard to avoid =)
Those that have them, how terrible is the shedding? Is it year round? No allergies or anything, but EVERY time I tell someone we are thinking about a golden they always say "OH GOD the SHEDDING!"
Will they bark or alert you at all if someone comes to the house? We are NOT looking for some kind of aggressive guard dog, LOL, but I would sort of like the (relative) peace of mind that comes with knowing you have a dog that would bark at least sound (a little) scary if someone came up. My husband works nights, so this would be a bit comforting....again, NOT expecting or wanting a dog that is actually mean, just one that could alert and maybe SOUND a little mean. LOL
Finally, what age would you recommend? Puppy? Teenager? Adult? We have done the geriatric dog thing twice now and definitely want to go younger this time, just not sure how young?
I know this was long, thank you if you made it this far!!!