[Dreammom]

Yesterday when I took Layla to the vet for her problems after spay surgery (not eating or drinking - turns out it's a false pregnancy)...everyone in the waiting room commented on what a cute puppy she is...they were all shocked to find out that she is almost a year old - they thought she was about 4 months old LOL.

WE have been calling her our perpetual puppy, our pocket retriever, my kids call her Webster (if anyone remembers that show - they say she has that webster disease ). When I take pictures of her, she looks the same to me as she did months ago... I always wanted a dog that would stay a puppy.

Our Vet that we have had for 25 years did the surgery last week, and examined Layla yesterday. It was through their recommendation that we got from this breeder - he loves the dogs out of their line. He has not seen Layla since her first exam and shots - we always ended up with one of the other Vets in the practice. So we finally got to discuss some of my concerns...
When I brought her in for her first shots, he raved to me about their dogs - best he has ever seen... all have great personalities, etc. So yesterday I reminded him of that and said I think we got a broken one :uhoh:. He does agree Layla is very small (about 50-55 lbs, very thin build, and short, but strong)- healthy but small even for their line, she was not the runt. Layla had one of the cuter personalities out of the litter, kept playing with my son who had just lost Aiyana (she picked him).

OK so I have often said, Layla's personality reminds me more of a border collie (my parents dogs come to mind), she is skittish, fearful, has a Napoleon complex and is a bit neurotic. By fair the quirkiest dog I have ever had....Oh don't get me wrong we love her quirks, but they can be a bit frustrating. I have been worried that Hurley's bullying outside made her this way, but the Vet assured me no... her personality, is her personality, it is nothing we did. I have raised her the same as all of my other dogs - she is just different LOL.

This morning I had to give her just one of her babies back...it was one she had just recently pulled the legs off of - I thought she would remember it is just a toy LOL. She was driving me absolutely batty this morning with her crying and looking all over the house, digging etc. My poor peanutty girl...this is just not fair - false pregnancy after spay...nasty.

So any advice here on how I help her through this?

Julie

 

[Dreammom]

These are pictures of Layla...taken in the spring, and this fall. Pay no attention to the tumble weeds.. spring and fall is when Hurley blows coat LOL. I just noticed them and am so embarrassed!

 

[mainegirl]

she looks gorgeous to me. i love the look in her eyes.
beth, moose and angel

 

[jenlaur]

50 - 55 lbs doesn't seem all that small to me. Our last golden topped out at 55 and she looked fine. I think what makes Layla look puppyish is that her coat hasn't filled out yet. Once it does and she has all her feathers I think she will look like an adult. And she is very cute!

 

[Dreammom]

Thanks all,

She does have most of her feathers... and it is hard to believe she weighs what she does... her bones must be really heavy LOL. She is by far the smallest golden I have ever seen. My parents border collie is about 55 lbs, and much taller, longer and huskier looking than she is. I do agree she is cute... her expressions are priceless.

Julie

 

[missmarstar]

Aww what a sweet puppy face she has!!

Don't worry about her size.. I have a 55lb full grown MALE.. and I love how easily he fits in my lap at that size!!

 

[Susan6953]

What a sweet face. My Jamie is short, too.

 

[AmberSunrise]

My Towhee just weighed in at 53 pounds at 19 months. When I picked her up at 15 months she was 48 pounds with a bit of fat; she has slimmed down and started filling out with maturity, a raw diet and exercise, so your Layla may continue to grow as well. I think Towhee may also be closing in on the bottom of the height standard as well.

My neighbors refer to Towhee as the 'miniature' golden but usually preface it with she's just so darned cute! In fact one neighbor says he wants a puppy if she's ever bred since his wife would prefer a smaller golden girl than their Seka, so I guess I'm saying that small is not always so bad.

 

[gold'nchocolate]

Wow....I love that expression---Pocket golden. I guess that is what Sasha is, then. She is 2-1/2 yrs old and everyone who meets her assumes that she is a puppy. Not only is she little but she has a puppyish look to her face. I love her size!!! Just think of how many more goldens you could fit in your house if they were all that small

Sasha went through a false pregnancy after her last heat cycle. What a pain. She moped and sulked. She attached herself to pieces of clothing and carried them where ever she went. I guess the whining was the hardest....she just sounded so sad She also lost her interest in food. It lasted about 3 weeks and then back to normal. I hope Layla feels better soon.

 

[Dreammom]

Sasha went through a false pregnancy after her last heat cycle. What a pain. She moped and sulked. She attached herself to pieces of clothing and carried them where ever she went. I guess the whining was the hardest....she just sounded so sad She also lost her interest in food. It lasted about 3 weeks and then back to normal. I hope Layla feels better soon.

Yep, that pitiful whining is driving me nuts... I feel so bad for her. I just got her to eat about 1/3 cup of food from her kong...I had to help. She drank quite a bit of water after a walk, we were hoping that would get her mind off of things for a while. Unfortunately I think she overdid it on her walk and her incision is looking a bit funky to me.

Three weeks of this is gonna kill me, either she needs tranquilizers or I do .