Stuffed animals with squeakers built in, Outward Hound and Fluff and Tuff are my favorite brands. Lay on the floor with him to play, get out for nature walks, be fun. On warm days get a children's plastic pool and put water in it to splash, blow bubbles for him to chase.

Be sure you're not over feeding him (about a cup of food - 2 times per day - the bag directions will most likely have you over feeding him). Go for treats that are a little stinkier like frozen biljac dog food, or liverwurst. Just be sure they are tiny, tiny pieces so it doesn't upset his stomach.

When he is crated, be sure he has something good to chew on, elk antler, a raw beef shank bone or frozen stuffed kong (try it with some plain yogurt and a little peanut butter and banana or with some beef broth and green beans.) Hopefully if he gets plenty of time to chew in his crate he will feel less of a need to chew sticks. Try walking him places where it's less likely to have sticks in a nicer area of town near the library, coffee shop, Tractor supply or southern states store, hardware store - get creative, bring treats and a squeaky toy and be engaging.

Try not to get frustrated. I also would suggest a higher end trainer than a petsmart set up. Check your local orj regional Golden Retriever Club, AKC Kennel Club, Agility Club or Obedience Club for referrals to people who train and live near you. A few private lessons with a good trainer would be worth every penny to get you on the right track of working with him.

 

Stuffed animals with squeakers built in, Outward Hound and Fluff and Tuff are my favorite brands. Lay on the floor with him to play, get out for nature walks, be fun. On warm days get a children's plastic pool and put water in it to splash, blow bubbles for him to chase.

Be sure you're not over feeding him (about a cup of food - 2 times per day - the bag directions will most likely have you over feeding him). Go for treats that are a little stinkier like frozen biljac dog food, or liverwurst. Just be sure they are tiny, tiny pieces so it doesn't upset his stomach.

When he is crated, be sure he has something good to chew on, elk antler, a raw beef shank bone or frozen stuffed kong (try it with some plain yogurt and a little peanut butter and banana or with some beef broth and green beans.) Hopefully if he gets plenty of time to chew in his crate he will feel less of a need to chew sticks. Try walking him places where it's less likely to have sticks in a nicer area of town near the library, coffee shop, Tractor supply or southern states store, hardware store - get creative, bring treats and a squeaky toy and be engaging.

Try not to get frustrated. I also would suggest a higher end trainer than a petsmart set up. Check your local orj regional Golden Retriever Club, AKC Kennel Club, Agility Club or Obedience Club for referrals to people who train and live near you. A few private lessons with a good trainer would be worth every penny to get you on the right track of working with him.

Thank you for the advice. I am using Orijen puppy kibble 3 times a day right now. I feed him about 250 g of food per day. Should I avoid taking him to the grass and encourage more of a leash walk?

 

He should not be asking for water, water should be available. I don't put water in the crate, but I do make sure it is always available upon exit and entry. He is a baby. Just love on him and play a little with him. Let him get comfortable. If you don't see changes over time I may want a second opinion on the heart murmur. IMO he is to young for a training evaluation at PetSmart. He is 9 weeks if I'm reading your post correctly. I 100% agree with the recommendation above for a better training facility, but I still wouldn't consider it until he was at least 12-14 weeks. Try to remember he is an infant. Everything is new and different. He needs time to adjust and all of that would be true without a heart condition. If the disinterest continues get a second opinion on the heart issue.

 

I will get him checked for the murmur next Monday and hopefully it's not getting worse. I will try to be more patient about him and try to engage him as much as possible. I will also look for a better trainer in my area. Thanks for the advice!

 

Just an average dog owner so a small sample size. In my limited experience puppies go through stages when they are lazy all the time, starving all the time, full of energy, stubborn and naughty,etc. All coming from physical and mental growth and development. They all have their own personalities as well. I had a yellow lab that was, from day one, the friendliest and laziest dog ever unless we were hunting. His sire won the National Am. I read that he took a nap while waiting in the last holding blind in the 10th series. The handler had to wake him up to go to the line.

Keep an eye on your pup but don't panic.

 

Should I forcefully avoid taking him to the grass and rather spend time playing with him even though he's more into lying on the grass alone?

 

Don't force him, the idea is to be more fun than whatever else he is doing. Use the squeak toy, Goldens typically have a high prey drive and they are unable to resist squeak toys, movement if you clap your hands and run in the opposite direction from them, favorite toy at my house is great, you can shake it and they have the instinct to pounce on it and play.

 

Everything is new and depending on your dog's personality can either be met with caution or fearlessness. My Molly put everything in her mouth at 9 weeks. Still 'grazes' like a cow at 7 months. She stripped bark off trees to eat. Such a little scamp. Everything was more fun outside than inside and when inside everything was more exciting them me. All I'm good for is being chewed on. But you work with them and you play and now I'm more exciting b/c i throw things for her to fetch. All a work in progress. Keep trying to engage them.

 

He is an infant. He is still adjusting to being removed from his litter and taken to an alien world. Give him time, don't force him to do anything, just try to engage with him and spend time with him. Be patient, he will go through a lot of changes in his behavior and habits.

Please change foods though, since he has a heart murmur you don't want to feed him any of the foods that are associated with Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM).

This is a great article to get a good perspective on puppie's being thrust into a new life.

Kidnapped From Planet Dog - Whole Dog Journal

Sometimes new owners tell me getting a puppy was supposed to be fun, but all I feel is stress. Here's what new owners need to remember.

www.whole-dog-journal.com

 

I didn't know about the DCM problem related to food at all. What other company suggestions do you have?