Obviously, this is a very personal situation, but you are not alone. We had to put our 12 year-old golden, Lexi, down in March, and picked up a new puppy in the middle of May, at 8 weeks old. Our kids are grown up and on their own, and we missed having a dog around.
Sadie, our puppy, is very different from what Lexi was as a pup. She is much more rambunctious. Lexi was sweet, and somewhat timid, even as a puppy. Sadie is afraid of nothing and bites and nips a lot more than Lexi did. She lunges too, so you have to watch your face. Sadie is a barker. Lexi rarely barked.
However, Sadie has some redeeming qualities. She is a retrieving machine. She loves to play with us in the yard. She stays in the yard. Lexi would bolt, at the first opportunity, then play cat and mouse until she got tired, running all over the neighborhood.
Sadie is just as affectionate, she just has to be tired out before she wants to cuddle. Sadie was an absolute breeze to house-train. She just does not go in the house, and hasn't since she was 9 weeks. Lexi wasn't difficult, but was nothing like Sadie.
Sadie is better on the leash early-on. Lexi turned out very well, but was VERY challenging for the first few years.
We convinced ourselves that we had to be very open-minded about Sadie, because it was obvious that she was very different. Hey... so were our three kids! We knew that if we got down on Sadie, we would not bond with her. Then she would not have a chance.
Over the past 10 weeks, we have built a bond, and we are totally committed to her, and it is paying off. She just wants to be with us. Yesterday, I moved her crate from our bedroom into our kitchen because I thought it would be a little cooler in the kitchen during the day, when we have to go to work. Last night, at bedtime, Sadie barked and barked and barked. I let her out of the crate and she ran into our bedroom and laid down where her crate had been. I moved the crate back into the bedroom. She went right into the crate and fell asleep within seconds. Sadie makes me smile. She makes me laugh. Sometimes she makes me cry... OUCH!
You mentioned that Emma is only 9 weeks. It sounds like you are going to talk to the breeder and possibly return Emma. As I mentioned, it is a very personal decision, and you have to do what's right for you, but things will get better. Can a trainer know at this point in time how challenging it will be, or how long it will take? I'm a natural born skeptic, but I would say no. I'd give it a little more time before making a decision.
Hi. We just got our second Golden girl, Emma, who is 9 weeks old. Our two year old Hannah was killed recently while at a "sitter". We have been devastated. We knew this new pup would not be like our Hannah but this new puppy is 100 degrees different. Very hyper and biting us. Also, not a lot of luck potty training. I am concerned about her personality overall. I love Goldens. Old, young, red, blond. But having experience with only Hannah who was so easy to train, I don't know if this behavior is normal. Tried several things to stop the biting: yipping at her like the bite hurt (it does). And when that didn't work we tried the looking in the eyes and kinda growling NO. That didn't work, so then we tried the grabbing by the scruff and saying NO firmly. She just lunges at us. I think she is playing but it hurts. And also it is not conducive to bonding... I'm frustrated. I want to giver her a chance to be trained. I contacted a local trainer. Any advice would help. I guess because she is so difficult in about every aspect of behavior whereas our Hannah had no problems (except returning when she was called) I am worried this may be a sign of lifelong problems. Thanks for any help ya'll can give.
