musik

That is fantastic advice sas, thanks so much for taking the time to write it up for us. Going to print off for hubby and start today. He has a bed in the kitchen area which is pretty big and has lino so easy to clean up any mess. This is also where he hangs out sometimes when we go out for a few hours if we can't take him with us (usually shopping), most other places he comes along too. During the day he is outside or with us in our home office. I've heard about crates, but am not familiar with their use. Could this be useful in helping him become house-trained/house comfortable quicker?

oh she loves it!!

My Golden Retriever pup does the same, I still haven't figured out a way to have him just drink from the water bowl instead of play in it lol. I just keep a towel on hand to dry off wet paws. Your pup is too cute, good luck I hope you find the answer!

I'm having some trouble with our pup in this area and need some advice also, we have a Golden Retriever boy who is nearly 4 months old, we do as was mentioned before, take him outside for his 'wizza' and he always goes fine. (gets praise after he does it when we say the word wizza) The problem we are having is that his 'room' is the kitchen as we can block it off easily from the rest of the house, we don't put paper down across the whole room like when he was really little, now we put paper 5 sheets thick in a big square which most of the time he is good at going on. We take him out right before we go to bed and then we get up with the alarm without fail each morning at 7am to take him out and sometimes if I get up overnight I take him out also. During the day he is taken out every hour or so. Problem is he still thinks its OK to wizz inside, I will get up at 7 and it will be fresh as anything and being a big dog now even as a pup his wizz is not small! We growl at him and take him outside and make him wee again out there, we don't let him back in until he does one, no matter how small it is, just to prove that this is where he needs to go toilet. It's starting to drive me nuts because sometimes he will go nearly a week without doing it or we can go out for 4 or 5 hours and come back and he has held it, and there isn't anything that is stressing him that we can see, he actually has a dang good life with us People have said to me to rub his nose in it, but thats just unhygienic and disgusting. ;) Any ideas on what to do now for him, or where are we going wrong in our house training for him? Help pleeeease

at the replies!! Ok, well I am glad it's not just me then! I'll have a think about how to best put the water up a big higher, maybe attach something to the wall so he can only drink from it and not put paws in, but strong enough so if he decides to put paws up on it - it won't fall on his head! Those clamshell thingys are fab idea. Outside I don't mind how much water he plays with, just inside I would like to curb it so he will be allowed on carpeted areas too when he gets old enough to wander about when we are home. We bought a holiday caravan down on the Yarra up bush the other week, he hasn't had his second shot yet so he hasn't been able to indulge in the river... yet I can't wait to see his reaction to it

//offtopic (for the last time I promise!) See here for pics

ooo yes!! for sure you will need a dyson for a hairy dog. I love my dyson worth every penny we spent on it!!!

Hi folks, When our golden retriever pup first came home last week at 8 wks old he started walking through his water bowl and putting his paws in it when he drank. The first day it was kinda cute and we had paper down anyway so it wasn't so bad, a day or so later when he did it we make a loud 'UH!' noise and say NO! and dry his paws off. So far it's not working very well and he still likes to do it. I know that before we got him the pups were kept outside and due to the heat in Victoria were encouraged to wet themselves in their water bowls and play in mud etc to keep cool. I've stopped filling his water bowl up too much (I keep a very close eye on it when it needs topping up as I work from home and can supervise). It's not even a very big bowl, I guess at the moment his paws are still quite small. I'd like to be able to get him out of the habit as he is an inside dog and once he gets bigger he will be able to roam freely around most of the house including carpeted areas. Does anyone have any suggestions for strategies on how we can stop him doing this stuff? I don't mind when he plays with the water outside in his play kids shell thingy which has water in it, but inside how to stop playing/putting paws in the water inside. Thanks in advance! Rose

Hiya Tashnsw, I know you've had so many replies but just want to add some about the inside v's outside dog thing. When I was growing up our dogs were always outside dogs. Looking back now I could cry at how we didn't make our past dogs more a part of the family, we really wasted them and their beautiful personalities. We've just got a golden retriever pup, a boy - this is my first inside dog. I thought I would be more paniky about him being in the house, but I really am enjoying it despite the adjustments we've had to make. If you feed your dog a good brand of dry food their coat will be much easier to manage, and I see the brushing routine as really good bonding time. It takes a lot of patience to train a dog (as I am finding out myself!!) I loved the post from someone else who has their dog outside while at work and then inside and fussed over when they get home. Walking too is not only great for the dog, but your health too I really hope you can talk your partner around on allowing her more time inside the house with the family, it'll be so worth it in the end and then she won't end up having to go to the pound because she's become too out of control... Best of luck with it!!

We just got our pup today (8 wks old), after a quick wander around the grounds, first thing we did was bath him as he was so smelly and muddy from being in the water/mud to keep cool from the current heat. I do find it funny he stands in his water bowl or walks through it

Thanks so much for the replies. I'll add sardines to the list once he gets a bit older. This forum has been a great source of information and guidance.

Thank you for the info! Can you tell me why sardines are good as well? (Norskgra mentioned the same) Do you give to your dogs (adults) straight in the bowl with Nutro?

In a few weeks our new 8 week old Golden Retriever puppy will be coming home. This Nutro product does sound very good, is it suitable for puppies? If not, what age would it be suitable from and what product would you recommend in the meantime (preferable dry food). Also, is it OK to give him just Nutro and other bits and peices from the table (non meat). Thanks!