dee lee

The sheer persistence that Honey shows when wanting a pat. Nudge elbow, wait, nudge, wait, nudge.... NUDGE. I dont give in to her then and there (that would be baaaad training), but she is so easily pleased by the tiniest of pats I cannot deny her for too long. Gawd Im a sucker... Also it makes me laugh when she gets the puppy bounces- she is normally such a "lady" that its lovely to see her go silly. Mind you, the laughter subsides pretty quick when she tries to then jump in my lap. Ooooph!

Goldies do have some GOOD points!!! Now, I have only owned the one and I got her as a nearly 3 year old from NSW Golden Retriever Rescue. I chose to go this route because I have a 7 year old who is nervous of dogs. I researched (on here and elsewhere) which dogs were known as being calm and easily trained. I then decided Goldies were for us, but didnt want a pup because of the bounciness. When I called GRR I outlined my situation and gave them my wishlist- young adult (between 2 and 5) and calm. They get so many dogs through and it didnt take long before Honey came along. I highly recommend this route- we saved a dog who was a perfect match for us. With a puppy, you just dont get that kind of guarantee and to be honest I was terrified of stuffing up early training (have had a bad experience with that in the past). As for what Honey is like? She is not a big barker, and from what I understand Goldies are not known as nuisance barkers- not like some spitz breeds- and are probably no worse than GSDs, Weims or any other dog. If she does bark inappropriately (I'm happy for her to be a "watch dog") a firm NO shuts her up. She is kept inside all day while we are at work- today she will be alone for 6 hours. The only issue we have had was that recently she chewed some mail. This has been rectified by giving her pigs ears, a treat ball and reducing her access to the mail area. She just sleeps, I guess. She is gentle with the kids, but this is always reinforced- she is still a bit boisterous at times so we stay on top of this. Its easy though- Goldies are soft in temperament and Honey does not need to be harshly reprimanded, again a firm NO does it. She adores me, but is not a velcro dog, just a quiet companion. I hope you havent been put off by all the negative stuff, Goldies are gorgeous dogs and if you make an effort to find a compatible dog for your family (by talking to breeders or rescue orgs) then they can be a delight. Especially if you can see past the shedding.

O K

If you have a look at that site most dogs one there sound like a night mare I dont think I will have a look then!! :D

Jesus christ Shortstep- that makes them sound like friggin nightmare!!!

Lambo, it sounds like you really like Weims. Those of you who are weim owners- is it really that bad a scenario for one? Someone home all day, kids, a daily one hour jog... Plus Lambo and his kids are dog lovers. It sounds like a pretty good home to me. Better than average really! But then I've never owned a weim are they that tricky?

Do! Its near the junction of Oxford and Queen street. Tiny shop, but lovely stuff.

Welcome Lambo! I can relate to your situation, my husband isn't a dog person, atm we are both working a lot (with my OH being home in the day with our dog more than me), we have kids and I jog regularly. I adopted an adult Golden retriever late last year and she has been an amazing and wonderful addition to our family. She ticks all your boxes except for the puppy bit and *sigh* the shedding... She sheds an insane amount of fur. BUT she is absolutely worth it. We all love her, though she is very much my dog. I'm not necessarily suggesting you get a goldie, I just wanted to let you know that we survive just fine in similar circumstances to you. While I am at work I am thankful that my OH is here with Honey. Even if he doesn't interact much with her (by my standards), they are often in the same room. Quite often even when I am at home she is just lazing about. It is company for her and she seems pretty happy to have it. She is happy with a daily run/walk, though we had to build her fitness from scratch. Previously we had a staffy x and I wouldn't recommend a stafford considering your wife not being keen on dogs. They are a whole lotta dog! Also they do tend to be destructive- those strong jaws like to CHEW!- and thats not going to help your cause (trust me, I have been there!).

I second this. I also love a new shop that only recently opened on Oxford street, Woollahra- Muttropolitan. The owner is EXTREMELY helpful. She sells Artemis at REALLY good prices and has some great other stuff. I bought a fantastic bed for Honey there the other day. :D

Honey is a big sooky la la and will look to me to protect her most of the time, especially from other dogs. However she has a big bark and tends to "guard" the house and occasionally me from some people, but I'm certain its all bluff. I'm happy to settle for bluff though as I like that passersby (or potential burglars) would know there is a big dog here. She is rather wary of big older men (prob due to her past history) and one night last week she "protected" me from a passing drunk. Scared the crap out of him and he started hollering, luckily there was a fence between us because I suspect she would have run behind me if he had've tried anything. As it was she kept growling and barking at him and he hurried away. Me, I was holding my breath hoping he wouldnt call her on it because then I'd have to save her!. :D

I got my GR late last year and was in no way prepared for the incredible amount of shedding she did over summer!! :) :p I would sweep morning, noon and night, and brush her furiouosly twice a day- and stil there was MORE!!!!! :D It seemed forever until it slowed but now I find I only need to sweep our floors once a day. It does help that it clumps quite well. I'm interested (yet nervous!!) to see her next big shed- she went from being an outdoor dog to an indoor one so I wonder if that will make much difference? You sound exactly like me. What was I thinking about getting a white shedding machine?? I gave up caring pretty quickly though- most of it falls off by the time I get to work. I do find myself giggling at my friends after they give Honey a cuddle and spend the next 10 minutes trying to defluff themselves. :D

Oh, I just had a look at some pics and OMG I am in LOVE!!! Just like a goldie but black- so mud wouldnt stain! I love big black dogs and I love GRs, not so sure about them being less laid back than GRs though.

I WISH I could bring Honey into work. Unfortunately its a big office and they have lots of stoopid policies against things like that. I do think its probably for the best, lots of people in here have dogs- I can only imagine the bedlam if we all brought them in!! I have fantasised about opening up a doggy daycare nearby so everyone could visit their dogs at lunch at take them for a walk- I'd love that! Maybe next time they offer redundancies...

Oh. That is so awful. I cannot believe that the owner of the greys said that!!! Take some responsibility FFS!! I completely agree about offlead parks being dangerous. Thats been my experience. I've been (relatively) lucky and I am at pains to avoid dogs other than those I know are safe when I go to the park. Generally speaking my regular park is not very popular and usually there are only a few dogs in a very large space at any time. Its the way I like it as we can, for the most part, control our interactions. Even so Honey was attacked recently by a wayward DA dog. I am just even more "snobby" now (I'm sure thats what the other dog owners think :p) .

I got a Keeshond as a teen and she was a fantastic dog. Dont let the coat put you off. We lived by the beach and she was pretty much wash and wear (with a bit of regular brushing). She was a sweet, happy dog who was no trouble whatsoever and was wonderful to cuddle up to. Though she was a spitz, I don't recall her being hard to train (and back then I was completely clueless), and while she wasn't a velcro dog, she always happy to just be around us. Lovely breed!

Let my dog rumble with a "gang" of dogs at the offlead park. I used to go to the offlead park with my staffy x and we'd both have a ball. Me chatting, her "playing" with a bunch of large dogs. Unfortunately she ended up in the "wrong crowd" and learnt some aggressive behaviours that I feel led to her becoming DA and she was kept onlead for the rest of her life. I still take my GR to the offlead park but avoid the "gangs" of dogs and owners. I carefully screen any approaching dogs (especially after Honey was attacked by one!) and keep moving. We both have a lovely time. :D I also no longer let my dog offlead before looking in the sky for sky writing. :D

Thumbs up for sensible breeders!! Glad to hear it. :D

As a kid, my best friend's family had a Maltese and a succession of GSDs- the little one was the boss!! Thanks to them, I love GSDs and if I was in the right circumstances would have one in a heartbeat! I could be wrong, but arent working lines bred for protection work? If so I would be a bit concerned about that if you are novice GSD owners. Personally, I wouldnt get a working line dog of any breed unless I was going to "work" it, but thats just me. Most fit dogs could cope with that kind of workout, my GR would cope if we built up to it (she has regularly done about 24kms a week). Also, remember that as a large breed your GSD pup wouldnt be able to run like that for some time. Especially as you are concerned for your cav, I'd be picking more on the basis of temperament.

Having had a dog that caused me daily anguish, I am so very thankful for my beautiful Honey for showing me the joys of dog ownership again . She is everything I could ever want and her happy face shoved into my lap for a pat a hundred times a day never gets dull. She makes me feel happy.

With me, I was finding that the laissez faire way of walking seemed to be carrying over to Honey's heeling. She was not realising that heel meant by-my-heel so then, for example, a stand signal was difficult because she was too far forward of me. I feel I need to maintain consistency to reinforce her training. The longer we train together Im sure it will all fall into place and maybe then I can revise the casual walking. Also I walk her with the kids a lot, so quite often we arent walking at a fast pace and having her stay back with me is very helpful. I think it's kind of human nature to do a bit of that. With my last dog I was starting to consciously tell myself to let the leash go. I would pull on it without even being aware of it. I felt like it was just making tense situations with other dogs (we had a lot of territorial dog issues back home) worse. I was going to teach my next dog with the leash tied to my waist so I'd learn to stop being so dependent on it, but ended up using long lines instead. Did the same with Erik. I was kind of shocked when the instructor called me on it! I hadnt been conscious of it at all! It had become my fallback position when she pulled- usually when we are crossing roads, then it became when heeling at training. Needless to say I am very much aware now!

Ah yes, I remember you saying that- sorry, I just got distracted. (as usual! ) The conversation reminded me that I always mutter to my dogs "dont be so keen to get ahead- its the same speed up there!!"

I'm with Nekhbet. I prefer my dog to be walking next to me. When I had my staffy x she was a shocker unless I had her strictly at heel, she was a very high drive DA dog and it was the only way I could manage her, despite much training. When I got my GR, who is much calmer and more biddable, I initially felt that I didnt need to be so "controlling" and so allowed her a little lattitude. I have found that this just makes her pull on walks and her "heel" position is too far forward for me to easily signal her during training, so I am now working to get her back beside me at all times. I cant see that if you keep your dog beside you it hinders their enjoyment of the walk- the area they cover is exactly the same, the pace is the same, the only difference is that they are beside you and must adhere to that rule. For me, the benefit of that is huge. One thing I have found recently though is that I have been a bit heavy handed with the lead, I had been keeping it tight (had developed into an unconscious habit ) and seeing little improvement. My teacher at training suggested I ease up and only give little reminder tugs (der- I knew that! )- yep, she was right, there was less pulling.

Honey will start whining, barking and generally behaving like a bouncy loon long before I can hear the thunder. She will try to be a lap dog and is over the top excitable. I tried the playing games/training tactic but it just made her excitement level more intense so I stopped that. Instead I opted for the tough love approach, not soothing her or paying any extra attention. Neither do I let her get away with bad behaviour (ie the lap jumping!!). It seems to have worked- I have found though that in the 6 months we have had her, her anxiety has toned down quite a bit. :rolleyes:. Mind you we haven't had a storm for a while.

Oh no! This is so awful!! I have always loved Jed's words of wisdom, we cant lose her!!! What a horrific thing to have happen to anyone...

I really feel for you. My eldest (7yo) daughter was similar with our last dog. When getting our current dog I was determined to get the least boisterous dog we could. We adopted a 3yo GR, who was matched to my daughter by the rescue org (GRRescue). My daughter loves Honey & did not take long to be comfortable with her, but despite my hopes, doesn't interact much with her & is still nervous of other dogs. As sad as I find it, I understand that she will never love animals like I do. Whilst I think a boxer was not ideal in your situation, 3 of your kids love the dog so I would be inclined to work on your daughter's fears (& your dog's training) and wait for the dog to mature. Your daughter may not ever play with the dog, but that's ok, as long as you can find a way to help her feel safe.