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His left foot looks a little "out" in all the photos. Again, please include the breeder in this conversation. Personally I would put him back on Optimum and just add 10-20% meaty bones if you feel the need to feed fresh meat but Optimum is a perfect product for Goldens as it is.

Is that what the breeder recommended? The breeder just feed him optimum puppy thats it. I slowly transioned him onto black hawk puppy,pet mince,prime 100 meat roll and puppy milk. Perhaps send some photos of your pup in varying positions to your breeder and get their opinion? Did you consult them on switching to the current diet, your breeder knows their lines and what they grow well on, they might have some suggestions of premium brands that work for their pups if you don't want to feed optimum. You don't need to add extra pet mince and dog roll to a puppies dry food regularly. Puppy milk isn't generally needed either. A 10 week old puppy can chew. If you want to supplement with real meat, try meaty bones like chicken frames or turkey necks. I'm not familiar with Black Hawk puppy so I'm not sure if it is suitable for a large breeds, perhaps someone else here might know. I would definitely get in touch with the breeder. By adding too much fresh meat to the dry product it upsets the balance. I would also cut out the puppy milk. Be guided by your breeder. Far too often the breeder is the last to know of these problems when they can sometimes be fixed in a few days. Optimum is a fantastic product for Golden Retrievers.

Is that what the breeder recommended?

I would think not. Perhaps too much protein in his diet.

Again, I can only comment on the instruction that I received and I can assure you there was NO check chains in little bags as you suggest. I learned ways to make the dogs focus on me and in time the undesirable behaviour was gone. All the methods recommended were positive but not physical. It did require a huge input from me and I suspect most of the people who claimed failure did not put in the time required. No training method will work effectively if it is not repeated daily.

I had Barkbuster assistance in 2002 and could not use a check chain then. Guess it must be different for each consultant. The methods offered to me at the time worked perfectly for the 2 dogs that were fighting and I have been able to use those methods for other undesirable behaviours ever since. I cannot speak highly enough of the consultant that I was assigned and to this day I receive follow up contact. None of the merhods offered to me was inhumane in any way. Just positive reinforcement and much encouragement. As an owner most of the work was up to me.

These are all very interesting comments. Bark busters does NOT support the use of Check chains and will not allow their use during any sessions.

Bark busters is only as good as the trainer assigned to you. I had extremely good success but the trainer that came to me was dog oriented and understood my needs.