DakotaJ

My Goldie had a vulva vaginalnstenosis. We had an MRI and lots to tests done at the Animal Referral Hospital in Homebush NSW. It was complicated but what appeared to be happening is that urine would pool in her urethral because of the stenosis, this would happen when she was lying down. Sometimes urine would leak out while she was lying down and when she stood up she would have a pool of urine under her flanks. Also when she first stood up she would leak. The vet loosened the stenosis under anaesthetic which helped a bit but her final diagnosis was that she needed a medication called Propalin to strengthen her bladder control. I am sorry that my details are a bit vague but this happened 5 years ago and I don't remember all the details. She was on Propalin from the time she was 6 months old. It is a very strong medication and I was not really happy about her being on it Unfortunately she died very suddenly when she was 3 1/2 years old. The vet could not find a reason for her sudden death (we did not do an autopsy) but he thought it was a stroke If it is just a stenosis, as I said, the vet could open it up. I am not sure of the details now but I know she did try that and it did help. Speak to your vet about that. I am a bit upset to hear of another Goldie with the same problem, good luck with your puppy If you are in Sydney try to get to the Animal Referral Hospital - they are very good Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I have never seen a purebred in our area. Mostly all kinds of crosses, most of them lovely dogs. We live quite close to Blacktown Animal Holding Facility and a lot of them have been purchased there. At our training club there are some purebreds but they are generally in the higher classes where the owners are more committed to ongoing training, rather than getting the basics and moving on. We have two Golden Retrievers that we walk a lot around the neighbourhood. They get a lot of attention, and we are often told how beautiful they are. This can be a double edged sword because people are also aware that they are a valuable item and could be resold. We were especially concerned when they were puppies. We always padlock our gate when we go out and have a high fence which it would be difficult to get over. They are both adult dogs now but, being Golden Retrievers, they would happily go with anyone friendly so we continue to lock the gate, we'd rather be safe than sorry Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

My son is a carpenter who, not long ago, was employed erecting Granny Flats. His employer insisted that all the owners dogs be contained while his workers were on the site, and also that all excretia be removed from the site (the backyard) before work commenced each morning. It is an OHS issue. The workers on the site should be protected. Also the safety of the dog is a concern, what if a gate or the door is left open and the dog escapes ? Who is to blame then ? Seems like bad workplace practises to me and the owner should be asked to restrain the dog. It is a very hard position your son is in, as a more senior employee, and his boss, should never have allowed this situation to happen . He is well within his rights to ask to have the dog restrained while they are on the site.

We had a barking complaint about one of our GRs from a neighbour 2 doors up. The adjacent neighbours had no problems with the barking but did say she would bark occasionally. We were quite worried as the complaint came in the form of a nasty letter in the mailbox and when we spoke to the complainant to find out details and try to work it out he made veiled threats - as in "when he was a child people poisoned annoying dogs" I found an app called Bark'n mad which I installed on my iPad which tapes the dogs when we go out. It has lots of features including some way you can tape your voice to speak to the dog. We only use the basic recording. We get a graph of the noise made and a recording you can play back. We record our dogs every time we go out. It has given us a lot of peace of mind. We did make changes so the offending dog could no longer see her triggers but it also reassured us she was not barking for long periods. We recently got a puppy and it also lets us know if she is crying when we are gone - we hear them rumbling at lot - and bashing in and out of the dog door - but no crying - yay! If you did have a spurious complaint you can use the recording to play to Council. You can easily tell if it is not your dog barking, we have dogs barking all down our street and it is obvious who is who.

I have two Golden Retrievers at the present time, both females, one 4 years and one 6 months. I agree with the previous two comments that the behaviour you describe is not dominance but bad puppy manners. As far as the situation with the children is concerned I would say that in my experience GRs loooove children. If the children are, as would be natural, reacting to her harassing them the dog will interpret this as playing, which will encourage the behaviour. I went through the same problem with my granddaughters. Encourage the children to sit still and ignore her. An adult will need to be present to discipline the dog so she understands her behaviour is not acceptable. Keep the dog on a lead until she calms down. As far as the problem problem with other dogs is concerned, GRs also loooove other dogs. The are naturally friendly, which is a good thing, however they seem to lack an instinct for boundaries with other dogs and are well known for "getting in other dogs faces". Again you need to be responsible for keeping her under control. I would not be taking her to dog parks and letting her run off lead. One day she will barrel up to a dog who takes offence to her exhuberance and she may end up being hurt. GRs are also known to be slow to mature. I have been told by lots of GR owners and breeders that they are will puppies til they are two years old. I have found that mine seem to have a brain snap around 18 months sort of like " oh - so that's what she means by - stay" The positive is that GRs are lovely friendly dogs. In general they loooove everyone and everything. They are very trainable and really want a to please their humans. I would suggest you join a dog training club and work on basic obedience. The work you put into her now will be paid back in spades when she gets older. Please don't be tempted to banish her to the outside, GRs really need to be with their family.

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/-gl57zl.html This is a follow up story to a dog attack that happened a few months ago. It is disturbing on many levels but I thought it was worth sharing

Golden Retriever - hair - first thing I say to people who ask about owning Goldens - you can't be house proud because you will have dog hair all over your house. Also they always think they are starving.

I have a Delta accredited therapy dog - my dog was assessed by Delta for suitability and I attended a training day for handlers, but no additional training was involved. My dog was a rescue dog who,at the time she was assessed, had only basic obedience training. I have continued with her obedience training and she has progressed much further now, but I don't think anything more than basic obedience is required. You do, however, need a strong bond with your dog. Delta was looking for a dog with a certain type of personality. I would speak to Delta about what they are specifically looking for, but in my opinion, they like a dog that is very steady, no aggression (of course), calm, friendly, not timid and willing to take everything in their stride. I have another dog of the same breed who is a lovely friendly, gentle girl but is just not steady enough to be a therapy dog. We visit a day service for young adults with disabilities so there is a lot of noise, rough patting, and jumping up on laps of people in wheelchairs. It does not only involve visiting people in nursing homes. Speak to Delta, they will be happy to advise you. I can honestly say that it is one of the most rewarding things I do, good luck.

I also own two Golden Retrievers and I caught my breath a few times watching that video. I also worry that it perpetuates the myth that if you buy a Golden a Retriever puppy you will be assured of ending up with a dog like that one. Golden Retrievers are big boisterous dogs which need training and socialising the same as any other dog. I once encountered a man walking a GR which was pulling him along, and which he obviously no control over, he commented to us that we got a "well behaved one" - no - we had spent 2 years at obedience classes with her. I think my dogs are beautiful and the softest and gentlest of dogs but I worry about inexperienced dog owners who are choosing to buy a GR based on videos like this and end up with a GR bouncing around knocking over the baby and chewing up all the stuffed toys.

I just completed an assessment for my dog to be a Delta dog today. There was no cost involved. Check on the Delta website under volunteering. There is a video showing the assessment procedures and information about the requirements. Riley passed the assessment so we were pretty thrilled. Tomorrow I go to a training day for humans. Then we will be set up with a place to visit. There were dogs and people of all shapes and sizes there to be assessed. The assessment was very professionally done and very gentle. It seems a great organisation to me and I can't wait to start volunteering - again I stress no cost to me was involved

Also talk to mine all the time - I look at their faces and think they are answering me. Mine are both GRs and they do "talk" - they whine and make little tipping sounds when they are excited. When they know we are going in the car the noisy excitement can't be contained. I mostly call them gorgeous girls

Edited

http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/news/latest_releases?sq_content_src=%2BdXJsPWh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGZWJpenByZC5wb2xpY2UubnN3Lmdvdi5hdSUyRm1lZGlhJTJGMzc2MTMuaHRtbCZhbGw9MQ%3D%3D In the news this morning

Just saw a report on Channel 9. The dog was an American Pit Bull incorrectly registered as another breed ( I think they said Australin Terrier) with the Council by a vet. The dog was registered to the woman's grandson, 2 dogs belonging to him had been previously euthanised for attacking a police officer. The grandson is serving a gaol term for drug dealing. There were 2 other dogs registered as living at the house but they have disappeared. Sounds like a disaster waiting to happen - and where have the missing dogs gone off to?

No question that Goldens recognise other Goldens- mine always used to go nuts when she was a puppy and she saw another Golden, more nuts than she went for any other breed. She's more restrained now but she always greets another Golden with great interest and a big tail wag. She also can pick out another Golden from a long distance, the ears go up, she gets very alert and she follows it's progress across the park, obviously hoping it will come over to visit with her.