JJ: Growing up is so hard for a puppy – I am experiencing my growing pains, including the rapid loss of my teeth. Thankfully, by some sort of magic, new teeth come in quickly to replace the old teeth.
Alanis: I, for one, am grateful for this. His old teeth were sharp, and when he bit my ears, it REALLY hurt. These new teeth are bigger but are also less sharp. They match my choppers!
JJ: It is tough to “gum” my food, though the wonders of nature don’t allow us to have gaps in our mouths for long.
Alanis: That isn’t your only growing pain!
JJ: Nope. I am growing like a weed, and my appetite is through the roof as my parents need to keep up my weight as I grow. This is important for Goldens (and any big breed for that matter!): You have to keep up with our weight as we grow, as you don’t want us to be too skinny. You also can’t allow us to become fat, because trust me, I will eat 5 pounds of food if you put it in front of me.
Alanis: You are becoming an adult – before you know it, you are going to be as big (If not bigger) than me. That doesn’t matter though, because I have become more assertive recently – not allowing you to get away with stuff like I did when you were a puppy.
JJ: The trainer predicted this! She said that Alanis will give me a “grace period” while I am a puppy, but eventually, she will start to assert herself when I am a pain in the butt. The trainer was right – Alanis has begun to knock me on my back, chase me when I steal her toy and bark at me if I am being naughty. This is good for my training – puppies have to learn to give other dogs space! This is something I am not good at in general.
Alanis: You can say that again. This puppy wants to say hi to every person and every dog on walks. It is incredible. Nobody has waved him off yet, but I am not sure if it will matter: When he is determined to say hi, you have no choice. He has even forced a FedEx driver to give him attention (obviously, he was out of his truck!)
JJ: It wouldn’t have mattered if he was IN the truck.
Alanis: True that.
JJ: My trainer says I am super social, even in class. We do a “walk-around” thing where the other dogs are supposed to stay still as I walk by them. I make that task almost impossible. I want to say hi!
Alanis: It is going to be hard for them to break you from that habit.
JJ: The habit is fine. I just need to reign it in. I am 30+ pounds right now. It will be a different story when I am 70+ pounds and a child is in my sight. We don’t need me trampling!
Alanis: Especially with daddy walking you. Not only will you trample the kid, you will knock daddy over to the ground.
JJ: I am attached to my mommy. Whenever I come out of my crate, I make a beeline for wherever mommy is sitting. She takes several pictures of me, posting them all over social media.
Alanis: If I have taught you anything, it is that you can’t go wrong with mommy.
JJ: She gives me my meals and pours me two bowls of goat’s milk every day. I love my life.
Alanis: We had a long day today.
JJ: You really didn’t, diva! I had to go to a 1-hour class where I worked really hard today, followed by a long walk in warm weather (don’t worry, folks – daddy took me when it was a little cooler outside), and a long play session with you, where daddy hid some treats inside toys to keep us occupied. I am pooped!
Alanis: Not pooped enough to play again though, right?
JJ: Never! Once my nap is over tonight, I will be ready to go for a few more hours.
Alanis: Good! I didn’t go for that walk today (it was determined that I needed a bit of a break from the walking for a day – I just need to recharge my crazy batteries sometimes. I am a bit quirky about walks), so I needed the JJ exercise this afternoon.
JJ: No worries, I will give you another workout shortly.
Alanis: I can’t wait. When are you going to start going outside by yourself?
JJ: Soon. Mommy and daddy don’t think I am ready for that yet off leash.
Alanis: The freedom of just wondering the yard by yourself is a feeling like no other.
Me: JJ is still a bit too crazy, in our opinion, to be trusted outside by himself. Eventually, I will put him outside on his leash and just watch to see where he goes. That was the first step I took with Jeter when he was a puppy – work up slowly to just opening the door and letting him go to take care of business on his own. I probably was a little more lenient with Jeter, but that goes back to knowing your dog: Jeter was a disciplined, obedient dog who didn’t wander around outside for a long time. That allowed me to quickly let him begin exploring on his own at a relatively young age. JJ is a crazier dog who I fear can find a way out of the yard (even if it is fenced in!) if I give him too much slack right now. So, we still take him out on a leash until he matures more. Knowing your dog is the most important part of training your dog. Something another dog takes up quickly in class may be something your dog needs work on and vise versa. Don’t let them lose the stuff they are good at – but work hard on those things they aren’t good at.
JJ is likely close to being done with losing his baby teeth. We are always fascinated by how nature works with our 4-legged friends. I am sure there is discomfort and awkwardness as he continues to grow into his body, and that is OK. Just make sure your Golden is growing appropriately, and try not to let them do too much jumping as they grow – a Golden needs strong hips. You can’t keep a dog from ever jumping – but you can limit the behavior.