New Dog

I've only had a dog one other time, and got him as a very young pup (rescued from fight ring breeders), but now that I've been dogless again for a couple years, I've been looking into bringing another one home. A neighbor is moving and can't take their dog with them, and I was considering taking her in. She's a 3 1/2yr old Golden, much calmer than most Golden's I've come across. She's a lil' on the porker side too, and in need of some serious grooming. Anyway, she's spent her whole life as an outdoor dog. Only been in their house once or twice, for a few minutes at a time. Whether it be 100 in the summer, or 2' snow in the winter. I know the breed is very smart, and all dogs differ, but would she have more trouble being housebroken because of her age and background than say, a puppy? I really don't want to bring her home and keep her as an "outdoors only" dog...I spend most of my time with my horses, and she'd be coming to the barn with me, plenty of room for her to run and play, but on days I'm out of town, I want to know my family will be able to let her inside. Help please! :?: :?: :?:

 

I am sure if you were to potty train her like any other dog she would be just fine...it is really nice of you to want to adopted a dog that isnt a puppy...she would probley be very happy with you....i would just treat her like any new dog you would bring home and take her out every couple hours to go outside to pee, she should catch on....goodluck

 

Hello and wellcome to the forum!

That's very nice of you to be thinking of taking her in! I love Goldens!
They realy are a very smart breed of dog.

Here is a link that I think may help you! http://www.wonderpuppy.net/canwehelp/htgen.htm

Good luck to you! and let us know what you have decided to do.

Susan

 

I think you should be able to housetrain her okay. Poor Golden - they are NOT outdoor dogs! Goldens are very sensitive, people-oriented dogs. They need to be near their people!

Kudos to you for taking her in. I think you will be very happy with her! It will take her a little while to adjust to being inside, but be patient, positive, and consistent with the rules and she will learn quickly. Treat her like a puppy - keep her with you or in sight all the time until she learns what is proper house behavior.

Also, try to get that weight off her. It's not good, especially if she develops hip problems!


Jamiya

 

who ever said you cant teach an old dog new tricks? :wink:

 

Some people are amazed that my dogs both live in the house with me. I, on the other hand, are amazed by people who have dogs that are not allowed inside. I hope people that do keep them outside spend alot of time with their dogs. I'm sure there would be good owners out there who do put the effort in even though their dogs are outside... but I'm yet to see one. Dogs are a pack animal and get very lonely by themselves, it's unnatural to keep them by themselves all the time. I see quite a few dogs that are kept like this, and their owners wonder why they develop behaviour problems such as barking and digging lots of holes- pulling clothes off the line etc, etc caused by boredom. I know someone that has a golden retriever & it lives in quite a small backyard and never gets walked. The reason that it's never walked is because the owner says that the dog pulls on the lead. Then the dog doesn't get taken out for this reason, and when it does it is SOOO excited and can hardly contain himself. She just gets fraustrated and angry wiht it and thinks she has a majorly disobedient dog on her hands. I have seen a couple of people getting angry at their dog for pulling on the lead, yet they are not showing the dog what they'd like it to be doing or training it at all.
Anyway I have gone off the subject a bit. I hope I didn't offend anyone who has outdoor dogs. If you are a member of this board then you probably do care and put the effort into your dogs wellbeing. I'm just sharing what I have seen and come across. Also if you have two dogs that are kept outside, that would be better as they'd keep each other company.
I get so worried about my pup if I have to go out for the night, coz she is quite a skinny little thing... luckily when I have had to go out we have had warm nights. I'm going out again soon and my Mum is going to "baby" sit my dogs! I also worry about my dogs when it's too hot... I know that one of them loves the cool spot underneath my bed on hot days--he just goes under there and FLOPS! He pretty much stays there all day- he can't handle it when it's really hot. But then again I am a worrier...

Let us know what you decide and how it goes... good luck

 

good fo your
I would go with how you train a new pup. Pople have asked this before and that is the advise given. My brother rescued an outdorr 5 year old golden and she got housebroken no problem

good luck

honeybear

 

Jules- I agree with you 200% on your thoughts on the topic of keeping a dog outdoors all the time.

 

On a footnote- why would someone by a dog just to chain him/her in the backyard? I don't understand it!!!!!

 

I hate it when people make their dog(s) lawn ornaments....poor things have to watch their pack from the outside never being allowed to become a member.

I say go for it

 

I just wanted to add that she may be a little wild in the house at first. We took in a dog a few years ago that had never been inside and when we brought her in she had no manners and drove my hubby crazy. After time she was able to learn how to behave in a house and we found her a nice family. I say this not to scare you but so you will have patience with her at first when she doesnt know what a house even is. Some people dont give dogs proper time to adjust and throw them back out. Not saying you would but this little girl sounds like she deserves a chance!! GOOD LUCK to you guys and let us know how it goes!

 

Thanks guys! I think I'm going to go ahead and bring her over to the barn at the end of the week when the weather clears a bit, and see how she gets on with the barn dog and let her meet the horses. Well. The nicer ones anyway! It'll take time before she's horse savvy, but I don't think a kick to the head in the first 5 minutes is the way to go about her gaining a respectful fear lol If that goes well, I'll go ahead and bring her home to meet the family. That'll be the tough one. They weren't too fond of the last dog, so she's gonna have to be on her best behaviour to win them over. She's so sweet...I hope she can do it! Apparantly her family now has been trying to find a home for her for over a month now. And I just happened to jokingly ask if I could have her. What luck! Maybe I should ask for a million dollars too? haha
I'll keep you guys posted. Thanks for everything!

 

Hey Girl, when you get that Million can I have half? :mrgreen: You're too funny! I truly hope that she gets along with your furbabies, and has a new forever home with you. Did you look at that link that i gave you? I thought it had some great stuff in there! I saved it in my favorites.

So how many furbabies do you have? And how did you find this site? I'm always interested in that...if you don't mind that is!

Keep us posted! Susan