6 month old male golden retriever with endless energy

[Miffymeow]

We've had our golden for 4 months now and he's just turned 6 months. He has on and off been a sweet little angel but nearly the second he turned 6 months he has become an unruly energy demon!! He has a dog door, we have a dog walker come in during the day, we visit him at lunch, we take him out again after work, but the more we walk him, the more energy he seems to have! He has ripped up most of the kitchen lino, tears his bed apart and humps it all day, digs up the garden and barks. He must have 50+ toys at this point but he loses interest in them quickly. We can't find any chews that he can't eat in under 5 minutes (he's a big guy, not overweight, just very large and strong). Even full sized pigs ears he can now crunch through in 5 minutes.

We are really struggling to find ways to use up his energy / keep him entertained. Any ideas?

Also if you have had a male golden retriever, when did they start to calm down? He has so much energy he does zoomies round the kitchen and jumps and bites from excitement!

We don't want to get him 'done'. We will eventually if we have to but not until he is full grown at least.

[EyeOfTheTigger]

I have my third Golden. They mature around the 12-18 month mark generally. I agree with PP that your dog is being left far too long. It's good that you pop home for lunch and have a dog walker, but Goldens (and many dogs) are very social animals and want company and interaction. Having toys is not enough, they want you to play with the toys with them.

I would consider some of the suggestions above (Kong, antlers etc) and maybe take your dog to obedience classes. Goldens are very easy to train and enforcing commands now will stand you in good stead later. Think about doing the KC Good Citizen training scheme.

There's really no reason to wait to get your dog neutered now he's 6 months. The fact he's humping his bedding shows he's acting out sexually and developing dominance.

[Applesaregreenandred]

Our dog also became more troublesome at around 6-9 months. We had left him in the kitchen whilst we went to work from about 14 weeks (PT/shift so not all day) and he was fine but around 6 months of age he started destroying the kitchen . Whether it was separation anxiety or simply his age I don't know. We found that a Thunder Coat helped him a lot and he grew out of the destroying tendencies after a few more months (although a smaller breed which may make a difference.

One thing about the length of time you are leaving him, our dog is left longer on done days now as DS who was previously in college has started work and the days I am home later I do notice he is much more unsettled in the evening.

[Fannyfanakerpants]

I have a 14 month old lab x collie. At 6 months, I cried daily about her. And she has always been a good, calm dog. There is a good reason that so many dogs this age end up in rescues. They're not cute puppies anymore and suddenly need far more work than you realised. Go back to basics and re teach what he should already know.
I think ideally, dog day care would be best but you've said thats not an option, so make the most of what you can do. Mine can't do ability as she gets too excited and even obedience classes hype her up, so we do scent work now. I found the naughty but nice fb group a great help for games to promote recall. And try to wear him out mentally with clicker games, puzzles etc. It will pass and you'll begin to enjoy him again. Just remember that everything you do today, will make him a better dog this time next year. It's not an overnight solution.

[PuppyMonkey]

Our golden retriever was exactly the same OP. The one thing I can recommend is Good Boy chew braids - they last him bloody ages and he’s exhausted by the time he polishes one off. Might help calm him in the evenings? [[
www.hihouse.co.uk/good-boy-large-chewy-braid-90g.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIuuKjgvOu4AIVxbHtCh0mMgoiEAQYByABEgJsZ_D_BwE]]

[Historydweeb]

Hope OP I'm on golden retriever no. 4 and they can be a bit like this at that age.
Unfortunately they thrive off company much more than other breeds and any time spent apart from you will seem like much longer to him. I don't suppose either of you are in an office which allows pets? I know that might be a totally shit suggestion but they don't do well on their own at this age.
Failing that some doggy company? Borrow neighbours dog for his morning walk?

[IrmaFayLear]

My golden retriever was awful between 6 and 18 months, peaking at about a year old. Truly awful . Endless energy, humping, pulling on lead, escaping (in pursuit of laydeees)...

I had him neutered at 13 months, which made a lot of difference. I also got a personal trainer, as we had been thrown out of two dog training classes .

He is still a ball of energy at nearly 6 years old. Just been for my second long walk of the day!

He is the Best though. Ever friendly, loving, gentle... But he does demand company. Wherever I am, he is. I don't think golden retrievers do well if they are left for hours on end every day.