Offered a three year old golden retriever .. we've just met him ..

[goshwhatnow]

And he's divine ! Huge though, mouthy and affectionate.
This will be a rehomed dog as family situation is not suitable for a dog and the dog needs so much more than the family can cope with at the moment.
The dog is from a. Reputable breeder, kennel club , microchipped, vaccinated, wormed etc. I've seen all the paperwork.

When we met him, he was in a small area surrounded by a child safety gate.
He had not been out for his walk but had been out in the garden for
Most of the day.
He was extremely excited, mouthy... pulling at my sons sleeve and hand and actually put a hole in his sleeve. He was dying to get out and knocked through his safety gate. And big! He is so tall also when completely upright.
This is where he spends his evenings as kids are very small.

We are dying to have him as part of our family but need to know that we are a good fit for him and he is a good fit for us.
We are a family of four. Very calm, quiet and relaxed home. Plenty of room but normal sized garden, side passage with a large shed.
What would you advise here ?
Some More training or is this just the way grs are at this age and stage and f development ?

If you have time, patience and love then it will work. Make sure everyone in your family is on board. You will need to do your homework on the breed and be prepared to put in the training and boundaries right from the start. Positive reinforcement ( high quality treats for training only) plenty of exercise and mental stimulation will help no end.
Why not see if you can take him out for a walk to get a gauge on what he's like on the lead and around others such as people other dogs and animals. Find out about his recall - you may need to work on that using a long line lead. Not everyone or other dogs like a GR bounding up to them!
All the best x

Personally I wouldn't crate train. If he hasn't been put in one before he will be really upset to be taken out of his usual environment then put in a crate. And you would need a massive one if he was to be comfortable in it. When we brought our stressed, overexcited dog home we got a bed for the kitchen and a large dog cushion for the sitting room. She very quickly learnt to lie down on her cushion next to us after some cuddles and fuss or after some training or a walk. She felt secure next to us but could walk around, stretch herself, come over for another cuddle when she wanted. This seemed to reassure her whereas I think not being able to come right next to us, or settle further away when she wanted might have made her more anxious.

It sounds like normal behaviour for a large friendly dog stuck in a small space.
They need space to unfurl and stretch, not be locked in a small area. Free range, throughout at least one level of the house. They like to know where you are at all times and they need the freedom to come and find you. GRs thrive on human companionship.
Crate training would be a terrible idea unless this dog comes with its own crate.
I'd say be careful during meal times in case this dog is protective of its food.
Otherwise just take him out loads and let him be with you at home, don't lock him away.
Go to some training classes and teach him 'drop' but bear in mind, a retriever quite likes feeling everything with its mouth, so it will retrieve everything.

It doesn’t sound like he’s been walked or trained properly. With time, love & patience he’ll come good. I’ve seen absolutely traumatised & shut down dogs transform. It’s about getting him a patient & committed owner. You sound just that.

As a side note, 3 years is still very young & I would expect puppy like behaviour unti around 4-5. My dog only calmed down at 5. Same with other family/friends dogs I’ve known. bar 1 that’s 6 & is still hyper!

True, we don’t have house size information, what space they have available, or if the same could be achieved with an unused part of the house, for example. You can get larger crates for big dogs; they can be expensive if new, but these are among the many things the OP needs to consider before making any decisions about taking this dog on.

I don't know how much experience of dogs you have @goshwhatnow ? But I would say this dog is going to be the biggest knob ever for at least 6 months, you are going to work really hard to train him consistently and then just when you think he has got it, he will regress, and make you question everything. If you are happy with that scenario then take the dog, because in 18 months, if you stick with the consistent training, you will not be able to imagine life without him

If he's three then he would have been a lockdown puppy - can you be certain that he has been properly socialised? And with your little one being so small that would be my biggest concern with such a big dog lacking in manners and boundaries.

That said as others have said are you willing to put in the work to make sure he is properly trained and socialised, and that he gets the daily exercise he needs. I know my dog, a border terrier who is 7, if she doesn't get a walk for some reason (which is very rarely) is an absolute bloody nightmare so he might be different if he had been able to expend some energy during the day. If you can make the commitment he sounds wonderful but he does sound like hard work right now.

That would be my guess too.

He needs building up (in fitness and in confidence/experience of the big wide world) to two decent walks a day. Do you have at least one adult who is strong enough to handle him and available to go for two walks of 30-60 minutes a day every day?

I would definitely encourage you to take him for a trial walk or two in different environments, and to see and walk past other dogs.

How old are your children? He could knock all but a well built adult over by just being boisterous and not having had the equivalent training.

I agree to some extend that you'll need to take him back to basics like puppy training, but also - he's had three years of learning to behave a certain way. He's not going to be as easy as a puppy to train out of some of those things, and there are some things like socialisation that he has missed important developmental milestones for and his brain is not going to be physiologically capable of learning to be very different.

TLDR: sense check that you can live with him if he didn't change at all from as he is right now. You'll likely be able to improve him, but maybe not as much as you would hope, and not in as many areas of his behaviour as you might think.

OP there are some questions to answer to determine if the dog is a good fit for you, and you for him.
How old are your children and will they be ok with such a bouncy dog?
Do you work and will you have time to train him?
Can you afford a personal trainer and possibly hiring a dog field for him?
Can you handle him on your own if he pulls and is very excited on walks?
What exactly are his issues? Is it just high energy and lack of training?
How is he with other dogs?
Could you go back for another visit and this time take the dog out for a walk to get a better idea?

I can guarantee walks, plenty of them. Lots of mental stimulation and lots of love and his physical needs met. I can guarantee dog training and follow professional advice to a tee and also guarantee teens and an adult daughter who Will follow through on any guidance given. He will Also live in a calm home with room in and out of the house to run and play and chew and experience so much love .

Sounds like he isn’t getting the physical or mental stimulation he needs at the moment - if you’re able to put the time in and have the patience to start from scratch with training where needed and dedicate a lot of time to walking and socialising him, I’d say go for it. Goldies are the absolute best and it sounds like you’re already thinking about how you can make his life better whilst acknowledging it’s going to have its challenges

I have asked for walk with him at the weekend.

This is the first thing I thought too. Labs need 2 good walks a day. Sounds like this poor dog might just have access to garden.

Have you seen him around other dogs? Have you walked him round a similar type of walk to what would be your standard walk at home?

Golden retrievers can be great big enormous loveable idiots, but they can also be a menace.

All dogs are trainable to a degree, but would you be happy with him basically as he is, or are you banking heavily on being able to change his behaviour significantly?

To be fair you sound perfect for him, but expect to put in the work as he sounds very understimulated and under trained! Definitely don’t crate train a 3 year old dog. We have a 3 year old lab so not the same but similar and the mouthing has long gone, thank god.

Also, be prepared for him to pull like mad on his lead and be prepared to put in the training.

Oh and with a golden retriever, be prepared for mud! For some reason they love rolling in muddy puddles. The other day we were at the park, my lab had “puddle zoomies” (running through as many puddles as he could find, as fast as he could) while a golden retriever just lay there in the muddiest puddle it could find 😂.

How old are your children? In my experience most kids are sooks about dogs. If he is as rambunctious as you say kids quickly get overwhelmed and scared. Dogs interpret their squealing as play and keep going.

Goldens are big, so can be even more intimidating for kids due to that. Their size means kids can be easily knocked over.

What will you do if the dog doesn't work out? I was the 4th owner of a three year old cocker. It's very unsettling for them and very unfair on them. She has issues but will be with me for life as that is what you take on when you choose to get an animal. They have no choice who they live with.

Given the dog's excitement when you saw him, you will need to invest time training manners. This can be done before meals as the meal is the reward. So ask him to sit and feed him as soon as he does. Once he's nailing that, wait a little longer before feeding. That will translate into stay. Before you do anything with him - pat, play, walk - ask him to sit. He'll learn that sitting is how he gets attention.

You will be tempted to say "no" a lot. Don't do that. No is not a command. Tell him what you want him to do. If he's jumping, you want him to sit. If he's on the couch, you want him to hop down. If he has something he shouldn't, you want him to drop it.

Agree as a family what your commands will be and stick to them. He will need a lot of consistency to settle in and be the wonderful family dog he can be.

Cross posted with you OP. If you have teenage kids, time money and commitment plus you have a trial walk to check for any hidden issues then I’d say go for it. Look up dog fields near you. Will be great for letting him blow off that energy without terrorising the local park.

I think he will love living with you OP. Lots of long walks and teens who will play with him and fuss him. In 6-12 months he'll be a different dog.

I would be worried about the mouthing that causes holes in clothing. GR should have soft mouths at that age. If it hasn’t been exercised much you will need to build up slowly.

Had parents had health checks?

Sounds like the dog isn’t getting enough walks or a routine. Not sure on the mouthing, but when we took our rescue on, we took him to the vet after 2 weeks as a just in case and for them to look over him. The dog might want a toy or something to chew on. There’s always an answer to the dog’s behaviour and you have to put the work in. It’s worth it in the end.

I really hope it works out for you. In 12 or 18 months he could be a fantastic dog and it does sound as if you are prepared to put in the work to get there.

Hopefully the weekend walk will go well because clearly this boy needs a more stable home environment asap.

I hope you get to adopt him. That sounds like a lovely life for him x

Unless you are very experienced dog owners, this would be a huge mistake. A big, mouthy 3 year old dog is a risk and it won’t be like training a puppy.

You do sound like you'd be a good fit for him.

I assume you have a household where somebody will be home with him most of the day every day?

And please do promise us you'll use a positive reinforcement only trainer. Some people call themselves "balanced trainers" - avoid. No prong or shock collars.

If he's a puller on lead, there's a few easy things to try.

As soon as he pulls:

• stop and ask him to sit. Walk on when he is calm. Keep repeating. If he's intelligent he'll work out pulling doesn't get him where he wants to be.
• if he's not very intelligent, try changing direction and walk the other way. That gets him paying attention to you.
• for the cocker I mentioned, she was a chronic puller. What worked for her was the lead going across her chest and clipping to the harness. It would pull her off balance if she pulled. Front clip harnesses do something similar I believe.