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 ?

I think you need to walk away, as pps have said there are so many red flags - the pressure to take him right away, not wanting you to take him for a walk, apart from being untrained and biting through your son's sleeve.

Best thing would be for him to go to a rescue, especially one of the breed specific ones a pp linked to.

All Golden Retreivers are beautiful and adorable, so i think you need to put this aside, and think about the downsides of this particular dog, you may not be able to meet his needs.

The softness in me says I get it . I know his family situation. The cynic in me says he needs to get rid and fast . But , I have all the papers etc . It was just a walk I wanted . To see if we bonded , his recall, how he interacted etc

Please don't assume recall with someone else's dog. It's very much a thing between owner(s) and dog.

You won't find out much from this one walk; it will be too unusual for both you and the dog. I think you all need a bit of a cooling-off period before decisions are made to consider whether this is the right decision for your family. Because I have a feeling they just want to get rid of the dog quickly.

Walk away from this one. Spend a bit of time finding something that's more of a known quantity,through a reputable rescue or registered breeder.

Even then who can forget Fenton and his owner

If you were buying a used car from this man, you would reconsider.

A pedigree dog being given away for free? They just want him gone ASAP. In my opinion you are not getting the full story here.

Golden retrievers can be a handful if they have not been trained, socialised and exercised properly.

They don't want to allow you to take him for a test walk? Do you know what he is like with other dogs? Is there some behaviour that they don't want you to see.

I'm not sure how old your children are and without seeing the dog, I don't want to make any sweeping statements. At the very least you would be taking on a dog that needs extensive training and at the worst, maybe one with some difficult behaviours.

I would tread very carefully.

Speaking with the experience of having volunteered for a dog rescue in the past - have seen this situation many times. Don't believe everything the current owners say. Sorry to have to say that but have seen this happen before and the new owners then contacting local rescues for desperate help. But the rescues are full and the new owners are stuck with a problem dog.

If you want to rescue a dog then I suggest using a reputable rescue, albeit that won't be free. However you will have full rescue back up and the long term cost will most likely be a lot less than taking on a 'free' untested dog.

This is going to be very hard work and potentially turn your life upside down (maybe not in a good way). I would strongly suggest pushing for a 24 hour trial with him. Then you’ll really see what he’s like.

You are asking a bit much

You either want the dog or you don’t and it is definitely not fair on his kids if you take the dog fir a test drive for a week

Whats the hold up?

No she won’t see what the dog is like after 24 hours!

How ridiculous that’s a tiny snapshot

What would you suggest?

If the current owner really cared about this dog he'd let you take him for a walk and do the transition slowly.

I’d suggest that she takes the dog or she doesn’t

and if she takes it and gives it a few weeks but doesn’t want the dog then it’s her problem to solve

He sounds like he has great potential with a fab dog inside his puppy exterior.

Total back to basics training for him, learning to relax will be vital. You need a breed specific trainer. Search Golden Academy, they’re online and on Facebook.

He may need lots of patience and love but he will repay you handsomely!

I’d be worried they are hiding that he’s reactive. If he’s just high energy and untrained that’s one thing. If he’s reactive then you could end up with a big problem that you don’t have the experience to resolve.

I would guess the current owner's not giving the poor dog anything like enough stimulation, and I would guess he never has. Probably one of those people who think dog's just grow into being calm and obedient without any input from their humans. So he now has a large, untrained, stressed and uncontrollable dog and wants rid. Retrievers are extremely kind, gentle and eager to please which means this one will almost certainly be a wonderful pet once he's given enough attention and some structured training. Even at 3, this shouldn't be hard as they are some of the very easiest dogs to train. But this will obviously take a bit of time and cost money, and he will probably remain bouncy, mouthy and slightly feral for at least a few weeks. Whether this is something you're willing to accept is something only you know, but obviously with small children this might not be ideal.

HUGE red flag that he doesn't want you to try a walk I'm afraid. Competition for the dog is either fake to rush you or it's not, but if you want a Goldie and this isn't meant for you there are lots of breed-specific rescues who will match you much better.

Not all golden retrievers are loveable, cuddly fluff balls. Some can have serious behavioural problems and not suitable to be in family homes. If you had to rehome a loved family pet due to change in circumstances you would want to make sure new family were the right people and make it as smooth a transition as possible. So letting you walk them etc. There are reasons they want rid as quick as possible and they will not be good reasons

I know 3 people who have had to rehome retrievers due to serious behavioural issues

Walking a dog to find out how they are in the wider world is NOT asking too much.

Reputable rescue centres often insist on multiple walks for you to get to know a potential adoptee.

I'd bet my bottom dollar that the guy turns around and says "no backsies"

Goldens are amazing and the best. however they are 'teenagers' for a long time and at 3 are still at that stilly stage. they need a good long walk daily and lots of chew toys, and soft plush things to carry in their mouth. They love to 'retrieve' and mine would carry a soft plush toy in her mouth if she got excited or just as comfort. So re-direct if he is mouthy and give toy.

Ensure he has a space that is just for the dog, so kids cant follow and pester (cuddle). A safe kid free space for sleeping and retreating, kids can pull, over cuddle etc, which is not cute for the dog and they need space.

I adored my golden, they are just so loveable, kind and happy - they want love, attention and to be part of the family.

Do not out of the blue crate him. Mine had a crate, which was open, which had a bed in it ( it needs to be large and comfortable) and he would go there to rest etc, came in handy if a plumber came over or vet stay, so he was crate trained. But you need to go very slow and look up gentle slow crate training, it should be there safe, happy place, so put food it, toys etc and don't look in at the start.

edited to add; mine was an excited over enthusiastic walker that pulled like crazy until he was tired out, and by the age of 4 that settled. 2-3 years was a bit of 'teenage dog' nightmare, they need lots of exercise.

Not a GR but we adopted a spaniel 4 months ago, in similar circumstances and history that you have described. He was around 9 months old when we adopted him and he's the sweetest and most loving pup, but it has been a challenge training him, he came to us with no training at all and it's been difficult trying to improve some of his more stubborn behaviours such as the grabbing clothes, jumping up and trying to grab things out of our hands, he even drags my washing out of the machine as I'm trying to load it 🙈 he also didnt really know how to settle down, but this has recently started improving. don't get me wrong though, he has come on massively since we adopted him but he does require alot more attention and training then any other dog I've owned, we also have another dog which I feel has made it more difficult to train the new pup as shes always sticking her nose.

I do think part of it is his high energy drive and the usual walks and off lead walks don't do much to tire him out so I need to do scent games with him otherwise he's bouncing off the walls 🙈

It doesn’t sound like they care who the dog goes to as long as he goes.

i would be worried about them saying no to the walk. I can cope with a dog that’s not great on a lead - no walking round the block but as long as you have suitable big spaces where he is okay to be off lead that can work.

it’s recall and aggression that can become a problem.

it does sound like this poor dog has had a great start. Poor chap.

We’ve taken on a few dogs like this (all young labradors). You have to go into it thinking that the dog will be a live wire and need a lot of time, training and exercise before they turn into a nice dog. All three of ours were great in the end, but they all were challenging at times. I wouldn’t hesitate taking the dog you’re talking about on, but I know we will persist and not give up. You have to think does it suit your family - will they cope with a bouncy, giddy dog? Is your house and garden suitable? Do you have a trainer that will help. This dog sounds like it’s had enough let downs. Please don’t take it unless you have seriously thought about it. He will test you and put you through the mill a bit. But he may well turn into a fabulous dog too.