Chapter 3 · Alone time
Velcro, or distressed?
Following you to the bathroom is velcro. Pacing, drooling and still going at thirty minutes is distress. Film it, and you'll know.
- Seconds first: ten seconds behind a door, then a minute, then five
- A chew that only appears when you leave
- Boring goodbyes, boring hellos
- A settle on a mat across the room, then the next room, then the door closed
- Never leave longer than they can cope with while you train
- Severe: talk to your vet about medication alongside the plan
Every panic rehearses the next one. Shrink the absence to what they can manage and build from there.
Sample page · The Golden Retriever Handbook
Chapter 4 · The coat
The three mat zones
Mats form behind the ears, under the armpits and on the trousers first. They pull the skin and hide hot spots.
BrushSlicker two or three times a week, undercoat rake daily in the moult, comb through the feathering. Ten minutes, outdoors, with treats.
Never shaveThe double coat insulates against heat and sun. It grows back patchy and wrong.
After every swimDry the ears and the coat, especially under the ears, armpits and belly.
Hot spotA wet red patch overnight. Same-day vet. Dry coat, monthly flea prevention, check the mat zones.
A damp Golden is a hot spot waiting to happen. The towel by the door is the cheapest vet bill you'll avoid.
Sample page · The Golden Retriever Handbook
Chapter 5 · Hips and joints
Exercise by age
Growth plates close at twelve to eighteen months. What you do before then decides the hips at eight.
- Puppy: five minutes per month of age, twice a day, plus free play on grass
- No bike runs, hikes, stairs at speed or jumping off furniture until 12–18 months
- Adult: 1.5–2 hours a day, varied: walks, swimming, retrieving with rules, scent games
- Avoid endless ball on hard ground with skidding stops: that's how cruciates tear
- Neuter later: early neutering raises joint and cancer risk in Goldens
- Senior: shorter, more often, swimming for the joints
Stiff after rest and fine after a few minutes is arthritis, not age. It is very treatable.
Sample page · The Golden Retriever Handbook
Chapter 11 · Health by age
The quiet cancer signs
Around six in ten Goldens get cancer. Most of the common ones are treatable when caught small. This is the list.
LumpsAny lump that grows, changes or bothers the dog: test it. Hands over the whole dog once a month.
GlandsSwollen glands under the jaw, in front of the shoulders or behind the knees.
EmergencyA sudden pot belly, pale gums, weakness or collapse. Nearest vet now.
QuietA limp that doesn't settle, weight loss, tiredness, off food, a wound that won't heal. Vet this week.
Insure before the first vet visit. In this breed, that decision matters more than in any other.
Sample page · The Golden Retriever Handbook
Sample pages are shortened for the web. The handbook goes deeper on every one, and every chapter has a tool to tap, slide or tick.
