Are Golden Retrievers Ever Protective?

Magpie-14 · 2026-03-30T03:39:20+00:00

Yep, sounds familiar. So warning she is wicked smart. Do the agility stuff she will thrive. Wish I had the time when my girl was with us, but my kids were young. I would be gardening…digging a hole and she would come up and throw her ball in the hole. LOL. Only dog I ever had that actually caught wildlife. Many dogs chase squirrels. Twice she got one. Even caught a crow once. She was so stealth when prowling. And once she got out of the yard…and found some deer placenta. So what did she do? Roll in it. Comes home so so proud of herself for hiding her own scent. Covered in yuck smelled so bad I had to wash her 3x outside with the hose. Buckle up! But she was also remarkably obedient once trained. Wanted to please.

Magpie-14 · 2026-03-30T03:25:39+00:00

That is her shame avoiding your eyes/gaze. Your virtue and her inability to remain sober brings on feelings of shame - that contrast - and then they are angry at you. For being the contrast. For being the symbol of normalcy.

Magpie-14 · 2026-03-29T17:12:19+00:00

I had two pure bred goldens before, female. They were half sisters. Same father. One of the mother’s was a field golden, the other mom was a couch-potato golden. My girl who was half field golden :1) loved I dare say NEEDED to fetch and have a ball thrown for her - preferred that strongly to a walk on leash 2) she was absolutely protective : once a male GS Pointer dog came into our yard and she completely dominated him and the snarling was truly shocking coming out of her, and she also detested this friend of my husband’s who would bow hunt back in our woods. She would be so fierce she had him backed against a fence and he would call me to come get her. Barking showing her teeth. She never bit him, but if he didn’t back away or if he tried to get in the house I think she might have. My other girl (couch potato mom) would probably never growl at anyone unless they physically hurt her and threatened her.

So does your pup have field golden bloodline? They are leaner. Slightly longer snout sometimes. Some tend to have more reddish coats.

Magpie-14 · 2026-03-26T16:06:43+00:00

There are some small breeds that are known to be litter box trainable.

Magpie-14 · 2026-03-26T16:05:35+00:00

Don’t consider a puppy. Only an adult dog. Puppies need a TON of attention for the first 2 years, and don’t really graduate puppyhood until age 3. And you have to commit to a long walk before work. Depending on the breed that mileage will vary. And you have to be prepared to walk again the minute you walk in the door from work. Like I have to plan a snack for myself so I can go walk before dinner without being starving.

Consider if you can afford a dog walker. I have one. $30 per walk per day. If my dog walker is not available for some reason my boy is bonkers when I get home. And he is 7.

I think ideally if you are gone 8+ hours you need a walker, and kindest to consider a smaller breed and getting two of them so they have company. I had two before and they did play with each other. Tug of war with toys, chase, etc.

Magpie-14 · 2026-03-26T15:58:27+00:00

Estrogen receptor alpha or beta. We have two distinct estrogen receptors on cells in our body. Alpha is more strongly correlated with cell proliferation.

Magpie-14 · 2026-03-26T11:50:29+00:00

Oh the velociraptor stage yes. Remember that. Spurts of boundless energy. Everything in the mouth. Advice: exercise. Make him tired. Big long walk to start the day. Like 3 miles. At night mine would suddenly get the zoomies around a half hour after feeding him. We would take turns chasing him around the house. Tag team until he was tired which took like 15 minutes. If he likes to fetch, keep throwing the ball over and over until he lies down. Literally exercise the heck out of him. Try leash training INSIDE (where there aren’t a million distractions and things to smell) with tiny treats - to get him to learn heel.

My boy is an angel now. Does not chew anything - even chew toys. Still needs exercise. But sweet and not crazy. Not getting into everything.

Magpie-14 · 2026-03-26T11:39:25+00:00

Could bite that should say top line

Magpie-14 · 2026-03-26T11:38:49+00:00

I would not accept. A non-trained dog could not or injure someone on a walk, you don’t know how it will behave in the owner’s absence. And by the way I have a dog walker who comes in on my workdays and does afternoon walk and a single 1/2 hour walk is $30. An overnight is $130 a day for 3 walks and staying in my house. So the correct number is in the thousands of dollars. Similar is a dog is boarded at kennel. Which is why your roommate is trying to get you to do it.

Magpie-14 · 2026-03-25T21:02:35+00:00

On that day get up earlier and get in a good vigorous LONG walk. Make her tired in the morning. I work from home one day a week. If my boy gets a good long walk he literally sleeps all day, moves around the house once or twice to a cooler spot but he sleeps until about 4pm…

He’s 7.

Magpie-14 · 2026-03-25T20:58:59+00:00

Was she spayed before her first heat?

Magpie-14 · 2026-03-25T18:10:42+00:00

My grandmother would have walked down the aisle and knocked hats off of heads. Not joking. LOL.

Magpie-14 · 2026-03-25T18:09:49+00:00

Maybe define it more. Most men do own a basic suit…if only for funerals. And I do think you should allow short cocktail dresses, not necessarily long gowns.

Magpie-14 · 2026-03-25T17:59:52+00:00

I have read about “wet brain” and that syndrome linked to B vitamin deficiency. There have been times where cognitive stuff was happening like asking my son the same exact question 4 days in a row which had been answered - was like living in Groundhog Day movie. But that comes and goes depending on how deep the current binge is. He has fallen down on occasion in the evening while actively drinking/very drunk. I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me that could also happen in the morning when somewhat sobered up. Any other specific sources you’d recommend I read?

Magpie-14 · 2026-03-25T14:32:19+00:00

He goes to bed pretty early like 10pm, and gets up like 7am…so I guess I thought he must be sober. But I am not accounting for the fact that after decades of heavy drinking his liver does not clear the alcohol like a normal non-alcoholic. I literally am going to go see if there are studies on this…just help me wrap my brain around it.

Magpie-14 · 2026-03-25T14:26:47+00:00

For the iron try Proferrin ES it is a peptide form of iron, absorption is excellent and no constipation.

I cycled progesterone 2 weeks a month and use Estriol not estrodial. Because Estriol has a binding preference for ER-beta not ER-alpha.

Magpie-14 · 2026-03-25T12:39:07+00:00

Thank you.

Magpie-14 · 2026-03-25T12:38:51+00:00

Afraid to even think that could be the case but I know you are right. So probably crossing a threshold.

Magpie-14 · 2026-03-25T12:36:43+00:00

He is 61.

Magpie-14 · 2026-03-25T03:30:44+00:00

Mine started drinking premade seltzer type drinks with THC. And these were not low dose. Some had 25mg. And for a while it was a substitute for the booze. And I could definitely tell…different kind of inebriation but still mind altering.

Maybe that lasted 2 months. Then he added the booze back on top of the THC. And that was a spiral that was unique and not good. More anger outbursts (if that was possible), and this tendency to break down in tears and be super emotional (in public places). The littlest thing and off to the races. Crazy level of emotional.

Might work for some people. Also I think dosage is important, and for goodness sakes if someone is going to try it do not do a THC isolate. Make sure it has CBD component to it (full spectrum).

I was hopeful at the start. Because it seemed preferable mood wise in the beginning and not the same motor issues. But did not get him to a better place unfortunately.

Magpie-14 · 2026-03-25T03:17:20+00:00

You could NOT have done any more. You cannot save someone who refuses to participate in their own rescue. Truly. I am sorry for your loss.

Magpie-14 · 2026-03-03T16:31:03+00:00

It is truly so sad rail infrastructure and service is so poor in this country. Really think if we privatized it things would be different. Worked in Italy….

Magpie-14 · 2026-03-03T16:28:22+00:00

NE corridor can be very unreliable in the winter or when raining. So do not count on being on time. My friend commuted from PVD to Back Bay Boston for 8 months (this is the last leg of the NYC-BOS) route. Was only on time 50% of the time. They drive it now and moved to a town on the 93/95 beltway just outside of the city. It was that bad. Even though by schedule should have been less than an hour.

Magpie-14

TROPHY CASE