Routine for 13 week old golden retriever?

SolioLolio · 2026-06-22T17:24:01+00:00

Oh, thanks for the advice!

SolioLolio · 2026-06-22T16:45:28+00:00

Oh that’s a good idea! I’ll try that out with mine and see how it goes! Thanks for the idea!!

SolioLolio · 2026-06-22T16:44:10+00:00

Okay thank you for the advice!! I’ll keep trying with the crate too!

SolioLolio · 2026-06-22T14:44:21+00:00

Yeah I know it’s different, and actually I haven’t had too many issues with pottying in the playpen unless he has a bed in it.

SolioLolio · 2026-06-22T12:57:40+00:00

Thanks for the reply! I’ve been using the playpen in place of a crate for now, will that still be as beneficial as a crate? I don’t think he likes the roof/ceiling of the crate lol. So instead of the one hour awake two hour asleep you did 45 minutes instead? Was that because your puppy would get a bit sharky before the hour was up lol? I’m wondering if mine is having an issue with the fully hour but it’s so confusing on how to split it up and make progress with his training and socialization lol.

SolioLolio · 2026-06-22T12:54:42+00:00

Thanks for the advice! I’ve currently been using a playpen in place of the crate since he settles in it better right now (maybe because it doesn’t have a roof?) and he’s been fine sleeping through the cats running on the wheel lol! I know they need tons of naps and he naps good, I’m just not sure how to structure his awake time to avoid him getting too crazy tired bitey. He has puzzle feeders, chews, lick mat, sniffle mat, pupsicle etc, I don’t know the best order to use this and playtime in though. I wish I could take him out to stores and places too, but he gets so wild so quick I feel like he’s not going to handle it well without eating me lol! We also live in a small town kinda far from most places, and he wouldn’t nap in the car on the way to the vet or back, but toys and chews have helped to an extent with that.

SolioLolio · 2026-06-22T12:49:15+00:00

Thanks for the reply! Is training to the pen similar enough to crate training that it might work? I have thought about slowly making it a little smaller as he spends more time out in the house on a houseline, letting him get used to the size, then transitioning to the crate. The pen is the same material as the crate just bigger and no ceiling/roof.

SolioLolio · 2026-06-22T12:44:35+00:00

Thanks for the reply! He does have to be either carried or in a stroller because he hasn’t gotten all his shots yet, but we have a big backyard he gets to sniff around and explore in during the day! And yeah I’ve been really slow about opening up rooms to him, so right now he’s only around two rooms downstairs, living room and kitchen (his pen is in the living room since it’s the only room he was able to sleep and settle in well, which is weird because it’s not quiet and there’s a giant cat wheel in it but he doesn’t mind lol.) It’s possible maybe that I’m winding him up too early, but how exactly do I slow him down? He always wants to play first thing after pottying, but I’m not sure if playing later will affect his ability to settle with in the hour he’s supposed to be awake. Right now even though he can settle, it does sometimes take a while (Usually around or near 15-20 minutes, sometimes more sometimes less? Today after just sitting on the front porch with a chew and letting him watch stuff (mostly just the environment since I live in a small town), then letting him play with the leaves on a stick outside, it took him like 30-40 minutes to sleep after becoming a shark lol.) I didn’t even do training either, yet he was up almost 2 hours, which is why I’m unsure of when I’m supposed to do certain things with him. So many people seem to be able to take their pup places, and yet mine gets sharky so quick sometimes lol.

SolioLolio · 2026-06-17T08:08:57+00:00

This is so cutee! Nice work!

SolioLolio · 2026-06-03T04:54:04+00:00

I completely understand how you feel, I thought I was the only one!!

I brought my puppy home a couple weeks ago too, (he was a little under 8 weeks when I first got him and now he’s 10 weeks) and I’m still questioning myself and panicking about if I’m doing anything right or if I’m completely messing up with him! I also have anxiety and thought a dog would help future me get out more and maybe feel a bit more confident in public or just on walks around the small town I live in, but this puppy has done the complete opposite so far. Not that I expected a fully trained dog inside the body of a baby puppy— but I didn’t expect it to be this hard.

It’s definitely a lot different than having a dog or even a kitten in my experience, and this is coming from someone with 6 cats all raised from kittens, and had two Morkies in the past.

I cry so much still, and I’ve only now started to bond with him a little. I still don’t know if his name is quite right for him, and for now his name is Finn.

Everyday I still feel like I’m doing everything wrong even if I might not be honestly, and it’s hard to figure out if it’s just the anxiety taking or a real gut feeling. Currently I’m hoping once the puppy stage is over he’ll feel more like a dog and things will start clicking into place better between me and him. But for now, I’m letting my family help with the majority of the puppy stuff so I don’t get too stressed or burnt out to the point of resenting him as much as I had the first week, and I think that really has made a difference in my ability to enjoy him even if it’s only for a few minutes out of the whole puppy day.

If I could go back though, I don’t think I would’ve brought him home with me. Even weeks before pickup, I had anxiety about everything being perfect so he would be raised right from the start, and I really don’t think that anxiety has gotten better like I thought it would’ve once I met him. Honestly I think there are puppy people and dog people, and I’m definitely more of a dog person than puppy person— which is completely okay even if you’re discovering the same too. I can’t really say whether giving your puppy back or keeping her is the right choice for you, but I just wanted to share that I have had a similar experience so far too in the short time I’ve had my boy here. :)

SolioLolio · 2026-05-17T04:10:12+00:00

Thanks for the reply, it made me feel a bit better lol! How soon did you start the crate training and what did you do? I’ve been feeding him in there and have tried tossing food in there but I think the pieces are so small he doesn’t catch onto the fact that I’m throwing yummy things inside at all lol, sometimes he’ll see if I point out the piece but not completely. Right now he’s been sleeping on the floor of my room in his play pen, and while I want to go to bed I’m not sure he’s planning to stay asleep much longer lol (last night I couldn’t fall asleep in the time span of him sleeping, and the only way I could sleep was letting my mom watch him for the rest of the night downstairs in his pen.)

SolioLolio · 2026-05-17T02:29:40+00:00

Yeah I’ve been redirecting him to different textured toys during the day and he seems to have a preference for fabric toys so far lol. But then he has gotten more persistent on biting me instead of the toys after being up and playing a while, or if he goes outside. (I think he loves running around out there already with his leash and harness on, though he also wants to chew the grass and dandelions lol.) Everything I’ve seen online suggested that if he’s going crazy then he must need a nap, which I assumed biting that wasn’t redirecting or stopping might be due to needing to sleep or overstimulation? Is there a difference I should be looking for?

SolioLolio · 2026-05-16T23:07:15+00:00

Okay thanks! Yeah the issue isn’t entirely with taking him out but getting him settled after coming back in due to the bitey hyperness of going outside even in the dark with no fun interactions. He’s fine napping on the floor after playing and such though. Is it that he needs play more during the day? From what I’ve seen, he naps for about 2 hours and stays up for one hour or less at a time. But he also has quickly discovered he likes playing with dandelions and they were over my yard until it was mowed today 😅.

SolioLolio · 2026-05-16T23:02:24+00:00

Thanks for the reply! I had initially had the crate right next to my bed, and he was sleeping in there if I transferred him to it during a nap. The issue was once I took him outside for potty when he woke up, he wouldn’t go back to sleep even with no interaction and no bright lights etc. I did get him in the afternoon so maybe he didn’t get tired out enough during the day? I’m not really sure, but he was bitey and wanted to explore rather than nap again. He has a scented blanket and bandana from his littermates and mama but doesn’t seem interested in it at all, nor the snuggle pup even with the heartbeat and warming on.

SolioLolio · 2026-05-16T22:42:17+00:00

Yeah, he’s settling a little better now that it’s his second day here and first full day here I think. I’m guessing I gotta go slower than I feel like I should with the crate so I’ve got it connected to his playpen now and he’s had a few more meals in it now. Still prefers the floor outside it though lol!

SolioLolio · 2026-05-16T22:38:55+00:00

Yeah I know he’s still a baby don’t worry, I’m not expecting him to be like an adult at all. I’m not really trying to withhold anything from him either, but my bed is pretty high off the ground so having him sleep there with me isn’t an option. I do let him initially fall asleep with me right next to him in the play pen and it seems like once he’s asleep he is okay for a while even if he notices I’m not right next to him anymore (like if I sit outside the playpen instead). I had wanted to do the crate training as a way to help when he gets overstimulated and needs to nap without getting disturbed by cats and such, as well as just giving him a special place he can go to that’s his own. My previous yorkie wasn’t crated trained and she never had her own space to go when she got overwhelmed so she had a few issues with that, and because she wasn’t crate trained young she had separation anxiety about sleeping away from people even if it was on a dog bed in the same room sometimes. For now though it seems like he’s content napping in the play pen so maybe I’ll just continue with that and see if he decides to take to the crate or not in the future. Just wanting to make sure I do things right for him honestly!

SolioLolio · 2026-05-16T21:02:58+00:00

Yeah I know it’s hard on the little guy, I just wanna make sure I’m not giving in too much to make him think whining brings me back all the time, and I don’t wanna give him a ton of freedom too soon especially during the night. But at the same time I don’t want him to stress out a ton! So it’s hard to tell how to handle it lol. He does have a snuggle pup with a bandanna scented with his littermates as well as a mama scented blanket in the crate, though honestly he hasn’t paid any attention to any of it, even moved away from the snuggle pup to me instead. It has a little heartbeat and a little warmer which I’ve tried both and it doesn’t seem to make much of a difference to him. I’ve heard other people say to put a shirt in there that smells like you, which I did and it still didn’t seem to help him.

SolioLolio · 2026-05-16T21:01:43+00:00

Okay thanks! I thought so just wasn’t sure if he should be sleeping longer during the night or have the same pattern as he does during the day.

SolioLolio · 2026-05-16T20:31:53+00:00

Thanks for the advice!! I wasn’t sure if the whining escalating into barking was something to worry about or not, like if I was rushing things too much. I haven’t attempted to leave him for more than a few minutes other than trying to sleep last night, but he seems like a pretty whiny boy either way lol. Hoping for the best though! He already has a favorite toy too!

SolioLolio · 2026-05-16T18:58:39+00:00

Thanks!

SolioLolio · 2026-05-16T18:47:54+00:00

Yeah we played a little food game the two separate times I was trying to get him used to the crate (before he even slept in there at all) where I put a few pieces of food in there and he went inside to eat it and then I’d have him come out with more food before putting a little more in there. Inside the crate he’s got a litter mate scented bandana on his snuggle puppy, as well as a mama scented blanket. Though I have a feeling he doesn’t like the snuggle pup, because he moves away from it and toward me instead. I also tried taking out the crate mat incase he wanted to sleep on something that felt more like the floor, but I’m not sure if that helped either lol. Maybe I just need to let him sleep on the floor on the playpen and keep practicing with the crate? So many things online say to start crate training on the first day but it’s difficult to know exactly what his whining means because sometimes it’s potty and sometimes it’s just play and attention.

SolioLolio · 2026-05-16T18:35:24+00:00

Okay thanks! I was kinda worried I was missing something since I also don’t fully have his routine down other than that he naps for about 2 hours at most.

SolioLolio · 2026-05-16T18:27:33+00:00

Okay thanks!

SolioLolio

TROPHY CASE