Your Pet Golden Retriever Deserves the Best in Care & Feeding

Because golden retrievers are relatively large dogs most people consider them outdoor dogs. While this works fine if you have a backyard it doesn't if you live in a apartment or condo. Golden retrievers love being around people and interacting with them but at times they like to have their privacy. Outdoors dogs will probably have their own house while the indoor pet will have more of a problem finding a private place.

The way to solve this problem is to crate train your pet golden retriever. After you train your pet to go into his crate to be alone, then when you need to leave or have guests you can fasten the pet in without any problem. Don't use the crate to punish the pet but reward them when training them to use it. Put their favorite toys and bedding in the crate to make them feel comfortable. In time this will be your pet's place of refuge from anything that may be bothering it. If you live in a harsh climate it may be good to have an indoor place as well as their outdoor one.

Frequent grooming is a must for your pet golden retriever especially if they come into the house. They have a double coat and shed throughout the year. Their undercoat is thick and helps protect them from cold weather. When winter ends they start shedding this coat so its good practice to brush them everyday.

Every other week or so, you need to groom and bath your pet to keep their coat and skin healthy. Start by brushing them all over while checking them for fleas, ticks and other skin problems. At the same time check your pet's ears and trim their nails. Unlike many dogs your pet golden retriever will like to be bathed. Only use a dog shampoo as human shampoo will dry your pet's skin out. If possible you should use a natural type of dog shampoo.

Feeding your Golden homemade food would be the ideal situation. It doesn't take much time to do this when you follow a recipe. The cost is normally not more than you would pay for a premium dog food. Choose recipes that feature different meats and vegetables so your pet doesn't get tired of them. If you can't prepare home made food for your pet then purchase the best you can afford. Make sure it doesn't contain artificial ingredients or cereal fillers.

Its recommended that you have a schedule to feed your golden retriever puppy. It should be three times a day for 20 minutes at a time. If they don't eat all the food at that time take the bowl away. It won't take long before they realize they need to eat all their food. At this point you can start increasing the food amount. After 12 to 20 weeks take the same amount of food and divide it into 2 feedings a day. Twice a day feedings are recommended for the rest of their life.

Here's an easy way to figure out how much you should feed your adult pet golden every day. Take their body weight and multiply it by 0.4. This number will correspond to the total number of ounces of food your pet should be eating in a day.

Don't over feed your pet golden retriever. If you can't feel their ribs without poking them they are probably over weight. If they are house pets rather than working dogs make sure they get plenty of exercise. If you don't have a large area for them to run in try to find a dog park or somewhere you can let them off their leash.

Always have clean fresh water for them. Make sure their bowl is always full. If they are both indoor and outdoor dogs it's a good idea to have 2 water sources. A doggy door will facilitate them getting to another source when one is dry. It's also a great thing to have if they like to go into the yard a lot especially at night.

Taking care of your pet golden retriever is not that difficult as they aren't really that picky about where they live. Still you need to make it as comfortable as you can. Make sure they have a private place. Try to feed your pet natural home made food if possible but if you can't get the best you can afford. Be sure they always have fresh water. Do these things for your pet and they will reward you by becoming your best friend.