I rescued a female Golden a few months ago and she was too small for
her age. She was wormed, treated for GIardia, etc. and seems to have
recovered. At 6 months, she's now 20 inches tall (measured from ground
to back, not sure if this is the correct way to measure a dog) and
weighs 46 lbs. - if I'm confusing you about the height, she looks
perfectly proportional, definitely not under or overweight. Is her
size ok? The vet says so, but I've seen bigger GRs.

Also, she's still a bit afraid of other dogs. No longer terrified,
thank God, but still afraid. I want to enroll her in this
obedience/socialization class ASAP, but I'd also like to spay her
before her first heat. Would it be safe to let her take a 1-month
course now and spay her after or should I spay her now?

"George Patterson" wrote in message
om...
I rescued a female Golden a few months ago and she was too small for
her age. She was wormed, treated for GIardia, etc. and seems to have
recovered. At 6 months, she's now 20 inches tall (measured from ground
to back, not sure if this is the correct way to measure a dog) and
weighs 46 lbs. - if I'm confusing you about the height, she looks
perfectly proportional, definitely not under or overweight. Is her
size ok? The vet says so, but I've seen bigger GRs.

Also, she's still a bit afraid of other dogs. No longer terrified,
thank God, but still afraid. I want to enroll her in this
obedience/socialization class ASAP, but I'd also like to spay her
before her first heat. Would it be safe to let her take a 1-month
course now and spay her after or should I spay her now?

There's no reason you can't do both...spay now and enroll in classes. Her
recovery time from the spay will be a matter of a days. Different vets
recommend different recovery times but IME the dogs heal quickly and keeping
them quiet after day 2 is a near impossibility. As for whether or not her
age is right, at 6 months I'd say do it now because she could come into heat
at any time. As for her being afraid with other dogs, I'd recommend going
to class but not forcing her to interact with other dogs there. Let her
choose her own pace and time when it comes to dog-dog relations. Getting
her into an environment with alot of other dogs but not forcing any physical
interaction can go a long way to teaching her other dogs aren't scarey.


--
Tara

George Patterson said in rec.pets.dogs.breeds:

I rescued a female Golden a few months ago and she was too
small for her age. She was wormed, treated for GIardia,
etc. and seems to have recovered. At 6 months, she's now 20
inches tall (measured from ground to back, not sure if this
is the correct way to measure a dog) and weighs 46 lbs. -
if I'm confusing you about the height, she looks perfectly
proportional, definitely not under or overweight. Is her
size ok? The vet says so, but I've seen bigger GRs.

I agree with your vet, 20" is just fine. It's somewhat below
standard, but she's young and still may grow a bit now that
she's getting healthy. For what it's worth, I think that
smaller than standard is healthier than the other end of the
spectrum - the monster Golden Retrievers that I sometimes see.

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.

"Rocky" wrote in message
...
George Patterson said in rec.pets.dogs.breeds:

I rescued a female Golden a few months ago and she was too
small for her age. She was wormed, treated for GIardia,
etc. and seems to have recovered. At 6 months, she's now 20
inches tall (measured from ground to back, not sure if this
is the correct way to measure a dog) and weighs 46 lbs. -
if I'm confusing you about the height, she looks perfectly
proportional, definitely not under or overweight. Is her
size ok? The vet says so, but I've seen bigger GRs.

I agree with your vet, 20" is just fine. It's somewhat below
standard, but she's young and still may grow a bit now that
she's getting healthy. For what it's worth, I think that
smaller than standard is healthier than the other end of the
spectrum - the monster Golden Retrievers that I sometimes see.

Agreed! We have a client at the clinic w/ a 2 yr old Golden who
had a severe case of Giardia as a young puppy (3 or 4 mos. of
age). While he was small, and slow to develope, he is now
a "normal" sized Golden.
I don't think that 20" for a 6 mos. old female is too terribly small
at all. They are a supposed to be a moderately sized dog, males
at AKC standard should be somewhere in the 23-24" range,
bitches 21 1/2 to 22 1/2". Goldens are not the fastest dogs to
mature, so I would be open to think she's going to grow a bit
more before she's around 14-16 mos. or so. There are far
too many oversized Labs & Goldens (and lots of other breeds
as well, for that matter) out there. FWIW, my boy (a Belgian
Sheepdog, another breed that is sometimes slow to mature,
both physically and mentally! :-)) had a big growth spurt around
8-9 mos. From talking with other folks in the breed, this is
very common, especially with boys. I don't have or know
Goldens, but it could be similar.
Like Matt said, in a world where the tendancy oftentimes is to
exaggerate size (either going too small on tiny breeds, or too
big & "macho" on larger breeds), a bit on the smaller side isn't
neccessarily a bad thing.
Shelly & The Boys:
Coda (4 yr old Collie/Golden somethin' dog--24 1/2" tall & 63#)
Bodhi (1 yr old Belgian Sheepdog-- just under 25" tall & 53#)

If she were a little smaller I'd wonder if you had a Nova Scotia Duck
Tolling Retreiver. (They are going to become very popular when they are
"discovered" by more people, unfortunately. An ideal size for many of
today's environments, and good looking.)


"Shelly & The Boys" wrote in message
...

"Rocky" wrote in message
...
George Patterson said in rec.pets.dogs.breeds:

I rescued a female Golden a few months ago and she was too
small for her age. She was wormed, treated for GIardia,
etc. and seems to have recovered. At 6 months, she's now 20
inches tall (measured from ground to back, not sure if this
is the correct way to measure a dog) and weighs 46 lbs. -
if I'm confusing you about the height, she looks perfectly
proportional, definitely not under or overweight. Is her
size ok? The vet says so, but I've seen bigger GRs.

I agree with your vet, 20" is just fine. It's somewhat below
standard, but she's young and still may grow a bit now that
she's getting healthy. For what it's worth, I think that
smaller than standard is healthier than the other end of the
spectrum - the monster Golden Retrievers that I sometimes see.

Agreed! We have a client at the clinic w/ a 2 yr old Golden who
had a severe case of Giardia as a young puppy (3 or 4 mos. of
age). While he was small, and slow to develope, he is now
a "normal" sized Golden.
I don't think that 20" for a 6 mos. old female is too terribly small
at all. They are a supposed to be a moderately sized dog, males
at AKC standard should be somewhere in the 23-24" range,
bitches 21 1/2 to 22 1/2". Goldens are not the fastest dogs to
mature, so I would be open to think she's going to grow a bit
more before she's around 14-16 mos. or so. There are far
too many oversized Labs & Goldens (and lots of other breeds
as well, for that matter) out there. FWIW, my boy (a Belgian
Sheepdog, another breed that is sometimes slow to mature,
both physically and mentally! :-)) had a big growth spurt around
8-9 mos. From talking with other folks in the breed, this is
very common, especially with boys. I don't have or know
Goldens, but it could be similar.
Like Matt said, in a world where the tendancy oftentimes is to
exaggerate size (either going too small on tiny breeds, or too
big & "macho" on larger breeds), a bit on the smaller side isn't
neccessarily a bad thing.
Shelly & The Boys:
Coda (4 yr old Collie/Golden somethin' dog--24 1/2" tall & 63#)
Bodhi (1 yr old Belgian Sheepdog-- just under 25" tall & 53#)

"Tsetse" wrote in message
...
If she were a little smaller I'd wonder if you had a Nova Scotia Duck
Tolling Retreiver. (They are going to become very popular when they are
"discovered" by more people, unfortunately. An ideal size for many of
today's environments, and good looking.)


Yes, I really like them, size & looks-wise.
However, they are a LOT of dog in a small package.
VERY energetic & demanding of exercise, mental stimulation
and training from someone who knows how/what to do! :-)
I have two very active dogs (a Collie/BC/Golden mix, and a
Belgian Sheepdog) and I honestly do not think that I'd be
able to do justice to the needs of a NSDTR. Of course,
I'm still keeping the door slightly open for another smaller,
very active breed myself (the Berger des Pyrenese), so
I'll never say never!
Hopefully, the breeders of this neat little dog will keep a tight
rein on where their puppies go. For folks looking for
a Golden Retreiver in a smaller package, the NSDTR is
NOT the right answer!
Shelly & The Boys


"Shelly & The Boys" wrote in message
...

"Rocky" wrote in message
...
George Patterson said in rec.pets.dogs.breeds:

I rescued a female Golden a few months ago and she was too
small for her age. She was wormed, treated for GIardia,
etc. and seems to have recovered. At 6 months, she's now 20
inches tall (measured from ground to back, not sure if this
is the correct way to measure a dog) and weighs 46 lbs. -
if I'm confusing you about the height, she looks perfectly
proportional, definitely not under or overweight. Is her
size ok? The vet says so, but I've seen bigger GRs.

I agree with your vet, 20" is just fine. It's somewhat below
standard, but she's young and still may grow a bit now that
she's getting healthy. For what it's worth, I think that
smaller than standard is healthier than the other end of the
spectrum - the monster Golden Retrievers that I sometimes see.

Agreed! We have a client at the clinic w/ a 2 yr old Golden who
had a severe case of Giardia as a young puppy (3 or 4 mos. of
age). While he was small, and slow to develope, he is now
a "normal" sized Golden.
I don't think that 20" for a 6 mos. old female is too terribly small
at all. They are a supposed to be a moderately sized dog, males
at AKC standard should be somewhere in the 23-24" range,
bitches 21 1/2 to 22 1/2". Goldens are not the fastest dogs to
mature, so I would be open to think she's going to grow a bit
more before she's around 14-16 mos. or so. There are far
too many oversized Labs & Goldens (and lots of other breeds
as well, for that matter) out there. FWIW, my boy (a Belgian
Sheepdog, another breed that is sometimes slow to mature,
both physically and mentally! :-)) had a big growth spurt around
8-9 mos. From talking with other folks in the breed, this is
very common, especially with boys. I don't have or know
Goldens, but it could be similar.
Like Matt said, in a world where the tendancy oftentimes is to
exaggerate size (either going too small on tiny breeds, or too
big & "macho" on larger breeds), a bit on the smaller side isn't
neccessarily a bad thing.
Shelly & The Boys:
Coda (4 yr old Collie/Golden somethin' dog--24 1/2" tall & 63#)
Bodhi (1 yr old Belgian Sheepdog-- just under 25" tall & 53#)

Shelly & The Boys said in rec.pets.dogs.breeds:

For folks looking for
a Golden Retreiver in a smaller package, the NSDTR is
NOT the right answer!

Seconded. I've seen some mellow Tollers in the past, but all of
those that I've seen lately are appropriately wired.

I know a lot of NSDTRs, and they are good family pets for an
active family, if the activities involve the dog.

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.

"Rocky" wrote in message
...
Shelly & The Boys said in rec.pets.dogs.breeds:

For folks looking for
a Golden Retreiver in a smaller package, the NSDTR is
NOT the right answer!

Seconded. I've seen some mellow Tollers in the past, but all of
those that I've seen lately are appropriately wired.

I know a lot of NSDTRs, and they are good family pets for an
active family, if the activities involve the dog.

Yes...and in today's society, "active" doesn't mean 2 walks a day
rather than just one!
For families that are into water sport activities, hiking, any sort
of "lots of movement" sort of stuff, a NSDTR would be a great pet.
Shelly & The Boys