Some pointers on the care and feeding of your new Golden Retriever puppy

Feeding

Very young Golden Retriever puppies have delicate digestive systems, much like new babies. High quality puppy food is carefully formulated for their best health and will also have the correct balance of vitamins and calcium. We suggest that when you take a new puppy home, it is best to continue the same feeding schedule they had at the breeding kennel, at least until they get a bit older. We start our puppies on one of the good quality puppy foods, with a bit of warm water and the puppies get three small meals of this a day. We don't recommend feeding puppies cows milk, as they are not able to digest it properly, but if you wish to feed milk, it is best to buy a low lactose milk especially formulated for dogs.

As your puppy gets older, you can begin to slowly add other foods to supplement the puppy food. Feed a good quality dry puppy food perhaps with pet mince, puppy formula tinned food or even tinned cat food (cat tuna can sometimes be a good addition as a treat)  or things like vegetables and rice. Make any changes or additions to their diet slowly over a few days to give the young stomach a time to adjust, and avoid tummy upsets or diarrhea. As your puppy gets bigger and stronger, his teeth will quickly become strong as well and it will no longer be necessary to soak the dry food.

As dogs grow to their full adult size in only one year and Golden Retrievers are such big dogs, it is of vital importance for your growing puppy to receive enough calcium for at least the first year to 18 months, in order to build strong bones.  I always keep my own dogs on the best grade puppy dry food as a base (half dry and half tinned or fresh meat) for the first 18 months, because the puppy formula has the correct amount of calcium already blended in.  As your pup grows, you can begin to give him a large raw beef marrow bone every few weeks as well. This helps add natural calcium and provides exercise to the teeth and gums.  (never feed cooked bones!) Rawhide chews are very good for pups as well, to promote healthy teeth and give them something that they are actually allowed to chew on! A 'kong' toy with a treat inside can also be good chew toy and a big help if you are going to be away and wish to keep puppy occupied.

If you decide to take your dog off puppy dry formula during the first year then calcium powder from the vet should be purchased and added to the food to insure sufficient calcium for good bone development.  I also recommend that you look carefully at the protein content of the food you buy as many ‘popular’ brands of dog food found in supermarkets have only about 16% protein while the better quality puppy and dog foods have at least 22 - 28% protein plus a much better balance of added calcium, minerals and vitamins.

Worming

All young puppies are susceptible to worms, most especially round worms. Your puppy will have been wormed every 2 weeks from the age of three weeks old.  When you take him home, you should continue the fortnightly worming schedule with a suitable puppy wormer until the age of 3 months, after which time worming can usually be reduced to six monthly. If you live in an area where heartworms are a problem, you will need to keep your dog on regular anti-heartworm tablets or injections as well. If in doubt, consult with your local Vet.

Bath time and grooming

If you wish to bathe your new puppy, you should be very careful to keep him warm and then dry him thoroughly afterward to prevent chilling. Use a good doggie shampoo and make sure that the water is warm but not hot. Goldens are water dogs by nature, so do try to make it a fun and enjoyable time for you both from an early age. Most Vets do not recommend that dogs should be bathed very often as they need the natural oil for skin condition. I would recommend no more than once a month unless they happen to get into something particularly dirty.

Goldens have a lovely double coat that is very easy to care for. Though they don't need frequent brushing, their skin and circulation will benefit from some regular grooming. Even just a couple times a week. A good brushing when they are shedding fur can keep the amount of loose fur under control. Dogs who spend a lot of time outdoors will have a major fur shed usually every spring and a smaller one in autumn.