r/goldenretrievers • u/1-800-no-one-asked • Jan 22 '26

Discussion why is my golden so small?

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hello everyone! meet cricket. we rescued this guy last january when he was 6 months old. now being a year and a half, my guy weighs just about 40 pounds. i was wondering if anyone knew why he ended up being just a little guy?

his history is a bit of a weird one. i was scrolling through the internet looking at golden puppies, pure bred, with no real intention of adopting one. i ended up messaging a breeder asking about pricing, and when it was more than i could afford at tha moment, i politely declined. she messaged again saying she had a golden who was a bit older than all the others, who they were planning on putting down if no one adopted him. when he was still a puppy, he got trampled by a cow so he has a weird gait and some neurological issues. if no one wanted him, they didn't want him either. if absolutely broke my heart. i call him a rescue for this reason, and i gave her $100 for him. flash forward to today, he still walks funny and isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but he is the biggest sweetheart. the vet says his walk is no cause for concern until he is older. i'm very curious if this is what caused his growth to be stunted. according to the breeder, he is a pure bred, but i'm not sure that is the case. i haven't gotten him DNA tested.

i don't truly care that he's small... he's my best friend!! i wouldn't have him any other way :))

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237

u/OutrageousBrush1210 Jan 22 '26

Yeah I feel crazy that more people aren’t bringing this up - THE BREEDER WAS GOING TO PUT HIM DOWN BC NO ONE WANTED HIM??? WHAT???

235

u/1-800-no-one-asked Jan 22 '26

yeah. when i picked him up she was not a kind person. he also looks nothing like the other goldens she had. if i was looking to adopt a pure bred i would have 100% done research on her, but i wanted him out of her hands asap. people can be cruel

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u/OutrageousBrush1210 Jan 22 '26

Well he is a BEAUTIFUL boy - so glad he’s with you now living his best life!! 🩷

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u/SeymoreBhutts Jan 22 '26

Out of curiosity, how much was she asking initially?

42

u/1-800-no-one-asked Jan 22 '26

i believe 1000 iirc. it was specifically for a golden puppy with bright blue eyes that she had posted on FB

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u/IHateTheLetter-C- Jan 22 '26

Small amount of Aussie in there possibly? I don't think it's possible for a pb golden, even horribly out of standard, to have blue eyes, but I might be mistaken there, genes are not a strength of mine. Sidenote a golden that dark, with blue eyes, sounds terrifying haha

7

u/Canachites Jan 22 '26

It is absolutely not possible for a purebred golden to have blue eyes (many puppies have greyish eyes that turn brown later, but not blue). This lady is likely breeding mutts that look like goldens for the most part.

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u/HairTmrw Jan 22 '26

I have a purebred Lab that had bright blue eyes at birth and they turned greenish brown.

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u/Canachites Jan 22 '26

But that's not blue eyes, like genetically.

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u/HairTmrw Jan 22 '26

It could be. Though I agree that this dog does look like it has aussie in it, a golden CAN be born with blue eyes and be pure.

2

u/IHateTheLetter-C- Jan 22 '26

Puppies usually have blue eyes, same as human babies, but they lose it later on. Standard says medium brown is fine, and greenish brown is probably just a weird version of brown

48

u/SeymoreBhutts Jan 22 '26

That’s a bit low for a legit breeder of pure-bred Goldens… that price and that behavior are giant red flags. Good on you for saving him! He’s perfect!

10

u/Mist2393 Jan 22 '26

Yeah our last golden from a reputable breeder was like $1500, and that was 5 years ago.

6

u/SeymoreBhutts Jan 22 '26

We got our two from a very successful show breeder in our area. We don’t do anything show related, just wanted good boys. They were not cheap… got the first one after Covid when nothing was available. Everyone was getting dogs and bikes, so we had limited options for available and reputable. Two years later, his mom was having her final litter so we got him his half brother. A small fortune in dogs later, we have two of the bestest boys anyone could ask for.

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u/hydrissx Jan 22 '26

Blue eyes don't exist in Goldens so thats a red flag too.

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u/Eternalscream0 Jan 22 '26

Then he’s definitely a mix. Goldens don’t have blue eyes!

I did think he was mixed with spaniel from the look of him, but could be Aussie as another person said. We don’t have many of them in the UK so I wouldn’t know.

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u/IHateTheLetter-C- Jan 22 '26

Purebred spaniels don't have blue eyes either, but with all the merle people are breeding into them (linked to blue eyes) it might be a spaniel mixed with a little bit of Aussie or border to make a "purebred" spaniel

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u/AffectionateWeb2389 Jan 27 '26

This dog definitely has brown eyes. Scroll to last pic. He’s a red golden, they’re still golden retrievers. My purebred golden from a crap breeder looks just like him, but is gold.

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u/Budget_Computer_427 Jan 22 '26

Lot of comments here but please run a DNA test that will also tell you about his health. It sounds like he's poorly bred. Knowing what conditions he might be predisposed to later in life will be really helpful.

1

u/HandLopsided2503 Jan 26 '26

please report that breeder if you remember anonymously to authorities

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u/Confident-You-9396 Jan 22 '26

I’d do the research anyway, and then post it on whatever breeding site she uses to sell her puppies. Whether it’s Facebook or marketplace ~ I’d post the results and what you just told us.. what an evil bitch she is 😡

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u/Fancy-Reception-4067 Jan 22 '26

My guess is shortened spine; looks like my sprinter spaniel with one

1

u/goldcoast_RN Jan 22 '26

Thank you for saving that sweet baby

1

u/SitStayShakeGoodGirl Jan 22 '26

You were in the right place at the right time, he was meant for you ❤️ Besides, Goldens comes in so many shapes, colors & sizes, kinda like awesome humans. 😉

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u/DatabaseThis9637 Jan 22 '26

That was a tactic, at least in part, most likely to get her to buy. And it worked. Despicable.

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u/1-800-no-one-asked Jan 22 '26

unfortunately i knew it was a tactic. but i was willing to suck it up and pay it. she wasn't lying when she said he had a physical disability - and god forbid they actually would have put him down.

3

u/Fenwynn Jan 22 '26

Definitely it’s a good idea to start on joint supplements early. It’s never too early to start preventative care on an issue that you know is going to become a big problem as they age, and it can actually help slow/delay disease progression and keep them more comfortable for longer. Ask your doctor what they recommend, but cosequin/Dasuquin are usually the best joint supplements for dogs.

1

u/georgiafinn Jan 23 '26

My dog broke her hip as a puppy and has advanced arthritis at 4. Vet told me to use Glycoflex supplements. Excellent.

1

u/Fenwynn Jan 23 '26

That’s good to know! I haven’t heard of that one. I’m really really glad it’s working for her! Are you in the US?

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u/georgiafinn Jan 23 '26

Yes, I am. They're available on Chewy. She also gets monthly Adequan injections (again, arthritis of a 10yo dog at 4) which are really helping so far!

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u/Fenwynn Jan 23 '26

Yeah adequan’s great! And Librela is a miracle drug, if your vet ever discusses adding that in. I’ve ever seen it go badly, and it’s made dogs with CCL tears and bad arthritis prance around like puppies.

1

u/georgiafinn Jan 23 '26

Thank you for that info! She's already had two hip surgeries so we're concerned about her having to live with debilitating arthritis, or trying a third surgery (we're already $10k in) I'm adding this to my notes app.

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u/Fenwynn Jan 23 '26

I worked at a vet for a few years as a receptionist, which means that I had access to medical records and more medical knowledge than you would think.

We saw the Librela (Solensia for cats) rep’s very old dog every month for her addison’s shot, and she was getting Librela at home. Her roommate joked that it worked “too well, now she’s all over the place”.

And a coworker started her cattle dog on it because he needs a CCL surgery but they can’t afford it. And he’s pretty overweight, which he was losing it pretty steadily last I saw him. And she said that it made him like a puppy again. They have to limit his exercise because he’d happily overdo it now and make his leg worse. So, back to cattle dog normal basically.

It’s more expensive than the adequan, and takes a few months to take full effect. But I often saw dogs who were on both drugs or who switched when the adequan started losing efficacy. So if that’s a worry on your mind, which I imagine it is, when she gets worse in the future there are definitely still a lot of options to keep her very comfortable.

And animal medicine is advancing very quickly right now. So I imagine by the time she’s elderly, there will be even more options. 💜

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u/DatabaseThis9637 Jan 24 '26

I don't blame you, actually I applaud you, and I'm sure your pup is grateful! I just think that was a terrible breeder.

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u/hartman1596 Jan 28 '26

It could be a tactic but a lot of places a person would just kill the dog and not via euthanasia to just not have to deal with it. Sounds like he would. I am not going to say what they would call it were I grew up when they took care of it on their own.

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u/TotalDunce46 Jan 22 '26

Oh, my Godfather! He was about to euthanise a beautiful golden retriever mutt just because no one wanted to adopt him!? Totally disgraceful behaviour! Why would anyone do such a thing? I’m very pleased that the dog’s lucky stars were with him; just when all seemed lost, he gets adopted. This should be reported to the police. That’s totally against the law! He should lose his job! 

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u/Vegetable-Maximum445 Jan 22 '26

I wish people knew more about the reality of breeders…the Golden rescue that I volunteer for - we get breeder surrenders all the time. When the breeding dogs reach 5-7 yrs old they dump them off on us. These dogs are usually overweight & arthritic from being fed crap food & getting no exercise. They are extremely insecure from never leaving their breeding areas - many are afraid of grass, have never been indoors, don’t know how to use steps or go through doorways. It’s awful.

1

u/TotalDunce46 Jan 22 '26

Yes, it is indeed awful! Humans can be so f#+ing cruel towards animals! And besides, the land in Australia is Aboriginal land. The way European descendants have treated the land and its wild and domestic fauna is f#+ing ridiculous! Why the fk don’t they care? 

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u/ivy7496 Jan 22 '26

This isn't a crime, at least in the US or UK. Animals are property. And unfortunately there are far worse examples of how we allow animals to be treated every day.

1

u/pitagrape Jan 22 '26

Seriously, alarm bells going off the size of the liberty bell. My god this person needs to be put out of business!