We’ve had our Golden boy Ranger since he was 9 weeks old, and I’m curious what everyone else’s experience was like at 16 weeks.
He’s a great pup and picking up obedience quickly. SIT, STAY, DOWN, and COME are pretty solid in low-distraction environments. Loose-leash walking is hit or miss. We give him a few short walks, retrieving games, training, and plenty of naps. He’s even pretty well behaved at breweries and settles with occasional treats.
The challenge is at home. We have a 7-year-old Lab who just wants to relax, but Ranger wants to play CONSTANTLY. He bites her ankles, hangs off her neck, and barks when she won’t engage. They play great outside, but inside he really struggles to leave her alone.
He settles well in his crate or with a chew, but when he’s loose in the house, he’s usually pestering her or looking for something to chew on. He occasionally comes and chills beside us, but those moments are pretty rare.
I got my Lab when she was 6 months old, so maybe my expectations are just too high for a 16-week-old puppy.
Is this pretty typical Golden puppy behavior? When did yours start being able to just hang out and relax without constant supervision or entertainment? Especially curious about experiences introducing a puppy to an older dog!
This is my suggestion too. We sometimes have to puppy-sit for a family member so when pup comes to our place, we put up a fence when our older boy needs some space!
Awwwww what cuties!! I believe the lab/golden combo is an elite pet team. Driven, food motivated, adorable, and perfectly silly. I would say I’m surprised your lab doesn’t want to play more, but then I remembered I’m basing my experience off of two old ladies so while their playing may have seemed constant, there were lots and lots of naps in between….our golden girl was 9mos younger than her lab friend, and we started watching her when she was about 10 up til they were 12.5 and 14 and decided earth didn’t have enough pizza for their liking 😭
Your 16 wk golden sounds exactly like ours. We watched a mini Aussie who’s about 8, but has more energy to spare than any pup I know, and even he needed some breaks. So to the kitchen or the crate our puparooni went.
In time they will become best buddies and will turn their attention to the humans - throw the ball for us, give us some of your food, WE NEED PUP CUPS!!! 🤣🤣🤣
Here’s a pic of Soph and her lab bestie, Scout. It’s been a rough 6 months without them. And yes, treats were used to take this pic haha
Let your older girl lab have some alone time inside with one of you and the other keep puppy engaged in something else . Outside play alone playing fetch to burn that energy for a nice inside nap. That will give your lab some rest.
I took my 6 month old through 6 weeks of obedience training and took 3rd out of 85 dogs. They are, beyond being smart, the most loyal and loving dog ever 🦮 (I’ve had 3)
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My girl didn’t start settling/being calm outside of the crate until probably at least 24 weeks. We don’t have another dog though, she’s an only child and needed constant interaction/distraction and very frequent crate naps or else she was a terror. She gradually started being able to keep herself entertained and nap on the floor/her bed or snuggling on the couch with us. Nowadays she’s sleepy and snuggly inside and can play by herself most of the time, and only needs to be crated for naps 1-2x per day, but she’s 8 months old. It’s a long process!
Totally normal for a Golden puppy. Ours is 3 years old and settling down. She’s definitely the bratty little sister when she’s around her brother. Has to bite him and start crap all the time. They love each other though.
I, too, have a 16 week old golden and she sounds exactly the same. She’s a menace, always bugging her sister to play, or humping her, or trying to play with the cats, or chewing on something, or stealing food. She cries and barks when she doesn’t get her way, and not to I miss sleep.
But we’ve taken to 2-3 walks a day or outside time and she has moments of calm when she’s napping. She’s very sweet, wants to be hugged and loved on. So it’s worth it. But I’ll never do this again!
Normal- enforced crate naps to give older pup a break. And I personally have my puppy on a leash inside when she’s on menace mode but things really started to improved by about 20 weeks
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