Hurt dog

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conhntr

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I have a 18 monthold golden retriever (field trial pedigree--similar to an upland lab). Anyway he is a great pet for the family and is showing some real promise in the field but ive run into a problem.

He is very much a "hard charger" will run full blast through the woods/field, jump 10 feet off the side into the pond etc. I love his strength/endurance but he keeps hurting himself. Yesterday he scraped inside his right rear leg on something and opened a 2" cut that was deep enough i had to clean and glue it shut. Today we where hiking and he ran over some rocks and cut his footpad so our 3 hiur hike got cut 2.5hours short!

So what can i do? I dont want to discorouge his speed because we can cover ALOT of ground. Btnim worried something more serious is going to happen... Any ideas? I guess dog armour that i see in cabelas but we get 90-100* summers and he wont get far with that on.

Im really lost any ideas?
 
I had a young dog that I used to have to wear-out in the back yard with retrieving dummies before I would take her hunting....might want to try that out.

As the other poster said, time will take care of the rest.
 
Ok i guess part of the issue my last hunting season was two years ago with a 13year old golden! He did go at a different speed but still got the job done. The 18month old is the hardest charging dog ive ever had. With the truck he can outrun me to the house down the drive just under a mile i go about 35 and he smoke me. And he will blast into a briar just as fast over 40mph... Best part is he hits the end of the retrieve so fast he summersualts grabbing the ball/bird.

So i guess by next season he wont be a puppy anymore and should be more relaxed. Ill take your advice and run him before i leave but it takes forever to wear him out.
 
Eighteen months is still pretty young. He'll still have "puppy energy" until he reaches 2 or 2 1/2.

Let him take a nick and a bruise now and then. Eventually he'll learn to be a bit more discretionary.

-- Same thing applies when raisin kids!
 
I've taken my lab through five or six obedience courses to get better training and handling experience for myself and to help get her socialized. One of the things our trainer suggested, and it's worked well for me, is to play mind games.

By that I mean instead of trying to physically wear out the dog by having them simply run back and forth in the yard (let's face it, they're built and bred to be able to do that all day), we play "find it" with her favorite toy. More mental exercise than physical, and seems to wear her out better. She's learned to be very, very solid with sit, down, stay, wait, release, find-it, come, give and drop-it commands. Also, I've been gradually getting her to go to where I point when she seems to have trouble locating something.

All I have to do is take her favorite toy (which she usually brings to me anyway), tell her to sit and wait or stay, I go somewhere else in the house and hide the toy. Then I go back to her, release her from the sit and simply say "find it." When I do my part it gives me a good five minutes to do whatever I want to do, and she's wracking her brain looking all over the house. The beauty of the game is that she's working really hard, and I can sit on my butt.

When she finds the toy and brings it back to me there's of course much praise, including treats when we were starting out. She absolutely loves it.

I like to use a soft, fabric toy because I can hide it more places like in a shoe or under a rug. Get creative.

Hope that helps.
 
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ok, take him off the high protien food. work very hard on the dicipline stuff for a while. Then when he starts to charge tell him to sit. walk up to him and praise him. you need him to stay close - there is no good in him flushing birds 50 yards away.
 
Our Golden is now going on 12 years old. She was a ball of fire, for the first 2 1/2 to 3 years. Could not hold her down. But now in old age, she barely gets around, and since she's family, it'll be a sad sad day when we have to put her down.
We feed her a coated aspirin, and Glucosomine tablet twice a day, on a peanut buttered cracker, to ease the stiffness and pain. It helps, but is not a cure all. Good Luck.
 
Give me a PM and I will give you my email and phone number and help you with some training and discipline for him. After all the best scenario is when you are both together and happy about it.
 
I think i described the problem wrong. He is under control and obeys all commands (he is my 4th hunting dog, in addition to 3 pet dogs). I have called him off deer and he does great on/off leash. I walk him off leash even in town and he heels no more than 1-2 feet away. The only problem is when he is quartering or retrieving he smashes full speed into the brush. Im just worried he will hit an old fence or something and hurt himself bad.
 
conhntr said:
The only problem is when he is quartering or retrieving he smashes full speed into the brush. Im just worried he will hit an old fence or something and hurt himself bad.
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Nature of the beast. All the labs/retrievers I've had over the years took at least till two years of age to get over being a puppy, and having that kind of puppy enthusiasm. Those that were the most frustrating and bull headed at 18 months turned out to be the best once they hit 5 or 6 years.

This slow maturation is one reason reason I switched to the continental breeds. Be patient and make sure you do not try a short term solution that will negatively affect you dog for the rest of his life.
 
Its hard to watch them go full bore into something but its a good sign to see the enthusiasm for the retrieve. If that is all it is then don't get to worried about it.
 
My GWP was like that, especially with his pads. It just took some time to toughen up his soft puppy feet. after 6-7 months of snow, it takes him a few hikes to toughen up again. I don't worry abgout little scrapes but, if they get hurt, take them to the vet.
 
Conhntr, if your Golden has other atributes, such as good nose and eye, i would quickly get this dog into the hands of a professional trialer who will take Goldens. I do not like goldens but your dog would probablly make me re-access my preferences. I would love to watch your dog in field trials.
As far as the field injuries, i believe that comes with having a properly bred hunting dog. they are extreme athletes who run to find game and game is often in the briars or worse. i recommend picking the area you run your dog in carefully.
 
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