Re: My 4 Golden Retrievers
This brings back very fond memories. We used to have a Golden Retriever but unbeknown to us, he was born on one of those ghastly Welsh puppie farms and who knows how many hands he passed through before we bought him. He probably left his mother long before he should have.
Jack had the most adorable temperament but was probably interbred and all his life - which only lasted until 9 years old when we had to have him put down to save his misery as he had an inherited stomach disorder.
We tried all sorts of resolutions but nothing worked: I would mass steam fish and rice, we put him on the Hills Science Food but in the end he became disinterested in walks and food so it was the worst decision in our lives but in kindness we had him put down. However we will never forget him. Jack was a very light blonde Retriever. We grieved bigtime for ages in respect of Jack and we regularly reminisce about him.
When my husband returned from work, Jack HAD to greet him with something in his mouth. I would tell him to fetch my husband's slippers from upstairs. 9 times out of 10 he would get it right but sometimes it was one slipper and one trainer or shoe. Never mind he undertook his task with great pride and was of course praised very well.
Looking to the present and future though, we now have a Bichon Maltese - one extreme to the other. Charly is only 11" tall, totally white and only weighs 5kg. He is just so, so cuddlable (if there is such a word).
Jack our Retriever loved a cuddle but he was only 1.5 stone lighter than me so a bit of a bone crusher. This is one reason we chose a small dog. I am just not heavy enough/strong enough to control a larger breed.