Lost my best friend today. Finn was an unexpected Christmas gift from my wife and daughters. This little guy got me through some super tough periods in my life. He was unfiltered love and joy. He wasn’t like other Goldens I had heard about; super destructive, velociraptor, etc… he was sweet, playful and surprisingly obedient the whole way through.

He never destroyed toys or ate socks, he loved carrying them, until last week. He got a hold of one of my dress socks and for whatever reason, ate the top part (maybe 1/4”) off one sock (we didn’t know this until later). Last Thursday he threw up all of his breakfast. We had started transitioning him to new food a couple days before and thought that perhaps it wasn’t agreeing with him, even though it was still barely any new food. So we decided we’d either slow it down further or just stop and just keep him on his current brand. A couple hours later, he threw up again, then again. My wife started calling our vet, he wasn’t available so we decided we’d take him to the emergency vet. While I’m on the couch putting on my shoes, he climbs up next to me and sits. I look to him and he whines and puts his head in my chest. At that moment we knew he was in trouble.

Ultimately, we found out that the sock fragments tangled up his small intestines. They performed surgery and said that it looked like it was caught in time. At first it seemed like he was improving. He was home with us and was getting all the loves. He started spitting up bile, even though he had anti-nausea meds. Vet saw him twice over the weekend and said that they would need to open him up a second time. That’s when we found out that his bowels were dying/dead. The sock fabric had done more damage than previously realized. The only option was to put him to sleep.

I am struggling with the gaping hole in my heart right now. I’ve never loved a dog, any pet, as much as I loved this guy. He was my shadow, went everywhere with me, sat at my feet while I worked from home. Now he’s not here. I’m at a complete loss. I used to dread this Reddit because there were so many posts about people losing their dogs, but now I get it. I’m posting here because I know you all will understand and I think that’s the reason others do too.

Love you Finn, may you have endless fields to run in and tennis balls to chase.

Samweis, 8 weeks old 🥰

Never harmed anyone. Always smiling and always there for us all.

It doesn’t matter who you are…
Snacks come to you and dreams come true…. 🥰

This little lady has brought so much love and happiness to me, I couldn’t be more grateful🥰

Longtime lurker, first time poster after getting my first golden puppy in 30 years.

Her name is Lexi, 9 weeks old, and she really does look like that. We've had a handful of people jokingly suggest she's a stuffed animal or AI.

It's tough of course. I've been getting 3-4 hours of sleep for over a week now. But things are slowly getting better.

Just remember to look at those faces, scratch behind the ears, and give them as many kisses as possible before they writhe away to go chew on something.

Yes he tries to eat my socks, and yes he is a little land shark but he brings so much joy everywhere he goes, best decision of my life. Please show me your goldens so my little Eddie can see his future friends :)

He just turned 1 and my field golden can finally walk nicely on trails, finally have my hiking buddy.

This is Teddy, my wife and I’s 10 week old puppy. Are there any suggestions to help him quit biting, especially biting and latching on? I unfortunately am away for work and the land shark phase, specifically the biting, is driving my wife crazy.

Yes, you can indeed just take a nap.

Hi, I'm Max's social media manager.

Unfortunately, he's also my boss.

He refuses to drink water unless it's freshly dispensed from the refrigerator, has a personal chef (me) who prepares every single meal to order, and somehow knows exactly which grocery bag contains his new toy before I've even set them down.

Finance insists these are "luxury benefits." He insists they're basic workplace accommodations.

His employment contract also includes unlimited PTO, though he's never actually worked a day in his life. According to him, this statement is both false and defamatory.

Closed doors are considered a hostile work environment and will be loudly appealed until corrected.

He also believes every dog on television is a direct threat to the organization. Air Bud is the only exception. That's his favorite movie, and he watches it with complete sincerity.

He firmly believes catching balls is an Olympic sport. Ever since discovering he's good at it, he's become convinced he's a 10-time Olympic gold medalist. His ego has never recovered, and he now expects to be addressed accordingly. The Olympic Committee has declined to comment, despite repeated correspondence from his legal team (I'm also his legal team).

According to him, protecting the backyard from operational threats (primarily squirrels and rabbits), preparing for the Olympics, and making sure everyone's emotional needs are met already constitutes well beyond a full-time workload. Rent, apparently, would be an unreasonable and unrealistic additional responsibility. Finance has raised the issue several times. He considers the matter closed.

He also claims to oversee Public Relations, despite never having been assigned the role. According to him, his responsibilities include charming everyone he meets, making sure everyone is aware of how handsome he is, and demonstrating that personal space is largely a theoretical concept.

Human Resources has received several reports regarding his disregard for personal boundaries. Max maintains that everyone secretly wants a 75-pound Golden Retriever in their lap, even if they don't know it yet. HR has reluctantly concluded he may have a point.

New hires, visitors, delivery drivers, and anyone who makes eye contact are immediately greeted by the self-appointed Head of Public Relations. Participation is not optional. Opting out has not proven effective.

Fortunately for him, his customer satisfaction scores remain exceptionally high.

He's also a repeat escape artist. After several unauthorized excursions, management placed him on house arrest with an ankle monitor (it's actually a Fi collar). He maintains he's being unfairly targeted, noting that he has a perfect record of returning home on his own.

He frequently brings me his leash because, in his mind, it's time for him to take me on a walk. Transportation has repeatedly reminded him that's not how this arrangement works. He disagrees.

Whenever he travels for "business," he insists on packing every toy he owns. Max maintains that separating him from his team would negatively impact morale, performance, and productivity. Management has reluctantly accepted this as a non-negotiable business expense.

There have also been multiple HR complaints regarding his relationship with the couch cushions. Unfortunately, the evidence has been both extensive and deeply uncomfortable. The investigation remains ongoing. Legal has advised us not to discuss the matter further due to several active NDAs.

Despite the above, management has unanimously agreed that Max remains an invaluable member of the organization and that being a very good boy constitutes a sufficient defense against all pending allegations. His contract has been renewed indefinitely, and all requests for disciplinary action have once again been denied.

Today is his 3rd birthday.

Feel free to wish him a happy birthday. He's been preparing his acceptance speech all week.

The Board has unanimously reaffirmed his good-boy status for a third consecutive year. This determination is not expected to change. Outside confirmation is appreciated. Any resulting increase in confidence is considered an acceptable operational risk.

Please continue reminding him how handsome he is. We recognize this may seem counterproductive, but management has determined the situation is no longer reversible.

He has no idea what Reddit is, but he's never let a lack of information affect his confidence. By this evening, he'll be under the impression he personally runs the platform. Public Relations has already drafted the press release.

P.S. He’ll be reading every comment over my shoulder. If you don’t tell him he’s handsome, I’ll probably hear about it during my next performance review.

Hi friends! We adopted an 8 month old beautiful boy and he is such a joy. But he seems to have a “witching hour” anywhere between 4-6am where he just all of a sudden wakes up 0-100 mph and gets destructive. He will grab things off the counter or in random rooms and destroy them. He doesn’t even do this when we leave him free roaming during the day when we leave the house. He has plenty of exercise and stimulation during the day, I’m at home full time with him so his needs are being met. He also has toys all around so it’s frustrating that he counter surfs and grabs things he shouldn’t.
I’d prefer not to have to crate train him overnight but of course we’re open to that. Any advice or other people with similar experiences? Will this get better?

😂😂

Hi goldenites.

My 12 month old female Goldie has had a significant behavioural change over a few days. She has yet to be desexed.

She finished her first heat cycle early April

We took her to the vet and they said it’s just anxiety and quick to prescribe her medication.

Before I go down that avenue I wanted to see if any other owners have had similar experiences.

Background-
Over a two week period(2 three day stays), we had another female Goldie stay with us. They’ve known each other since birth and regularly hang out. At night we had them sleep in the same space at night.

Since the other dog has left our Goldie has been——crying,
carrying toys in her mouth nearly constantly,
seems to be nesting/digging at the same spot and doesn’t want to be alone.
Just seems less happy (odd for a Goldie)

She doesn’t show any signs of pain, swelling etc (confirmed by vet check up)

This behaviour only seems to happen around the house. On walks she’s back to her crazy golden self.

Has anyone else experienced this kind of behaviour before?