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I did some research on Golden Retrievers and it is known that these dogs are really smart or are they really that smart. I got mine for two weeks now and it is currently a two month old golden retriever. Bought it from a breeder and at two months it is already 6.7 kg. To say that it is the smartest dog - I dont know… We managed to toilet train him within 2 days from when we got him but other than that he just wont listen. He terrorised the house with his itchy teeth and bites everything eventhough numerously we told him not to bite. At times, anger gets to us, we had to hit. I read a couple of articles that we are not supposed to hit the dogs but it seems that it is the best resort in order for him to listen.

When it comes to his snack time which he likes, ahhh…. then he’ll listen. Asking him to stay and he will stay until we give him the snack.

Here is a picture of Hero - our golden retriever…

TIP : For those considering to take a golden retriever as a pet or any dog as a pet - It takes a lot of commitment. It isn’t easy as it seems. We had to endure a lot of poo and pee (FRUSTRATION, SMELL, DAMAGED GOODS, ETC.) in the house (let’s see more than 10 times of poo and over 10 times of peeing in the house in a span of 24 hours which is very much like a baby) - we keep him indoors as he is still young.

Young dogs require a lot of attention and practically you could be spending all of your time at home with this new pet or cleaning after he has done his business. At first we were putting his pee and poo in a plastic bag with newspaper and throwing it out at the garbage can outside but because of the Malaysian heat and flies, the whole can was infested with flies and maggots. It was a disgusting site. I sprayed it with bug spray but it seems hopeless with maggots. Googled the best way to throw away poo, well - pick it up with a wet tissue or a large tissue (the ones you use for taking out oil - kitchen use) and dump it into the toilet bowl & flush. I found that this method is the best until your dog is big enough to poo and pee outside at the garden.

Walking the dog and taking it out to the garden is another headache. It eats anything in sight - leaves, grass, lizards, ashes - *sigh* - so again constant monitoring. Golden Retrievers seems to like playing with their poo - arrggghhhh… this makes me really mad - stepping on them unintentionally and dirtying its self. Again constant cleaning.

And for those with a tight budget, taking care of pets can be an expensive affair - dog food - ranging from RM39.00 to RM50 per pack which could last you about a couple of weeks if you were to feed it three times a day. From my calculation it is about RM1.00 per meal for the puppy. We feed him bread and snacks as well - another RM14.00. Our golden retriever has gone to the vet twice for check up and jabs (RM90 the first time for indigestion and RM50 for deworming and second vaccination), RM30 for pet hotel if you are away which we did once (always send it to a vet if you need to place him into a pet hotel - they thoroughly check your pet by a vet before placing your pet into a premise - recommend : Sri Hartamas vet, near Maybank), his toys and accessories (RM100.00) and lastly his vitamins (RM50.00). Oh oh.. one last thing - grooming at Mid Valley - RM35.00. Total : *punching the calculator* - too expensive!

Basically to sum up, its like taking care of a baby! So everything has to be considered when taking care of a dog as a pet. No time, no money or no space - forget about owning one. The Golden Retriever’s life is very much dependent on you.