It will also be necessary to monitor his rather fragile ears, which can be prone to infections, especially ear infections. They must therefore be cleaned regularly and wiped.
You have the option to perform the grooming of your golden retriever yourself or to call a groomer if you are afraid of doing wrong.
Even if the golden retriever is a rather robust dog, it can present some dispositions to certain health disorders:
Dysplasia: This health disorder affects the joints of the elbow or hip of the animal. It is more common in medium and large dogs than in small dogs.
Eye disorders: the golden retriever is a dog that can be prone to cataracts or progressive retinal atrophy.
Cancers: this is the leading cause of death in the golden retriever. The risks are higher in the female golden retriever than in the male.
Skin problems: Due to their long hair, about 50% of golden retrievers are prone to skin problems during their lifetime. It can be dermatitis, eczema, etc.
Von Willebrand disease: Common in golden retrievers, Von Willebrand disease is a blood disorder that causes heavy bleeding when the animal is injured. The disease can also cause bleeding gums and truffles.
Epilepsy: This is a common disorder in dogs and even more so in the golden retriever. Generally, the number of seizures can vary over time. Epilepsy does not affect the dog’s life expectancy if the seizures are short and sufficiently spaced in time.
If you have the slightest doubt about the state of health of your golden retriever, do not hesitate to turn to your veterinarian.
As specified, the life expectancy of the golden retriever is between 12 and 14 years. It depends on several conditions such as the diet or the living conditions of the animal.
Adorable Cute Young Girl with Mini Golden Retriever Puppy
What is the golden retriever breed like?
The golden retriever is first and foremost a devoted family dog. He is distinguished by being affectionate, obedient, energetic, intelligent, and reliable. He is the typical pet who does everything possible to please his owner.
Not only does he love spending time with his family, but he is also very welcoming to friends and strangers. This is why it is not considered a good choice for a guard dog. They are good with children and are easy to train and very intelligent dog breed. However, training and socialization from an early age are always recommended.
How do I know what kind of golden retriever I have?
The 3 types of golden retrievers are very similar to each other. After all, they are just variations of the same breed. Even so, there are some differences that will help you distinguish them.
To find out what type of golden retriever you have, consider the following:
American type. Slender body, significantly golden fur (can vary in intensity), clear, slanted eyes.
British type. Slightly stockier body, a broader skull, a cream-colored coat, and round dark eyes.
Canadian type. Shorter and thinner layer, medium golden color (can become dark), and apparently taller body.
What are crossbred or mixed golden retrievers?
The golden retriever is a dog well known for being purebred, but this does not prevent breeders from developing different crosses. Some of the most common include:
The goldendoodle or golden poodle. Cross between the golden retriever and the standard poodle. They not only come in gold tones but also in black.
The golden mountain. Cross between the golden retriever and the Bernese Mountain Dog. It is a family dog, but with a certain protective instinct.
The golden chi or golden chi. Cross between the golden retriever and the Chihuahua. It physically resembles the Chihuahua but has a much larger build.
The golden lab or gold door. Cross between the golden retriever and the Labrador. It has an obedient, gentle temperament and average energy levels.
The goldmation or golden Dalmatian. Cross between the golden retriever and the Dalmatian. This dog exhibits a slightly reserved personality.
Is the miniature golden retriever a separate type?
No. The miniature golden retriever is not a type of golden retriever. Contrary to what the name may suggest, these specimens are not obtained through the selective breeding of purebred dogs. The miniature golden, or mini golden, is the result of crosses between different breeds.
Some of the most common crosses are a golden retriever with a poodle (standard or miniature), a golden retriever with a Goldendoodle (golden retriever and poodle mix), or a golden retriever with a cocker spaniel.
In any case, breeders try to get a 50-75% genetic match to the standard golden. The idea is to create puppies that have the wonderful temperament of a pure golden retriever, but smaller in size.
Our knowledge is based on the long experience gained on this subject.
We are not going to make any comparison between the different products on the market, so the descriptions of the feed that appear below are invented, although they do not differ too much from the real ones.
The guaranteed analysis is important, of course. But it should be noted that the percentage of proteins, which is taken so much into account in this guaranteed analysis, is formed from the sum of the percentages of animal and vegetable proteins.
They tell us much more about the ingredients/composition of the feed.
We present as an example a fictitious feed and analyze it thoroughly.
With this composition, it would be a product, which would be offered on the market at a price of not less than € 50 per bag of 15Kg and that would be considered a “Premium” type feed.
What does this composition mean for your dog?
(1.) Chicken (min. 15 %):
A 15 kg bag of dog food could be interpreted as containing 2.25 kg (or 15%) of chicken meat. It may be true, but it doesn’t have to be. The 2.25 kg (or 15%) of chicken meat will have to be dried, so the meat will lose approximately 50% of its volume. It may be, without more, that in this feed there is not 2.25 kg of chicken meat, but only 1.13 kg of chicken meat meal. This means that the bag effectively contains only 1.13 kg over 15 kg. Which would be only 7.5%.
This does not mean that it is exclusively chicken meat. The rest of the chicken could also be contained in this percentage.
We now have a 15 kg bag with a meat content of about 1.13 kg, 14 kg is still missing! We have put 7.5% of the volume and 92.5% is missing.
(2.) Wheat:
Since chicken (min. 15%) was indicated (and not chicken meat meal), the manufacturer can put a maximum of 14.8% wheat. Since the product placed in the 2nd position can only be a percentage lower than the first position and higher than the third. This 14.8% of wheat would therefore be 2.22 kg.
We now have about 1.13 kg of meat, about 2.22 kg of wheat, and 11.65 kg are missing.
(3.) Corn:
Due to known conditions, the percentage of maize should not exceed 14.7 %, which means 2.21 kg.
Now we have about 1.13 kg of meat about 2.22 kg of wheat about 2.21 kg of corn and we still have 9.44 kg to fill the bag.
(4.) Lamb & it’s animal products:
The manufacturer could put approximately 14.6% lamb meat. But it will not, since in this case, it would have put chicken meat and lamb meat in the first places from the beginning. By means of the description: Lamb meat & animal by-products have the following possibility: You have to reach 14.6% to be in 4th place and mix as much (or as little) lamb meat as you want with as few (or as many) animal by-products as you want and calculate the percentage in the feed after this mixture. The by-products do not have to be lamb, slaughterhouse waste of any kind, including pork, can be used. For example, animal by-products are understood among other horns, hooves, guts, and their contents, etc.
This 14.6% means 2.19 kg more.
So what to do?
Select judiciously and save money. Carefully selected high-quality feed saves you money every day. The greater the number of cereals and filling products (loads), the greater the daily feed ratio!
The greater the number of cereals and loads, the lower the supply of animal protein of high biological value.
And we haven’t even entered the world of synthetic vitamins and preservatives.
Some examples:
Menadione: Synthetic vitamin K3: the body absorbs, stores and excretes it in a different way than natural and the technical literature considers it “potentially poisonous, partially poisonous, poisonous at high doses, or simply poisonous”. It is prohibited from human consumption because it is carcinogenic.
BHA: A preservative: also called E 320 or Butylhydroxyanisole, is obtained synthetically and has the following effects: allergic reactions, the elevation of lipids and cholesterol in the blood, can favor the appearance of digestive enzymes in the liver which increases the catabolism of other body substances.
BHT: A preservative: also called E 321. It has the following effects: allergic reactions, and alterations of the immune system, thyroid gland, and liver.
When a dog is often scratching and biting the hair, it may have developed an allergic reaction. An allergy is usually manifested by itching and erythema (red skin) in areas of the body such as the armpits, groins, abdomen, ear pavilion, face, near the tail, and between plantar pads.
If your dog has these symptoms, consult a veterinarian to rule out non-allergic inflammatory and infectious dermatological conditions. If the diagnosis of allergy is confirmed it is necessary to identify the origin, especially environmental allergens (atopic dermatitis) and flea bites (allergic to bite dermatitis, being important to have deworming up to date), followed by food allergies that often go unnoticed to owners.
A careful diet can be key to help prevent skin infections and other diseases of your dog, have or not food allergies.
In this article, we will focus on the type of food allergies.
Generally speaking, kennel cough is described by owners of infected dogs as a strong cough as if something is stuck in their throat.
Why does this condition happen? It’s serious?
What is kennel cough/infectious canine tracheobronchitis?
The infection can be caused by viruses or bacteria, or even a combination of the two. It is quite uncommon for just one organism to be involved in tracheobronchitis.
Some agents that cause kennel cough are:
The bacterium Bordetella bronchiseptica;
The Parainfluenza virus;
Canine adenovirus type 2 (CAV-2);
Canine distemper virus (Distemper);
The canine flu virus (Influenza);
Canine Herpesvirus Type 1 (CHV-1);
Mycoplasma haemocanis;
Canine Reovirus;
The coronavirus canine (CCoV).
Although kennel cough may appear severe, the infection is considered, in most cases, slight and the severity of the situation lies in the fact that it is highly contagious.
Dogs, in addition to passing the condition through contact between them, may undergo contagion through contaminated objects or places. For example, bacteria such as Bordetella can survive on surfaces for up to 48 hours, and the infection cycle can continue as soon as they find another host.
When can kennel cough become dangerous?
In most cases the infection is not serious and can disappear without the intervention of the owner, although it is not recommended to risk, taking into account the risk of uncontrolled contagion of the condition.
Sometimes, the problem can be complicated by the evolution of the infection through the presence of other bacteria. In this case, treatment should be with broad-spectrum antibiotics to prevent progression to high-risk pneumonia.
Another case where tracheobronchitis can be complicated is in specific groups of animals, such as dogs with a few days of age, dogs with other types of pathologies, the elderly, or with problems with the immune system.
In the case of contagion by puppies, it is advisable, in addition to the treatment, to have nutrition rich in nucleotides to increase their defenses.
Although it is extremely uncomfortable for our animals, it is usually short-lived, around 1 to 4 weeks.
A food allergy is an adverse immune system response to a particular protein in food. As a result of this response, some dogs develop itching or skin and ear infections. In other animals, the allergy causes vomiting and diarrhea, while some may have all the symptoms.
Consulting a veterinarian is always essential in order to rule out other causes for the same symptoms mentioned above.
Itching and skin and ear infections can be caused by flea bites and allergies to herbs, mites, pollen, etc.
Gastrointestinal changes can originate from infections by parasites, viruses, or bacteria and pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas), for example.
Discarding other causes of these gastrointestinal symptoms that are not of food origin, we can, in addition to food allergies, take into account food intolerance, which does not involve an immune response, but rather the inability to correctly process a particular food constituent. , such as lactose intolerance which causes diarrhea and other gastrointestinal problems.
Food intolerances are more common than food allergies.
How is food allergy diagnosed?
There is not yet a simple and fast test that makes it possible to diagnose a food allergy.
There is, however, a set of signs that, when verified, indicate a greater probability of having a food allergy and not another type of allergy or infection.
Signs that your dog may have a food allergy:
If symptoms occur at an age younger than 1 year (puppies do not normally develop environmental allergies);
If the symptoms are not seasonal or do not change with regional changes (eg travel or changes from drier to humid climates);
If there are no reactions to steroid injections;
Both gastrointestinal symptoms and skin symptoms are present.
Elimination Diet
The “gold standard ” for diagnosing a food allergy is the elimination diet test, which consists of feeding the dog a diet prepared by the veterinarian, which normally only includes a few ingredients (protein and fiber plus fats, minerals, and vitamins).
If after more than a month on this diet there is a marked improvement in symptoms, to confirm the food allergy, your dog must go back to the previous diet, with each ingredient being tested later.
