golden retrievers

[knobbynonuts]

Why does my 5 year old golden retriever have a mad 5 minutes occasionly where he chases his tail and runs around on the carpet barking and jumping about like a loony.........

[leelapops]

Hiya :)
My Collie does it heaps-he's doing it now! I think it's fairly common, and just a way of them running off any excess energy!

I am not making any suggestions about how you look after your dog, but I know that Jack does it more when he hasn't had enough exercise (a rainy day for example, or when I have been essay-writing!) so I try to give him a good wander out as often as possible.

If you feel you have too much energy, you could always join in :D
Lisa x

[benjiesmum]

For the same reason my Golden Retriever does!!! He's mad!!! I think that it is purely a love of life that seems to be inherent in all GRs. My dog does exactly the same and has recently got worse. He leaps on top of me licks me and bounces over the cat a bit like Tigger in Winnie the Pooh.

[Clanad]

Thr Golden, being a working breed, needs a minimum of 45 minutes of brisk exercise each day, 1 hour is even better. If walking him is difficult, try riding a bike or other conveyance such as roller blading while he's on the leash. Additionally, you need to take control of him when he's doing this to let him know the actions are unacceptable. To divert his attention, assert your pack leader position by biting his neck area.... no not with your mouth, of course, but with the tips of all the fingers of one hand. Grab a small portion of his neck quickly and just as quickly release it in a simulated "bite". This is how the alpha male would control the members of his pack. This will divert his attention from the unwanted behaviour. If not, repeat it. At that point, he should display submissiveness, such as lowered head, lowered tail and perhaps even laying down and rolling on his back. The point is, the dog must recognize the human as the authority figure. Don't verbalize anything during this manuever and don't under any circumstances, praise the dog while he's being submissive. Simply turn and walk away. A short time later, when he approaches you of his own accord, you may speak normally and pet him. Changing the animals mind set during any unwanted behaviour is paramount and this technique works... I saw my Dad use it effectively over many years to the point that, eventually all he had to do was to raise his eyebrows at the dog. I've used this and other similar techniques as well. The dogs were much happier and content in the knowledge they were in the presence of a strong pack leader... Best of luck!

[knobbynonuts]

hi again and thanks for all your answers (exept from scotty 6663 who is my son and thinks my dog is gay) bless his little cotton socks i think you are both right about what you are saying i do not take him for walkies as much as I should even thoughI love him to death and I know he feels the same way about me but he has been brought up with all the love in the world by everyone and he loves everybody who he meets and is a very happy little dog but I will make a new years resalution and promise to take my little bouncer for more walkies and take him for a run over the park a lot more in 2007 and my last new years resolution was to give up smoking and me and me g/f have both done it we have not smoked for a year now and when I think about it, it was so selfish and unfair to submit bouncer to a room full of smoke when we used to do that...

[kaylamay]

i have an 18 month old male kitten named, "kitten" and he not only smacks his own tail around, but he has full knock down drag out cat fights with his tail. I come running at times thinking 2 of my cats are in full screeching battle mode just to find it's "kitten" sorting out his pesky tail. I'm worried sometimes he will do some damage to himself as he is brutal to his poor tail. He really seems to feel his tail is an arch enemy deserving of immediate annihilation. He was born via c/section of a mother that has a neurological condition that causes her to walk like a drunken sailor leaving the bar at 2am. I think she may have passed a little something on to kitten. (the daddy kitty does the same with his tail just not to the extreme of his boy)
I've seen dogs do this, and their tail just catches their attention and sense of play so they chase it in fun.
Mikala