Exercise and mental stimulation

Golden retrievers were originally bred as a working dog. They were used for upland and waterfowl retrieval. This means they needed to be smart and have the stamina to retrieve birds all day. 

Nowadays most golden retrievers are family pets but they still require some exercise and mental stimulation. The amount and type of exercise and mental stimulation depends on the individual dog and it's age. For example a puppy out of working bloodlines is going to need more exercise ant mental stimulation tham a 4 year old dog out of show bloodlines.

It is very important to make sure the puppy/dogs energy level matches your lifestyle.

There's definitely a balance to how much exercise and mental stimulation your puppy/dog requires.

Too much exercise can be harmful for your puppy's growing bones and joints.

Too much or too intense mental stimulation can be overwhelming and frustrating to your puppy leaving him/her feeling overwhelmed in less confident.

Too little exercise and mental stimulation can leave a puppy feeling frustrated and bored. This can result in the puppy/dog becoming destructive, trying to run away, becoming noisy or overly hyper.

 Mental stimulation is simply expanding your puppies knowledge and challenging them in new ways.

 Walking them in a new area with different sites, sounds and smells is a great mental stimulation. Teaching them a new trick or practicing something they already know in a new environment is a great mental stimulation. Having them work for food by using food puzzles or hiding the food is great mental stimulation.

Being creative and offering your puppy/dog appropriate challenges will strengthen your bond and build your puppy/dogs confidence.

Puppy culture has developed a age appropriate guide for exercising your puppy.

This guide was developed for Bull Terriers however I feel it is a good guideline for Golden Retrievers as well. Please remember we are not veterinarians, this is what we have found to work for us.