Keep the resident cat or dog in a different part of the house for about 45 minutes while letting the new puppy roam around and smell everything in the house. After this, take the puppy outside to potty, then put him/her in its crate for a nap.
You can now allow the resident dog/cat to go around and smell the puppy’s scent. Take the puppy out once more to potty as soon as it wakes, then back inside to meet the resident cat/dog. Allow the poppy to approach the resident pet, but stay close so you can supervise the interaction.
The curious puppy will go up to the resident pet to smell them. A snarl from the resident dog is normal as the older dog is only warning the puppy not to get too rough with them. If the snarl increases as the puppy approaches or turns into a growl, interrupt the interaction and take the puppy to its crate and try again some other day. Cats usually take a bit longer to warm up to puppies.
English Golden Retrievers do not have a predictable heat cycle like American Retrievers and Poodles which cycle every 6 months. This is why most dog breeders (especially puppy mills) don’t like breeding English Golden Retrievers since they prefer a Dam that can produce a litter every 6 months.
The typical English Golden Retrievers go into heat on average 7-12 months apart. What I’ve noticed from my time breeding is that each dog develops its own cycle; one dog may cycle every 7 months and another every 13 months.
This is why we love breeding the English Golden Retriever, first for their long life expectancy of 15-18 years (for comparison, the American Golden Retrievers have a life expectancy of 11-15 years) and their exceptional health record.
It is also our belief that a dog will cycle when her body has recovered and is ready to breed again. We retire moms early at 5 years old to avoid complications.
It’s normal for a puppy to cry the first night in a new home because it has learned that whining earns attention from its mom. It is important not to give in to the whining and you should continue crate training regardless of it. This way your puppy learns that it’ll have to stay in the crate.
However, if the puppy starts whimpering after a few hours of sleep, it is most likely telling you that it needs to potty. Take it outside to potty and return it to the crate so he/she doesn’t think it is playtime.
Don’t worry about the whining – more often than not, it only lasts about a night or two.
If you’re concerned about the puppy feeling uncomfortable in the crate, simply fill an empty 2-litre plastic bottle with moderately hot water, wrap the bottle in a towel, and place it in the crate. This will make the puppy feel like it is lying beside a littermate.
Avoid putting toys or any other thing in the crate, else the puppy will spend more time playing instead of sleeping.
Video on grooming techniques:
Video on cleaning your dog’s ears:
We also offer 3 months of free telephone consultation where you can ask questions and get answers ASAP.
This article goes over a few of the most important basic commands to teach your new puppy. They include the sit, stay, stop/no/leave it, no bark, lie down, come, and, of course, your dog’s name.
These commands are critical and may help protect your dog (and potentially your property) in dangerous situations such as attempting to chew inedible objects or running into traffic.
Here’s a simple trick that we learned from another trainer. When the puppy jumps on you, gently step on its hind paw and say a firm “No!” repeat this each time he/she jumps on you, and eventually simply saying “No!” will stop them from jumping.
Be sure to stop this behaviour at a young age because it becomes more difficult to break the habit the older your puppy gets.
Yes! You should crate-train your dog until you are certain it will not get into trouble when left alone. Whenever you’re unable to watch your puppy for potty signs, such as when cooking, eating, showering, or sleeping, you should crate the puppy. The puppy will regard the crate as a safe zone and won’t soil it. Please avoid the urge to use the crate as punishment for unwanted behaviour.
On your puppy’s first day at its new home, take it outside to its designated potty area every ½ hour. Take it out every hour on the second day. If there aren’t any accidents by this time, you can adjust to 1 ½ hours from the third day and 2 hours by the fourth day.
Maintain the 2-hourly potty break schedule except when your puppy is asleep. To help reduce the number of potty breaks you need to make at night, take away all food and water after 7:00 pm but ensure to make one last potty break sometime around 10:00 pm.
As soon as morning comes, take the puppy out since it has been holding its bladder all night.
For large or active homes where you aren’t always aware of the poor puppy patiently waiting by the door, we recommend you tie a bell to your doorknob with a ribbon. Make it hang low enough so the puppy can reach and ring the bell with its nose. Teach your puppy to ring the bell each time before letting it outside.
It takes about a week to potty train a puppy, but do not punish him/her if it soils the house after this period. It is just a baby and an accident means you missed the signs that your puppy needed to go outside.
A well-mannered dog is simply one that is well-trained. We start our puppies on manners and basic training such as sitting and not jumping on people, however, they’re not capable of learning much at that age.
Northern-Lites Golden Retrievers and French Bulldogs are easy to train, but you still have to take the time to train them, else unwanted behavioural patterns may start showing up.
Training your dog is critical and may help protect him/her (and potentially your property) in dangerous situations such as attempting to chew inedible objects or running into traffic.
This article goes over a few of the most important basic commands to teach your new puppy. They include the sit, stay, stop/no/leave it, no bark, lie down, come, and, of course, your dog’s name.
For us, it’s of utmost importance to only breed dogs with desirable personalities. We focus on breeding dogs that are friendly, alert, trustworthy, reliable, eager, curious, and self-confident.
We make deliberate efforts to avoid breeding hostile, nervous, or timid dogs because we understand that temperament and personality are affected by genetics.
This is why Northern-Lites Golden Retrievers and French Bulldogs are renowned for their affectionate, intelligent, and poise nature… the ultimate goal of Golden Retrievers and French Bulldogs.Yes, but for only 3 months from the date purchased. Our dogs are purebred from the best bloodline in the UK and they’ve undergone comprehensive DNA tests, eye test, and are vet checked.
You can conduct an independent vet check to confirm this for yourself. You only need to exercise and feed them a healthy diet regularly and their high-quality genes will handle the rest.
At Northern-Lites Golden Retrievers and French Bulldogs, we constantly test our pups as new DNA tests become available. What we prioritise are breed-specific diseases, especially those that cause early death such as moderate heart disease, autoimmune disease, progressive retinal atrophy, Ichthyosis, Willebrand disease, and Osteochondritis.
The science of DNA testing is developing quickly and we do our best to keep up with emerging developments.
Our sires and dams are tested for the health of their hearts, hips, elbows, and patellae (knee caps). An ophthalmologist also checks their eyes to ensure they’re clear of 32 eye diseases.
Additionally, DNA tests help us determine whether parent dogs carry breed-specific diseases such as multidrug resistance to cancer (MDR1), progressive rod-cone degeneration (prcd-PRA), canine degenerative myelopathy (DM), and von Willebrand disease (vWD).
Health test results are used in screening dogs with the best genetics for our breeding program. By knowing the health history of our dog’s lineage, we can decide which mate pairing is best for producing healthy offspring.
Although testing parent dogs does not guarantee that the puppy will be disease-free, it significantly decreases the likelihood of them developing such health concerns. Of course, quality of life and health also depends on the availability of healthy foods, lifestyle, and regular exercise.
The shed and allergy factor of a Golden Retriever varies from breeder to breeder. However, this depends on the coat type their Golden Retriever puppies have inherited. At Northern-Lites Golden Retrievers and French Bulldogs, we use DNA testing to determine the coat type of all our dogs so we can accurately create the most non-shedding hypoallergenic coat without depending on guesswork.
Northern-Lites Golden Retriever and French Bulldog puppies and parents have an intelligent, calm, and loving personality. These traits are valuable, not only to the Golden Retrievers and French Bulldogs bloodline but the families we send our dogs to.
That’s why we ensure that we only breed dogs with desirable personalities and excellent health. One more thing we do, which we believe helps build the trust between man and animal and allows them to learn faster, obey, and trust people is early Neurological Stimulation Practice.
This involves rubbing the bottom of their feet, ears, bellies, and noses.
If you’re looking for a pet that’s intelligent, obedient, and patient, we wholeheartedly recommend Northern-Lites Golden Retrievers and French Bulldogs. They’re easy to train and socialise with children, and they have an innate desire to please their families.
They are very calm and patient with children. Having said that, it is vital to teach your dog to obey basic commands and also teach your children how to respectfully interact with your pet dog.