Dixie ★ Golden Retriever

[Schuyler]

*This is a thread about my dog and best friend, Dixie the Golden Retriever.
FEEL FREE TO POST!

8/21/14: Began muzzle training.

7/20/14: Added more distance to the "place" trick.

7/4/14: Happy third anniversary! <3

6/24/14: Dixie learned a new...trick? "Away"

6/2/14: Dixie "re-learned" the trick, "touch it".

5/6/14: Dixie learned the "spin" trick [spin counter-clockwise]

4/7/14: Dixie turned 3 years old!

4/2/14: Took Dix and other 3 dogs in for shots. Dixie behaved well, ignored other dogs, and greeted a Rottie pup as we left.

4/1/14: HUGE breakthrough! Dixie played with our other dogs outside! No fights, no negative reactions, etc.

1/21/14: You can find Dixie on YouTube HERE: - removed -

1/16/14: CALLING ALL ARTISTS I'm holding an art competition for art of Dixie!
More info here: viewtopic.php?f=43&t=2164663

1/3/14: Dixie attacked Stitch this morning. There were no chews or toys lying anywhere in the room. Stitch did not instigate it. She's always gotten along with Stitch. :c

12/18/13: Plans have been changed yet again and apparently we are no longer relocating. -.- SO, this thread is back to Dixie's daily life and working to resolve her aggression issues with our other two dogs.

10/15/13: As of today, this thread will mainly focus on our move overseas. We'll be taking along Dixie, Sherlock (GhostE's Pekingese/Poodle), Murdoch (eldest sister's Bichon Frise mix), and my dad and I are looking into a way to safely bring along my cockatiel Maverick as well. I hope this thread may help others in the future and provide info to those who may be considering flying their dogs or other pets to another country.

[MacGyver]

Dixie was born into a little of 8 pups [7 females and 1 male] on April 7th, 2011.

I got her when she was 8 weeks old and drove across the state border to get her. The breeder's ad said parents were on-site, but when we arrived the pups' father was not there. [HUGE warning sign] Dixie was the pup who sat on my feet and wouldn't leave me when I played withand met her siblings. So the little golden red chubby puppy with the white spot on top of her head came home with me.

I'd been stalking all the local rescues and shelters for about a year within 100 miles of where I lived with no luck. Every time a Golden or Golden mix showed up, they were either adopted or claimed. Being uneducated about BYB's, I followed up on an ad in the paper about a litter of AKC pups. Which is where Dixie came in. (Despite the "breeder"'s claim that all of the pups had had their first shots and had been dewormed, Dixie was FULL of roundworms and miserable until we dewormed her.)

Dixie was a VERY good, easy pup compared to my sister's year old Pekingese/Poodle [Sherlock]. She never chewed anything up, had on accident during her whole puppyhood, was house-trained nearly immediately, and loved Sherlock and Stitch [mom's senior Pekingese].

We spent many an afternoon in PetSmart, at a local school to pick up our nephews, and Rural King (a local farm store) - anywhere where dogs are allowed. The school was her favorite place and provided me with a chance to socialize her with noise, fast movements, and teach her to remain calm and focus during all of it.

BUT despite all of our socialization and living with three other small dogs, Dixie is dog aggressive. She's absolutely fine with Stitch, but can't stand our two younger males. She used to be best friends with Murdoch [Bichon mix, a few months younger than her]. At first I thought it was just resource guarding, so we worked on that and she seemed to get better. But then she attacked Murdoch during one of their usual play sessions in the back yard. I never noticed anything abnormal in the way they were playing. She would growl at Sherlock or Murdoch if they came close to her.

Here, at 18 months, she was spayed.

On another occasion, she attacked Murdoch again in the backyard while all of the dogs were outside, and rolled him for about 3-4 feet - snapping and snarling all the while. She never grabbed him completely with her jaws or bit him, but it scared him very bad. Not to mention the way my heart was pounding! Later, she began growling or snapping at one of them if they came up to her from behind and began trying to sniff her.

From there, Dixie was no longer allowed to play with the other dogs for fear of her injuring one. After all, she was now about 60lbs while the others are 10-12lbs.

I believe the cause is most likely poor breeding. We did VERY heavy socialization when she was a pup, and she LIVES with and was RAISED with 3 other dogs, but she does not get along with them and is aggressive to other dogs.

We're working on this issue now, and she been making great progress!

[MacGyver]

-Teach Dixie to jump through hoop over my back
-Continue daily socialization by walking at the strip mall
-Begin frisbee training again
-Teach "crawl"
-Continue hearing dog training for fun
-Work with Dixie on helping her to not react aggressively toward other dogs - beginning with two of our small dogs. - getting there! -

◆ Golden Retriever Club of CS

[Pastasquid]

Aw cute, my friend has a golden retriver that looks alot like yours. I think his name is Barney, he's a boy

[MacGyver]

I love all dogs to bits but I have a thing for goldens. : D

[ღDamonElenaღ]

She is very lovely ;)

[MacGyver]

Thank you !!! ^.^ I'll add more info and more pictures when I get on the comp. It's hard on my tablet.

[MacGyver]

Dixie got home from spay surgery today. Her face was covered in tears, poor thing. I think she thought I abandoned her. She's been sleeping nearly all day. I hope she stays settled whille she heals!

[Golden Sun]

Cute dog!

[MacGyver]

Cute dog!

Thank you. She has tons more pics but I've been too lazy to post em. XD