Key Points
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Exercise and play are essential for your golden retriever.
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Social and sensory enrichment allow your golden retriever to lead a healthy life.
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Golden retrievers need outlets to express their energy and intelligence.
Renowned for their trainability, intelligence, and eagerness to please, golden retrievers are among the best pets. Easily fitting into various homes — from typical suburbanite families to an only dog living in a skyrise apartment in New York City — golden retrievers truly live up to their golden namesake.
Keeping your golden retriever engaged with enrichment activities is fun for you and your pet and is a must-have part of a dog's long-term well-being. Staying active with your golden retriever strengthens the bond between you and keeps your golden friend at a healthy weight — one of the best predictors of a long, healthy canine life. Exercising your dog improves fitness, decreases stress, and makes being left alone easier for your dog.
Appropriate chewing is nature's way of keeping jaws strong and teeth clean, and chewing combats boredom and relieves anxiety. Dr. Candace Croney at Purdue University notes that "dogs benefit from enrichment to reduce stress and reinforce socialization." Plus, giving your pup something tasty to chew on is just fun!
Use the following gear to absorb your golden retriever's attention and exercise their body and brain with social, nutritional, and sensory enrichment.
Chuckit! Ultra Ball
The Chuckit! Ultra Ball is a high-bouncing, durable ball that makes it convenient to play fetch sessions with active golden retrievers.
Offer plenty of rest breaks and water — especially on warm days — since your golden probably won't want to stop the party. Recovery and hydration are essential during intense fetch sessions, and it's always best to care for your dog's mind and body.
The Chuckit! Ultra Ball is a great way to exercise your golden retriever physically and give an outlet for their natural desire to retrieve.
Photo source: Amazon.com
KONG Classic Dog Toy
One of the best enrichment toys available is the KONG Classic toy. Fill it with treats to entertain your golden retriever for hours.
The KONG Classic toy is a favorite for crate training or whenever your golden needs to quietly entertain themselves for long periods while you're away. The KONG Classic toy provides the calming activities of licking and chewing and prevents destructive chewing on unapproved items.
You can stuff the KONG Classic with ingredients as simple as peanut butter or kibble, or you can layer yogurt and canned pumpkin with a few blueberries and freeze it to create a KONG parfait.
Photo source: Amazon.com
Outward Hound Hide-A-Squirrel Puzzle Toy
Use the fun and challenging Outward Hound puzzle toy to encourage problem-solving and mental invigoration.
Golden retrievers are highly intelligent dogs who benefit from the added stimulation of puzzle-solving. This fun interactive toy comes in various play sizes from small to extra-large "tree trunks." You can replace or add squeaky squirrels.
The Outward Hound puzzle toy activates golden retrievers' natural prey drive, and they love to pull the multiple squirrels from the plush toy.
Photo source: Amazon.com
Nylabone Dura Chew Textured Ring
Long-lasting dog chew toys are life savers when teaching your golden retriever to settle on their own and learn to relax when you leave the house.
Nylabone Dura Chews are a great choice for strong chewers like golden retrievers and are a safe alternative to traditional rawhide, which is unhealthy for dogs. The Nylabone Dura Chew textured ring has an interesting knobby shape and tough nylon that withstands aggressive chewers.
Photo source: Amazon.com
Chuckit! Amphibious Bumper
Swimming is a great way to exercise your golden retriever, has a low impact on joints, and is excellent for cardiovascular health. Golden retrievers are natural swimmers and love to use their instinctive ability to fetch from bodies of water.
The Chuckit! Amphibious Bumper is a great toy for playing the popular sport of dock diving. It's the perfect tool for honing your golden retriever's natural ability to retrieve from the water.
The Chuckit! Amphibious Bumper toy is water-resistant on (and off!) land and is great for playing fetch while swimming.
Photo source: Amazon.com
Frisbee
The tried-and-true classic Frisbee for dogs is one of the best natural outlets for your golden retriever's instinctual chasing, running, and retrieving talents.
The quintessential Frisbee for dogs is perfect for outdoor playtime and a great tool for improving your golden retriever's agility. You and your dog can play many activities with a Frisbee. The sport of disc dog is a fun game where you showcase your golden's abilities with a Frisbee in distance retrieving or even choreographed freestyle disc catching.
Ruffwear Front Range Harness
A well-fitted harness can provide all-day comfort for your dog and is the perfect option for hiking, playing off-leash at the park, or strolls around the neighborhood. The Ruffwear Front Range harness is comfortable and durable for daily walks and outdoor adventures.
Walking is often the highlight of your golden retriever's day. According to the Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, well-fitted harnesses are preferable to collars for leash walking or playing off-leash.
Harnesses provide reasonable control and reduce the risk of injury caused by pressure on the neck and throat. This pressure can quickly happen when walking your golden retriever on a leash attached to a collar.
Kurgo Tru-Fit Smart Harness
Safety during car rides is paramount for your golden retriever, and the Kurgo Tru-Fit harness combines comfort with safety by attaching to your car's seat belt system.
The Kurgo Tru-Fit harness has been crash tested for dogs up to 75 pounds and is comfortable for deep-chested dogs like golden retrievers. The Kurgo Tru-Fit is a versatile harness for walking, running, or car rides.
PetSafe Easy Walk Harness
No-pull harnesses have many benefits, including being user-friendly since there is no additional training for a dog or their human to learn to use.
Dr. Tamara Montrose at Hartpury College investigated the behavioral effects of walking dogs on harnesses and concluded that stress indicators were low in dogs who go for walks with a harness on. The PetSafe easy walk harness is a front-clip harness that helps prevent pulling and makes walking easier and more comfortable for both you and your golden retriever.
Veterinarians and animal behaviorists agree that harnesses are the best choice to avoid risking damage to the throat or neck tissue, especially if your golden retriever tends to pull on the leash.
BarksBar Orthopedic Bed
When your golden retriever is tuckered out from all the play and games, it's time for a good nap!
Adult dogs need an astonishing amount of sleep — 14 hours a day or more, depending on their life stage. Since golden retrievers typically range in weight from 50 to 70 pounds, these large breed dogs benefit from orthopedic support to reduce joint pain and support restorative sleep.
The BarksBar orthopedic dog bed is a supportive and comfortable bed that allows your golden retriever the all-important good night's rest while alleviating joint pain and supporting their musculoskeletal system. Preventing and reducing orthopedic pain from an early age is important in maintaining your dog's overall comfort and mobility. The BarksBar orthopedic dog bed is perfect for larger dogs like golden retrievers.
The BarksBar orthopedic dog bed also has a comfortable price range compared to other orthopedic dog beds on the market.
Golden Beginnings
Your golden retriever is the pinnacle of dogdom, a wonderful family member who is biddable, has an innate ability to please, and is both kind and intelligent. With that in mind, they are also very energetic and need lots of exercise. This special breed of dog needs outlets for their energy and intelligence.
Providing social and cognitive enrichment, daily exercise, keeping them fit with play and walks, and a comfortable place to drift into Dream City are all essential for your golden retriever to live a long, healthy, and meaningful life.
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