There is the old saying that 'good things don't come easy' and there is some truth in that when it comes to caring for a young Golden Retriever puppy.
Not in the sense that puppies make life uneasy or that their love brings you unease, no, it's more in the sense that providing the good things may be hard.
The best thing you can do when your puppy is young is spend lots of time with her and that seems to be very problematic for many puppy parents.
They get a puppy because they have always wanted one or because their kids want one or for countless other reasons.
When the puppy is finally there they find that looking after her is very time consuming.
The older the puppy gets the more attention she needs because she becomes more active and sleeps less.
An unattended puppy does all sorts of things to entertain herself, ranging from digging up the garden to tearing down the curtains.
Chewing table legs and socks, taking carpets to pieces or shredding those important papers all seem to be Golden Retriever puppy specialities.
The owners react with shock and anger, wondering what on earth is going wrong inside their puppy's head and how they could remedy the problem.
To many of them a crate seems to be a good solution because after all, a puppy who's locked up safely can not cause any havoc in the house.
But the answer to the problem can not be found within the puppy! The puppy is doing what puppies do.
Destroyed table legs and carpets are just symptoms of an underlying cause and the cause is lack of time and attention from owners.
If and when you keep your puppy in the room with you and take the time to get her some good things to chew on like safe bones you will find that her need to chew on your table legs is greatly diminished.
If you pay attention to what she is doing you can just move her away from that carpet or skirting board she's started to attack.
As you are out in the garden with her you see when she starts digging and you can just lift her up to interrupt this unwanted behaviour.
All these things you can not do if you leave your puppy unattended in the kitchen whilst you watch television or if you leave her on her own in the garden.
Here is the challenge: How can you make the time you need to spend with your puppy? How can you make sure she gets all the supervision she needs? Lack of time from owners is the root of all evil when it comes to dog behaviour problems, there is no doubt about that.
So here is my tip: Keep your puppy with you at all times when you are at home, don't leave her to her own devices and find a puppy minder to come to your home to look after her whilst you are away.
That way you save yourself lots of hassle and also quite a bit of money.
And, above all, your puppy will be super happy and reward you with deep, unconditional love and adoration for the rest of her life.