Golden retriever male - Experienced home need

Golden Retriever Male – Experienced Home Needed

We are sadly looking for a new, experienced and child-free home for our beautiful 16-month-old male Golden Retriever.

This is an incredibly difficult decision, as he is a genuinely lovely dog 99% of the time. He is affectionate, playful, friendly and has a wonderful temperament with both people and other dogs. He absolutely adores being around people and is fantastic socially.

However, he has developed resource-guarding behaviour around food and high-value items, and unfortunately this has resulted in him biting our daughter. He has also nipped my husband on two occasions when my husband attempted to remove a chicken bone from his mouth.

Because we have children, we can no longer take the risk, despite how much we love him. We feel that he needs a home where his behaviour can be properly managed and where someone experienced with resource guarding can work with him in a calm, structured environment.

We are looking for:
• An experienced owner who understands resource guarding and dog behaviour.
• A child-free home, ideally with adults who are confident handling a strong young dog.
• Someone prepared to continue appropriate training/behavioural work.
• A home where food, chews and high-value items can be managed safely.
• Ideally, someone who can give him the time, patience and consistency he deserves.

He is excellent with other dogs and people and has so many wonderful qualities. This is not a decision we are making lightly, and our priority is finding the right home rather than simply finding him a new home quickly.

He also has a retained testicle (cryptorchidism) and will require castration. Our vets have currently advised waiting a few more months before proceeding.

We will be completely honest with any prospective owner about his history and behaviour. He must not be rehomed to a family with young children, and we would want to have a proper conversation with anyone interested to make sure his needs and history are fully understood.

This is heartbreaking for us, but we believe finding him the right experienced home is the kindest and safest thing we can do for him and for our family.

Please only enquire if you have genuine experience with resource guarding and are able to offer him an appropriate adult-only home.