Your Golden Retriever's Life: Your Complete Guide to Raising Your Pet from Puppy to Companion (Paperback)

~ Betsy Siino (Author)

Editorial Reviews

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Give Your Golden Retriever the Best Possible Care?for Life! -- Review

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Give Your Golden Retriever the Best Possible Care—for Life!

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press (October 20, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761520473
• ISBN-13: 978-0761520474
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,188,451 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

74 of 74 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This book has everything, May 7, 2000

By	Martha Lake (Upstate, New York) - See all my reviews

This is a wonderful reference for prospective or current owners of a Golden Retriever, but especially for someone who has a new Golden puppy. I bought this book as soon as we had decided on a Golden when the litter was 4 weeks of age so I could do a lot of reading before the puppy came home. The author is "right on" when it comes to the breed. She accurately describes all of its best traits as well as its shortcomings regarding food allergies, skin allergies, etc. She tells you exactly what to look for in a new puppy and what to avoid. There are no surprises about the breed once you have read this book. It covers all aspects regarding feeding, grooming, bonding, training, living with an older dog - everything you will encounter over the years with your dog. If you have any doubts, check this book out at your local library or bookstore . . .

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Low Information Content, April 20, 2003

By A Customer

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This book is very long on lauditory rhetoric for golden retrievers, but the density of practical information is low. What and how much should my dog eat? High quality food and enough but not too much. The breeder gave me a little pamphlet issued by Purina that had the same basic information that I got from this book in about 3 pages.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Dog Schroeder, September 19, 2002

By	Lynn Dardin Roundtree (a small, rural town near Olympia, Washington) - See all my reviews

After waiting over two decades to embark on the creation of a Golden Retriever family, I soon found that I was embarking on much more than my first baby's pretty face. Schroeder was a giant handful from the time he was born! My husband said, "What have you adopted, a baby who wants to sleep in our bed and play fetch there too?"

Betsy's text describes quite precisely the nature of our two Golden Retrievers and her advise will ensure that your Golden develops physically and psychologically healthy and you will too--so long as you follow the "rules". Without a thorough understanding of my dog's not only family oriented but, generally, people oriented nature that requires plenty of games and exercise (outside), Schroeder would have continued being very eager to take me anywhere by my shirt, and he probably would have succeeded before he was full grown. So, I consider myself lucky that I outran him to the bookstore beforehand and picked up Betsy's book. We now have a healthy, happy home with two Goldens. Yes, I can now resume graduate school knowing that my "kids" are happy at home without ball and bottle in my hand for several hours per day.

In sum, I recommend this book as a must read for those considering a Golden family member. Again, these dogs are extremely active, loving and family oriented and need to be treated with this understanding. If this type of companion is in your reality, even training becomes a joy. Otherwise, try another one of her books--you can't miss with Betsy but you could avoid your seemingly empirical perception of a pretty face quickly changed if your golden son rises without you.

PS. I would like to hear from Betsy concerning my "essential" goats.