a few puppy questions

I just have a few quick questions about my golden retriever puppy...


Teething: Everybody has been telling me to get her started on a kong to help with teething and to help with seperation when we have to leave her, which we have yet to do. So i got her a puppy kong and i filled it with peanut butter, as was suggested, problem is, she hates it. She would give a few half-hearted licks and then stop. So i figured she just might not like the peanut butter and i bought kong stuffer treats and put those inside. Still, no interest.

It was also suggested that I soak one of her rope toys in water and then freeze it and let her chew on that. I did, but she won't have anything to do with that either. She would rather chew our arms, it seems. Any suggestions? Or anything else i could do with the kong to make it more appealing?

Leash/ walking manners: When is the appropriate time to start working with her on walking on a leash? She is about ten weeks and she has had two sets of shots. I'm assuming she won't be ready for awhile, although the vet said it would be okay for me to start walking her around our neighborhood, just no dog parks or off-leash areas. Second question to that is what methods are used to train puppies to walk nicely?

Lastly, I am really trying to socialize Cami to children as best as I can. My mom does in-home daycare so i have tried taking her over there. I have been working with her on "leave it" but that goes right out the window when she's around children, as she just gets so excited. Her teeth hurt and she can easily knock a little kid down so I basically just spend the whole time holding her collar and letting the kids approach her, or just having her sit and watch the kids play, to get used to their presence. Should i be doing something more or something different?

Thank you ahead of time for any suggestions!

Kong suggestions: cream cheese, chicken, small steak pieces... you'll just have to do trials to see what she likes. The makers of Kong, also make pastes that you put in it - they come in different flavors: cheese, peanut butter, liver... might be worth trying. It's like a cheese-wiz can. She might show more interest in it as she gets older.

leash/walking: lol, "puppies" and "walking nicely" don't usually go together. I ended up buying an easy-walk harness for my pup - he would pull, play tug, etc.. Just continue to practice, reward & praise good leash manners and ignore the bad manners. It'll just take time. (my pup is 7 mths, and we're STILL working on his leash manners)

I'd be leary of using a child-daycare as social lesson time. Unless all the parents have given you consent. Puppy class would be a better option in my opinion. Also, take advantage of family get-togethers, friend get-togethers, parties, etc...

I'd be leary of using a child-daycare as social lesson time. Unless all the parents have given you consent. Puppy class would be a better option in my opinion. Also, take advantage of family get-togethers, friend get-togethers, parties, etc...


Yeah, we are going to sign her up for puppy classes soon, but it's socialization to children specifically that i'm working on. The vet said it was very important to get her used to children now, versus later. The only children at my mom's daycare are either family or close family friends and all of their parents know i bring Cami over. I don't ever give Cami the opportunity to accidently hurt them, anyway.

Thank you very much for your suggestions! I will definitely play around with different kong stuffers. Thanks again!