Mister Bentley: All of Your Golden Retriever Questions Answered

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sweater // similar jeans // rug // coffee table // picture: High Fashion Home (no link sorry!) // Dog Birthday Cake (Three Dog Bakery)

Welcome back you guys!!

We are officially home from Mexico and while I will be doing a small recap of our trip later this week, today is all about my man, Mister Bentley because today is his Birthday!! His 8th Birthday to be exact! I receive so many questions about him on the reg from you guys, that I thought I would take the time today to answer them all for you in one post!

This sounds so weird, because I am talking about a dog, but I love him so much, that it physically hurts lol. He is just so freaking sweet and brings so much happiness to our lives.

At 8-years-old Bentley is just as happy and sweet as he was when he was a puppy! Just a little more sassy and passive aggressive lol. His favorite person is my mom, his favorite toys include his ball and random sticks he finds outside. His favorite snacks are bananas, mangos and long carrots (weird I know). He loves to swim and roll around in the grass. Fetch is still his favorite sport, he sleeps harder than any dog I have ever seen and he is the biggest cuddle bug in the entire world.

So with out further a do…….

EVERYTHING BENTLEY FAQs

When and Where did you get Bentley?

I got Bentley Easter weekend of my Freshman Year at Baylor! I had lost my Golden that I grew up with in high school and desperately wanted another, so when I started seeing other kids popping up with Golden Retriever puppies all over campus, I had to find out where they came from! It ends up, they were all coming from a family a little outside of Waco, who had a litter of puppies. I found their information, took my best friend with me to meet them and called my Dad to prepare him for what I was about to do. When we showed up, they had two puppies left. They were nine weeks old and I couldn’t pick between the two…… so the owner made a deal with me and I bought both….$300 later, I was on my way home for Easter with two puppies (Bentley & Barkley). One for me and one to surprise my little sister with.

Since I was a Freshman still living in the dorms at the time, Bentley stayed with my Dad until I came home that next month for summer break. He then moved back to Waco with me when I moved into my off campus housing that July!

How did you end up picking Bentley out of the two? 

I didn’t! My best friend and roommate at the time, Mehrnaz, picked him out! She was not a dog person, like at all (lol) and was very against me getting one, but she really liked Bentley because all he did was sleep. He was supposed to be “the runt” and was seriously the calmest puppy, so she said if we were going to get one, then he was the only one she would be okay with because he was “chill” lol.

Do you have his breeder information? 

I do not and it kills me! They honestly weren’t even breeders. They were just a family, whose Golden (s) had puppies….. from what I remember, the litter was much bigger than they anticipated, which is why they were basically giving them away.

What type of Golden Retriever is he?

I’d say he is a mix between an American Conformation and a Field Bred Golden……but is more on the Field Bred side. As I mentioned above, I didn’t get him from a breeder and lost contact with the family we bought him from years ago. So needless to say, I’m not 100% sure on this, but if you are looking to get a Golden, those are the two types he resembles the most! His body and his muzzle are much longer and narrower when compared to other types of Goldens and his coat is much darker as well!

How old was Bentley when Colton met him?

5 months! When I moved into my off campus housing, Colton lived one house over, which is how we met/started dating, so Colton has pretty much been apart of Bentley’s life from the beginning!

Is Bentley neutered? If so, how old was he when you had it done? 

Yes, he is! I want to say we had it done right around 10 months.

How much does he weigh?

He is about 78lbs right now, which is a good weight for him according to his vet! He gains weight quickly, so we really have to monitor what we give him.

Did you Kennel Train him? If so, do you recommend it and is he still kennel trained? 

We did and it was the best decision we made! He loved his Kennel! I recommend doing this because it really helped us to potty train him and honestly just train him over all. We kept it until we could 100% trust him in the house without him having an accident or chewing something up, which was when he was around 1 1/2 years old!

Who trained him? Did he go to some type of training school?

Bentley did not go to a training school, but training him was definitely a group effort! A group that I truly can’t say that I’m a member of…. I was being trained just as much as Bentley was. Since he lived with my Dad the first three months, he is the one who really got the ball rolling on his kennel and potty training. My mom is the one who worked with him the most in regards to walking on a leash and then Colton did the rest……

I’m not going to lie, it does help that he is really smart dog, but I’m not kidding when I say that we really worked with him a lot and still do to this day. Training him was not an overnight thing. It was everyday and non-stop for about two years. We have just always really socialized him and work with him constantly.

How long did it take to potty train him? 

He was pretty much potty trained around 5-6 months (right around the time he moved to Waco with me) but I would say it took about a year in a half before we could 100% trust him in the house without having an accident.

Was he a chewer as a puppy? If so, how did you get him out of the habit? 

He was…….and unfortunately that is the nature of the dog. He grew out of it around 8 months but during that time it was rough. We had to keep him in the kennel at all times when we weren’t around, he couldn’t be trusted alone and got a lot of spankings…. I know people are against that last bit – but it’s what we did and let me tell you, he is fine.

When did Bentley start to calm down? My Golden is so hyper!

This probably isn’t going to be what you want to hear, but as I mentioned above, Bentley has always been super calm. He can get hyper if you get him riled up to play but for the most part, he has been like this since he was a puppy, so I feel like we just got lucky.

With that being said, my Golden growing up (Graham) and Bentley’s brother (Barkley) were both much more hyper and with age, they did calm down. Exercise and socialization really helped too!

Where does Bentley get groomed in Houston and how often? 

We take him to the Molly’s Mutt House off of Vossdale but there are multiple throughout the city! He goes about once a month for a bath and then once every quarter for trim. I like to keep his coat on the longer side.

What do you do about his shedding?

Shedding is another part that comes along with the breed, but luckily his fur is so fair and soft that it is easy to pick up. Lent rollers are our best friends, our Roomba does wonders and our Cordless Dyson we couldn’t live without!

Do you guys have plans to get another dog?

Even though Bentley is going to hate it (he has really bad only child syndrome), we plan on getting another Golden in the next two years, preferably before his 10th Birthday! We want to be out of the apartment and in a house with a good sized yard before we do anything! I think it will be a huge change for all of us and I’m honestly not looking forward to potty training a puppy again but we know it will be good for Bentley! To help keep him young and active as he enters into his senior years.

Sooooo if any of you have a contact or know of any sport bred Golden Retriever Breeders, please send them our way lol!

If you guys have anymore questions, please leave them below!!

xo,

Lauren

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