Still in talks with the wife about getting a dog or no. She says she’ll consider it (for now, anyway) if he sleeps downstairs and never go in our bedroom. My question is, is this realistic for a golden retriever, and is it not going to be too anti-social for him? Fwiw I don’t want him sleeping in our bedroom either.
The cost of raising
a medium-size dog to the age of eleven:
$ 16,400.
It is good to put a dog in a crate they feel secure …and you are
the gate keeper. My dog would love to travel in the crate and if
she got roudy…get in the kennel was the command that she did
not seem to mind. But beside the monetary cost, the inability to
just freely come and go at will is sacrificed…owning a dog you MUST
take their needs and abilities into consideration it WILL demand some
type of care from you or from others.
IMO the end of the journey and YES you will experience that is just
too difficult…
A good question.
I also don’t like this idea. However any dog will be happy elsewhere is they aren’t taught anything else. So don’t worry.
Get the dog if that’s the only issue.
Just curious, why don’t you wanting the dog sleeping in your bedroom?
Our 3 goldens are our kids and part of the family, I wouldn’t consider having them sleep anywhere else. FWIW they don’t sleep on our bed, they sleep on their beds.
It 's pretty easy to teach a dog to stay out of any area you don’t want him in. Just keep him off the stairs and he’ll never go up the stairs. I taught our two large dawgs to never leave the kitchen to the dinning/ living unless I called them. Then, “back to the kitchen” and they were gone. It’s not dog training, it’s owner training.
On the other hand, my son-in-law would put his dog outside and trained him to bark when he wanted back in. If you wanted to leave the dog outside he sat out there and barked. Dumb son in law.
I think you’d be ok. I don’t know if dog rescues are as prevalent in Europe as they are in the States, but here’s a few links.
http://www.goldenretrieverrescuecymru.co.uk/
http://www.goldenretrievers.co.uk/application/rescue/index.php
+1. Dogs are pack animals and you are the pack leader. Our dogs are welcome anywhere in the house except for on the bed or in the kitchen during meal times. Dogs are very social and want to be around their people. I love my two Goldens but the real brew dog in the house is our Cocker Spaniel, Nugget!
I’m just going to go ahead and admit that our dog often sleeps in bed with us (and she’s pushing 70 lbs.).
Our dogs sleep in our bedroom. The 120lb. Chocolate Lab sleeps on his floor mat, and the 20lb Yorkiepoo sleeps in the bed “sometimes”. They are a part of the family, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. I guess one could say they are spoiled, but it’s our way and it works. YMMV. 
Not in the bedroom because it’s a deal breaker for the wife. It’s not just limited to four legs, our kids aren’t allowed in either. Wife says she doesn’t want the bedroom to get all stinky.
Her only experiences with dogs are negative however. My aunt-in-law had a golden mix that they kept on a chain outside and ‘walked’ by holding the leash out the car window while they drove slowly around the village. But then again France is about 30-40 years behind the US in terms of animal rights (and many, many other things…)
Make the deal Phil. Once your dog is in, he/she will become a family member and find his/her own place. Be forewarned though; you may get the boot to make room for the dog. Is your sofa comfortable? 
As the Borg say, “Resistance is futile.” Once a dog makes its way into your family’s hearts, it will be hard to remember a time when you didn’t have one.
Every boy should have a dog.
i have standard poodles. scratch that had 2 now one standard and one toy. all rescue. i love it that they don’t shed. (and they never had a poodle cut, either shaggy or shaved) i loved having them both in bed with me. the standards were big dogs and were cozy. we lost Stanley after a desperate battle with bone cancer and an encouraging time as a tripawd. My girl has trouble negotiating the stairs. i carry her up once and down once a day. she can no longer jump in and out of bed. our little toy is unstoppable. my sons come home from college/navy to see them. Not me. my point i guess is a lot of work, expense and damn worth it.
last trip to the dog park. we carried him over a mile
better hunting day with his girl
Now if you will 'scuse me, i have an oktoberfest to brew with my new truck dog (Brutus)
