Why does he have to stay outside either way? I have a golden retriever and I couldn't imagine making her live outside, or any breed of dog. I just don't agree with it. Goldens are very family oriented dogs and she would be miserable.
I'm not a farmer. What is the difference? Are the two exclusive?a. Is it better to raise Mart as a family companion or a helper with animals?
Again, the answer is going to depend on the answer to the first question and probably on geography. If the dog can see the animals and birds from the house and thus watch them I don't see an issue with either. You may discover that the dog doesn't even use his house regardless of where you put it.b. If we have to keep him out of the house would it be better to put a dog house close to the entrance of our house, or to put his house in the area where animals and birds are?
I'm not expert on goldens, but bear in mind that they are bred to be hunting dogs. Their instinct is retrieve birds from water and possibly kill them as well. I don't know how this will translate to chickens. What do you mean by "watch the flock?"c. Could Golder Retriever be trained to watch the small flock of chickens and turkeys ? (He seems to get along with goats all right, but we did not introduce him to birds yet)
Why wouldn't you do that? All dogs should be trained to walk on a leash IMO. Personally if you have no fencing at all I wouldn't let the dog loose unsupervised and unleashed. An untrained dog could easily run off and never be seen again or be hit by a car or picked up by a stray or attacked by another animal or some other bad thing.d. Taking into consideration that we do not have any fencing (we are among the fields), is it worth to train him to be on a leash when we are not around?
Thats rather harsh / judgemental. There's a lot of very happy well adjusted dogs living on small farms. Yes they are outside but on a farm people are outside quite a bit too. I'd say that the average hobby farm dog I've seen (not that many but some) has been significantly healthier / better adjusted than the average city dog, spending his days sleeping on the carpet in the TV room. These people may be first time dog owners but they obviously have experience in caring for animals and she is doing her research on how to address her dog issues.I'm going to be the real negative voice here and say this is a train wreck ready to happen.4 kids, a farm and a 5 m/o GR. The OP seems to not want the dog inside at all, something I don't condone. No one will have time to spend with Mart and he will end up a very lonely and sad dog. I don't hold out much hope but wish them all the luck in the world.
What particular behaviors have you noticed that indicated weak hind legs? This could have nothing to do with exercise and everything to do with genetics.Another question is - we have noticed that this puppy has very weak hind legs. Previous owners kept him in a condo and he was going outside only twice a day for a very short walks. How may we exercise him to strengthen his hind legs?
I don't think any dog, no matter how well trained, would stay near a house if not watched over a long period of time. Even if I had the world's obedience champion under my care I would not leave him outside without a fence overnight. The coyotes sound very dangerous as well.Few more questions, if I could:
Is there anything I could read or may be you have your own experience on how to train the dog to stay close to the house, and since what age is it possible to let him loose that he could consciously stay around the house when we are not outside? The closest neighbour houses from us are in about 5 mins walk and the closest road about 300m away. But we have coyotes around which sometimes travel in packs.
Actually its not unrealistic at all. Lots of people with farms/ranches/hobby farms just have their dogs kicking around outside totally loose unfenced 24/7 and the dogs just stay within a little zone (acre or two) of the house, even if the owners drive away. Not sure if they are trained to do that or it just happens but thats definitely how it works.... to ask him to stay near the house at all times without a leash or a fence is slightly unrealistic.