r/onegoldenbraincell

Hi everyone,

I’m feeling a bit worried and confused about my 16-month-old male Golden Retriever, Oro, and wanted some honest opinions from experienced dog owners.

When Oro was around 8–10 months old, he was the sweetest, calmest dog. He would happily play with literally every dog — pet dogs, stray dogs, all sizes, all breeds. He was extremely social, playful, and never showed any concerning behavior.

But over the last few months, I’ve started noticing changes, especially with some pet dogs.

Today something happened that made me anxious.

We met another male Golden Retriever during a walk. The other dog was unleashed and calmly came near Oro. I was not pulling the leash or creating tension, and initially everything looked normal.

They:
- Approached calmly
- Sniffed each other
- Sniffed private areas (normal greeting)

At first, Oro’s body language was loose and waggy, and everything seemed fine.

But then I noticed his body language suddenly changed:
- He became more alert
- Chest broadened / puffed out
- Head lifted higher
- Body became stiff

Then Oro growled at the other Golden.

The other dog backed off.

What confused me is that right after that, Oro actually seemed like he wanted to go back and interact/play with him again. But I pulled him away because I got scared. I didn’t want to risk something happening to the other dog. I can manage my own dog if something goes wrong, but I’d feel terrible if someone else’s dog suffered because of Oro.

What makes this even more confusing is:

He is completely fine with stray dogs.

Even when stray dogs sniff his ears or come close to him, he’s usually relaxed and calm. No growling, no stiffness, no issues.

So now I’m wondering:

1. Is this normal adolescent/social maturity behavior in a 16-month-old male Golden?
2. Is this dominance, insecurity, overstimulation, or early aggression?
3. Did I do the right thing by stopping the interaction? Or should I have let them continue since he wanted to go back?
4. How do I help him become social/playful again with dogs? I genuinely want him to be friendly and able to enjoy meeting dogs on walks like before.
5. Has anyone had a Golden Retriever become more selective with dogs around this age and then improve again?

I’m probably overthinking this because I love him a lot, but I really want to understand whether this is a normal teenage phase or something I need to actively work on before it becomes a bigger issue.

Would appreciate any advice, especially from Golden owners or trainers 🙏