My gold haven

So you have decided to get a Golden Retriever Puppy

If you are considering a Golden Retriever as a family pet you have made a great choice but there are some things that you may want to think about before you make your big decision.

If this is you first dog, life, as you know it is over. As with all new puppies, they don't come housebroken. You know all of those stories you hear about how your neighbors dog was housebroken in 1 week. Don't believe them. This is not normal. I hope you have a really good vacuum cleaner and are all right with lots of dog hair. You know the golden down the street and how smart and well trained he is, this is not an accident or a natural occurrence, it is the result of a lot of hard work. As with anything in life, you will get out of it what you put into it.
The previous information on goldens really sums it up. They are very active, energetic and lovable animals. I take in goldens from people who no longer want them. (Can you imagine?) Yes, it is true. They wanted that adorable puppy, but when it started peeing on the carpet and chewing on the furniture and their brand new shoes it was banished to the back yard. That is where the trouble really begins. If you ignore their needs, you will pay the price. This back yard dog will ruin every flower bed you own, dig up your nicely groomed lawn and bark all hours of the day and night. (The neighbors will love you.) Not to mention the peeing and pooping all over your yard. And when you go out to scoop and groom what is left of your yard, you can expect this lovable puppy, who is now a full grown 70 lb dog to jump all over you. As if this isn't enough, now this dog, who is bored with the back yard, will start escaping and roaming the neighborhood getting into all kinds of trouble. It may get hit by a car or picked up by animal control. For this you will pay a fine. This is usually when I get the dog. You may wonder why I am telling you this. It is not to deter you from getting a dog. It is so that you know what can happen if you do not meet your dogs needs. You cannot ignore bad behavior in a dog any more than you can ignore it in a child. If you put forth the effort to train your dog and enforce good behavior as a puppy, you will be rewarded more than you can imagine. There are a lot of resources out there for dog training and behavioral issues. You will need to check them out to find one that suits you. I have been training dogs for many years and one thing that I found as an extremely valuable tool is "The dog whisperer". Ceasar Milan can help you to understand your dog better, which will make it easier to train your dog, whichever training method you use. I highly recommend you watch at least one episode of the dog whisperer.

After reading this, if you are still sure that you will be able to love and care for your new family member for the rest of his/her life, please feel free to contact us. If we don't have any puppies available, we will point you in the direction of someone that we consider a reputable breeder. You can also e-mail us any time if you have any further questions.

Height: 20 - 24 inches
Weight: 60 - 80 lbs
Life Span: 10 - 13 Years

The Golden Retriever is an athletic, strong dog, capable of carrying heavy game over land and water. For this, it needs a broad, powerful head with strong neck and well developed fore-and hindquarters. It is just slightly longer than tall. The gait is smooth and powerful. The outer coat is water-repellant, dense, can be either straight or wavy and usually needs brushing about twice a week.
Everybody's friend, the Golden Retriever is known for its devoted and obedient nature as a family companion. It is an apt sporting retriever as well and yearns for a day in the field. Ignoring its active nature and powerful physique can lead to behavior problems. The Golden Retriever needs daily physical and mental exercise. Goldens tend to be overly active and boisterous, and their enthusiasm for everything often distracts them during training; however, they are eager to please and enjoy learning. The Golden's achievements in competitive obedience are remarkable. They especially enjoy games that involve retrieving and love to carry items in their mouths.
The Golden Retriever needs daily exercise and human interaction. Challenging obedience lessons, active games, or retrieving sessions are all good ways to exercise the Golden's mind and body. The Golden Retriever is such a social dog that it is best when it shares its life with its family.

Guidelines that I use when choosing my golden companions

1. Be wary of anyone who is letting puppies go before 8 weeks old. I know that everyone wants to get their puppy as soon as they can, but everything that I have read, and every vet I have spoken to, suggests that you leave the puppies with their mom and littermates for at least 8 weeks to ensure that they are properly socialized. Trust me when I say that taking care of the puppies those extra 2 weeks can be difficult at best, but we do it because we feel that it is in the best interest of the puppy. If you find a breeder that you like but they only keep the puppy for 6 weeks, ask them to keep the pup an extra 2 weeks. Most good breeders will agree to do this.

2. Make sure that the breeder that you choose has had the appropriate tests done. The tests that are important to the breed are hips, elbows, and heart. I also test the eyes but I do not always look for an eye certification. With the hips, elbows and heart, if they don't pass, it means that they have a genetic flaw. It is pretty clear-cut. When you have the eyes tested they won't pass if they have something wrong with their eyes even if it is not hereditary. I have also known dogs to fail an eye certification one year and pass the next. I always check with the ophthalmologist doing the test to find out if my dog has a hereditary trait. I will not breed a known hereditary trait in my dogs.

3. Ask questions about the parents and grandparents of the dog being bred and her mate. This is not always easy. The one thing that I have found, that is hereditary, and there is no test for, is cancer. Before I breed one of my dogs I call the breeder that I got them from and find out how their parents are doing. I will only breed if the parents are doing well. Sometimes you can't go back any further than the parents but that is usually sufficient.

4. Be wary of breeders that breed a female before that age of 2. I will, on occasion, breed my males before they turn 2 if they pass their preliminary tests, but because of what the female has to go through, I don't feel that they are mature enough or developed enough to start breeding before they turn 2. They can't even be tested for their OFA clearances before they are 2 because their bones are still forming. If their bones are still forming, it can't be good for them to carry puppies for 9 weeks and feed them for another 8 weeks. I also believe that they are pretty much puppies themselves before the age of 2.

5. Be wary of breeders who breed every heat cycle. This can be dependent on their cycle. Most dogs come into heat every 6 months. If they are bred, it takes 9 weeks gestation, and another 8 weeks to care for the puppies. That is 4 months. They will come into heat again 2 months later. That means that they had a 2-month break. There are some dogs that come into heat every 8,10, or 12 months so in some of these cases it might be all right to breed every cycle.

6. Be aware that some breeders claim to test all of their dogs but don't. I have found a lot of breeders talk the talk but are unable to walk the walk. They claim that all of their dogs are tested and that may be true, but not all of their dogs passed the tests. You can ask to see all of those certifications to be sure.

7. Be very wary of the bargain dog advertised in your local newspaper. Most breeders don't have to advertise in the newspaper and you may have to get on a waiting list with a reputable breeder. There is a reason that a reputable breeder charges more for their puppies. It is expensive to have all of the testing done and if the dog doesn't pass their tests they can't be bred. This can be very expensive and heartbreaking. I have had many clients that come to me only after a heartbreaking experience with a backyard breeder. Just remember that you get what you pay for. When I look for a puppy to add to my family, the health of the parents is my #1 concern. I won't even go to see a litter until I have reviewed the certifications of the parents.

8. Use caution when dealing with a breeder that practices line breeding or inbreeding. Line breeding is a common practice among show kennels so they can keep the best of the breeding for themselves; they then sell the genetic flaws as pets. When buying a golden, check the 3-generation pedigree for any names that repeat. (I usually look back 5 generations.) My vet does not recommend line breeding and strongly advises against it.

9. Watch out for breeder that tells you that they do their own vaccinations. All puppies should be vet checked, have their 6 week shots and wormed at least twice. My vet has never found any serious problems but she was able to detect undescended testicles in one of my males and a slight heart murmur in another. These two incidents were minor. The testicles descended by themselves in another week and the slight heart murmur, I was told, was normal, and usually seen in about 50% of puppies. My point is, that I could not have detected these things myself. If it were a more serious problem, I wouldn't want to pass that on to an unsuspecting new family.

These are just some of my suggestions. There are other guidelines suggested by the Atlanta Golden Retriever Club that you might find helpful.

Training tips and my own personal philosophies

Have you ever been for a walk and witnessed a dog walking his owner down the street pulling the owners arm off. Or has anyone ever told you, jokingly, that their dog won't let their husband sit on the couch. These are not cute little quirks that the dog has. These are behavioral problems. If left alone, these little quirks can turn into serious behavioral issues. I truly believe that there are no bad dogs, just uneducated owners. Educate yourself and commit to your dog, and you will have the dog that everyone wants.

The first thing that I want to make clear is that you should NEVER hit your dog. The days of the rolled up newspaper and rubbing the dogs nose in its' mistakes are over. There are much better and more successful methods available.

Our dogs are trained with some basic commands. I believe that it is better to tell your dog what you want them to do, rather than what you don't want them to do. How many times have you heard someone yelling and screaming the word NO? We do it to kids too. It seems that everything in the world is off limits to kids and pups. We very rarely use the word no when we are working with our dogs.

The number 1 rule in dog training is to remain calm. If you get frustrated or angry the dog knows this and will not perform. If you find yourself getting frustrated, take a break, step back, compose yourself, and then start again.

Besides the basic commands like sit, stay, down, come, we also use other words to let our dogs know what we want of them.
Some of our commands are:

1. Leave it - This is one of the most important commands that your dog can learn. We use it whenever the dog is going for something or someone that is off limits. This includes the antifreeze that may have spilled on the garage floor or the brand new baby, just home from the hospital. We hold a treat in front of our dogs and tell them to leave it. They are not allowed to touch the treat until we give the command, "take it". Because we have so many dogs, we actually won't let them take it until we give the command and include the name of the dog allowed to take the treat. We would say "take it Abbie"

Take it - Obviously this is the opposite of leave it.

Off - We use this command when the dog is jumping on anything. It could be a person, or the couch. We do not use the down command for this because we have already taught our dogs that down means, "lie down". I remember one time our dog jumped on the couch and a visitor yelled down. The dog immediately lay down on the couch and was very proud of herself for doing so.

Up - Is used for getting the dog into the car or jumping on the table for grooming

Quiet - When we want our dogs to stop barking.

Back up - When we want more space than the dog is giving us. This is a good command to use when you answer the door. Before we answer the door we make the dogs back up so that they don't run out the front door, or jump on our guests.

Stop - This command can be used for several things. As a puppy, if the dog is peeing on the floor, you can yell stop. Hopefully this will startle the dog enough to stop peeing and give you time to go to the dog and lead it out side. We say, "go pee outside". You can say whatever command you decide to use for your dog. Some people say, "go potty outside". As long as you finish with outside so that they get the idea that when you say outside, they will associate it with going outside.

Outside - We give them the command outside every time we take them out. Eventually when you say outside, they will go to the door.

Kennel - We use this command when we want our dogs to go into their crates. All of our dogs are crate trained. We still feed them in their crates. We usually leave the crate doors open and they know which crate is theirs. They usually follow us around the house but if we are watching T.V. in the living room, they will go and lay in their crates.

Out - We use this command when we want our dogs to leave a room. If we are eating in the kitchen, we make them leave the kitchen.

These are just a few of the commands that we use. If you get a puppy from us, these are some of the words that they will be familiar with.
As with children, you cannot let your dogs do whatever they want. They too, need to know the rules of the house and it is up to you to teach them. They need to respect you and this will not happen if you resort to violence. Any form of hitting your dog is violence. All of these commands are taught with rewards and positive reinforcements or a touch. We do allow our dogs on the furniture, but only when we invite them. Just remember, it is your house, you make the rules, and it is up to you to enforce them.

Getting ready for your new puppy

Bringing a new puppy into your home is a very exciting time. Whether you have had a dog previously or this is your first experience, you will want to get ready for the big day. Below you will find a list of things that you may want to consider before bringing your new friend home.

�36" or 42" crate - I use midwest, life stages, double door. The most recent price on this is $56 (for the 36") on amazon, delivered right to your door w/free shipping. I always get the adult size crate, even for the puppies. No sense in wasting money on more than one.

�A portable fence or dog exercise pen - I actually have several of these. One of the ones that I have is very heavy duty. It is the Precision Pet Courtyard Kennel Exercise Pen. It is also a little pricey. I use this because I have more than one puppy jumping up on it and it stands up very well to the abuse of 10 or more pups. I also have some of the foldable ones. Some of them have the doors in the center so that the dog can get in and out. I searched for one that had a door that I could walk through. It attaches to the crate and can be used if you have to leave your pet alone for any length of time. You can put newspaper down in the fenced area and the pup can sleep comfortably in the crate. Don't make the puppy sleep where they pee or pee where they sleep. There will be no need to worry if you are stuck in traffic or have to stay a little late at work. The pup will be safe and secure. This can also fold up when not in use and can be used outdoors. I know some people who have taken it camping with them. It is pretty versatile and well worth having.

�Kong or other hard rubber toys - I prefer the kong but I have found other toys that are cheaper and almost as good. I like to get toys that I can put treats in and let them figure out how to get the treats out. I also get some that I can fill with dog food and put peanut butter in the end and then freeze it. They love to work at that. I don't usually get them string toys, (because what goes in must come out and that can be pretty nasty) and I limit the stuffed toys to the little ones.

�Food and Water Bowls - Two metal bowls should be sufficient. I use and recommend metal because they may are more likely to chew on plastic or ceramic than metal. If they do chew on the metal they don't destroy it like they would the plastic or ceramic. I also get they heavier ones that have a rubber ring on the bottom. It keeps the bowl in place on floors so that it doesn't slide across the floor.

�Leash and collar - This is one thing that you will have to purchase more than one of. They will outgrow their collars at least twice. As far as the leash is concerned, just find one that is right for you. I personally do not like retractable leashes. It gives dogs too much of a freedom. I like leashes that give me more control than the dog.

�Dog Tags - Our puppies all have microchips but I think that it is a good idea to put a tag with your contact information on it on the puppies collar. You can get it at Wal Mart for between $4 and $6. They have some really fancy ones at petsmart but they are a little more expensive. If your puppy is lost they will be returned more quickly with a tag. The reason for the microchip is that if your puppy is stolen it will eventually be taken to a vet and once the microchip is detected it will be returned to you.

�Brushes - You may need more than one. The golden retriever needs to be brushed at least twice a week. As a puppy, you will want one that is good for longhaired puppy fur and easy on the skin. For my adult dogs, I use a rake. This goes through the long hair on the tail and the withers very well. I also use other brushes but I like the rake the best. The rake that I use can be purchased in the pet section of Wal Mart for about $5. I sometimes buy human brushes to use on the dogs. They are cheaper and just as good.

�Puppy Shampoo - I don't bathe the dogs very often, and the puppies, I try not to, because you want them to learn to clean themselves. If they get muddy, it is fine just to hose them off and let them lick themselves dry. Bathing the dog too much can take away the natural oils on their skin. It may be necessary to bathe them on occasion, but I wouldn't do it more than once a month and only when absolutely necessary. Also, dilute the shampoo before you put it on the dog. Pour a capful into a large container of water and mix, then use that on the dog so that you are not putting the shampoo directly on the dog. (You will also use less shampoo this way) When looking for a dog shampoo, I try to find one that is unscented. If I try to put any scent on my dogs they tend to immediately try to find the most disgusting thing that they can to roll in. They have very sensitive noses and anything that is heavily perfumed can be irritating to the pups.

�I don't recommend taking new puppies to high traffic dog areas (parks, petsmart) It is important for your pup to be socialized but it is even more important for your pup to be safe. Your pup is not fully vaccinated until about 16 weeks. (depending on your vets vaccination schedule) I recommend taking them places where they can socialize but not with other dogs that you don't know. I won't even let my pups down on the floor at the vet's office. They are crated or held and only placed on a clean examination table and then right back in the crate.
I may be a little paranoid but better safe than sorry.

� I also suggest you check out some obedience classes in your area. (for when they are fully vaccinated) I recommend your local chapter of a kennel club.
A side note - one of the best trainers that I have come across is one who doesn't even have you bring the dog on your first visit. The trainer isn't training the pup, they are training you.

You can find most of these items online. It is much cheaper than going to your local pet store. If you ask, I can recommend some of the online sites that I use regularly.

Finding the Right Dog Food

�Good quality dog food - This is a highly controversial subject. What works for some, will not necessarily work for everyone. What exactly is a good quality dog food? There are so many things to consider. I am sure that for most people, price is a factor. Another factor would be if your dog has any allergies. Large breed? Puppy? Senior? Active? Special breed? There are so many dog foods out there, where do you start? Do a little research and decide what is best for you and your puppy. That doesn't mean that you have to stick to that food forever. Switch it up and give them some variety. They don't have to be on the same food forever. If it works and it is in your budjet, use it. If you find something better, switch. Unless your vet is a nutritionist, don't ask them what they think because most vets try to sell you what they have in their office. Just do your research, read the ingredients and decide for yourself. Please remember that just because it is expensive, doesn't make it a good choice. I have had people tell me that they pay a lot for dog food so it has to be good but they have no idea what is in it or what should be in it. When you go grocery shopping you read the labels on the food that you purchase for your family. Now, your dog is part of that family. Read the labels on your dogs food. Know what should and shouldn't be in it, and decide accordingly.