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| Me and Cassie, my very first GoldenLove. She was the driving force behind my decision to raise a Golden family and she is my doll. |
| You could call me golden obsessed and through many years of raising dogs you could also say I hold a special interest in "training and group dynamics". Although mixed breeds and rescue dogs have been a part of my home so have purebreds such as SharPeis, Huskies and Shepherds (the latter we have selectively bred being "occasional" breeder hobbyists). In raising Goldens we have been very careful to choose our dogs with AKC standards in mind, by checking our dogs' parents/family history and by adopting only from ethical breeders (with one exception, see below) that have the improvement of this breed as their #1 goal. Our main concern is providing the very best of everything for our dogs, through training, socialization, great surroundings and top of the line food and vitamins. We feel we've raised good tempered, intelligent puppies to become wonderful representatives of the Golden Retriever breed. I do hope that families take a close look at the parents of the puppy they are adopting, make a couple trips to the breeder's home if necessary, check out the care of the parents, the breeder's "set-up" and do not settle for a pup only because of its look (all pups are adoreable), the coat color or a response from a breeder that "the parents are owned by my son who lives on the other side of town so they are not available to be seen". Believe me, this will be your biggest mistake! We welcome anyone to our home to see our goldens, how they relate to one another and how they live. We hold an annual Girl Scout all-day event where we teach the girl scouts how to raise, groom and train golden retrievers, using our dogs. It's great for the Girl Scouts, they earn a badge and our dogs benefit by all the love and attention! I think you'll be "right on the money" by choosing a pup of the Golden Retriever breed however, ask around and you'll find that NOT ALL Goldens are great representatives of the breed. If they are not bred from good tempered, healthy stock you may encounter some problems ie. skin allergies, aggression, joint/hip problems, hyper behavior... I don't often see "composed Goldens" when I take my dogs out. A dog that becomes excited when company arrives or sees another dog, is not what I'm talking about. Check around with friends and your Vet about people that have adopted a Golden that has grown to have health and/or temperament problems. Believe me...this is not a rare occurrence with all the irresponsible breeding going on today. It's really ashame for the breed and prospective golden owners. NOW THAT I'VE SHARED MY OWN OPINIONS ABOUT SELECTING YOUR NEXT PUPPY PLEASE REMEMBER: Make an "informed selection" when you go puppy shopping. Take your time and don't make it an impulse buy because the family is wanting a puppy so bad.......I've been there and done that! Spend time with your new pup, enroll in training classes and have FUN doing it! You may find raising your new pup to be the most rewarding experience of all!!...but if you cannot do all of the above you can still....LOVE 'EM WITH ALL YOUR HEART and you will live longer, stay happier which in turn will make others happy too!! This I will guarantee! Also, spend time all together as often as possible. Warning ****With the big English Golden rage around the USA and with many backyard breeders popping up with two white dogs they have bred and are selling pups for $3000.00....PLEASE CHECK EVERYTHING!!! If they are telling you that English don't get cancer, they are calm, smart, well behaved dogs.....WRONG! Once again, it depends on the temperaments & health history of the breeder's dogs and where they adopted them! I adopted a half English/half American female from a breeder in Wisconsin who I thought was reputable... I trusted her as I hoped I could trust "one breeder to another breeder" wanting the same qualities in their dogs and puppies....WRONG! I was told all this "bull" by this puppy mill, unethical menace to the canine world, about her dogs and their great health, etc....my dog "Ivy" (paid $2200.00) was diagnosed with mast cell tumors before the age of 2! When I emailed this "thief of our hard earned money and of our hearts," ...she told me that "it must be our environment" (NOT!) and we never heard from her again! What happened to .... "if a dog gets a genetic disease prior to the age of two we will work with you to replace the dog with another pup of better quality"...what happened to that part of the contract??? or is it just about the money!!?? Our Vet advised us to tell her that "mast cell tumors" can very well be genetic and that she needed to consider this in future breedings of Ivy's parents. She ignored us and continued to breed Ivy's Dad (still does) and sold her mom as a breeder dog to another Wisconsin backyard breeder....so, my friends....this is how the cycle of sick dogs begins and continues to break other family's hearts and bank accounts! These unethical breeders just keep producing dogs with bad genes for the money... I even notified a family that adopted Ivy's brother so they would be warned but....instead.....what do you think happened?? Yep, they went ahead and bred him and sold all those pups to people who don't have a clue about Ivy's mast cell...these tumors can appear in any part of the body (unseen) & go undiagnosed.... I hope I've made my case. SHAME ON YOU WHO DON'T HAVE A CONSCIENCE! To inflict a potentially lethal disease on an innocent life...You can stop these money grubbers just by "not buying their dogs"... don't be an ignorant, trusting buyer like I was. Get all the information and paperwork possible on your new pup's parents (before you buy him/her) and totally investigate the breeder! Don't buy if the breeder has not at least obtained OFA certifications on both parent dogs and can produce the results. Check the health history of your puppy's parents & ancestors. Don't allow someone to do this to you and your family. Stop the cycle of bad breeding for money NOW! Our Doll Ivy (Pics below) Now owned and loved by Donna & Richard in SC. Ivy has a wonderful home on the beach and gets plenty of exercise daily. Stop PUPPY MILLS and unethical breeders NOW! |
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| If you plan on owning/raising a pack of dogs (I consider over 3 dogs "a pack with pack mentality") you MUST establish your ALPHA HUMAN role. The dogs need this ultimate guidance and you need to establish control if you plan to allow them into your home and/or take them out to socialize in the community. |
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| and Why... |
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Who I Am |
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| My Past Golden Family Together |
| Live with goldens, smile like goldens! |
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| This webpage "IS NOT" for the purpose of gaining popularity ..... I've created this site to portray my love for golden retrievers and to be able to speak freely about the protection of innocent animals!! |
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| Cassie learns the invaluable command "look" (ie. watch me, I need your undivided attention) which is a "must" especially when training your dog to respond to hand signals as well as verbal commands. |
| Personal "snuggle time" with puppy Bart. All my dogs get group time as well as individual time with Mom (car rides, stores that allow pets and individual time on the "people side" of my house). In raising a pack of dogs you will find that one of the most difficult issues to resolve are ones of "jealousy" and competition for time and attention from the Alpha human of the house. |
| Never stop training! No matter how well your dog is trained. This is an invaluable experience for your dog, time spent wisely and a great bonding excercise. Your dog will love the attention, I guarantee! |
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| "Down Stays" are a MUST "Training Kisses" are a MUST! Have fun with your kids! |
| Our Bartie (red golden) now owned and loved by a wonderful family in Phoenix. He has three other goldens to romp with and vacations at the family beach house in Mexico! |
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| Our Goldens all live in our home where they have healthy, safe surroundings all year round. They are all "happy campers"! |
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| Most of all, respect your dogs and offer them only the best of everything. |
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| Find a breeder who's goal is to better the breed & who cares about you, the buyer! Email us if you need assistance in this area. |
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| Find time to RELAX with your goldens! It's healthier than not! |
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