A Golden Retriever archive to help with buying, adopting and caring for your Golden Retriever

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Golden Retriever Adoption – Experts’ Approach to Finding a Dog That’s Right Up Your Alley
By Archie Right

By now you’ve probably decide that Golden Retriever is the right breed for you. Now it’s time to make the next step. When it comes to Golden Retriever adoption you have several choices. Let’s have a look at the options you’ll have and find out which one is the best for you.

Puppy vs. Adult
Personally I take a great pride in watching my pups growing into well-trained strong and obedient adult dogs. Adopting a pup gives you an opportunity to train him the way you want and to develop traits you’d like the most. But, of course, you’ll need to put a lot of time, effort, money in training and caring for your pup until he grows up in a fully trained and developed dog.

On the other hand you can adopt an adult pre-trained Golden Retriever who thanks to the amazing character of this canine will start loving you almost at once! The downside is that an adult Golden already has an established set of habits and some of them may be hard or even impossible to change. An adult dog will normally cost more than a pup because the owner has already spent a lot of money on food, training and care.

Male or Female
This choice is not that difficult because there is not really much difference between male and female Goldens. Yes, males are generally larger than females, but unless you are planning on breeding Golden Retrievers it does not really matter whether you choose a boy or a girl. Both sexes in Golden Retrievers have the same traits of being very active, intelligent and obedient. Besides, it is a good idea to have your dog spayed unless you are planning on breeding Goldens.

Shelter, Breeder or a pet store?
My advice here is — definitely not a pet store. If you’ve decided to buy a dog rather than adopt it from a dog shelter then go and find a reputable breeder. The reason to avoid pet stores is a low quality of dogs available there. Most of them come from puppy mills and are in poor health or inherited genetic diseases as the result of improper breeding. On the contrary, buying a dog from a reputable breeder insures good health and reduces risks of various problems later in life.

If you’ve decided to take a dog from the shelter then your motivation is probably to help him. And I assume you are ready for some difficulties. Of course you can find a great pet there, but chances also are that you adopt a not very healthy dog. Just be aware of it and try to find out more about the dog you are willing to adopt before you actually do it.

Choosing a dog
Whether you’ve decided to adopt a pup or an adult dog the key here is to get to know each other before the actual adoption. If you are adopting an adult dog spend some time with him and learn about his character and habits. As it was stated above — you may not be able to change some of the habits. You also need to get a feeling of what is the personality of the dog and what is his health condition.

If you are choosing a puppy the things are bit different. The pup is just a kid, but you can already learn from his behavior. The fist step is to spend some time with the breeding pair. The pups are very likely to inherit many traits from their parents so it is essential for you to get a feeling of what is the character, the appearance and the health of the dogs. Ask questions to find out everything you need about the breeding pair. And always ask for the health certificate to make sure a breeding couple possesses no signs of hip dysplasia, cataract and other hereditary diseases.

Now, when you’ve found out enough about the breeding pair, its time to stay with the litter. Observing puppies as a group note which pup is the friendliest one (normally its the one that runs towards you first) and which one has the most balanced personality (normally its the one in the center of the group). When you’ve finished observing the litter, don’t forget to spend some time with each pup one-on-one. Take a pup in your arms. He should show no signs of enmity or fear to your touch. Now make the same with the next one. When you’ve gone thought the process, you’ll have an idea about the personality of each pup and what you expect from him when he grows up.

Finally, never adopt a dog if you are not 100% sure that he is the right one for you. It’s better to spend more time looking for the right dog than to spend next 10 years with the one that does not really suit you.

Archie Right is a Golden Retriever expert. For more great tips on Golden Retriever adoption, visit http://goldenretrieverdoginfo.com/.

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Golden Retriever Breed – Do You Really Need to Know Anything About It?
By Archie Right

Golden Retriever breed is extremely popular in the US and all over the world. Hundreds of people adopt Goldens every day and most of them have very limited knowledge about this canine. However, I believe that it is vitally important to learn everything you can about Golden Retriever breed and to find out if it is the right one for you.

Why do you want a dog?
First of all let’s find out why do you want to adopt a dog? If you need a watchdog then Golden Retriever is not the right choice. Golden is anything but a watchdog. The breed is famous for its friendliness and love for people. Have a look at the Golden when he’s barking at the door. Do you see that tale waiving asking “Will you play with me?” So if you need a watchdog better start looking for another breed.

Space and Exercises
The Goldens are famous not only for great personality but also for being very active. Of course, your Golden will become less active as he ages, but normally he needs to exercise a lot! And of course it requires your time. Don’t forget, Golden Retriever was originally bred as a hunting dog so exercises are absolutely necessary for his physical and mental health. The best conditions for your Golden are a medium or large-sized yard. But it’s also acceptable to keep Golden in the apartment if you give him enough opportunity to exercise outdoors.

Your dog will love long walks, jogging, running by the bicycle and of course swimming. The Goldens love to swim and will be grateful for every opportunity to do it. They are also extremely good in all types of dog games. Perhaps, Golden is not the best dog for elderly people because of their activity. But they are widely used as service dogs, in search and rescue operations and sometimes as guiding dogs for blind people.

Famous character
As it was mentioned above, Golden Retrievers are extremely friendly. But they are also very intelligent and loving animals. Goldens start loving you almost immediately, and not only you but all your family members and even pets. They are very good with children and friendly to strangers. And they are extremely obedient and willing to please their owners. Actually, the first winner of AKC Obedience Trials was a female Golden Retriever. Goldens are also sometimes used to take care about kittens, puppies of other dogs or even tiger cubs. They may even start producing milk for the adoptee without being pregnant or nursing recently.

Grooming
The Goldens require grooming once or twice a week. Even with regular grooming they still shed. It makes them less appropriate for allergic people. They tend to chew, especially puppies, and actually may preserve this habit through the rest of their lives. So you need to take care about proper chew toys.

Health issues
There are some health issues you need to be aware of before adopting a Golden. There’s a bunch of hereditary diseases that are common in Goldens like hip dysplasia, cataract and the Von Willebrand disease. To minimize risks of such diseases it’s better to adopt a dog from a reputable breeder and always check health certificates of a breeding pair. Skin allergies are also common in Goldens and are mainly caused by insect bites. The leading cause of untimely death in Golden Retriever is cancer.

Costs
Finally, let’s not forget about the costs related to owning a Golden Retriever. A Golden Retriever pup from a reputable breeder will normally cost from $250 to $1000 but it’s only the first expense you are going to make. You’ll need to buy toys, food and water bowl, leash (or leashes to be exact), grooming instruments and of course food. Golden is a big dog, and big dogs love to eat a lot. Finally, don’t forget about vet bills for injections and regular checks.

Well, if after all you still think Golden Retriever is the right breed for you, then my congratulations, you are about to become a happy owner of the America’s favorite dog!

Archie Right is a Golden Retriever expert. For more information on Golden Retriever breed, visit http://goldenretrieverdoginfo.com/

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