Whether you are raising a wonderful family pet or an amazing star studded champion, it doesn't get much better then having an adorable golden retriever puppy around the house.  Every day we are learning new things about this breed and will continue to update on what we have found that works best for putting your puppy on the best road to happiness and health.  Here are some tips, advice and links we would like to share.
 
First and foremost make sure your lifestyle and schedule are conducive to raising a puppy. Puppies are a lot of work and will require a lot of effort on your part and your families to raise them correctly. It really is a 24 hour job, a lot like a newborn baby.  If you don't have children yet, raising a puppy will be a great introduction.  Puppies can also be costly.  Make sure you can provide quality food, medical services, treats, toys, and TIME for your dog.


 
The Selection Process
From the very beginning we are watching and monitoring puppies for temperament and personalities to fit our puppy parents with the best match possible.  We will also expect you to tell us as much as possible about your lifestyle to best match you with the right puppy.
 
The age of three to six weeks is perhaps the most crucial in the puppies development.  The web site “puppy prodigies” (www.puppyprodigies.org) states that during this time the fear factor is not in place.  Fear is not imprinted until 8 weeks of age. This critical time provides an excellent opportunity to introduce the puppy to various experiences (stimuli) while they are perceived as positive or neutral. Our goal is to provide the new puppy owner with a socially secure and mentally acute English golden retriever puppy. We implement Puppy Culture practices with all of our puppies to ensure that they get the best start in life. Puppy culture covers everything from introducing new sights and smells to training. While we can not upload the entire puppy culture workbook, you can click here to look at a sneak peek of the workbook.
 
The Volhard Puppy Aptitude Test (click here to view the Volhard Test Sheet) as well as others like it, are conducted at six weeks of age before puppy selection.  Areas analyzed during the test include: social interaction, following, restraint, social dominance, elevation dominance, retrieving, touch sensitivity, sound sensitivity, sight sensitivity, and structure.  More details regarding the way puppies are personality tested is available on our website and puppy contract as well as during an Open House at our facility.  This is all included at no additional cost to our new puppy owners.
 
 
Our puppies are ready to go to their new homes starting at 10 weeks of age. We do offer for some puppies to go home at the age of 8 weeks. Our 8 week old puppies are only available to go home at this age to families that already have experience raising a puppy. We find it is most beneficial to wait until at least 10 weeks of age to bring your pup home, because so much development, socialization and training advancements happen in the two week period between 8 and 10 weeks. Our  puppies adjust well to their new homes.  Consistently we receive requests for another puppy from an upcoming litter.  Happy owners refer us to their friends and relatives.  This is the highest compliment we can be paid.     
 
Puppy Selection:  Naturally, our new puppy owners are anxious to know which puppy is theirs. After their health exam, the person with first pick boy will look at the males that we have set aside depending on what you are looking for in a dog to determine which one they would like (same process for girl picks). Of course, this is a guided choice with help from the breeder, our trainers and assistants. The Breeder always has first pick however, if she is looking for a puppy to continue on with our program or for service work, etc.  Our goal is to have completely satisfied/elated puppy owners.
 
On-site visits:  Most of our new puppy owners make their selection by on-site selection and/or video and pictures. We welcome on-site visits during our offered Open House days or pre made appointments, but take necessary precautions to protect the health of the puppies. For specific details, contact us by phone or e-mail.