Dog Stuff

Golden Retrievers

AKC Breed Standard

Please know the breed, think long and hard about the lifetime committment of dog ownership, and only obtain your Golden Retriever from a reputable breeder or pure-bred rescue group. Do not purchase your Golden Retriever from any pet store. Purchasing a Golden from a pet store only promotes and enables the breeding and selling of dogs as cash crops without regard for perfecting and improving the breed as a whole, nor for the well being of the individual dog.

What is a Reputable Breeder?

My definition of a reputable breeder is one who has the time, drive, experience, knowledge, facilities, finances, and love for the breed, that enables them to shoulder the heavy responsibility of perpetuating the betterment of the breed.

They strive to maintain the breed standard in their breeding program and have obtained all required clearances, and be able to provide you with verifiable copies of such. At the minimum, you should be able to see and meet the potential dam and sire of a planned litter, as well as other dogs in the line.

The reputable breeder will heavily screen potential puppy homes and will have the backbone to refuse to place a puppy with any home deemed unsuitable, regardless of financial gain or loss.

The reputable breeder will provide puppy buyers with an overall education of the care of their puppies, and in general of the breed.

They will strive to maintain a mentoring, supportive relationship with their puppy homes, and will take back a puppy at any time in its life, for any reason - to ensure that any dog they have produced will never end up in a rescue, or shelter.

To find a reputable Golden Retriever breeder in your state, visit the Golden Retriever Club of America's Puppy Referral page.

What is a Reputable Rescue?

Generally, a golden retriever rescue will be a not-for-profit rescue organization that takes in and cares for stray and unwanted Goldens and/or Golden mixes, with the primary goal of finding each dog a "forever home". A reputable rescue will have strict adoption procedures that include checking references and at least one home visit interview.

Golden rescues are usually all-volunteer organizations and survive on donations, as the adoption fees usually do not cover the significant costs involved, which include traveling to pick up a dog in need, providing veterinary care, vaccinations, having it spayed or neutered, giving it any training necessary, and helping to socialize and feed it.

Rescue groups are often involved in public education about caring for dogs, and will follow up with an adoptive family on the transition from life in foster care to forever home. There are numerous resources available in print and online for becoming informed about adopting a rescue dog.

To find a golden retriever rescue in your state, visit the Golden Retriever Club of America's National Rescue Committee website.
Sharing our Lives

Dichi's Ché Bellezza, "Bella" Pedigree, Photos, Cam

Cooper - Rescue Extraordinairé (more later)
Waiting at the Bridge

My tribute to Lucky, my first Golden - a rescue straight from the pound; Asa, the Flat-Coated Retriever, an adoption through FCR national rescue; Emery, my first KSDS service puppy-in-training, and Cisco, our first very own planned puppy from a breeder.

"We who choose to surround ourselves with lives even more temporary than our own live withing a fragile circle, easily and often breached. Unable to accept its awful gaps, we still would live no other way. We cherish memory as the only certain mortality, never fully understanding the necessary plan." -- Irving Townsend
Feeding Raw

We raw feed our dogs. What does that mean? It means feeding our dogs biologically appropriate raw meat and bones. Exactly what they are naturally designed to eat!

We don't subscribe to the full prey model as we do not feed whole animals, nor do we fast our dogs. Our dogs are happy, healthy, maintain the proper weights, do not have digestive issues, have smaller, less frequent stools (that don't STINK like stools from dogs fed commercial dog foods), great teeth and excellent vet checkups.

We mostly feed human-grade raw chicken necks and wings purchased from various meat suppliers, along with organs purchased at the grocery store. Often, we grind the meat/bones at home using a heavy-duty home food grinder from Northern Tool.

I've recently begun using Preference from Honest Kitchen, as a base to mix in with whatever I've ground. Whenever we have the opportunity, we get a variety of other meats such as rabbit, turkey, duck, beef, venison, goat, mutton and fish.

There is a wealth of reference material on the internet, books and other publications, web forums and email groups to assist a dog owner with learning more about raw feeding - so I won't attempt to duplicate here.

Animal Rights or Animal Welfare?

Expose Animal Rights
National Animal Interest Alliance

The Dogs We Love!

Golden Retrievers

Sharing our Lives

Waiting at the Bridge

Feeding Raw

The Dog Stuff We Love