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Golden Education All the Colors of the Golden Rainbow (Click One) Weight Management OFA Testing Genetic Testing Probiotics Early Neurological Stimulation Keeping Your Dog Safe Feeding your Puppy Crytorchidism

Wait List! Bailey Shiloh To apply for a puppy & be added to our wait list click on this link: Puppy Application - Google Forms DUE DATE: BIRTH DATE: READY DATE: MALE #1 - MALE #2 - FEMALE #1 - FEMALE #2 -

Preparing for a Puppy WHAT TO BUY FOR YOUR PUPPY: Crate with a divider and optional floor grid (recommended adult size is 42x28x30) I recommend a floor grid for the crate so if your puppy has an accident, you won't have a soaking wet puppy lying in pee. Crate Training Tip: Use the divider to make the crate no larger than the puppy's size. If they can go to the back to potty, they will. They are less likely to go where they hav e to lay down. ( I'll never say never, but its less likely!) Crate cover This helps them to feel less afraid if its cozy and dark, especially at night. Also being dark helps them t o know its sleep time. You could also use a towel, light blanket or sheet. Food and water dishes Slow feeder bowl HIGHLY recommended for goldens as they normally inhale their food and that can be dangerous. This type of bowl slows them down. Measuring cups These help to measure out the correct amount of daily food Lea sh & collar or harness Puppies normally weigh 8-12 lbs. at 8 weeks so I recommend getting that size and the next size up as they grow quickly. Hint: Puppies very much prefer their leash attached to a harness rather than a collar. Dog Bed Lots of chew toys! (No rawhide!) ID tags Victor Professional All Life Stages Dog Food https://amzn.to/4pgjgI8 This food is currently sold on Amazon, Chewy and Tractor Supply. Tractor Supply also carries it in store as do many pet stores. Victor's website also has a location search where you can put your zip code in and find all sellers local to you. If you plan to switch foods, please feed at least one bag of this food befo re slowly switching so that you aren't changing everything for your n ew puppy at the same time. I do not require you to feed any certain food, just please do the research and make sure it's a quality food as their diet can make a huge difference in their lifespan and health. Wire or plastic exercise pen These work well to put around the crate so if you need him/her to be in a smaller area when you can't be watching them directly, they can have a bit larger play area than just being in the crate. Small training treats Initially I use pieces of dog food as treats so as not to introduce too many new things at the same time. Once your puppy is better adjusted, slowly start giving new sources of proteins in the form of treats. Here are a few ideas for healthy training treats: https://amzn.to/3SJ9b9R https://amzn.to/482FEwb https://amzn.to/49lkcng Paper towels, disinfectant spray and an enzyme cleaner for accidents. These are a few products I recommend: https://amzn.to/3SGZPLs https://amzn.to/42qoo2G https://amzn.to/4821lfC https://amzn.to/4bj7vuT P uppy shampoo: This is what I use: https://amzn.to/3SqRLNC Ear dry for after bathing or swimming to prevent ear infections. I use: https://amzn.to/3w2CKKz Probiotics : I give all of my puppies probiotics from several weeks old until they leave for their new homes. I send home enough for the 1st week but I do recommend continui ng pro biotics through their "chewi ng on everything" puppy phase. It really helps to keep your puppy's good bacteria balanced in its tummy while it chews and licks every new germ known to man! This is what my vet and I both recommend: https://amzn.to/47VzVbv . Please see section labeled "Probiotics" under the "Education" tab for more info on probiotics. Grooming tools. A pin or s licker brush is best for puppies and I love the Furminator fo r my adults. 'No Chew Spray' can be helpful. https://amzn.to/4892oL6 Nail trimmers Toothbrush / Toot hpaste, teeth cleaning toys or crunchy bones to keep teeth free of tartar. Gates or free-standing fence if there are "off limit" areas for your puppy throughout your home. Pooper scooper and bags for walks Snuggle heartbeat pup p y - Many n ew puppy owners have shared positive feedback when using a heartbeat toy to help their new puppy stay calmer in their crate. https://amzn.to/3u8Rc3b Bells or a clicker if you're going to bell or clicker train. *****As an Amazon Associ ate I do earn from qualifying purchases when using these links. However, I do only recommend products that I personally use and honestly recommend. ***** Make Your Vet Appointments: After placing your deposit, make your vet appointments! Most vets are very busy these days and it can take quite awhile to get a new puppy appointment, especially if you are a new client. I recommend calling as soon as you know you are getting a puppy to set up your first one or two appointments. My contract states that you have 4 business days to have your puppy examined by a licensed vet in order for you to be able to return him/her for a full refund should your vet find a health issue that would cause you to no longer want that puppy. The puppies are all examined by my vet at 6 weeks old and I will let everyone know up front if there are any puppies with any issues, but I do also give you the option to have your puppy examined by your own vet if you should choose to do so. The other appointment needing made will be for when the puppy is around 10 weeks old. This appointment will be for its 2nd set of puppy vaccinations and dewormer.

Feeding Your Puppy WHY AND FOR HOW LONG DO I FEED PUPPY FOOD? Genetics aside, scientific studies have led to the present conclusion that rapid growth of the long bones in medium/large breed puppies is a risk factor for developing poor joint and bone conditions. Rapid bone growth can be caused by 2 methods: overfeeding and calcium supplementation. Puppies allowed to free-feed or those fed liberal meal portions that exceed their daily calorie needs risk rapid bone growth. Puppies of these breeds should constantly have their calorie intake adjusted during the growth period which can be as long as 12 – 16 months in larger breeds. The key is to keep puppies growing at a slow, steady rate during this extreme growth period. Puppies under 6 months of age cannot regulate the amount of calcium that is absorbed from their intestines. Studies have shown that excessive calcium promotes rapid bone growth and increases the risk of joint disease and hip dysplasia. Feeding puppies adult food too early is the same as calcium supplementation. Feeding adult food can result in the consumption of 2 to 3 times the amount of calcium than would be ingested with puppy food. When your dog is of adult size and build, only then it is time to switch to an adult formula. If your dog starts to put on too much weight and they are 12 to 16 months old, then you know your dog is getting too many calories and it is time to switch. The bottom line is that medium /large breed puppies should be carefully fed a quality large breed puppy formula until the end of their growth period before being switched to an adult formula. Calcium supplementation should be avoided during that same time. Monitor your dog’s weight during their entire life by feeling their ribs. You should be able to feel ribs but not see them. If you can see them, increase their food. If you can’t feel them at all, then decrease their food. If your dog gets a lot of exercise then it will need more food. If your dog is a couch potato, then it will need less food. It’s better to underfeed than overfeed, especially when feeding puppies. A well researched article entitled "Hovan Slow Growth Plan" specifies how important it is to keep a puppy growing as slowly as possible from birth to 4 months old. So while part of the article may pertain to me, the other part pertains to you! I have included the link should you wish to read it: https://cvgrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Slow-Grow.current.pdf Please visit the Weight Management tab for more info and images of overfed and underfed goldens. HOW MUCH DO I FEED MY PUPPY? If you have a puppy that doesn't have especially large parents and he/she is growing into what you think is going to be a large dog, first consider that you many be overfeeding your puppy (even if the puppy isn't fat). The growth of your puppy needs to be controlled. If you have a puppy from us, your puppy is not genetically wired to be especially big as all of our dogs are within the FCI standard with regards to size. An overfed puppy will use the food to grow faster before it grows fatter. You don't want to underfeed your dog either. You should be able to lightly feel your dog's ribs. A dog shouldn't be so thin that you can see his/her ribs, even when your dog is wet. Here are some general guidelines on how much to feed puppies. Most dog food bags suggest feeding too much. It is in the dog food manufacturers best interest to sell you more dog food. On average I send our 8 week old puppies eating a ½ cup of food 3 times a day which is 1-1/2 cups total for the day. I would recommend feeding this same amount each day for the 1st two weeks. Every 2 weeks increase the daily feeding by ¼ cup for the next 2 week time period. So if during week 1 & 2, you are feeding 1-1/2 cups a day, then during weeks 3 & 4 feed 1-3/4 cups a day and during week 5 & 6 feed 2 cups a day, etc. As long as you cannot see ribs, he/she is not too thin. They should not have that "pudgy puppy tummy" after the first 3-4 months! Golden Retrievers around 4 months of age start to thin out and get much taller… they are supposed to look lanky and awkward so do not think they are too thin and begin to overfeed! Golden Retriever puppies act like they are starving when fed proper amounts so don’t fall for the puppy eyes… use your own eyes to adjust as needed. If your puppy is too thin or just right, increase the daily amount by ¼ cup of food per day the following week. If your puppy starts to look fat with a pudgy tummy, stop increasing the weekly food amount until the puppy “grows into” their fat. Hold the puppy at whatever their daily amount is. Assess the puppy’s condition each week and change as needed. When the puppy no longer looks chubby start increasing the daily amount by ¼ cup each week again. If your puppy suddenly develops diarrhea, (with no other symptoms),there is no need to panic unless the problem is very severe with bloody diarrhea. Just loose or very soft stools is very common for puppies after all the stress they have just gone through and it can also be a sign that your puppy is getting too much to eat. So if you are overfeeding, try cutting back. In this case, decrease the daily amount by ¼ cup. If this doesn’t cure the diarrhea, try adding canned pumpkin to its food. (not pumpkin pie filling - just plain pumpkin). Another food option to help with tummy upset is to feed white rice and chicken. If none of these work, and the puppy still has excessive diarrhea, consult your vet. If your puppy does not finish his meal, this is also a sign they are getting too much to eat and you need to decrease the daily amount by ¼ cup. (This rarely happens with a golden though! 😂) MONTHLY AMOUNTS AGE-WISE IF YOU FOLLOW THE "ADD 1/4c. EVERY 2 WEEKS" RULE: *** 2 months = 1-1/2 cups per day. Feed 3x day 3 months = 2 cups per day. Feed 3x day 4 months = 2-1/2 cups per day. Feed 3x day 5 months = 3 cups per day. Feed 3x day 6 months = 3-1/2 cups per day. Feed 2x per day 7 months and beyond = 4 cups per day. Feed 2x day However, adjust food amounts according to your puppy as all puppies will vary. Consult your vet with questions. ***Keep in mind… these are AVERAGE AMOUNTS only. They are meant to be a guideline to help assess your puppy’s growth rate. Smaller or larger framed Goldens could fall into different categories as well as more or less active puppies. Evaluate YOUR puppy’s body condition on a weekly basis because visually assessing your puppy’s growth is far more important than this chart. When your puppy reaches about 12-14 months, their calorie needs begins to decrease. If you weight them monthly you may start to notice larger increases in weight each month and it may now be time to cut back a little on the food. They may also be at or very near their adult weight at this point. Our full grown females eat on average 3 to 3.5 cups of food per day and our full grown males eat 3.5 cups a day.... sometimes 4 cups but only if they are very active dogs. I do alter my adults food slightly between the summer more active season and the winter less active season.

Our Males (Currently Breeding) *Click on photo or name for health clearances White Stone - Sir Maverick of the Golden Pride "Maverick" Born: December 29th, 2019 Sir Shiloh of the Golden Pride "Shiloh" Born: January 24th, 2023 White Stone - Sir Maverick of the Golden Pride "Maverick" Born: December 29th, 2019

Adoption Process To APPLY for a puppy & be added to my wait list, click on the link: Puppy Application - Google Forms Picking a Puppy! Choose A Puppy Who are the parents? Is there a list? How many are left? Read More Preparation Preparing for a Puppy What to buy? How to set up? What's best to have? Read More Financial Deposit Info When? How much? Where to? Refundable? Read More Appointment Pickup Process How soon? What to wear? What to bring? Where at? Read More Legal Puppy Contract What does adopting a puppy from Golden Pride Retrievers require? Read More Home! After Your Puppy's Home The DOs & DONTs of raising a puppy! Introducing the puppy to your children! Read More

Weight Management Overweight goldens are a "pet peeve" of mine! I believe it is so critical that you keep your dog at a healthy weight as there is a whole list of health issues linked to any dog being overweight, from poor joints to even cancers. Nothing that I do breeding wise or through health testing will help if your golden is severely overweight. According to data collected by the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention 63% of golden retrievers are likely obese on the BCS rating scale, which is very similar to our human version of the Body Mass Index (BMI) rating. Being that most dogs are overweight and most medium/large breed puppies are growing too fast, Golden Retrievers have a huge chance of having hip and elbow dysplasia /arthritis as they get older. One main reason for this is because they have lived all or most of their lives carrying around far more weight than their joints were meant to carry. Every time they run and jump an overweight golden will land with much more force on their joints than they were designed to due to the extra weight. This will eventually wear out their joints much faster. Hip dysplasia surgery for a dog can range upwards of $7000 to $14,000 to replace both hips surgically just so they can walk again, not to mention the long road to recovery for such a surgery! This is why many people have to put their goldens down younger than expected because the golden can't walk but the owners do not want to or simply can not afford such an expensive surgery. I also found this chart online with average weights for a golden puppy. This is actually the one I mostly follow. I do not think I have ever had a puppy of my own fall outside of these guidelines when I feed them the recommended amounts listed in the "Feeding your Puppy" section under the "Education" tab on this website... even if I have occasionally increased the food intake for certain puppies, they still seemed to stay in these ranges. My goldens remain in the 2 year old weight range throughout their lifetime by weighing them monthly and adjusting their food a 1/2 cup up or down if they are either gaining or losing. FEMALES: 2 months - 10 to14 lbs 3 months - 15 to 22 lbs 4 months - 23 to 30 lbs 5 months - 31 to 38 lbs 6 months - 39 - 46 lbs 1 year old - 50 to 55 lbs 2 years old - 55 to 65 lbs MALES: 2 months - 12 to16 lbs 3 months - 17 to 23 lbs 4 months - 24 to 32 lbs 5 months - 33 to 41 lbs 6 months - 42 - 49 lbs 1 year old - 55 to 63 lbs 2 years old - 65 to 75 lbs Lesson to take from this information: Please keep your golden at a healthy weight. Trust me, the sad puppy eyes you get because you won't share your food is nothing compared to the sad puppy eyes you will get when your sweet baby is in pain with every step they take. Unfortunately, goldens are a breed who think they are NEVER full but if we as owners cater to that, we will cause them more pain than we meant to. This link has good information on how to access your golden and see what their BCS is: https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/body-condition-scores There are also several images on this page describing how to determine if your golden is under or overweight! Here is a GENERAL chart showing how much a golden retriever puppy could weigh. A golden retriever group did a survey and collected weights of puppies from all over on a weekly/monthly basis and then they compiled the results into a "smallest", "average", "largest" chart so you can see where your puppy fits in. If your puppy consistently fits into the largest column consider your puppy large for his/her age and maybe you need to consider slowing the growth dow. Ideally staying near average is most likely the best place to be. https://www.k9web.com/breeds/golden-retriever-growth-chart/

Puppy Contract Click to view, download and/or print!

AKC Reunite Microchips Coming Soon...

Up & Coming *Click on photo or name for health clearances Lady Skye of the Golden Pride "Skye" Born: May 2nd, 2024 Lady Ellie of the Golden Pride "Ellie" Born: January 12th, 2024

Outside Studs *Click on photo or name for health clearances White Stone Alexster "Alex" Born: April 12th, 2018 Owned by: Erin Conger EEG Raberg Ryker "Ryker" Born: Feb. 23rd, 2019 Owned by Erin Conger Amore Veritas Platon "Tony" Born: June 8th, 2021 Owned by: Erin Conger Sir Oliver of the Golden Pride "Ollie" Born: January 20th, 2024 Owned by Emily Sadler Oskar Fine Nomi Kin "Oskar" Born: Feb. 21st, 2020 Owned by Erin Conger