Classic Rock Sidebar II ~ Chat

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Hi Chance!! Soooooo, I hear you want a Golden Retriever. Good choice!! I was so happy to hear your mom mention this today!! A golden puppy should sufficiently drive your mom insane for the next three years, and obviously, that should be your first consideration. A Golden is just the dog to do that! They're not exactly lap dogs.. they're big and clumsy and the best part is... they pretty much remain in the puppy stage for about 3-4 years. We're talking total chaos... total.

My golden's name is "Chewy"... with good reason. It has nothing to do with the Star Wars wookie. Oh no. Its because he chews and destroys just about anything he can wrap his jaws around, even still at 4 years old. Good luck with that!! You'll have to have lots of toys for your golden. Start buying and collecting them now. He or she can shred approximately 2.65 toys per day, so do the math and have a nice supply ready for your new arrival.

I know your little Hunter isn't due to arrive for a few more months.... so I have to throw a suggestion out. Have you seen the cream colored Golden's?? I think they are beautiful! Of course, they don't blend in with the fall leaves nearly as well as the standard golden (which is great fun when you're raking leaves... because you can hide the dog in the leaf pile and when he jumps up and shakes the leaves off of him, well trust me.. it just makes for a great show).... things to consider, ya know!!

Here's a picture of the cream golden.... there are also alpine white Goldens, all about the same price as regular goldens.

English Cream Golden Retriever

Alpine White Golden Retriever

Personally (just my opinion), I would never go spend an enormous amount of money on a dog... too many pound puppies are available and mutts are always much much cooler than pedigree dogs, but every dog needs a home, even those expensive ones, so... you do what's right for you.. If you insist on buying from a breeder, just make sure you check plenty of references. There are too many scam artists out there breeding "champion lineage" (ahem) dogs... that are just in it to take your money.

Have you thought about a rescue dog? I checked and found several Golden rescues in PA. Just something to think about....

And finally, just for the heckuvit, here's my Chewy. You can see how he blends with the leaves. In fact (true story), we were driving home one day this week, when my son glanced off into the woods and said, "Mom, look, stop.. there's a deer down there"..... I slowed down, and the image became clearer.... it wasn't a deer. It was my very own freakin dog, Chewy who had somehow escaped while we were gone!! Amazing how they camaflauge in the winter woods!!

terrible webcam shot... but that's my boy!!

Kelly, Chance... seriously... I know puppies are great fun, and I wouldn't blame anyone for wanting a puppy to watch him grow. I checked SW PA Golden Retriever Rescues.. there are quite a few.

See... I was kinda being silly in my post above, but the TRUTH is, a 2, 3 or 4 year old "puppy" is not very cool for a lot of people! Therefore, there are a lot of very young, basically trained, Golden Retrievers that need to be rescued. So... you miss the first few weeks of having a cute puppy. A dog is a life-long commitment and they don't remain small very long....

Chewy was a Rescue.. he was housetrained and knew basic manners when I got him, and that's how most Golden's in Rescue are. Of course, there a lot of old dogs in Rescues in general, but it seems that Goldens are in rescues more often than a lot of dogs because people really can't stand the puppy phase lasting for years... and trust me, that's not a joke... they actually behave like puppies for years. Puppies basically suck. Their behaviors are tolerable for a few months (they're small, they're cute).. but a 3 year old dog chewing up every pair of underwear you own is not terribly appealling to a lot of people, so they dump their very expensive, housebroken dogs in Rescues.... and these dogs are desperate for homes even more than puppies...

Golden's are uber-intelligent... extremely sweet. You'd do GREAT to find one that is already housebroken and knows some basic commands. Even so, until he's at least 3 or 4 years old, you're going to have a high energy, pain in the ass dog on your hands! Sounds cute, but it DOES get old. I just can't stress this point enough.. and most any Golden internet site you check will tell you the same thing. They are extremely HIGH ENERGY dogs for a lot of years... so be prepared.

Chance.. will you just consider a Rescue? These dogs are wonderful and often don't have a chance...and definitely check the pounds. You might just be amazed at what you can find, and saving $500-700 surely wouldn't be a bad thing!

Tilly was rescued

Asha was rescued

Tucker I paid for.

pros of rescuing = less training

pros of buying = the cute factor

I don't think I'd buy another puppy, but I'm glad I had the experience, and hot damn he was cute as a puppy

Get a good vacuum.

Actually, quite a lot of puppies end up in Rescues too. Ya just gotta keep checking.

pros of rescuing = less training

Noooooo, I wouldn't say that at all! Depends on the dog. Many dogs end up in Rescues because of they are behavior problems... some aren't housebroken, etc. Of course, I blame the owners, not the dogs, and most dogs can certainly be retrained at any age.

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