How To Buy A Golden Retriever Puppy?

In general there are three sources of puppies for every pure dog breed, each coming with pros and cons, and golden retrievers are no exception:

1. Puppy mills: this kind of dog breeding is based strictly on profit. This means they try to create as much money with sales as possible. Dogs are often bred in shortage of space, hygiene standards are low, dogs don't get individual treatment and all this leads to very high possibility of health and behavioral risk.

Puppies of golden retrievers from such facility in most cases end in pet shops and are relatively inexpensive. You can get one for few hundred dollars, but you got no guarantee the dog will have no health problems, which in the case of goldens are mostly joints, eyes and heart. Getting an inexpensive pup could end as very expensive life experience - for you and your doggie.

2. Backyard breeders: most of them are driven more on enthusiasm than profit, but getting a dog from a backyard breeder carries almost the same risks as ones coming with puppies from a puppy farm. Typical backyard breeder can very hardly afford paying for all basic clearances for the dog and it is even more unlikely the same was done for pup's father and mother. Such dogs are also more likely prone to behavioral problems.

In the end of the day, you may get a cute golden retriever puppy for few hundreds, sometimes even cheaper than from pet shop store, but the probability of getting a healthy individual is very low, very likely less than 20 percents.

3. Reputable breeders: first sign you are dealing with one is a price tag. Puppy with a proper pedigree and right medical examinations will cost you between one thousand and sometimes close to three thousand dollars, what depends on location (metropolitan area can be twice as more expensive than more rural locations), extras you get with a dog (e.g. micro chipping, toys, vitamin supplements, vaccination, collar, guarantees, ...) and of course the reputation of the breeder.

While a good breeder has documented clearances for several (three to six generations) of each sold dog, you have to understand this only improves the probability of getting a healthy dog. If none of its registered predecessors never bit a human, it is only less likely your dog will bite somebody, but it can still happen. And dog can still develop problems in one of more or less typical areas of health problems associated with golden retrievers.

Good dog breeder will never breed dogs with known health issues and will never sell a dog to a person without first checking his or her home.

We won't go into details, but let's list only the most devastating statistics which may too quickly turn your dreams into a nightmare.

• Cataracts (eye disease) are diagnosed at 7 percent of goldens older than seven years. Hip dysplasia (joint issue, which often leads to very painful arthritis) affect 20 percent of population.
• Elbow dysplasia (joint issue, common with many larger breeds): 10 percent.
• Osteochondrosis (another common issue with joints): 15 percent.
• Subvalvular Aortic Stenosis (heart condition): 44 percent of goldens suffers of more or less dangerous 'heart murmur', which can be more or less dangerous, but in all cases carefully monitored and treated with right life style and medications.
• Cancer - Lymphoma, Hemangiosarcoma (sorts of blood cancer) and Osteosarcoma (sort of bone cancer) affect old older dogs and are cause of death of about 60 to 70 percent of golden retrievers with expected lifespan of eleven to twelve years.
• Don't forget Epilepsy (brain disorder), Hypothyroidism (disease of thyroid gland), Progressive Retinal Atrophy (eye disease), Gastric Dilatation-Volvulus (condition when too much air is swollen and the blood flow is disrupted, what affects heart and ultimately kills the dog), Von Willebrand Disease (kind of blood disease), ...

Golden retriever is not a demanding dog breed in general, but still needs regular exercise. After all, they were bred as hunting dogs and their bodies are made for jumping, running and swimming. If you can't afford to spend at least one hour per day with your golden, this dog is probably not right for you.

Another criteria is sociability. Goldens are very sociable and they are not dogs to be kept in the backyard without company. They make great playing companions, so expect to devote some time to spend with them on regular basis. On the other hand they love to play with other pets too and they definitely don't belong into the group of jealous dog breeds.

If you think one thousand dollars is a lot for a golden retriever puppy, you probably don't understand how much will a dog cost you. Expect to spend between 500 and 1000 dollars per year for food, few hundreds for routine vet checks and  unknown amount of money for toys and other unexpected expenses. Relatively routine procedure, like taking a sock out of your dog (yes, they do that quite often), for instance, will cost you around one thousand bucks. Neutering will cost you about 300-500 dollars.

Of course a dog will very likely need a crate, maybe some additional fence, training, grooming,... If you plan to get a show dog, expenses will be even higher. Having a golden will easily ad up to 20 thousand dollars in his lifetime. First year with initial expenses is toughest - expect to spend three thousands, maybe more. Your financially smartest decisions about golden retrievers (same is true for most of other pets) are:

• 1. Ask in advance: when the situation comes, you will known alternatives (if any) and have more chances to decide.
• 2. Set some money aside for emergencies. With some discipline you'll have few thousands if something happens.
• 3. Think about pet insurance. It is becoming more and more popular choice for millions of dog owners.

Golden retriever are heavy shedders. You will need a quality brush (or more brushes) and undercoat rake to maintain all the hair which will inevitably fall off during season changing. Most important of all is to maintain golden's hair regularly, what means you will need to set some time aside. This is in vast majority of cases pretty nice experience (shall we call it quality time?), but it's good to know you'll need to set aside more time for grooming, trimming and cleaning than for most other pets.

Yes, it's almost like having a kid. And it delivers almost as much happiness if you express the needed responsibility!