IMO I think there needs to be more hobby breeders. I have been looking for a golden puppy for a couple of weeks now and visited several times and I was appalled at the BYB's that I visited. Never bought from one before but you don't really know until you get there. So this lady is advertising AKC goldens around a price I feel is reasonable. I go visit and what a hot freaking mess! There's no way in he** they were purebred and I'm definitely not buying from someone that has the puppies walking around and laying in feces and urine. What was she thinking!? It was so disgusting and smelled terrible. I was there all of about 5 minutes. And what's messed up is there were puppies and all but 3 were sold, just waiting til they were old enough to take home. Luckily I found an amazing hobby breeder, sure it was more money but she was very passionate about her dogs and my ability to care for her puppy. That sold me. Long story short, more reputable breeders. Very hard to find.

Unfortunatley there are alot of Goldens in GR Rescues and in Shelters in my area. This doesn't include the ones listed on a local Yard Sale Website or on Craigslist here. The GR Rescues do a great job of getting Goldens out of the shelters, taking them into their program, and finding them wonderful homes. Unfortunately a lot of them pulled from shelters need a lot of medical care before they're available for adoption.


Most of the dogs that come into Rescue are from dogs that should have never been bred. However, they are wonderful dogs that deserve a second chance and a loving home. They're purebred Goldens but not well bred Goldens such as my two that I love dearly.

I adopted by girl from a GR Rescue-she is a former puppy mill momma and I adopted my boy from my Co. Humane Society.

There use to be 4 GR Rescues in my state, now only 3. The one I got my girl from closed down almost 2 years ago.

Thank you for mentioning this. There is an underlying tone in this thread that some dogs are "low quality" and I respectfully ask that people not pre-judge dogs and their owners just because their dogs don't have a standard conformation appearance. Not everyone with a less than show quality dog got the dog from a BYB or puppy miller- many of us adopted them from golden rescues, which, being a "mom" to three myself, think is a pretty good thing.

__________________


Meet Yogi! http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/...tion-yogi.html

I am sorry if my posts might of sounded that way. It doesn't mean that I think my rescue or anybody else's rescue is worth anything less, but it is a sad reality that the rescues might have more health issues or may not look like the standard golden. They make great pets when put in the correct home.

People do ask me all the time why MacKenzie and Brady are so different. I do use it as a teaching oppurtunity.

__________________

And it is an eye opening experience to see a well bred golden next to one that isn't. Being able to attend the GRCA Nationals Parade of Rescues which took place in a ring next to where conformation showing was taking place allowed me for the first time to see a well bred golden and the differences were staggering. Even with what we refer to as "field lines" on this forum were different when compared to the goldens actually doing field work. I certainly have nothing against rescues and will probably always rescue, but it does make me that more determined to protect the breed & educate potential puppy buyers.

Well, that must be my fault. I think I kind of struck that tone when I started the thread. I did not mean to denigrate the dogs. They don't have any choice in how they are born. I meant only to denigrate the breeders.

I have four rescues right now, and I love them all to pieces. And one of them is a real mess. There is nothing physically about her that conforms to the breed standard, and she is probably going to have health problems her whole life. Yet, she is the sweetest, most loving dog there is, and I love her and am so glad I have her. Her breeder, however, should sink to the bottom of the ocean in cement overshoes.

I'll throw a couple of more perspectives into this. I use to help a GR Rescue that I adopted my girl from. My girl is a former puppy mill momma girl, she was not socilalized, had been abused both verbally and physically, had numerous health issues which the Rescue paid for all her treatments. It was left up to me and my husband to heal her emotional wounds and it was a very long, slow journey for her. She still has some issues today-she is afraid of most men which has led me to believe her abuser was a male. But she is healthy, very happy, and we absolutely adore her even though she will never be 100%. Her emotional scars are so deep, she doesn't trust people she doesn't know.

The GR Rescue I helped, took in several dogs that had come from a Breeder in the town that should not have been breeding. The dogs we took in had severe hip displaysia and required extensive surgeries on at least one hip if not both. We took in several of them, and one went to a GR Rescue in SC because we didn't have the funds to take on another one at the time.

The owners of these dogs surrendered them to the Rescue because they could not afford the cost of the surgeries.

Same experience I had in Oklahoma & Missouri. The Oklahoma breeder is educated, kids attended Ivy League schools one has a PhD, the mom is an educator. However, they take advantage of prospective puppy buyers, claim clearances when only 1 or 2 male goldens back in the pedigree have OFA hips & the pups have horrid temperaments in addition to hip dysplasia in the lines. The goldens while gorgeous often spend many months with the rescue trying to find the right family due to temperament issues. Unfortunately the cycle continues now that the daughters are getting into the "family business". They do produce a high number of litters for the area, though I've seen a number of BYBs crop up in the last 2 years. The rescue could make its own calendar(s) on their dogs alone that wind up in rescue with their AKC papers. These folks have the means to do things correctly and know enough about OFA to claim it--would be great if they would step up to the plate & do things correctly.

This is so very sad to hear in so many ways and the thought it continuing, is even sadder. It not only affects the dogs, but also unsuspecting owners who may or may not be able to afford the medical care their dog will need and the Rescue Groups that take these dogs in. It puts a huge financial burden on the Rescue Groups, anyone involved in Rescue knows what it takes to raise funds to be able to provide the medical care to get many of these dogs healthy and ready for adoption. It's the main reason why Rescues require the dogs be altered prior to adopton to help stop the cycle and also why these Groups have such strict Adoption Policies to protect the dogs.

This is an interesting thread and I agree with your assessment of things. All 3 of my rescue dogs have had very special health needs that required a lot of our time, attention and financial resources. Our current rescue boy actually came with the AKC paperwork, and sometimes I think his breeder should have those cement shoes as well , but we love him dearly and are just happy we can provide for him and keep him as healthy and happy as possible. With that said, and thanks to the knowledge gained from this forum, our next family member will be from a very reputable breeder and will come with all the health clearances. I'm sure there will be questions when the two dogs are side by side and I will remember to use it as a teaching moment.

Wouldn't it be nice if there was no longer a need for an animal rescue? I know, I know...... it's an impossible dream.

__________________


Meet Yogi! http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/...tion-yogi.html