[Fetch]

Hello

I am trying to decide whether or not to buy a pre-trained adult dog or a puppy. I have been looking at some people's website who have been raising and training golden retrievers for years to sell for kid's with autism, as therapy dogs, or as trained family dogs.

Here is the website:
http://www.abcgoldenretrievers.com/

They have a lot of pictures and tons of videos (on their youtube channel). They seem really reliable, and the videos show the temperaments of the pups they are selling, plus the are very socialized with their kids, dogs, cats, farm animals, etc. If they show good OFA and CERF certificates, do yall think it would be a good idea to buy a pre-trained dog from them? (Check out some of their videos and dogs for sale).

My second option would be just to buy a pup from a reliable breeder and enroll it in classes and begin training the dog myself at home. This would save me some money, but would take much more time and effort.

Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[Oaklys Dad]

That one is easy in my mind. Go with the 8 week old puppy. Granted is tons of work but it is also just so much fun. The puppy stage is so much fun and so much work at the same time but it is worth every second in my book. If you are ready for it go with the puppy... and take TONS of pictures.

 

[Mssjnnfer]

Welcome to the forum!

While the dogs on that site are very beautiful and look very well trained, I found one of the best things with getting a dog is training it myself. We got Mojo as a puppy and did everything ourselves. To be honest, it really wasn't THAT hard. He was a fast learner, and I feel very proud to say that everything he knows was because of me.

I'm not saying getting a fully trained adult is a BAD thing, I'm just saying you might regret someday not knowing what that dog was like as a puppy, or going through that "annoying puppy behavior stage" as they said on the site. Or even training them yourself. We saved Maxie from going to the animal shelter, and she was 8 month old... I wish I knew what she was like as a little puppy sometimes.

Either one you choose, good luck and post pictures if you do get one!!

 

[Bender]

The only thing I would say is that if you get a fully trained dog, you will still have to learn how to do the training and keep it up yourself, or over time the training will slip. If you don't know how to correct the dog when it doesn't listen, or don't keep up with the rewards/motivation, then the dog will know and start to goof off and not always listen as well as it would. So I would find out how they deal with that sort of thing and if that's an additional charge you're looking at.

Dogs are not robots, mine will usually not listen quite as well to other people depending on the situation. Usually it's because I'm used to reading them and stop them way before they do something and other people don't tend to notice when they are looking at something etc...

Getting a puppy and doing the work yourself is very rewarding and fun, and then you also get to learn as you go. Then you have the tools to adjust and fix things too. Plus they're a lot cuter!

Lana

 

[Finn's Fan]

Fetch, dogs take time and effort. In addition to training constantly when they're young, you have to exercise them a lot, pick up poop, get regular and emergency vet care (so there's money involved as well as time and effort) and a host of other inconveniences. Honestly, when someone suggests that they're looking for an easy way to have a fully trained dog, I wonder whether a dog is really the pet that person should be contemplating. Sorry to sound harsh, but I volunteer with a rescue where many innocent dogs find themselves homeless because a golden was NOT the right pet for that person or family.