[mx3fam]

My family and I live in Maryland- just 20 min. to Penn and Delaware. We are looking into adopting a golden and would like to know if breeders or showers ever adopt out their older/retired dogs to good families.

I have a friend in CA getting ready to adopt 2 champion Basenjis from a breeder. The breeder is giving her the dogs. The breeder is reputable and we have seen the papers on the dogs as well as their pictures with awards- so we know its legit.

I was wondering if this practice was common.

Thanks
Mary

 

[DianeD]

Hi Mary - we have gotten two of our goldens as retired breeder dogs - in fact,one of them, Sunshine Hill's Bumble Bee, who is now 11, was from Sunshine Hill in Bridgeville, DE - I highly recommend them, and if you go on their Website, www.sunshinehill.com, e-mail Gwen about any older goldens she might have We got Buzz 5 years ago - she is lovely.

The only thing I would caution you about - with retired breeder dogs, they may or may not have been sufficiently socialized, and may be very set in their ways. For example., Buzz had never had to deal with stairs (she learned really quickly though). She didn't know what a lot of things were. You want to make sure they are housebroken, since if they are kept outside more than in, you may have a real issue with that. Also, it took I would say about 1 year for Buzz to be fully socialized to everyone and everything, but then we already had 2 other goldens, and so there was a ready-made "pack".

However, I know Gwen has placed older puppies that simply were not cut out for the show ring, or who had a kink in the tail that would disqualify it from showing, or other very non-critical "flaws" that make them wonderful pets, but not show or breeding dogs. So you could certainly inquire about that if you thought you'd want a younger dog but not a puppy. Breeders, even the best ones, simply cannot keep every dog and the two we'd adopted were very reluctantly parted with.

Good luck!

Diane

 

[Ardeagold]

Hi Mary! Are you from Harford County by any chance? We lived there for years before moving here. When I heard NE MD...and the rest of the location, I thought...Hmmmmm??? :lol: Your description almost sounds like the Darlington area, which is where we lived. (Of course you could be talking about Cecil county too........... hahahahaha!)

You can get dogs that are being "retired" from a breeding program, but it's still wise to get to know which breeders are quality breeders, and then touch base with them.

All of the health/temperament questions are still the same, whether you're getting a puppy or an adult.

Good luck!

 

[BeauShel]

Hello and welcome,
Good luck with you finding a breeder that has a golden for you. You might also check with golden rescues. They have puppies to seniors and all inbetween. Most are usually there because someone didnt take the time to train them or losing their home and are great dogs.

 

[mx3fam]

Thanks I will look into that. I really appreciate your advice, experience, and time.

 

[mx3fam]

I think North East is in Cecil County
Let me know if you have any suggestions.