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14 Posts
Hi golden family!
I'm Chloe and I live in Los Angeles. I currently own a puppy mill dog. Let me back track a little and tell you how I got here!
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My husband and I were looking to adopt a dog. Now seemed like a good time to do it, since our 8 month son was just starting zoom around crawling, but not yet running. We thought that, with a new addition, it would be more respectful assimilating our pup if our kid wasn't chasing him and pulling his tail, etc.
We began our search for a rescue with a few main requirements: Medium or Large size, good with kids, good with cats, calm. Age didn't matter, breed didn't matter, but the dog itself mattered. It was harder than I thought it was going to be. Not only were rescue groups impossible to deal with (IF they even responded!) but we grew uneasy the more dogs we met. Some had quite the intensity about them, some were hyper and jumped up which was an issue with the baby's safety. I also grew apprehensive about taking in a dog with unknown background because I didn't want to discover the hard way that he or she had aggression issues or toy possessiveness. As a mother with a baby in tow, the stakes were way higher than a home with just two patient, understanding adults.
I reworked my plan. We researched the best breed that fit our criteria and obviously Goldens made the list. The issue was 1) we didn't have thousands to spend, and, 2) we didn't want a little puppy. I already have one baby to chase after!
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After researching breeders that offered older pups, which were still out of my budget, I started combing Craigslist to see if anyone was re-homing a golden. I considered getting a small pup because nothing seemed to be coming up in our criteria, until, BAM. Two ads posted for re-homing a golden, both were roughly 7 months old. In the same city. Five minutes from each other.
The first dog was beautiful, he was a bit hyper and jumpy, about 60lbs and tall, he was being re-homed because the family was expecting a surprise third child and the scheduling for overtime work conflicted with the dog's needs. I loved that family and I also loved that dog! He was $300.
The second was beautiful also, more of a light creamy blonde, smaller build at 50lbs, less hairy and calm. The family rented their home and was moving to a place that didn't allow dogs. They were asking $900. AKC registered. Although I didn't think he was very well bred, because his proportions were a bit wonky. He was more slender in the face with a longer nose than I had ever seen on a golden, but ultimately I didn't care about the physical attributes as much as I cared about his character. I didn't feel great about spending almost double our proposed budget but we decided he was the right size, right demeanor, right age, right breed and all around right dog for our family.
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When I got home I did a little research on the paperwork they gave me. It was from a breeder that is from Kansas, which means they definitely got him at a pet store, which is a red flag. The breeder is a known puppy mill. I felt pretty sick about it. I wasn't surprised really, the family seemed nice enough, and I didn't want to tell them they paid $1650 for a puppy mill dog because honestly, they were already going through a hard time letting go of the dog. I didn't feel the need to make it worse for them.
Aside from that, Keller, the dog, is great! He is gentle with my son, quiet, calm, friendly to my cats (they're not so sure yet), doesn't chew/scratch/dig and follows me room to room.
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He was not trained when I got him three weeks ago and has already made great progress. I hired Kurt Burk, of Canine Conservatory (canineconservatory.com), to help me with the initial training session. He has a pain-free approach to training and encourage me to use a clicker.
In 3 weeks, Keller can sit, stay, wait at doorways, not pull on a leash, shake paw, come, leave-it, doesn't go on counters anymore, and is learning to love a crate. I can't wait to see his progress develop!
Much love from California!
Chloe and Keller the Dog
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I'm Chloe and I live in Los Angeles. I currently own a puppy mill dog. Let me back track a little and tell you how I got here!
My husband and I were looking to adopt a dog. Now seemed like a good time to do it, since our 8 month son was just starting zoom around crawling, but not yet running. We thought that, with a new addition, it would be more respectful assimilating our pup if our kid wasn't chasing him and pulling his tail, etc.
We began our search for a rescue with a few main requirements: Medium or Large size, good with kids, good with cats, calm. Age didn't matter, breed didn't matter, but the dog itself mattered. It was harder than I thought it was going to be. Not only were rescue groups impossible to deal with (IF they even responded!) but we grew uneasy the more dogs we met. Some had quite the intensity about them, some were hyper and jumped up which was an issue with the baby's safety. I also grew apprehensive about taking in a dog with unknown background because I didn't want to discover the hard way that he or she had aggression issues or toy possessiveness. As a mother with a baby in tow, the stakes were way higher than a home with just two patient, understanding adults.
I reworked my plan. We researched the best breed that fit our criteria and obviously Goldens made the list. The issue was 1) we didn't have thousands to spend, and, 2) we didn't want a little puppy. I already have one baby to chase after!
After researching breeders that offered older pups, which were still out of my budget, I started combing Craigslist to see if anyone was re-homing a golden. I considered getting a small pup because nothing seemed to be coming up in our criteria, until, BAM. Two ads posted for re-homing a golden, both were roughly 7 months old. In the same city. Five minutes from each other.
The first dog was beautiful, he was a bit hyper and jumpy, about 60lbs and tall, he was being re-homed because the family was expecting a surprise third child and the scheduling for overtime work conflicted with the dog's needs. I loved that family and I also loved that dog! He was $300.
The second was beautiful also, more of a light creamy blonde, smaller build at 50lbs, less hairy and calm. The family rented their home and was moving to a place that didn't allow dogs. They were asking $900. AKC registered. Although I didn't think he was very well bred, because his proportions were a bit wonky. He was more slender in the face with a longer nose than I had ever seen on a golden, but ultimately I didn't care about the physical attributes as much as I cared about his character. I didn't feel great about spending almost double our proposed budget but we decided he was the right size, right demeanor, right age, right breed and all around right dog for our family.
When I got home I did a little research on the paperwork they gave me. It was from a breeder that is from Kansas, which means they definitely got him at a pet store, which is a red flag. The breeder is a known puppy mill. I felt pretty sick about it. I wasn't surprised really, the family seemed nice enough, and I didn't want to tell them they paid $1650 for a puppy mill dog because honestly, they were already going through a hard time letting go of the dog. I didn't feel the need to make it worse for them.
Aside from that, Keller, the dog, is great! He is gentle with my son, quiet, calm, friendly to my cats (they're not so sure yet), doesn't chew/scratch/dig and follows me room to room.
He was not trained when I got him three weeks ago and has already made great progress. I hired Kurt Burk, of Canine Conservatory (canineconservatory.com), to help me with the initial training session. He has a pain-free approach to training and encourage me to use a clicker.
In 3 weeks, Keller can sit, stay, wait at doorways, not pull on a leash, shake paw, come, leave-it, doesn't go on counters anymore, and is learning to love a crate. I can't wait to see his progress develop!
Much love from California!
Chloe and Keller the Dog
