What to know when buying a dog?

I had to put my dog down a few weeks ago. My best friend. I swore I'd never get another dog and my wife doesnt want one. I put my foot down yesterday and told her that we are getting a new one.

I have a 15 month old daughter, so im thinking a pure bred Golden Retriever puppy sounds like a solid decision.

My first dog was free, a mut and just not wired right lol. This time, I want to start with the best "specimen" I can. What should I ask? Im expecting to drop a couple thousand.

 

I don't know jack about picking out a dog but I think they're great for kids and vice versa. I usually go with muts 'cause they generally have fewer health issues.

 

I am a small dog, non shedding, hypo allergenic guy myself. Goldie’s are great but she’d like crazy and can be hyper. If you or your family has any type of allergies, breed should play into that as well.

 

Personally I'd never spend thousands on a puppy unless it was a specific working dog.

 

Find a reputable breeder if you want to go the purebred route. AKC has a list of em on their site. Also, look at the litter registration and pedigrees, see if the parents have had their hips OFA certified. If the parents going back a few generations have all been certified, the likelihood of the puppies having hip dysplasia are significantly less. My family has been raising purebred labs for over 20 years, and we’ve only ever bought one puppy from certified parents that ever developed it.

Also, make sure and go to the breeders house and see how they’re raising the dogs. You want well socialized puppy’s that have a well maintained pen, it’s not hard to tell if people take care of their dogs.

 

To each their own. I'll be living with this dog for 15 years or so. Not something I want to take a chance on.

 

It's always going to be a gamble, my preference would be a mutt just because, on average, they have fewer health issues.

 

In most cases, you get what you pay for! My male wasn’t cheap, and neither were the females my dad and brother bought.

 

Oh I definitely don't mean cheaping out on breeders. I mean I don't see value in spending that on a family dog.

 

Fair enough man, not everyone needs or wants a purebred dog. We market ours more for family dogs, even though they do have some good hunting dogs in their lineage.

 

Goldens are great, if shedding indoors an issue hearing golden doodles are good..

We rescued a pure golden puppy about 12 weeks old, after having many different types, after about 8 years later he has been the best dog ever. We will be messed up the day he is not around any longer.
If we ever get another, may aim for female, a little smaller 20-30 lbs lighter. ours is about 95 lbs.
There are rescue sites online for just about every breed, something consider.

 

I've always picked the runt of the litter.....its worked out well for me so far.

 

The big thing for us was good communication with the breeder while we “shopping”. We then travelled 2hrs to visit her home several times to spend time with her dogs and get a good feeling about her breeding practices. We filled out a questionnaire and she had to “approve” us before we could even put a deposit down on a puppy. We had to wait nearly 4 months before it was even born bc the breeder didn’t feel like any of the puppies from earlier litters were a good match to us and our environment (already had another Great Dane in our home).

In the end, we got a perfect, healthy dog that fit us. Sure, it cost us a couple grand, but it was well worth it.

 

I have a purebred flat coat retriever, she's amazing. The gentlest dog you'd ever meet. My polar opposite, she loves everyone and everything regardless of who or what it is. She can dial back her energy level to what seems appropriate if she's around small kids for example.

But. Flat coats are rare in the US... Limited gene pool which amplifies genetic predispositions to illnesses, twice now, mine has had two different immune mediated deseases that nearly killed her.

So, study the family lines, speak to other customers and get pet insurance... Pure breeds can get very spendy illnesses..

 

Oh, here’s the Dane when ended up with (for reference, my wife is 5’7”)...and yes, my dog is a little chunky, lazy ass

 

I’m in a similar situation. Details later.
I have done multiple searches and suggest that you do the same.
1) least aggressive breed
2) most aggressive breed
3) most health problems
4) least health problems
5) easiest to train
6) best with children
7) guardians, trainability, etc
Etc, I’m going to be living next door to our grandchildren aged 2 to 13. Decided on most likely the same breed as you, golden retriever.
Everyone has already said the rest, check out the breeder, visit the kennel, research the genealogy.
Please post back with what you choose to do.

 

Joe, sorry to hear about your dog. I had to put my golden down a while back. I think that the Golden Retriever is one of best family dog's you can have. We had ours for 14 yrs before his hip and spine gave. Very smart dogs and love the water. A pure breed will go between $600 to a grand. Depends on breeder. Good luck on your search .

 

Just got a golden in August and went through a lot of this. Obligatory pic:



With Golden’s always request health clearances for dame and sire. Should include eyes, heart, hips, and elbows. You can look the OFA records up too online. This is the most important thing. As well you can find pedigree info on AKC if you get their number or registered name.

Otherwise, ask the breeders everything your curious about with their dogs. They should be happy to answer and willing to help. They could ask you to sign a contract. Worth asking to see a copy up front. I signed one and I actually appreciated it cause it showed the breeder cared about the dogs and wants them to be happy and healthy and isn’t just in it for the money.

As mentioned, Golden’s are active dogs that shed a lot. Super loveable and great with everyone, but have to have regular brushing and exercise.

GRCA and AKC have a lot of great resources online as well.

 

Look into a Spinone. Good kid friendly dogs. Like water and fields. Also fairly easy to train

 

Goldens are great dogs. I have had 3. One was a born natural hunter. No formal training. I just noticed that she was birdy. Never lost a bird with her. She would dive after wounded ducks. Great people dog. Next female I had was also very good with people. Never showed any aggression what so ever. Bought both off individuals as pups. First one I had was big male and while normally not aggressive he would bite if surprised or if you tried to take something from him. With a young child I would stick with a female. They tend to be more docile. Tried one female yellow lab and while it hunted it had rocks for brains and passed at fairly young age. It showed symptoms of being snake bit but I have never seem a poisenous snake in my yard. Will never have another lab. I have a GWP right now that I got from a friend that could no care for. I needed a companion dog for my daughters Catahoula. It is a very good dog but hyper. It has some Chaesapeak in her. With a young kid you might think about spending less on dog and investing difference in obedience training. The GWP I have has a ton of retrieving and obedience training and it shows.

 

Partial to boxers, really good with children, and goofy as hell.

 

AWESOME

 

I bought a female Rotty..from a good friend of mine....of course I knew what I was getting cause I knew the blood line....She was an absolute SWEET HEART of a dog....great with my kids as well as friends and strangers ....lost her to hip cancer.....a devastating thing to have to put her down....I WAS CRUSHED....Havent had another dog since then ....Good luck !!

 

Lots of talk about making sure you pick a good breeder, hips and eyes, etc. I agree. I'll add that you should thoroughly investigate any breed you are considering. Make sure you are ready to train to the level the breed requires to be a good pet, deal with shedding/grooming of that breed and provide whatever stimulation that breed requires to keep it happy and healthy. In other words, don't go get a German Short hair and expect a lapdog or a poodle and expect not to need grooming.

 

Spending $1000-$2000 on a dog is not a big deal when you factor in the cost of owning and keeping a dog healthy for 15 years. Between the shots, food, flea medicine, heart worm medicine, vet visits and dog accessories, I figure we spend about $900 per dog per year.

 

I’d definitely recommend Wildrose Kennels from Mississippi. uklabs.com

My dog is a half brother to Deke

http://m.uklabs.com/?url=http://uklabs.com/&utm_referrer=#2685

 

I'm an electrician and am in a lot of houses around different dogs. My favorite are English bulldogs and Australian doodles. They're always fun and friendly long as they're trained.

That being said, my dogs are all malinois mixes. My next dog will be full blood Belgian malinois from over seas and cost too much money lol.

Spend the money, if you're like me you're in it weather the dog is a good one or a dumb ass. It'll be a long 15 years if the dog is broken and untrainable

 

Get your golden from here: http://www.pekaygoldens.com/

We had a Pekay and he was the best dog we've ever had. Beautiful dogs from a reputable breeder. National champions from this well-known and highly respected line.