Judi Stanley collates the clubs Puppy / Stud list, you may contact her on

Tel       01395 567192 or email judi.stanley@btinternet.com

                                                 BUYING A GOLDEN RETRIEVER PUPPY

Before you finally decide to buy a puppy please think carefully about the following points.

1.   Puppies are very appealing but extremely time consuming, have you got the time with other lifestyle commitments to devote to a puppy's care, training and excercise. There should be someone at home for a good part of the day as lonely and bored dogs can become destructive. Golden Retrievers by virtue of their nature human company.

2.  When you visit a litter og Golden Retriever puppies always see the mother as well, often it is not possible to see the father as he may live some distance away.

3.  Ask to see the hips and eye certificates of both parents, some breeders may have elbow certificates, this is optional.

4.  Depending on the age you first visit the litter, once they are on their feet the puppies should seem friendly, lively and playful, delighted to see visitors. They should look well fed, coats should have a nice feel to them, eyes and ears should be clean.

5.  The breeder of the puppies will ask several questions regarding the future life of the puppy you want to purchase. Hopefully you will have thought long and hard as it to whether you have the time and resources to commit to a dog for it's lifetime.

6.  If you have more than one litter to visit please try not to go directly from one to another , should this be unavoidable, please tell the breeders you have visited other puppies before going into the premises as all puppies could be at risk of cross infection.

                                                     Having decided to buying a puppy.

7.  Try and visit your puppy a couple of times before he is old enough to take home it will help to get to know your breeder and you will be able to ask questions about feeding etc. Please try and keep to time when visiting the puppies as there may be other people also visiting that day particularly weekends.

8.  When collecting your puppy from the breeder it is advisable to take some paper kitchen roll and some old towels. Some young puppies will travel well others only go a short distance and are sick. It is better to hold him securely on your knee thaen you are able to brace him for the twists and turns and reassure him about passing traffic.

9.  You should be given a signed copy of the pedigree, a Kennel Club registration certificate, a diet sheet as a guide to feeding in the first few weeks, also a date to next worm your puppy.Sometimes the breeder may not have received the registration certificate in time and will forward this on.

10. Please do not rush your puppy to the vet for vaccinations immediately you get him home. Leaving his litter brothers and sisters and mum plus the journey home is quite an event in ayoung puppy's life, he needs a couple of days to get use to his new family and the geography of his new home and garden.

11. A well trained dog is easy and ajoy to live with, ask at either your local pet shop or Vets about training classes in the area.