Tips, Help And News About Golden Retrievers

A Golden Retriever puppy has just come out of prison.

It was raised and trained by a prison inmate to be an assistant for a person with disabilities.

Read rest of story here…http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10585776href=”http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10585776″>

A dating site for dogs is proving to be booming, with over 6,000 members.

The woman from India knew dog owners wanted companions for their fury friends, so she set up a website for the lonely hearts.

To read the rest of the story, go to http://in.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idINTRE56F17O20090716

Home movies capture priceless moments…moments to stay with us forever. Here,s one kindly shared to the lovers of Golden Retriever Puppies.

Adorable Golden Retriever Puppies caught on video

A new heart warming story has just come out. A Golden Retriever is raising homeless kittens. Just another reason why we love Golden Retrievers.

Golden retriever raises kittens like they’re her own
By Martin Snapp
Correspondent
Posted: 06/26/2009 12:00:00 AM PDT
Updated: 06/27/2009 05:52:34 PM PDT

Looking for the perfect kitten? (Or better yet, a pair of kittens?) Call Rosie the golden retriever.

Rosie, who is a little over a year and a half old, raises homeless kittens for Island Cat Resources and Adoption.

If she’s in a calm mood, she’ll lie down and let them climb all over her and play with her feet.

If she’s in a playful mood, she’ll gently roll them across the floor with her nose.

If they get too rambunctious and start nipping or scratching, she’ll look up at her owner, Gail Churchill, with a look that says, “Help!” But she still lets them do it.

It all started a few months ago, when Churchill, who fosters homeless kittens for ICRA, had a litter that was so young, the kits had to be bottle-fed.

“Rosie was absolutely mesmerized and would sit by my lap while I was feeding them. As babies do, they got messy faces, and I knew mommy kitties clean their babies with their tongue. So I got the idea of holding the baby kitty up to Rosie, and she started cleaning its face.

“This went on for weeks. As they grew and started running around on the floor, she would corral them and keep them where I could see them. If one ever got out of my sight, I’d just go look for Rosie because I knew that’s where the baby was.”

Before embarking on her career as a kitten raiser, Rosie used to sleep every night right beside Churchill and her husband Jim’s bed.

“But now she insists on sleeping in the kitchen, right beside
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the big kitty condo where the kittens sleep at night, so she can keep an eye on them.”

Rosie is now working on her third litter, with no end in sight. “The number of homeless kittens is exploding this year, and the rate doesn’t show any sign of slowing down,” Churchill said. “I’m fostering 15 babies right now, and so are many of our other volunteers.”

Some news reports say the problem is growing because cats are being abandoned by owners whose homes have been foreclosed, but Churchill said they’re only a tiny fraction of the homeless cat population. “We’ve seen a few abandoned pets showing up, but the kittens are coming from people not spaying or neutering their own pets or the strays showing up in their backyards.”

ICRA has no shelter — which, paradoxically, is an advantage. All the kittens are raised in foster homes instead of shelter cages, so they get highly socialized.

Rosie’s kittens are not only dog-friendly, they think of themselves as tiny golden retrievers and act accordingly. They do well in homes that already have a family dog.

Another ICRA volunteer, DeAnne Jarvis, has a very large male cat named Smokey Joe. Although he dislikes adult cats, he’s crazy about kittens. “She puts her kittens in the room with Smokey Joe, and they all nuzzle up and sleep with him, and he loves them and acts like an uncle kitty,” Churchill said. “His kittens do great in homes that already have other cats.”

Several ICRA foster homes have kids under 14, so their kittens fit right into homes with children.

One of the reasons Rosie gets along so well with kittens is that she was raised by cats: the Churchill family felines Howdy, Jackie, Jenny, Yoshi and Jacques.

One day, when Rosie was 4 months old, Churchill came home and found her standing on top of the kitchen counter.

The look on her face seemed to say it all, Churchill said: “What’s the problem? The cats do it, don’t they?”

ICRA exhibits cats and kittens ready for adoption every Saturday at Petco in Alameda from noon to 4 p.m., as well as on its Web site, www.icraeastbay.org. Donations to ICRA can be mailed to P.O. Box 1093, Alameda CA 94501.

Reach Martin Snapp at [email protected].

White Golden Retrievers, do they really exist?

A lot are fascinated by the idea of having a White Golden and some breeders take this opportunity to sell their so-called White Goldens at a higher price. Read on and do not be fooled.

The American Kennel Club (AKC) Standard for the Golden Retriever breed’s coat is “rich, lustrous golden of various shades.” This automatically disqualifies the ones that are extremely light or extremely dark. Meaning there is no really such a thing as a White Golden Retriever. The closest that resembles to white are the English Golden Retrievers. The shade of their coat is light cream which almost appears as off white or light cream but not really pure white. If the fur is pure white, chances are your pup is not purebred. The best way to predict your Golden’s coat is to look at the fur behind the ears.

The coat of Golden pups appears lighter when they are still young but darkens as they age. It can also help to meet the sire and dam to see how your pup will look like when he gets old.

In case you are given a White Golden Retriever pup and you are uncertain about the pedigree, ask the breeder for proof that the parents are AKC Registered. It is possible that the puppy appears white while young and turns out to be light cream as he gets older. The sad thing about buying a White Golden is not just the high price but the idea that you have been fooled for a mix bred dog.

You cannot guarantee if the dog is free from genetic disorders and neither can you guarantee that the temperament will be the same just like the loyal, kindhearted and robust Golden Retrievers.

So next time you search for a White Golden Retriever, maybe ask for a light cream English Golden Retriever instead. The price should be the same as the other Golden Retrievers and need not be higher.

There,s no need to patronize breeders who experiment on the breeds and still claim that theirs is purebred. The more you buy from them, the more they will be encouraged to breed poor quality Goldens and substandard breeds. This will result to more and more dogs suffering from genetic disorders and later on surrendered to shelters.

Look for breeders who care about the integrity of the breed and the welfare of the dogs rather than just the money.

The bottom line, pick out a reputable breeder if you want a purebred, healthy and well-socialized Golden Retriever right from the start. Lastly, do not be fooled by phony breeders.