Golden Acres Goldens
Adoption Process - please read thoroughly - thanks!
Thank you for your interest in our Goldens! Our breeding program is based in our belief that a Golden Retriever should be a combination of things ~ beautiful to look at with the correct physical structure, outgoing and friendly, gentle with children, highly trainable, extremely intelligent, calm and resilient, naturally inclined to hunt and retrieve birds, and genetically healthy. With each litter we breed at Golden Acres, we attempt to move closer to what we would consider the ‘Perfect Golden’ - a golden with all of these qualities, honed to perfection, and without any undesirable physical or temperamental characteristics (some say that’s unrealistic - we keep working with that goal in mind nonetheless!). In selecting dams and sires for breeding, we evaluate many things, including temperament, trainability, structure, genetic health, and ancestral traits, in an attempt to continue to enhance the breed. While the dogs we choose for breeding come from ‘working’ lines, ALL of our puppies are placed into homes where they will be, first and foremost, an integral, special member of a loving family, and so we choose breeding stock whom we believe will produce wonderful puppies with ideal 'pet' qualities ~ outstanding temperaments, calmness, and ease of training! All of our own dogs and many of the puppies we place are also involved with their families in dog-sport activities such as conformation, obedience, agility, field, and therapy work, and we now have five dogs working with their disabled companions as service dogs - their strong ancestries making them ideal candidates for teamwork and success!
All of the dogs we use for breeding are genetically healthy dogs, having been certified by the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) as being free from hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, genetic heart diseases, and genetic thyroid disease, and certified annually by the Canine Eye Registration Foundation (CERF) as being free from genetic eye diseases. As members of the Golden Retriever Club of America, the Greater Twin Cities Golden Retriever Club, the Golden Retriever Association of Middle America, and the Cambridge Minnesota Kennel Club, we continuously educate ourselves about new issues concerning health and genetics. We are committed to taking all necessary steps to prevent genetic problems, new and old, for as long as we raise Golden Retrievers.
We also believe that in order to honestly evaluate dogs for breeding purposes, we must be involved in the ‘sport’ of dogs ~ training, testing, and competing in many different arenas of the dog world in order to compare, contrast, and evaluate the dogs we are considering for breeding. We are involved in Conformation, Obedience Trials, Field Tests, Agility, Therapy Work, Service Dog Training, and Canine Good Citizen programs, and we use all of these arenas to help us evaluate our breeding stock, the puppies we have produced, and the stud dogs that are available to us. This constant evaluation of structure, trainability, instinct, and temperament, along with genetic health screening and evaluation, helps us to continue to enhance the Golden Retriever breed.
All of our pups, whether working or companion, are placed
with families only after extensive screening. Our goal is to place each puppy we
produce in exactly the right home. We choose homes with the same basic
philosophies of care that we have. If you are interested in one of our puppies
and would like to be considered as an Adoptive Family;
1)
Please print, complete
and mail the Adoption Application or cut and
paste it into an email. After we receive
your application;
2)
We’ll contact you to discuss your application. Before making any
decisions or placing you on a waiting list for an upcoming litter;
3) I’ll ask
you to visit us at Golden Acres (after we've received and discussed your
application); and then
4)
I’ll visit your home.
We'll discuss your desires, expectations and limitations for housing and raising a puppy,
and get to know
each other. After we’ve spent time getting to know each other
and asking and answering all of the important questions,
5)
we’ll make a final
decision together,
6)
we'll sign an Adoption Agreement and you'll make a deposit, and
then
7)
I'll put you on the waiting list for a puppy from an upcoming litter!
When a litter is born, we work from the top of our
waiting list of approved homes in placing puppies, and anyone left on the list
(for example #’s 10 - 14, after a litter of 9 is placed), will be placed at
the top of the list for the next litter. Depending on the females we’re
breeding, our training and showing schedules, and the length of our waiting
lists, we usually plan litters anywhere from 6 to 18 months apart.
Please
read through our Adoption Agreement thoroughly
before completing your
application. Our
requirements regarding fencing, training, spay/neuter, nutrition, and life-time
care are very specific and may raise questions that we'd like you to ask when
submitting your application - thanks! In addition, please read through the
information on Natural Care and browse through some of the recommended links,
and then share your questions with me on your application.
Before completing an Adoption Application, please click here for Natural Care information, and then please click here to read our Adoption Agreement.
Before making a final decision about bringing a new Golden Retriever into your family, please click here to learn more about choosing a reputable breeder, understanding pedigrees and health certifications, and finding the perfect puppy for your home, family, and lifestyle!
AFTER you've browsed the Natural Care links, read our Adoption Agreement thoroughly, have read through the information on selecting a breeder and a puppy and the information on making a lifetime commitment to your new pet, please go to our Adoption Application by clicking here. We look forward to talking with you!