Recently I spent  a considerable amount of time helping a family who had gotten a fabulous English Cream puppy, only to find out it was aggressive!  This is not a characteristic of Goldens, let alone a cream Golden; so I asked a lot of questions to find out what had happened.  My conclusion: Fancy Puppy Mill with poor socialization.  They had been told that there had never been an aggression problem before....but upon further inquiry from me, I actually found out they had gotten a puppy from the same breeder they had to return for aggression as well.  Imagine, no aggressiveness ever before and now, miraculously twice to the same family?

Not everyone will want a puppy from me.  Nor will everyone fit my standards.  I am happy to help out in either case.  Please at the very least familiarize yourself with the Breeding Glossary Page, the Breeding Philosophy page, and this new page, now deemed important enough to get its own space rather than be the bottom of my litters page.

Backyarders are generally in the newspaper with no testing for cheap prices....these are almost all Americans, but we are now beginning to see ill bred creams as well.  PUPPY MILLS are wretched places!!!  Though some may have nice facilities; a really cheap English Cream is either from poor lines or a poor breeding situation.  A good litter never goes begging, a good breeder never has to make bargains to move dogs.  A puppy in a new situation should be shy.  A puppy in its familiar surroundings - say the puppy mill, should be confident and curious to meet you.  Beware the overly bold or the overly timid puppy.  If you see stall after stall of dogs/puppies on dirt floors or in nice fancy buildings and your heart tells you beware; please carefully consider this!

FINAL TEST of proper socialization; Hold the puppy like a baby on its back.  Does it stay in your arms contently or does it scramble to get out of this position?  This will be an easy give away for someone who has not properly socialized their animals.

Updated 10/08  * I realized the stages descriptions were really outlined more specifically to the American puppies and as (so thankfully) I am only doing the sweet English Cream babies I had better update the issues.

Please understand that I am committed to each individual puppy as much as I am to each individual dog in my pack.  And....I am the pack leader! Thank you Cesar Milan.

I am a devoted Hobby Breeder.  This means; this is what I do!  I don't go running off to work 8 or 9 hours a day and then come home and clean the kennel and play with the guys.  This is my job.  Some years I make fine money and get paid to do my job, some years I don't and I do the job nonetheless!  To properly care for puppies, they need to be played with, cleaned up after, and socialized ALL THROUGHOUT the day during their intial first weeks!  A devoted hobby breeder will be 'custom' raising these very special babies just so that they are the perfect family pet.

I am present for every whelping!  And I mean PRESENT.  Most of the time the Moms do the work and are fine.  Sometimes, however, they need an assist.  Maybe they need encouragement.  Maybe they need some special support.  Maybe they need intervention.  I am there for it all.

From the first moment the puppies are born, I am handling them.  If its nighttime (and they just love to keep me up with them all night to have puppies!), its quiet and just me and the dogs.  By first daylight, however, my whole family is excited to see the puppies.  My children handle the puppies from the first few hours.  It is very important that the puppies get the proper amount of rest and play during the whole day.  It is also important that the Mom be carefully nurtured and supported through this process.

At first, much like human babies, they just eat and sleep.  A Golden Retriever puppy can wag its tail in the first 24 hours and you've never seen anything so cute!  For the first week I handle the puppies each individually.  I pick them up, I play with each of their paws, I fidget with their ears, I blow in their faces.  My son who is 9 can hold them on his lap with my assistance.  My teenage daughter can handle them independantly.  NO OUTSIDERS can come into my kennel during the blackout phase!  This protects the puppies and is a trust issue between me and the Moms.

After the first week to nine days, they open their eyes.  We are still playing with them for hours on end several times a day.  They are starting to scramble around.  They now know our smell and associate that with getting held and cuddled.  They are learning to trust people, look to people for comfort, and are learning to be handled with confidence.  This is not something you can hire someone to do - it requires love!  There are also some clinically proven stimuli that I do as well, and you can find it if you really look on the internet, but why give one of my puppy's special advantages to another breeder?  They can look it up for themselves!

From weeks two to four they are rapidly growing.  They are becoming confident on their feet.  They are beginning to establish pecking order in their intial attempts at play.  It is natural and important to their development that they mouth each other and paw pat each other during this time.  It is also critical for me to see who are the precocious little ones and who are the 'stay out of it' ones.  There are a variety of personalities in the group and each personality belongs in a certain type of family lifestyle and I will want to weigh in on this at selection time.  Far better to get the right personality for your household than the coat you think is the cutest!  *CREAM UPDATE - The cream babies are so much calmer and sweet, I have yet to really have a precocious little one.  While there is still a range of personality, they are all very laid back and I would have confidence on every single puppy being appropriate for a household with very small children.  See the testimonial page and the 'That's an English Golden' page!

At four weeks old, you as the future puppy family, have the first opportunity to see/pick your baby.  Picks are made in the order of deposit on my waiting list.  I can tell all the puppies apart (in almost all cases), but you cannot.  When you have made your pick, the puppy will get a unique collar to mark it as SOLD and unavailable for others to select from.  IF there is any availability of puppies at this time, I will e-mail pics to prospective families first - there will be no 'window shopping'.  They will get their heads talked off (just like you did when you first called me!) and please understand that though we are just talking casually, I am really interviewing you and looking for the key elements I need to hear in order for you to be considered as getting a puppy.

IF I have availability at four weeks - you CANNOT just dash over and pick out a puppy. *CREAM UPDATE - The chances are quite slim that I would even have availability at four weeks.

IF you have been at a farm, park, gathering of animals, or large pet store recently - you CANNOT dash over and pick out a puppy.  If you have even considered buying a puppy from a 'puppy store', please just don't even bother calling me.

IF you have been to another litter recently - you will need to tell me, wait a week, wear different clothes and SHOES (and I may ask that you take them off anyway when in my kennel room).

This is for my babies protection and the comforting assurance of those who have selected and fallen in love with their babies.  There are NO exceptions to this.  I would rather lose a sale than lose a puppy!

From 4 to 6 weeks the puppies are weaning.  They are starting solid (albeit soggy) foods.  Mom dog no longer cleans up after them once they start eating the mess has REALLY begun.  This stage separates the devoted breeders from the backyarders as they are either loving the puppies MORE than hating cleaning up 4 times+ a day OR they are leaving the puppies in yucky mess.  This will be key in your housebreaking ease!  Does your breeder know how to define a den and a dump?  Are they gradually and purposefully directing where to go and how to 'live a clean life'?  They are still getting handled more and more as they are totally cute and fun.  They are pouncer bouncers and notice a lot about their environment.  *CREAM UPDATE - At this point the the little babies are carefully observing each other and the corale.  They are taking in things in their brains and hoping I will come along and cuddle them rather than seeing what kinds of mess they can make!!  Whew, much easier on me.

At six weeks, whether permitting, they go outside. This means a little at a time and ALWAYS inside at night.  This is usually only the case for spring or early fall litters.  I have a devoted area in my back yard for puppies only.  This is the isolation kennel.  This lets them roam AND be safe.  IF the weather is not suitable, they will be indoors playing.  This is again another reason for being a devoted breeder.  An inside litter of ten puppies has a lot of energy.  If they cannot go outside, they will need to have a direction and outlet for that energy.  How anyone could do it and not be around for most of the day is anyone's guess.  This is also a good reason that 'a few carefully planned' litters a year is important.  How anyone could provide the proper cleanliness and outlet for all this energy with multiple litters at once is anyone's guess too.  Though I do know the few and far between breeder who could do it with a great kennel setup!  *CREAM UPDATE - As they don't bounce off the walls at all like the Americans, they don't have to go outside.  They are so content to play calmly with each other and toys and sleep peacefully, they stay in their nice little area.  A litter of 9 or so English puppies are contented to play in their 20SF area happily are rarely need more space.  We take them out individually or in pairs to play in the house so they are exposed to new environments and smells.  They DON"T jump all over me.  They DON'T bounce off the walls.  They DON'T destroy your shoes and shoelaces...though they might nibble on a toe until you tell them to stop.

From 6 to 8 weeks the socialization issue becomes critical.  This is why you can always tell someone who does not care in the least about puppies if they are willing to let them go at 6 weeks.  Sure they are weaned, but the Mom dog has not started to teach them proper behaviour.  At six weeks, nearly to the day the Mom's demeanor with the puppy changes.  This is nature's way.  Mom now very tenderly and yet with a visible display says 'NO'.  Maybe a puppy was too rambunctious.  Maybe they tugged on her tail after she moved it time and again.  Whatever the issue she deems as correctable, its only at this time that she will begin to show the kids who's boss and what's allowed.  *CREAM UPDATE - The English Moms are so sweet, they have trouble really enforcing the weaning.  I rarely see any form of correction from Mom whatsoever any more.  Snowy will hint at them around 7 weeks to stop chasing her around to nurse, but usually caves in.  Chloe - I've never even heard the first suggestion by her for a baby to stop a behaviour.  The Moms are sweet and the babies are sweet; no need for much enforcement.

It is also at this time that the puppies learn socialization from one another.  Too rough playing results in a yelp (which is the universal dog language for 'STOP').  At this stage the puppies are 'mouthy'.  This is how they initiate play and as they don't have hands to wrestle, they use their mouths. This should not be confused with biting and young children who go into a kennel should be told about this.  The important thing for human socialization at this point is to know that when playing with a puppy; 1) you should always stop and walk away if it gets rough, and 2) you should NEVER engage with your puppy by putting your hand, finger, whatever in their mouth.  They are teething and your finger feels good in their mouth, but it sets a very bad precedent.  Mouth playing is for puppy on puppy.  The same goes for tug of war games.  This is for puppy on puppy.  If you the human want to debate who is the pack leader, by all means play tug of war.  But if you want to be decided that you are always in charge, never play tug of war.

Eight weeks.  Finally!  Puppy goes home.  If I have done my job right, you should be house broken in a couple of weeks (and there are tricks to this which I will share with you in take home instructions).  Puppy will have been dewormed several times (an ounce of prevention) and given its first shots.  Second and third shots happen at 9 and 12 weeks respectively.  If the vet's office has had any parvo (or other) disease lately, I will give the shots.  I am glad to have them looked over by a vet and get any care they need, but I absolutely will weigh the need for professional review with the possibility of exposing puppy to something when they are so vulnerable.

I will want you to take puppy to your vet right away.  I will want you to call them first to make sure they have not had any contagion.  I will want you to hold puppy carefully in your protection and NOT let it interact with any dog you don't know the disposition of or the health/shot record of.  I will want you to expose the puppy in a supervised manner with 100 people (and by this point between other puppy families and a few carefully supervised visits by neighborhood kids they will have been exposed to about 40 already, its not that huge a number,100) and 100 animals in the first 6 months of life.  Do not go to the park with puppy until it has had ALL three sets of shots.  Do not jog with puppy until they are a year old.  If you don't like your vet, get a new one!  Call me if you have any questions, problems, concerns, or want to tell me how much you adore jr.

Please read the puppy training page!!!  There are reasons why I have catered the training tips to English puppies.  This is how they think and how they respond.  If you are having troubles with you puppy - I am always glad to help with ideas, but I can't help if you don't communicate with me.  Puppies do not exert self control unless you show them how.  They do not have hands to explore, so they use their mouths.  When a littermate gets too frisky they will yelp or growl to get them so stop.  It is your job as a puppy family to teach your puppy what is acceptable behavior and how you expect them to compose themselves. Young children should never be left unsupervised with my puppies or anyone else's!!  If your puppy is having constant accidents after 4 weeks of training - tightly roll up a newspaper and hit yourself over the head for failing to recognize when puppy needs to go. 

Crate training and puppy kindergarten are a must!  If you cannot afford to spend a minimum of 500 a year on food, toys, fun, and minimal vet needs, you cannot afford to own my puppy or anyone else's. 

Lastly - If I wasn't wordy enough here is a fantastic and REALLLLY long article of canine behavior in regards to socialization   Behavior article  Actually that article may even make me sound shy!LOL