QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF.....Are you prepared to:

• Take full responsibility for a golden and all its needs for the next 10-15 years?  This is not a task that can be left to children!

• Invest the considerable time, money and patience that it takes to train the dog to be a good companion?  (This does not happen by itself!)

• Always keep the dog safe, no running loose, riding in the back of an open pick up truck , being chained outside, or left in a crate for hours

• Live with shedding, retrieving, drooling and high activity for the next 10-15 years

• Spend the money it takes to provide proper veterinary care, including but certainly not limited to:  vaccines, heartworm testing and preventative, spaying or neutering, annual check ups?

• Become educated about the proper care of the breed,  correct training and how to groom?  (There are many good books available, invest the time to read a few.)

• Keep the breeder informed and up to date on the dog's accomplishments and problems?

• Take your questions to the breeder or other appropriate professional BEFORE they become problems that are out of hand?

• Have the patience to accept (and enjoy) the trials of Golden puppyhood, which can last for three years, and each stage afterwards into old age?

• Continue to accept responsibility for the dog, despite inevitable life changes, such as new babies, kids going off to school, moving, or returning to work?

If you answered yes to the above questions, then you are ready to take on the challenge of a new Golden Retriever puppy.  Congratulations!  Please continue to the next section.

If you answered no, then you may want to wait awhile until your circumstances change before acquiring a companion, or you may want to consider another breed of dog.

Questions courtesy of Sunshine Golden Retrievers, 2002