The beautiful babies we are blessed with are extremely important to us and it is our responsibility to make sure they are placed with the right families. We appreciate you taking the time to read through our puppy information. If interested in our pups, it is beneficial to read through the majority of the information we have made available.
We know that there are many different options available to you when it comes to finding your new family member. It is important that you find the best puppy AND the best breeder for your family. You should have a relationship with your puppy’s breeder even after you have brought your new baby home. It is important to us to make sure that our puppies are healthy and that we provide the support that you need. All of our puppies come with a 3-year health guarantee. In addition, we are available to help you in any way we can with advice, emotional support, and help tips. Once you have one of our babies, you are part of the family, and we are always available to you.
Just as there are human family reunions, we have bi-annual play days for our fur-family reunions. We invite all of our puppy families; provide a safe space for all the dogs to play, swim, and lounge; and have a BBQ for the adults. It truly is a great time!
Making sure that our babies get the best start in life concerning care and health is extremely important to us. In addition, it is important that we find each of our babies a family that will love them forever and enjoy all of their amazing qualities. If you have not yet done a great deal of reading about this breed, I recommend you check out some of the articles on this site which include About the Golden Retriever, American vs. English, Golden Puppies – What to Expect, and Gender Differences.
About Our Puppies
We make sure the parents of each litter are health tested and well cared for. In addition, each and every one of them are a part of our family. Our puppies are purebred, AKC registered, and fully pedigreed.
Adoption Requirements
1. Each of our puppies go home with limited AKC registration. This means that you will be required to spay/neuter your puppy when he/she is the appropriate age. We allow the pup to be up to 24 months old before he/she is required to be spayed/neutered.
2. If you take one of our puppies home, you are required to keep in touch at least once every eight weeks for the first year of the puppy’s life. We feel this communication is important. It allows us to make sure the puppy is doing well and also keeps the lines of communication open which raises the chance that if you have a question or you need advice you know that we are here to help. This requires you to join our PRIVATE Facebook group. ONLY those that have our puppies are allowed in this group. The notifications when other people post updates often reminds you to post your own. We truly care about our puppies and are not a breeder that hands you a puppy and then never cares about what happens to it again. – Honestly, this is one reason many of our puppy parents choose us.
3. If for ANY reason, you cannot keep your puppy/dog, it MUST be returned to us. You cannot adopt the puppy/dog out to another family or take it to a shelter.
4. For the safety of the puppy/dog, our contract states that our puppies/dogs – once they have gone to their new homes – cannot be transported in the back of a truck or open vehicle without restraint. All puppies (and preferably adults) should be transported inside of a vehicle. As a previous vet tech, I can tell you that every owner of every dog that ever came in from road rash or injury from jumping out of a vehicle said “I do not know what happened, he/she has never tried to jump out before!” We want to save you and your fur-family member the pain of this experience.
Our Puppy Care
The first, and most important section of our puppy information page is probably the care of our puppies. Our puppy care is of utmost importance as far as we are concerned. Since our puppies will eventually be a part of another family, it is important to know how each puppy was cared for before going to their new homes.
From the Beginning – Care of Dam and Sire
We work diligently to make sure that we produce quality puppies. This starts with the dam and sire. Our adult dogs are well-bred, healthy, health tested, have wonderful personalities, and are truly loved. In addition, they are all up to date on veterinary care, heartworm prevention, and flea prevention. We also work to ensure that they are on a well balanced diet and are given beneficial supplements. When it comes to having puppies, we first plan the litters we hope to produce. Since we have more than one boy, we play musical rooms to make sure we get the pairing we are hoping for.
Once the dam has completed her heat and has had contact with a male, it is a waiting game for 23 to 35 days. At times, we will choose to do a blood test at 26 days to confirm pregnancy. Nonetheless. we also like to see the pups via sonogram between 35 and 40 days of gestation. This allows us to see the babies to make sure they are developing normally. Then we have to wait the remaining 24 to 30 days after confirmation of the pregnancy until the puppies are born.
Once the dam goes into labor, I am by her side from start to finish. I often help with delivery, provide support to momma dog, weigh puppies, put on new puppy id collars, and start the puppy records. The detailed care of both the dam and the puppies is my primary focus.
Supplemental Bottle Feeding
If our momma dog has more than 5 puppies, we supplemental bottle feed. We do this to maintain the healthiest dam and puppies that we can. Even though a female dog can nurse more than 6 puppies, she often cannot do so without losing weight. In addition, the more puppies there are, the more they have to “fight” for their “place in line.” I believe that supplemental bottle feeding is the best answer for the fur-babies. For the first two weeks of life, puppies are supplemented with a bottle twice daily. At weeks three through seven weeks, the pups are supplemented once daily.
De-worming
Our babies are first dewormed at two weeks old. Their deworming schedule is consistent from this point until they go home.
Care through Socialization and Puppy Play
Multiple times a day we love on, snuggle, hold, and touch the puppies.
Socialization and learning the basics to going outside to potty are also important to us. Once the pups are 5 weeks old, we give them access to a doggie door. We introduce them to using the dog door. At this point, they truly enjoy it as it gives them the ability to run around outside in a safe area. Nonetheless, we are very careful to be mindful of the outside temperatures. If it is too hot or too cold for the little ones, we will close the dog door at appropriate times. Once they hit 7 weeks, they have constant access to the dog door as they are smart enough to come in to get warm or cool off.
Before Going Home
All of our puppies come with a health guarantee, a full vet exam, vaccinations appropriate to their age, microchipped, dewormed, and well socialized. We require that our veterinarian see each of our puppies before they go to their new home. It is important that each puppy goes home with a clean bill of health. We take the puppies to the vet a day or two before pick-up for their nose-to-tail exam, a fecal exam, and make sure they get their first vaccines. In turn, pick-up cannot be until after this date. We do not let our pups go home without a full check-up.
Cost of Adoption
Another commonly asked puppy information question concerns out adoption fee. The overall adoption fee for our puppies is $2300. We do not charge more for color, gender, or origin (English or American). The waiting list deposit is $300 and deducted from the overall adoption fee.
Picking a New Fur-Baby
Picking out a puppy has changed greatly in the last 20 years. This is because breeder knowledge, commonality of puppy viruses, and the quality of puppies bred for “pet” homes has also changed. Today, many reputable breeders offer their puppies to families via their website. Choosing a puppy off of a website through the use of photos is now common practice. If you are looking at pups through a reputable breeder, this is a safe and “normal” way to pick out your new family member.
We offer two different ways to choose your puppy. We prefer the first way as we have had great results. Nonetheless, we offer a second way for those who are not interested in our knowledge. Here at Regency Ranch, we try to go one step further. To help us find the puppy that fits each family best, a questionnaire is sent to our up-and-coming owners via email. This usually takes place when the litter hits 5 weeks. This questionnaire also asks you which puppies you are most drawn to in the photos. This helps us try to pair the one of the puppies you like physically with a corresponding puppy whose personality best fits your lifestyle. At 7 weeks of age, we perform the aptitude test and will then individually call each person on the litter list (in the order they signed up) to help match them with their puppy.
Choosing Option 2
Although most people prefer to be placed with a puppy through the aptitude test, we allow you to choose your puppy just from the photos. However, there is a stipulation. Those families that want us to pair them with their puppy get paired BEFORE you get to choose from the remaining puppies based only on looks. Once we have paired the other puppies, we will contact you and let you know which puppies have not been paired. You then get to choose a puppy from those still available. If everyone else in the litter is paired by the aptitude test, then you will automatically be placed with the remaining puppy. When you fill out the application it will ask you if you prefer to be paired through aptitude or if you would prefer to choose your puppy based on photos alone.
Considerations
Choosing a puppy is an important decision. Here, we make it a little easier with the puppy aptitude test. Nonetheless, you have to figure out what you want for us to help you find the right pup for your family. This decision should first include gender and personality needs. Other considerations could be breed origin and color.
Personality
Figuring out the puppy personality you are looking for is relatively easy. First you have to consider your lifestyle and second, your experience with puppies. As an example, a more confident puppy is a good fit if you have an active family with large breed puppy experience. However, if you are an active family with no puppy experience, you would need a puppy with a more submissive personality. We help you find the best personality fit for your family by giving each puppy an aptitude test before going home.
Gender
You will also need to figure out the gender you are looking for. To be honest, until I was 14, my family owned ALL female dogs. The reason for this is because my mother grew up with only female dogs. To this day, my grandmother will ONLY have female dogs. However, both females and male have their benefits. Some breeders will tell you that there is really no difference between genders. This is and is not true. The reality is that each pup has its own personality, no matter the gender.
The biggest difference between genders shows up when pups hit sexual maturity. After spay/neuter, the differences are often reduced. The fact that males are a bit more rambunctious (and are true people-pleasers) and female can be a little more protective (and sometimes a bit less attentive) are the main traits to consider. Both genders are easy to train and want to please their owners…this is just a Golden quality. If you would like a more in-depth discussion concerning gender differences, you can find additional information on the “Gender Differences” page.
Reserving a Puppy
Over the last couple of years, we have not had puppies available to anyone who is not on the waiting list. However, if we do have puppies still available once those on the waiting list have chosen, we will be sure to make a notification. The “Current Litters” pages will give you access to all of the puppies photos.
To adopt one of our babies, you will be required to fill out an application and place a deposit. You must fill out the application and put down the deposit. If for any reason, you are not approved, your reservation fee will be returned. Your name will not be placed on the waiting list until the application is approved and the reservation fee is received. The reservation allows us to hold your place on the waiting list and reserve a puppy, it is non-refundable.
Once we receive your application, it will be reviewed. We will contact you if we have any additional questions and/or to let you know the status of your application.
Watching the Puppies Grow
Once a week we take puppy photos and update the website. Nonetheless, I usually post at least one adorable photo or video on our facebook page during the week. These consist of the consistent handling of the puppies, the pups playing with their “puppy gym,” or litter interaction.
Puppy Pick-Up
Our puppies are ready to go home between the ages of 8 and 9 weeks of age. We do not let pups go home before this time as our pups must go to the vet at 8 weeks of age for their full checkup and vaccinations. When looking at the “Current Litter(s)” page the “ready-to-go” (RTG) date will be posted. This is the first day the puppy will be available for pick up. I usually have 3 days reserved and available for pick up. You must pick up your puppy on one of these days.
If you are contacted about a puppy and during the pick-up dates you are not available to come and get your new baby, you will be asked to wait for the next litter. This is in place to encourage new families to pick up their babies on time. Puppies are the most malleable between the ages of 8 and 12 weeks. This means that the grow the strongest bonds and are easier to stress during these weeks. Puppies in a litter should all go to their new homes within a day or two of each other to minimize the stress on each puppy.
No Additional Stops
The safety of our puppies and our property is important to consider when it is time to pick up your baby. When it is time to come out, we ask that before coming here you do not go to another breeder’s house; a sports park that allows dogs, a park/playground; PetsMart/Petco; a dog park; a humane society/shelter; around another unvaccinated dog/puppy, etc.
I know this may seem extreme, but we have more than just one puppy to worry about. We cannot risk communicable disease exposure to our pups or the property. Many doggie viruses can live in the ground for up to six years. Additionally, these viruses are transmittable through clothing or shoes if an affected puppy is handled, or you step in infected feces. Unfortunately, all viruses have a gestation period that is 3 to 10 days in length meaning that not all pups show infection even if they are carrying the disease. We do not want to risk exposure to our pups. We truly appreciate your understanding in this matter and hope that you can appreciate the fact that we care so much for our babies.
Visiting Puppies
For the safety of our puppies, we do not allow anyone to view the puppies in person before the pups are eight weeks of age. This helps to protect the puppies from outside viruses. The health and well-being of the puppies is our main concern. If you do not feel comfortable adopting a puppy without meeting him/her, you may need to find a breeder who is not as protective of their babies. Yes, there are breeders that allow visitors at 5 or 6 weeks of age after they give their puppies their first vaccine. However, according to the AVMA, vaccines given before the age of 8 weeks are of no benefit to the pup’s immune system. In actuality, some studies have shown that vaccines this young can stunt immune reaction due to the immature immune system of the puppy.
Before the 8 week vaccine, the antibodies provided through milk by their dam is what supports their immune system. Puppies in general do not have strong immune systems and we see no reason to tempt fate. Allowing people to come “look,” would result in a higher the chance of virus exposure. Without visitors, this risk is substantially reduced.
Browsing
Additionally, we do not allow browsers. This is also for the safety of our puppies. This means those people who want to come out and “look.” Unfortunately, we are not willing to put our puppies at risk because someone wants to come and see them. Additionally, most “lookers” are not ready to take a puppy home. Instead, they are considering, at some point, to bring home a puppy. Nonetheless, it is rarely the day they are visiting. This means more “lookers” per litter and causes risk to the pups.
In our opinion, this puts our puppies at a higher risk of exposure. We do not want our front door to be a revolving door to those who want to see and hold puppies. For that, people are going to have to go to a pet store or another breeder. I apologize if this ruffles anyone’s feathers, but our puppies and their health are our top priority. Those who take our puppies home expect us to to care for them. We would be doing these families a disservice if we risked the health of their puppy.
Please follow our Facebook page for continuous updates on what is going on here at Regency Ranch.
You can see our Dams and Sires on the “Our Goldens” pages.
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