It is hard to not want a dog, or fall in love with any and every dog.. the military working dog at the front gate, the collie from lassie, the Australian shepherd spending the day at the barn with its owner, or king charles poised in photos, etc.

Once you realize you want a dog, the next thing you need to realize is you need to pick the right dog, and right way to get a dog that best fits you and your family. This is adding a family member to your home and should not be taken lightly.

As a dog trainer I cannot stress the importance of finding the right breed for your household, finding an ethical breeder, or going about the ways to adopt or rescue in a smart manner and fully understanding the responsibility and work that comes with getting a dog.

So how did I select my breed: My husband and I got married in 2014 and after a few months we wanted to add a dog to our family, that Thanksgiving we watched the Westminster (right after the Macy’s parade) we were looking for a medium sized dog, and as each dog comes out they give a brief description, we created a notes section of all dogs we thought we liked, from there we researched each breed to learn: health, trainability, grooming maintenance, etc. We did a lot of this using the YouTube Dogs101 and then typing the breed. Another suggestion: is going to the AKC website, typing in the breed you want reading the description. As we watched the westminister the golden came out….and we simutaneously said “I always wanted a golden retriever” we did research on the breed as mentioned above then started out journey in finding an ethical and reputable breeder which led us to Oakleaf Goldens and the start to all of this….Sadie.

This is a million dollar question and something I am desperately trying to make easier for potential buyers of well bred dogs.

1st let me break a myth for all my ones who have issues with breeding: there is a big difference of puppy mills/backyard breeders than ethical and reputable breeders I will mention on this website.

Ethical and Reputable Breeders are not the reason for shelters and rescues and here is the quickest way I can prove this: how many purebred dogs are in the shelters, very few, and unfortunately the ones that are in there are due to backyard breeding not doing the health testing, and careful selection in breeding to avoid behavioral issues. The purebreds you will find in the shelters are due to backyard, puppy mills and irresponsible breeding.

Ways to verify someone is an ethical and responsible breeder:

1. AKC recognized breeder of merit

2. Health testing completed on both parents (for example the golden retriever club of America releases what testing should be done to conduct breeding, and the ethical breeders are doing those testing prior to breeding. If their dogs do not pass the test they do not get bred.

3. They have bloodlines that are proven for golden retrievers seeing on the front of their pedigrees we can see how many ancestors were champions, grand champions etc. those titles in front of their names on pedigrees show their beauty and structure and that they were bred to the AKC standard, the beauty of them is only one part I consider, I then look on the back of the names do I see things like TD (therapy dog) JH (junior Hunter), Rally Excellent, CD (companion dog in obedience) etc. that shows me temperament and trainability within the bloodline.

There will normally be a waitlist, they will be selective where there puppies go, they will have a contract controlling spay and neuter and rights as well as offering a place to return the dog to in case rehoming become necessary.

The quality of dog and the foundation you get when it comes from an ethical responsible breeder who truly cares about preserving their breed is something truly magical: the crate training is easier because the breeder kept the puppies in clean environments, the training is easier because of the temperament and careful breeding selection and vetting you to ensure you were a good fit for that litter.

Red Flags on Breeding:

1. Breeding the same bitch within the same year! (this is more than likely a puppy mill)

2. Puppies being whelped and kept outside within the first couple weeks of birth.