Our Kennel
While living at home on the Homestead, we believed that to enhance the education & development of each of the children, they had been taught & intimately involved, throughout their youth, by rotating the responsibility of caring for & assisting in raising our Golden Retriever Dogs & Puppies, including, feeding, watering & exercising the dogs.
Now that all the "kids" are "grown up" with families of their own, or, as in Hannah's case, is so busy & involved in many activities, college & employment, I am truly enjoying the full care for all of my Goldens & pups along with the full management of my kennel. My husband, Mike, also assists me with some of the on going projects & kennel maintenance.
I handle the day-to-day care, feeding, training, & exercising of all the dogs & puppies. When our grandchildren, who all live locally, come over, they can't wait to spend time with the dogs & especially, with the pups. they are particularly helpful getting pups ready & 'set up' for many of the photos that are continually updated on my web site!!
KAYLLA (9 1/2) & EMILY (7 1/2)
'SNOW BUNNIES'
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I handle the record keeping, coordinating of breeding schedules, monitoring & assisting deliveries, as well as, general training & all client contact, including introducing my lovely Goldens & darling puppies to them. My favorite role, however, is that of “Midwife” to the mothers before & during delivery. I make sure they are as relaxed as possible & I am there to assist to be sure each puppy is cleaned off immediately, breathing well, warm & nursing, as soon as possible. It is a great joy to see life begin each & every time. Always a miracle!!! I begin working with the puppies & get to know their distinguishing characteristics & personalities. Then I start the process of matching each puppy with just the right family & helping each one with as much information as possible to ease the transition for the new puppy & its family. There is a lot to do each day to ensure the health, growth & development of each of the puppies I have in my nursery!!!
Golden’s have on average, between 5- 11 puppies, so keeping the puppy areas cleaned & maintained is a continual job. Seeing that the pups have plenty of fresh water & a proper feeding schedule requires regular attention from me. The mothers, too, need special attention of water, diet & exercise. I closely supervise this process to be sure all pups are getting enough nursing time or supplemental feedings. Some pups in a litter are more assertive eaters in the beginning, so it is very important to see that no one pup is left out!
From the time my pups are born, there is no shortage of love, attention & handling given, not only from our own family members, particularly the Grandchildren, but also from friends, who are always anxious to know when a new litter has arrived. My pups are exposed to a variety of sights, sounds & smells throughout their stay here, which I feel, contributes to their calm & consistent temperament. My pups are all quite content to go with the flow of a busy family life-style. They have been around children & adults, cats, other animals & a variety of situations before joining their permanent family.
Because of the frequent “people” contact they receive – my pups are more “voice” responsive & not so much “litter dependent” – preferring interaction with people instead of just their littermates or being a “loner” & developing an independent streak. I work with them to become good listeners & to respond quickly to my encouraging voice & commands. My young pups are already “coming” & “sitting” well, long before they are ready to head for their new homes. Because of my special methods of raising, handling & training them, my Golden pups are not nervous or high-strung; are very willing to please & are extremely easy to train. As the pup’s Breeder, I will have laid the foundation stone. Once they arrive in their new home, the pup’s subsequent progress and their final outcome depends upon each new owner. Longer-term training is usually a rather smooth process, particularly, if folks continue to build upon the ground work I will have laid in the puppy’s early weeks. Following the simple recommendations provided throughout my information that I make available for each client will ensure greater success.
Occasionally I hear back from new puppy owners with additional training questions or situations that may arise. There are so many theories about training young dogs, often from well-meaning family & friends offering advice. New owners can sometimes become overwhelmed & confused about how best to proceed. I try to give 'follow through' assistance & often refer these folks back to material previously given that may not have made as much sense to them in the earliest stages of the pup’s development but rather is more applicable with their current situations.
The folks on my "Reference Listing" have generously volunteered their time & experience, making themselves available to assist new prospective puppy owners, as well as, those who have recently acquired one (or more) of my Emanuel Homestead Goldens.
There may come a time when you may need to utilize some specific recommended training methods & training tools that I can offer. I hope it will be encouraging to know that I have never dealt with a scenario that – with a bit of extra specially focused effort & consistency by the owner & their family members, that their frustrating situation did not finally work its way through to a positive & most rewarding solution for both them & their Golden. Remember that the Golden Retriever is a slow-maturing breed, so enjoy ‘puppy hood’ and be patient & consistent with your young one!! Your Golden will capture countless hearts with his/her expressive, smiling face and happy; wagging tail, ensuring that you never regret your choice!!