I have a whole new appreciation for breeders, especially the ones who breed English Golden Retrievers. I've owned dogs for 20+ years, and I never thought about the relationship the breeder has with mama and pups or the job that comes with rearing a litter of nine or ten babies. It can be a daunting task. At least it was in the beginning for me, my girl and her nine English Golden Retriever pups.
Here's what I didn't know. Responsible breeders spend thousands of dollars on health testing their dogs. They have to test hips, elbow, eyes and hearts and there are more tests to be done to make sure you are producing healthy babies. And even with all health clearances, there are still things that can go wrong.
I have a good friend who had a tragedy befall her a year ago with her English Golden. Her dog died on the operating table and her puppies were delivered via c-section. The dog did not have any history of health issues, and it was a complete surprise! And not only did my friend have to grieve the loss of her dog, but she also had the enormous task of caring for nine puppies. This is a round the clock job. She had to feed nine puppies every two hours for the first three weeks of their lives until they could start eating very watered down puppy food. It doesn't leave much time to sleep. I'm proud to say out of nine, eight survived and are healthy and thriving today in homes where they are loved and doted on. It speaks volumes about the breeder and the spirit of the English Golden Retriever to thrive even in the hardest conditions.
Just to give you a peek into the world of the breeder, I want to share some experiences with my first litter with Emma, my European Golden Retriever. She went into labor on a Saturday night. It took way too long for her to have her first baby (she had ten in there) and he came out stillborn. We tried to revive that baby for almost an hour but there was nothing we could do. After another two hours and no baby, I packed the car with my eleven year old son and a dear friend who wanted to help me and we headed an hour north for an emergency c-section at 1:30am. Nine babies were born healthy and thriving, and my poor girl was in a bit of shock with it being her first litter, having anethesia, and suddenly finding nine babies attached to her. She was a real trouper!
I spent the first week round the clock by their sides. I slept on the sofa beside them each night just to make sure Emma didn't accidentally roll onto one. I had to make sure she was eating enough to feed nine babies. And I had to weigh the babies twice a day to make sure they were all gaining weight. And of course we had to do the socialization things needed to make sure they developed into loving pups by playing with their paws and ears, etc. It was like having a newborn baby.
They developed diarrhea from the anti-biotics Emma had to take so I had to give them medicine several times a day. And I had to make sure Mama was healing and not developing any mammary issues or infections in her incision.
By the time they were four weeks old, they were healthy sassy babies. And they were a mess!! Try cleaning up poop four times a day times nine puppies who like to walk in it. That was a real treat! And there was more of it when they started eating kibble. It's almost impossible to prevent your house from smelling like a chicken coop with nine babies pooping four times a day. It can be done, but only by extreme due diligence around the clock.
It's not glamorous. My friends and I joke about how we have become poop specialists. But the entire experience was a labor of love. To see the joy on the faces of people who don't have a dog suddenly welcoming a loving, well adjusted English Golden into their homes is AWESOME!
These babies were such joys to me, my family and my puppy families, so I am not complaining in the least! It was a labor of love. But these are things I didn't know until I had the experience. So today, I am sending a huge shout out to all the breeders in the world to say THANK YOU for all you do for your beloved breeds and their babies. Our breed of choice is the English Golden Retriever and to those breeders whose dogs I personally have, you'll never know how much I truly appreciate you!
