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Thursday, October 20, 2005
JOHN ROLFE: ShopTalk
A golden opportunity
Copyright © 2005 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc. | ||||||
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Also on this page: MARY DICKINSON WOOD | |||||
Q: How did you start out? A: My former husband owned a golden retriever, Shamus. We had one when we were married, then a year later we bought a female for him, Chelsea. I've had a golden ever since. So I've been raising goldens since 1982, but in competition for the last five years. I think the biggest transition came with going from having one or two dogs at home to getting into showing. This has been the year of most progress, with the three Canadian champions, and we've got five dogs that earned field titles this year. Last summer Striker beat 110 dogs and puppies to win Best in Show at the Yankee Golden Retriever Club in Massachusetts. He got what's called a 4-Point Major, which was a first for us at his first show. That was pretty amazing. Q: How old is Striker? A: He just turned a year old this week. Q: So the business name is like Lady Godiva or Godiva Chocolates? A: Except that we put the L in, because the AKC (American Kennel Club) says Godiva is too common a name. Q: How much does a golden cost? A: We get around $1,200. You could go to a pet menagerie and get one for $900 to $1,000, but it wouldn't have any clearance or pedigrees. The dogs are just farmed in from puppy mills. Q: But they're registered? A: Yes, on limited registrations and spay/neuter contracts. Q: What are clearances? A: Health clearances are for hips, heart and eyes. All our dogs have them. I'm taking four dogs to Ashford, Conn., on Friday for their hip clearances. A cardiologist does the heart clearance and an ophthalmologist does the eye clearances. Q: How old are your puppies when they're sold? A: Around eight weeks. So they should be in obedience class by the time they're 10 weeks old. We like to have obedience classes set up before people come to pick up a puppy. A lot of people fall for a cute puppy face and then four or five months later when misbehavior comes out, they think it's the dog's fault when it's their own. Q: Are you self-taught? A: We have obedience-trained six dogs through Sherry Britton at Pet Positive, out in Gorham. I have not taken Striker to any classes - I've done all his own training. Lauren also works at Maranatha Kennels in Buxton, doing field training with June and Stephen Cawood. Lauren has achieved a higher level of training in field and hunting for hands-on experience. I have no experience in field yet. I do some of the show handling in which Lauren is not comfortable, so we complement each other's strengths and weaknesses. Q: Do you have to be certified or have a license? A: You don't need either one for training goldens. You do need to register with the state if you're keeping a kennel. Q: Are you particular about who you sell to? A: Yes. If it's to working people who aren't home during the day, we tell them sorry. We look for someone who'll be home at least half the day and for the dog to have access to regular exercise. Otherwise, a golden is going to be a hyper dog. Q: Who buys them? A: We get quite a few people from out of state, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, Massachusetts, as well as in state. And then there's a breeders' directory in every veterinarian's office in the state, so that's another resource. We advertise in the Press Herald and the Boston Globe. Q: Are the dogs insured? A: No, they're microchipped, with a chip the size of a grain of rice, that has a bar code with an identifying number that directs police or the vet to the owner. It's a great help with lost or stolen pets. But we keep a close eye on them anyway.
Q: Does the chip cost a lot? A: Not much - from $15 to $40. They don't even have to be put to sleep - a vet tech can insert the chip. Q: How many dogs do you keep at the house? A: Only four. Striker, Emma, Blossom and Lola, a 5-month-old puppy. And four at Lauren's house. Willow, Kylee, Taima and Eris, a 5-month-old pup. We have a half-dozen dogs we travel with to shows, but they don't stay with us as family dogs. They're out on boarding contracts with local families because we don't believe in kenneling dogs. This way we have access to them for shows and training. Q: How does that work financially? A: We pay the family after a dog has had a litter. They can be bred once a year after age 2, but only with all health clearances and only for a couple of litters. We breed the females only to American champions. We compensate the family for all the food and vet bills and a little extra. We can pick up the dogs to take to shows, and some people have them stay with us when they go on vacation. It's good to have the dogs stay used to our hands, too. Q: It sounds like a real mix of business and pleasure. A: It's certainly more a pleasure. But this has been a very unusual year for females not getting pregnant - this is a year of losing money! The puppy money that's come in for the two litters this year has gone out to pay the handlers who do the dog shows with us. But we've had other years that were great. Q: It doesn't sound as if the money is the biggest thing . . . A: No, a lot of it is pride and part of it is ego, too. We really love the dogs.
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