Q: Are Hank & Sadie current on all of their shots?

A: Yes. Hank & Sadie are cared for by Countryside Veterinary Clinic here in Appleton. They are current on all shots/checkups, and Hank & Sadie each get a monthly dose of Simparica Trio, which prevents heartworm, roundworm, hookworm, fleas, and ticks.

Q: What food do Hank & Sadie eat?

A: We feed Hank & Sadie Diamond Adult Maintenance. It’s in the yellow bag. For us, dog food comes down to three factors; high protein, high fat, low moisture. Anything that isn’t protein or fat is either filler or an additive that can be purchased separately as a supplement that the dog doesn’t need in every meal.

Q: Where do you go to get Hank & Sadie’s dog food?

A: You can find Diamond Maintenance at major pet stores, online, and other stores like Tractor Supply, but we buy it at Fleet Farm. Fleet Farm is the best place to go for all of your dog’s supplies, whether it’s food, treats, bowls, crates, toys, leashes, etc. The selection is as good as any pet store and they often run 10% off anything in the store discounts. That’s a great time to stock up!

Q: What food will you be sending home with the puppy?

A: The puppies will be fed on breastmilk for as long as Sadie will allow. Typically, around four weeks of age, Sadie will start to become disinterested in all of those sharp little teeth biting on her all day and night. At that point, we’ll make a soft solution of dry puppy food and water, then slowly decrease the amount of water until the puppies are eating dry kibble. The puppy food we use is Diamond Puppy, which is in a purple bag. Again, selecting a puppy food is all about high protein and fat, and low moisture. You want protein to feed your puppy’s energy and fat to help your puppy grow. Dollar for dollar, we have found that Diamond is the best value. Another one we’d recommend is 4Health, but that is only found at Tractor Supply. There are websites you can use to compare ingredients in pet foods to decide what is right for you and your puppy. When you really look into the ingredients, you’ll find that a lot of the brands that are “most recommended by vets", etc. are lower in both protein & fat, and higher in moisture, than lower cost options like Diamond.

Q: Do you get paid by Diamond to advertise their dog food?

A: We don’t get paid by anyone to recommend anything. What we endorse is what we have used and honestly recommend based on 25 years of Golden Retriever ownership & breeding.

Q: What supplies do you recommend?

A: You’re going to want a hair brush, and we recommend the Furminator. If you figure out a way to monetize Golden Retriever hair, let us know. We use slow-feed bowls when puppies get old enough to use them. Puppies tend to eat so fast that they’ll occasionally throw up what they just ate. A slow-feed bowl prevents that. You’ll want to make sure your puppy has fresh water, and Golden Retrievers like to swim, so start out with a smaller bowl or gravity-fed watering system that prevents puppy from splashing water all over the room (Hank used to love to do this). Also, you’ll want a bottle of Zymox Otic 1.0% Hydrocortisone solution. This is for treating ear infections. If your dog develops an ear infection, you’ll want the medicine on hand right now rather than waiting two days for Amazon to deliver it.

Q: What are some cleaning supplies that you recommend?

A: With Golden Retrievers, you can’t have enough vacuums. We have robot vacuums that run every day on each floor and an upright that we use a couple of times a week. We strongly recommend the Pet Portable Spot Cleaner for cleaning spot stains. It’s very powerful, and ours has lasted for three years with no problems. Our upright carpet cleaner is a Bissell Revolution and it is also excellent, but our model doesn’t seem to be sold anymore. For cleaning solution, we use Simple Green Bio Dog. You can get a spray bottle and one gallon jug together in a pack. The spray bottle is perfect for spraying on little carpet stains, and you can use the jug to add cleaning solution to the water in your upright carpet cleaner.

Q: What shampoo do you use for bathing the puppies?

A: For Sadie & Hank, we use Furminator shampoo and conditioner. It helps to release hair, so that we can reduce shedding for a week or so by just brushing all of that extra fur out. Puppies don’t shed as much, so just a gentle oatmeal shampoo is a good choice. We just have a generic Meijer bottle of oatmeal shampoo that we use for the pups. Be careful not to bathe a puppy too often, or his/her skin can get dry and itchy.