My name is Laura, and my husband Ron and I have had the wonderful privilege of owning Golden Retrievers for over 40 years. We are currently the proud owners of Ryder (10) and Treasure (3), along with our Gordon Setter, True (2). Our daughter, Karli, and her husband, Jay, also have two Goldens in their family, Star (10) and Rainy (6). We are located in Hibbing, MN, and Karli and Jay are in International Falls, MN.
Why for the last 4 decades have we chosen to include Goldens in our family? Because time and time again they have proven to be intelligent, friendly, and devoted. They fit wonderfully into our lives in Northern Minnesota, where they love running through the fields and the woods and swimming and dock jumping into the lakes!
Through their childhoods and beyond, our daughter and son always had so much fun working with their dogs. From training them to skijor and rollerblade with harnesses, to hanging out with them at the cabin, and on to agility, rally obedience, and conformation shows, we have loved the life that we have built alongside our Golden Companions.
Karli has earned both AKC and CPE titles in Agility with Star and Ryder, and they are currently working on their AKC Agility Excellent titles. Star and Ryder have also earned their AKC Rally Excellent.
Rainy, our latest addition pre-Covid, has earned her Advanced Title in AKC Rally, and has completed several legs in her CPE Level 3 Agility trials. Rainy has also earned her Champion Title (CH) in UKC Conformation.
Treasure, our newest Golden and expectant mother, has earned UKC Conformation points with me as well. I don't have to tell you these Covid years were a time of concern, and due to many factors we made the choice to use it as a time to "lay low". Always on my mind was the hope of not bringing that home to my family. With this along with Karli and Jay welcoming their first child, Treasure has not had as many opportunities to attend shows and earn titles yet, but she continually shows us she has the qualities and personality to jump right in with the others. She is very smart, always catching onto new tricks right away. She is the calmest Golden in our pack, and is very easy-going and careful with young children. If I drop anything on the floor, she is delighted to retrieve it and place it right in my hand. She's a natural!
Ryder and I are currently at the CD level in AKC Obedience. It’s quite the bond working… and playing with him as he is so focused and responsive. He is a smart and willing boy for sure! Born to please! We earned our AKC Canine Good Citizen together, and that was so much fun too! He went on to earn AKC Trick Dog titles as well, and he especially LOVES taking his Dad's socks off in the evening, bunching them both up in his mouth, and delivering them to Dad's hand. Dad has also given him ducks to retrieve just for fun in the yard. Ryder is an AKC Achiever Dog which means he has earned a placement or qualifying score in three different sports in order to earn the Achiever Dog certificate.
We have all been members of the Iron Range Dog Training Club for many years. We have taken many beginner and advanced level classes through the club (puppy class, obedience, agility, and tricks). I am currently still a member, but it’s just too great of a distance for Karli and Jay to travel to the club from their home, so they do their training at their house. They have a full agility course set up in their yard.
Because we have been blessed with these beautiful Golden friends, we want to share in being a part of someone else's Golden happiness! Ryder and Treasure will have Beautiful Pups, who are sure to be eager to please and bound to become your Best Friend!
For more information on this wonderful breed check out this link:
https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/golden-retriever/
