A labor of love

At Carolina Gilded Retrievers we breed our puppies for three main criteria: health, demeanor, and structure (beauty), making them ideal for companionship, therapy, and service. The naturally loving temperament of the golden retriever breed is further magnified in our puppies by the hands-on love, care, and attention they are given from day one.

At Carolina Gilded Retrievers, our pups are born in a private, quiet area in our home. For the first three weeks of their life they are under 24-hour supervision. Females are all assisted during their delivery, and carefully watched prior to their delivery date. Beginning at 3 days of age, we begin our puppy curriculum which lasts until take home day. We believe it is important to set our puppies and families up for success from the beginning.

Beginning at 3 days of age and continuing until 16 days of age, we engage our puppies in Early Neurological Stimulation exercises. We follow the Empowered Breeder puppy curriculum which begins at 3 weeks of age, as well as, the potty training process. From week 3-4 we begin to have various novelty and exposure activities in the whelping pen. From weeks 4-8, the puppies have their own dedicated "puppy bowl" room and astro turf play area, where we offer the puppies a wide variety of exposure activities, objects and textures. Think wagon and stroller rides, to ball pit and tunnel fun, to a variety of toys that are different shapes and sizes. In addition, we begin sound desensitizing and the puppies are exposed to a wide variety of sounds such as fireworks, train noises, clapping etc. At 7 weeks of age we perform the Volhard Aptitude test.

Carolina Gilded Retrievers is committed first and foremost to the health and well-being of our dogs and puppies, but we also take great joy in helping our clients find the perfect puppy for their needs. We go above and beyond for our puppies and their new families at every turn. Our extended puppy family is ever-expanding, and for us this business is a genuine labor of love.