Safe Environment "Experience is the best teacher" and it has taught Golden Retriever Rescues that the safest environment for a Rescued Golden includes a fenced area or yard. Generally speaking, secondhand dogs need limitations because they do not have the benefit of having bonded with their new owners since puppyhood. Also, we feel VERY STRONGLY that owners that love their dogs do not allow them to wander and put them at risk of getting lost, stolen, injured, attacked (by another dog, animal, or person), poisoned, or struck by a car. It is our firm policy to place young dogs only in homes that provide a secure, fenced area for the dog.* Appropriate dogs (normally five years and older) may be more readily placed in unfenced homes. To help you provide the fencing, we suggest the following: Stockade, chain link, or heavy wire as fence material, four-foot high minimum (five to six feet for known fence jumpers) Fence companies will install a dog kennel or you can purchase materials and do it yourself. The classified sections of the local newspapers often list used dog kennels and portable dog kennels at reasonable cost. Five-foot high wire fencing with metal posts is available in lumber stores and can be put up easily and inexpensively. Part of the outside wall of a structure (your house or garden shed) can act as one side of the kennel, then only three sides need to be enclosed. This type of fence may also require reinforcement at the bottom so that dogs cannot simply push under it. (No dog should be left unattended for any length of time in this type of enclosure because it is relatively easy to escape) Heavy wooden posts sunk into the ground with wire fencing stapled to the inside of the posts also works well and the expense is minimal. Kennels should be installed in a part of the yard that will be comfortable for the dog in all seasons. A dog house and a source of shade must be included. The fenced enclosure is intended to guarantee a secure, outdoor area for the dog. The dog must not reside outdoors. Goldens are people-dogs and will want to be with you; the dog must be primarily a housedog. * Very rare exceptions to this policy may be made on a case-by-case basis depending upon the needs of a particular dog.

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