About Top Gun's Owner

Thank you for taking the time to get to know Top Gun Golden Retriever's owner. Hi! My name is Samantha, and I am the owner of Top Gun Golden Retrievers. I will be 31 years old this year and will have a 5-year-old (Benny) and a 10-year-old (Jaxson). I married my best friend, Mitchell, and we have built a life I am so proud of. I grew up on a working ranch in Montana. The ranch was started by my great-grandfather's father and we grew up training horses, pigs, and dogs. My favorite story is the time when my grandma gave me a two-year-old pony to train on my own when I was 2 years old. She taught me how to get bucked off and get right back up and try again. She showed me how important it is to build a relationship with your animal. She showed me that kindness, patience, and knowledge is the best way to train animals. She also taught me how to train dogs and how to find a dog's purpose. That is something that has stayed with me for my entire life. I focus heavily on finding the animal's strengths and their true purpose on this earth. 

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I have been training dogs since I was 4 years old and have learned a million different ways to train a dog, no matter the breed. When I got older, I wanted to find a dog that could be a companion versus a working ranch dog. I found Sophie Marie at a local pet store in Arizona. She was my very first golden and she left a permanent pawprint on my heart. She was so special, and she was truly my best friend. Unfortunately, Sophie came from a puppy mill that did not do any health testing and after I did research, I found that they had several situations where they were accused of inbreeding. Poor Sophie developed cancer and hip dysplasia. She lived a great life until she got sick. It was devastating to watch her stop putting 2 or 3 balls in her mouth at once and boy did I miss her having the nighttime zoomies. She was fading right before my eyes and there was nothing, I could do to help her. We, unfortunately, had to put her down at a young age and that made me angry and very motivated. 

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I decided that I was going to change the way goldens were bred and raised. I wanted to create a truly incredible golden retriever. I got to work and started to read anything I could about breeding, genetics, training, and everything I could learn about goldens. I learned that my heartbreak could have been avoided had the breeder cared for their dogs and puppies. I learned that my heart is not the only heart that is breaking. There are thousands of families that have purchased a golden, fell in love, and then had to say goodbye to their beloved golden far too soon. This made me so angry, and I decided I needed to provide a new option for goldens. This is how I got started! 

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We decided to breed golden retrievers with the purpose of bettering the breed. I wanted to provide puppies that come from fully health-tested parents who have calm, gentle, and kind personalities. It was important to me that I find goldens that have a true golden temperament. I wanted people to have a golden that loves kids, dogs, other animals and just is so happy to be part of a family. I made sure I purchased goldens with incredible temperament and only from fully health-tested parents. If I do not like their temperament or if they do not pass all of the health testing, we immediately retire the dog and look for a new prospect. I knew that having this high level of standard would make it difficult to own and house a lot of goldens. So, I purchased a few for myself and then started putting our puppies in a guardian home. I knew that was the only way I could keep up with demand but also retire a dog and have them live forever with one family. I also wanted to focus on training and socializing. I have noticed that a lot of goldens are developing weird behaviors due to poor socializing and training. There are goldens that are aggressive, reactive, scared, and not overly friendly. This is not the true personality of a golden. We do not breed high-energy goldens because there are very few people that live a life that can keep up with the needs of that golden. Therefore, we only breed calm, quiet, gentle, kind, and brilliant goldens.

 Our journey to get to where we has taken a lot of money and hard work. When I tell you that I love my dogs, I really do mean I love ALL of our dogs. Especially the pups that leave and go to their new homes. I am responsible for them for their entire life because I brought that life into the world. I take this very seriously and want you to know I require that you bring the dog back to me if something were to happen. No questions asked and we will give a partial refund once the puppy is resold (as long as there are no health concerns or injuries).

I am extremely passionate about breeding and training. It truly is something that makes me happy and I love seeing how happy my puppies make families. I love what I do and know you will love our program and dogs. Thank you for reading my novel! I hope this helps to understand me more. Please reach out with any questions.

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Have a Golden Day,

Samantha  

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