| Our Goldens' Facilities We live on an acre of land in sunny Arizona where the winter months are the most active "outdoor play" months for our Goldens. All our Goldens were raised from puppyhood indoors in what we call "the dog room" which is actually half my office and half the dogs' room. I equipped the room with a desk, files and bookshelves on one side and a daybed, storage cabinet, five large dog pillows and a 4' x 8' ex-pen on the other side. In this way I am able to be with the Goldens 24/7 unless I'm at work. This room has a separate entrance/exit through a slider with a doggie door. Much has happened in this room as it's where all the Goldens were raised, groomed, healed and made to feel secure. I have slept in this room many days and nights and I have slept in the ex-pen when all our Goldens were just pups. Outside this room is a patio the length of our house and four separate yards which the dogs have access to at various times. We are now in the process of building out more fenced area on our acre for the dogs to roam (see the boys air conditioned doghouse & run below). Our dogs are raised in-house being left alone 4-6 hours, for only 3 days of the week (due to our unusually short work schedules) and even less during each pups first 6 months as my Mom would come over to give the "puppy lunch feeding" and spend 1-2 hours with all of them......the result....a healthy, happy "pack of dogs" that relate to one another like "family" and not like a typical pack of animals. I don't have agression, obedience problems or jealous outrages. All dogs respect my home and know they can "carry on" outdoors. Now we do have much excitement when we have visitors but the goldens are so people crazy that we could never have enough company to satisfy them all!! I always knew it was possible to live a somewhat normal, peaceful existence, and have a nice home while caring for "several animals" that are raised inside. We have provided the goldens with enough comfortable and safe outdoor facilities that they have a nice balance of things to keep them busy outdoors and indoors. Check out the goldens facilities below and let us know if you think these guys have it made, or what!!?? Enjoy! |
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| Above is the "Golden Pillow Patio"...this is right off the dog room and where the goldens love to wrestle as well as relax in the cool evenings. |
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| The Goldens shaded front porch |
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| The golden's "Arizona Room" where they can safely play on rug, with rooftop shade and also view the front of our property and people passing by. Evaporative cooling is brought into this area during the summer! |
| yes...this is a shaded "potty" area:0) |
| This is the third yard, east of the main yard which is gated off from the main area with a trellis/gate and a row of bushes. We try to keep the lawn growing in this area as we lost our other lawned areas from the dogs' play activities. The goldens are supervised when in this area however, it is their pathway to access the desert yard & the new doghouse. Above (right) is their "matted play area" where we don't have grass but where they like to play when we're home. This mat is non-diggable and porous for sterilization purposes. In the nice weather they like to sleep on the mat which keeps them clean especially during rainey season. In total they have four major areas of our acre to play "hide n seek", chase gheckos and swim. Above (right) is the goldens 100sq.ft playpen. This pen has flooring so the goldens are never laying on the ground & it's great for new puppies! |
| Under The Big Top! Attached to each playpen is a large tarp to provide extra shade over the golden's matted play areas. With industrial fans, evaporative cooling and misty systems, these areas stay nice and cool over the warm months. All goldens stay inside our house in air conditioning during the hot summer months. |
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| A picture of our east yard (above,right) that we've cleared for the dogs. They have a better view of desert/nature instead of the boring block wall in the main yard. The goldens love it here. An airconditioned/heated, carpeted dog house with a lawned run was just built south of this nature run (above, left) and is separated from this run with chain link. The goldens love to stay out here because it's like camping out, without parents. A true masterpiece built by my talented husband! |
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