 Dearest Rhonda and Stephanie (and Todd and all the rest of you wonderful Snitkers)
This is a long overdue report on Sissy Belle (left) and Lily Grace (right) and their handsome big brother Dickens (middle) We “accidentally” found Snitker Goldens a little more than 4 1/2 years ago after our old blue heeler Sadie crossed the Rainbow Bridge. We still had two Red Golden girls that we had rescued when they were young but my husband had decided he really wanted an English cream golden and he wanted a puppy. We had never “bought” a puppy or used a breeder. We lived in the country and always had extra strays and rescues. Anyway, I started an internet search. There are many breeders out there for English Creams. Some professional and some back yard breeders. Some seemed very good and credible and others not at all. We have homes in Texas and in NC so I tried to focus in those areas for convenience. However, I kept being “drawn” back to a page that compelled me to them. Nothing said they were Christians. Nothing bragged about themselves or touted their accomplishments. But they did tell about their policies and practices. There were photos of the family and the farm and the dogs. Even the dogs were smiling. 🥰 But mostly it was the tug in my heart. Finally, I sent an email. I filled out the application and asked, “Do you happen to have a male puppy available?” Quickly the answer came back by phone call, we have ONE! I asked the price. Having never purchased a dog or worked without a breeder I told Stephanie I would need to talk to my husband and call her back. I was sure he would say no. He said YES! The rest is a wonderful happy history!!! One of our employees asked, did they run out of dogs in Texas???? No. I truly believe that God Himself led us straight to Iowa to Snitker Goldens. Dickens was our first. To say he is the best dog ever is an understatement. He is stunningly beautiful. He is one of the most loving and loyal creatures anyone could ever want. He was almost house trained from the moment we picked him up. He has grown into everyone’s best friend including our friends. He took care of our two red girls as they were dying from cancer and loved them to the end. 3 1/2 years later, we added a Carlie/Goose girl to our pack—Lily Grace was absolutely perfect from the day I picked her up. She fit us to a tee. She and Dickens meshed and fell in love. She became best buddies with my close friend’s lab puppy nearly the same age. She’s very sensitive to all of our needs and comes to give love if she thinks we need anything at all. If she thinks we are sick, she runs to help. She’s quiet and gentle and elegant. She’s perfect. We loved the Charlie factor so much that we begged Rhonda to make an exception and allow us the privilege of having one of her special pairing—Charlie/Sasha. It was a hard decision for her but we feel so honored that she agreed and we added Sissy Belle in May of this year—2020. She’s only 9 months younger than her half sister Lily Grace so they frolic and play and are quite the pair. She’s bright and intelligent and absolutely gorgeous. She is sweet and loving and coming into her own in such lovely ways. She’s learning come and stay and heel. All of the other basics she had mastered almost immediately. She too is perfect. I realize this is long but what I hope to convey with is that Snitker Goldens are different. I’ve seen many Goldens everywhere in the world. Of course they’re all lovely and sweet. But there is a real difference in these and I know it for a fact. It’s the imprinting and the daily, almost hourly love and attention these pups are given literally from the moment they are born. I’ve watched videos of Rhonda, exhausted but still sitting on the floor with 12 little pups crawling all over her, massaging each one’s ears and bellies, teaching hem gently and sweetly but firmly at the same time, what is good behavior and what is not. No one else does this. She is truly gifted like no other. Her heart is for raising pure and good dogs that will be gifts from God to the families or individuals who need them forever. I will always sing the praises of Snitker Goldens. With So Much Love and Gratitude Carol Anne (and Billie) Hanks Sissy Belle, Dickens and Lily Grace
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 Hello Snitker family, Wanted to check in during the midst of this pandemic. Hoping you are all safe and healthy. The “brothers” are doing great. During January, Hawkeye/Hayden spent about 3 weeks training with Anna Childs at Adelhorst Kennels. She ended up keeping Hayden for another few weeks after that. We got them back home just before the pandemic hit here. Thank goodness. Anna and her daughter at Adelhorst kennels, LOVED both of the boys but Hayden captured a special place in their hearts as he has all of us. Hayden is doing great. We have an “in training” service vest on him. Before the pandemic hit, we were taking Hayden to nursing homes, group homes and where people with disabilities have day programs. He was and is doing FABULOUS. We couldn’t ask for a better boy. However, right now we are staying home and can’t do service work. We will get back to it once there is a vaccine for this nasty COVID-19. Hawkeye and Hayden are inseparable. They sleep together, eat together, play together and follow each other around. Peas in a pod. However, we definitely know we picked the wrong name out for Hayden. He should have been named, porky, piglet, soda, hoagie or biscuit; something “food” related. He is a pig when it comes to his food bowl. Here are some pictures of the boys. Hayden has grown from little guy into a big guy. We love them both dearly and are so blessed to have them and you guys in our lives. Please stay safe and healthy. Blessings to all of you, your families and the dogs. Love, Richard, Lynne Schaefer – Hawkeye and Hayden (bark, bark)
  Where do I begin? Miss personality! She is socialized all over the western NC mountains. She has been to the a Country Club for lunch. Passed around the golfers. She’s a rock star on Facebook! She already goes for afternoon walks with three other Goldens (her siblings) and three labs. All her new besties. She’s doing mostly perfect with potty training. She knows sit and down commands. She’s working on come when called. She loves EVERYBODY. She’s a snuggler and is very attentive and kind to get big sister who has cancer.
She, like her big Snitker brother Dickens, is basically perfect because of the wonderful beginning she was given by Rhonda and the entire Snitker family. We love our girl and we love the Snitkers!️
 Over the next month, Rhonda watched the litter carefully to make certain that she matched us with the right pup. And did she ever! A perfect match! Charlie is loving, gentle and content to just hang out and play with his toys and as long as he’s around his humans, he’s happy. Snitker Goldens obviously take pride in their Goldens and lovingly choose their families. Snitker Goldens also does a great job of preparing you for your new life with your pup before the big day. Stephanie sent a suggested shopping list of things that I honestly would have never thought of purchasing, but was very glad I had them on hand. The items on the list are things that Snitker uses, too, so everything was familiar to our new pup, like the treats, for example. I can’t tell you how helpful this shopping list was! What makes Snitker Goldens so unique, is their Imprinting process. I didn’t fully understand it until we took Charlie home. To start, Charlie was completely crate trained! In fact, it was two short nights and he was sleeping from 9 at night until 6 in the morning. He’s had no accidents in his crate! Charlie also came to us almost completely potty-trained. It was unbelievable. He knew exactly where he was supposed to do his business, and except for a few accidents at home (which were completely our fault for not understanding he has to go out immediately after he eats) he’s been accident-free. Charlie also knows how to “come” and sits patiently, looks you in the eye before he gets his treat. Before he eats, he knows to sit and wait until the food dish is put down.
The day we picked Charlie up, Rhonda Snitker met us in her home and was so welcoming and kind to us. She opened up a crate and pulled Charlie out and we were in love! We spent over an hour with Rhonda and Stephanie, going through paperwork, but mostly they patiently answered our questions. I’ve never felt so much at home as I did at Rhonda’s kitchen table! We left Iowa that day with a Snitker Goldens bag filled with two weeks of food, supplements, shampoo, a book on training and our new pup’s “blankie” that smelled of home so he wouldn’t get lonely. And our darling puppy, Charlie, of course. If you’re looking for a golden retriever puppy, I would look no further than Snitker Goldens. From the first communications to the day you drive away with your new puppy, you’ll be so glad you found them!   Bella 2019/ Charlie-Goose litter
Here is an update on Bella. Bella loves to play with my Sheltie Bailey. They have become fast friends. Bella loves to sit on my lap when she wakes up. She loves snuggles then and also at night. She is doing really well with potty training. She sits in front of the door when she wants to go out and let’s me know. She loves to chase blowing leaves on our walks. She is responding to her name and comes running when I call her. She is always excited to see me. I am so grateful for the awesome beginning Rhonda gave Bella. Her dogs are beautiful and really smart.  Hi Stephanie,
The Larson family here, including MOOSE! We will be celebrating his 2nd birthday in just a couple days (July 2018). Here is what he's been up to lately. Moose has two sister humans, a 3.5 year old and 1 year old. The 3.5 year old knows how to give him commands, and boy does he listen to her! She also has her chore of feeding him nightly. She scoops up his food, waits for him to sit, pours it in his bowl and then she dramatically releases him for it! Its pretty cute to watch. Our 1 year old loves to grab his tennis ball and throw it (about 2 feet) for him, but he is willing to fetch! Moose has become quite the swimmer. He will swim WAY out into rivers and lakes to retrieve sticks, but he prefers tennis balls. Moose is a 'slender' 85 lbs, solid muscle and super fluffy. He had shorter/tighter hair up until around a year when he really fluffed out! He is really smart, loves to retrieve, is very gentle, and REALLY laid back. Still being a puppy he gets very excited running around with the neighbor kids in the yard (I love he doesn't need to be on a leash,) but that's it! After a few minutes of that he lays and chews on a stick! Thanks for letting me share his update, he's a well loved part of our family.  Hi Rhonda & Stephanie. It doesn’t seem possible that OUR Snitker pup Opie, is almost a year old! July 25, 2016 was “Mr. Blue’s” special day - little did you we know it would be ours as well. I talk about this dog like he’s one of our 6 kids - hum…I never thought to ask our kids (that are all successfully out on their own) how they feel about being displaced by one large dog? Don and I are enjoying him immensely - you know, that unconditional love and desire to please? Just like the kids, I have kept a ‘puppy book’ and augmented it with monthly pictures. With all your puppies having that special "Snitker Imprint” it has been an easy year of training. Opie breezed through his first class of puppy manners, and then moved on to the advanced manners class giving him his Canine Good Citizenship - CGC. With Just two more lessons, he should pass his Therapy Dog International-TDI. Our hopes for Opie is to bring his non-anxious presence into Tomah’s VA center and offer his comfort and friendship. Beyond this, we would also like to find the connection to get him into the court rooms involving frightened and traumatized young children. (Some 30 years ago our family went through a heinous courtroom trial with a couple of our daughters. We worked through the hurt as a family, vowing to help any other child in distress in any way we could. The next 20 years was spent providing foster care to over 70 children. As we’ve aged and have reached retirement, those days of foster care are over for us, but we still have the desire to help the young ones.) Opie clearly has a future softening life for others and we hope to lead him through. I’ve just read through your Ina Puppy Update. How excited your families must be! I remember our days of waiting. For these families, I can say the wait is so-o worth it. Not only are you getting a pedigree record of distinguished breeding, but the intentional process of “imprinting” makes a measurable difference in the puppies. They are so-o prepared to learn and please. These puppies will make a marked difference in your family life. Such JOY! Congratulations to your expectant families Hope to visit sometime this summer and re-introduce you to Opie’s Opus No.1 of Snitker Gold (aka Mr. Blue)
 Hope you guys made it through the storms this week. We are lucky to live in a high spot so no water in the basement. It looks like you all are very busy with the puppies again this year. I would love to be a helper to just be with the puppies. My question for you is when is Teagan's birthday. Have to clean out my files to find my records but since I am sending you a picture of Teag, I thought I would ask you. These pictures were taken in June. She is just the most beautiful dog and I get so many compliments on her looks and her behavior. Her obedience training and nose work classes are going very well and she seems to pick up on things so quickly. Thanks for your help and I hope you are all staying dry there. Barb   I have attached a couple of pictures of Teagan (Miss Green) at 7 months old. I think she looks just like her mom. Everyone she meets thinks she is beautiful and love her champagne color. I personally think she is the cutest crème golden I have ever seen. As you can see, she is the same height as her 9 year old sister already! She is currently taking nose work classes and has a really good nose for the scents. Hope to compete with her someday because she really loves doing this. Thanks again for the most wonderful, smart, and beautiful puppy. I do hope to someday get another one of your puppies. Your puppies are all beautiful. Barb   Good Morning Stephanie and Ronda, I wanted to give you an update on Hawkeye. He is doing EXCELLENT. We sure do love him a lot. We go out for socialization and rides on a daily basis. He loves going to the Nursing home. We start puppy classes on November 11th. He is also fully housebroken and goes to the door and “rings a bell” when he needs to go out and also “sits” by the door. He has learned, sit, and come very well. We are working on “down” and “stay”. Everyone that meets him absolutely loves him. His last vet check was a few days ago and he received another puppy shot series. One more set to go of those. Our vet also started him on heart worm monthly. He now weighs 22 pounds, 😊 and is eating 3 cups of food a day. I ordered more food and another bottle of the deodorizer spray. That isn’t for Hawkeye, I didn’t want you to get alarmed if you saw the order, one of my friends got a new 7 week old puppy and we are giving it to her with a puppy toy as a gift. We are so glad that God brought all of you and Hawkeye into our life, he is already the star of the family at our house and in the neighborhood. The neighborhood kids come down to play with him in the back yard several times a week. It wears all of them out.
Richard thought I should tell you guys, Hawkeye has been totally potty trained for several weeks. He ONLY had a total of 3 accidents in the house. (1 the first night he came home, and 2 other ones in the 1st week; however both of those were our fault as he was at the door!). Of course, I am home and so I work with him a lot, take him out after he plays, as soon as he gets up from sleeping, right after eating, etc. He also goes with us everywhere, we take car rides of at least 40 minutes every day, going to the drive through at the bank, in the car wash, post office, nursing home, beauty shop, etc. Pretty much everywhere I go, he goes, if he can! Please don’t hesitate to let me know if you need me to write anything about you guys or you can use any of the information I have shared with you on your website. We recommend and praise you guys to EVERYONE. People can really tell the difference between our pup and others and they love him. Our vet at Kindness Pet clinic in Indianola is already singing Hawkeyes praises. He is so well behaved every time we go, they want to keep him. I told them no way! 😊 Have a good weekend. Warmest regards, Lynne
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Why Snitker Goldens
We begin with quality tested and approved breeding Goldens and build on that solid foundation with our puppies. Championship pedigrees in their lines are our way of remaining true to breed standard. We strive to personally imprint each pup with positive, rewarding experiences – to nurture each one with love and care, realizing that each day we have your puppy is one day closer to the day you will hold him or her. We use this time to make that permanent impression on your pup, one which he or she will carry for a lifetime.
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