We have many people ask about where our English cream golden retriever puppies are raised. From the time we started raising English golden puppies, they have always been raised in a section of our home. We have a 1200 square foot basement that we used for a family room & homeschooling area when our children lived at home. We converted part of this area into our nursery/training area when we started raising the English Golden puppies. So, it is a short walk down our stairs, through our family room, and into the nursery/training area, which provides us the ability to constantly interact and take care of them through the day and night.
Over the years, we have wanted to expand this area, but just haven’t taken the time to do so, mostly because we couldn’t decide exactly how we wanted it to function. After much thought, paper drawing, and planning this year, we decided we were going to “get it done!”
So, we added an additional 800 square feet to the outside end wall basement area. This gave us the ability to still keep it attached to the house for easy access, plus now we are able to use the “old” nursery training area as a new family room/play area for more socialization with the puppies.
We wanted the nursery/training area to feel light, so we painted it a beachy sea color blue/green. It fits the space perfectly. I’m not sure it photographs well, but that is ok. We have organized everything so much more efficiently with the washer/dryer area, bathing/grooming area, play area, etc. We have a new linen closet and reorganized the meds/supplement/supply cabinet. Everything has a place and we have a new flow down that is wonderful.
This is an overview of the training/nursery area. This is where we whelp and raise our English Golden puppies on a daily basis, doing laundry, grooming, and indoor play activities. Having the washer and dryer in the same room, along with utilizing a vacuum for cleaning, has allowed the puppies to have more exposure to daily household routines.
Having the washer and dryer in the same place has been such a time saver. Hauling laundry upstairs was a bit of a chore. We built the sink, counter, and shelves with all the supplies within reach for making bathing and grooming easier.
Setting everything up to be convenient, provide storage, and the ability to stay organized was an important feature in our remodel. We love having this area for easy access to changing the yarn collars, weighing the puppies, as well as having their toys separated and picked up and put away when not in use. We have two sets of toys. One set is for the whelping box, where they are smaller and puppies are able to play with them easier. We have another set for playtime in the open area, where the toys are bigger, make noise, and are more durable.
Coming Soon:
We are remodeling our “old nursery/training area” that is attached to the new area. (You can see how it adjoins in the one picture where the door is open)
We will be moving the furniture from the other side of the basement area and adding the crates to that room for the puppies/young dogs to have crate time in there, as well as time to play within a home environment at a younger age.
We now have a couch, TV, appliances etc that provides a complete home setting for our puppies. We have always had this type of area of our puppies in our training program, but are now moving and expanding this area for all the puppies to be able to use.
The area we have been using as a family room, will now just have our exercise equipment (which may need a little dusting.)