Adopting a Golden Retriever in Birmingham: the breed club route, costs and health

The count under the short answer is live: it shows every Golden Retriever and Golden cross listed with us in Birmingham and within about 25 miles. A zero there is normal for this breed, not a fault. That is why most Birmingham adopters start with the breed club route below and treat our Birmingham Golden Retriever page as a second net.

The Golden Retriever Club describes its clubs' rescue work as finding homes for Goldens that, for all sorts of reasons, can no longer stay with their owners. In other words, most come from a change in someone's life rather than a fault in the dog, so ask the club or rescue what it knows about the particular dog's past and how it has been living.

At Birmingham Dogs Home the £250 to £400 fee includes neutering, a microchip, flea and worm treatment and four weeks' free insurance, so much of a new dog's vet work is already done. Through the breed club there is no published figure, so ask before you commit.

Buying is a different sum. The breeder must microchip a puppy by 8 weeks, as UK law requires, so that is not an extra, but PDSA counts vaccinations and neutering among a new dog's set-up costs, and those come on top of the puppy itself, which Blue Cross prices at £400 to £3,000. An adult Golden also arrives at its full size and with its energy level known.

Few rescue Goldens come with their parents' screening results, so the useful question is what a vet has found in this dog. These are the areas UK sources flag:

• Hips and elbows. The Royal Kennel Club wants breeders to hip and elbow score their dogs as a minimum, and PDSA describes dysplasia as joints that don't fit together properly and go on to cause arthritis.
• Eyes. The Royal Kennel Club's minimum list also has an eye examination and a DNA test for one type of progressive retinal atrophy (PRA), a condition PDSA says slowly causes blindness. Cataracts, retinal problems and glaucoma are on PDSA's list too.
• Skin. PDSA describes ichthyosis as thickened footpads and rough skin with greasy flakes clinging to the hair, and a DNA test for it is on The Royal Kennel Club's Best Practice list.
• Weight. PDSA warns that obesity brings other health problems with it, so ask for the dog's current weight and diet.

Space and time are the two things to be honest about. The Royal Kennel Club puts the breed's exercise need at more than two hours a day and its ideal home at a large house with a large garden. Dogs Trust describes Goldens as typically high-energy, needing daily walks, time to explore and play, and daily enrichment. Rescues near the city ask about fencing too: Birmingham Dogs Home wants a secure garden with fencing of at least 4ft and, if you rent, your landlord's permission.

PDSA advises against leaving a Golden on its own for long stretches, and gives four hours as the most any dog should be left. If you work in town, plan who covers the middle of the day before you apply.

There is no rescue Golden for sale. A rescue or breed club matches a dog to your home and asks an adoption fee or donation, and every Golden on our Birmingham Golden Retriever page comes through a rescue that way. Puppies rarely reach rescue, so an adult is the realistic hope.

If you decide to buy instead, ask the breeder to show you the parents' hip and elbow scores, eye test and DNA results, and see the puppy with its mother. Dogs Trust points out that some vets offer a pre-purchase consultation on possible health conditions and a rough idea of costs, and The Royal Kennel Club runs a "Find a puppy" service. Report a suspected scam advert to Report Fraud (formerly Action Fraud).