# Advice on a Breeder



## mfoery (Mar 6, 2017)

I have been up and down the east coast for breeders and finally settled on one close to me that I like and has a litter ready.
I am going to train my golden as a Service Dog, and I liked this breeder since she has produced service dogs before.

I have read all the posts about picking out a good breeder and double checking health clearances but I want to make sure I'm doing everything right. This is my first time shopping for a puppy and since it will be a Service Dog I want to do everything I can to make sure I'm picking out a good breeder and a good litter. 
I'm meeting with her on Saturday to see the litter and I will be asking all the questions that have been listed in these articles. 

Here is some info on the breeder and parents:
Website: Once Upon A time goldens - About Us

There are 2 litters available so here are the 4 parents names:
Sire: Dumbledore II AKC DNA #V696747 OFA29F OFEL24 (SR77179901)
Dam: Tropicana Hot Lady AKC DNA #V767345 OFEL25 (SR88109302)

Sire: Wilbert Of The Hellacious Acres AKC DNA #V750836 (SR79907302)
Dam: Snow White Of Best Of Show Golden'S (SR85002803)

I'm not sure what litter I will get yet since I need to do temperament tests on the litter to see what puppy has the best traits for a service dog. 


I would love to hear what you think about the breeder and parents. I just want to make sure I get a good breeder and make sure I'm double and triple checking everything since this is my first time puppy shopping!
Any and all advice is welcome. Thank you in advance!


----------



## ArchersMom (May 22, 2013)

The breeder is not following the code of ethics. None of the dogs have a current eye exam, and they all have a deficient practitioner cardiac clearance. There is no depth of clearances; even if the dog has hips/elbows, their grandparents are not in OFA. Most concerning, they're breeding "Snow White" on prelims. Prelims are not clearances and actually I only see the elbow prelim. No reputable breeder would breed on prelims, especially considering she's well over 2 years old. http://www.offa.org/display.html?appnum=1700973#animal


----------



## mfoery (Mar 6, 2017)

Thank you for looking into it! I am still trying to fully understand clearances so I really appreciate you looking into it and your comment!


----------



## LJack (Aug 10, 2012)

So, first... here is what you should be looking for when it comes to health certifications.


----------



## LJack (Aug 10, 2012)

Okay, there is not a fully certified parent in any of those litters. The pricing is insane. :surprise:

For the value they're offering these puppies should be maximum $1400 and that's being very generous considering the missing certifications. At $3400 you should expect a full easily verifiable health certifications on both parents and for several generations back. Then both parents should also be some of the most accomplished dogs in the entire country. We're talking number one ranked competition dogs in conformation, obedience or hunting. That is just simply not these dogs. 

You have to decide if you're OK with paying more than twice what they are worth and stomaching more risk healthwise then other litters you'll be able to find.


----------



## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

Oh dear... I got all the way through the site, page by page, astounded that the writer teaches and does not use proper spelling/punctuation but... the only thing that's missing from this site (that'd make it a 'standard english cream' site) is a hymn playing in the background. Not a single dog has a full set of clearances and it's obvious that Snow White failed her prelim hips and obvious her dam failed her elbows. BUT when I got to the last page of info, I almost fell out of my chair to read the price. PLEASE! $3400 for a puppy from a breeder whose standards are clearly 'has a whitish coat' and absolutely zero experience? Who buys these puppies? I look at it and honestly see a $800 puppy. At most. These folks' only club affiliation is a made up club in the Ozarks, they've had Goldens for 4 years and have been breeding for 3 of those. It's a shame. Once Upon A Time Goldens? Please do not even go see the puppies. You'll fall in love and be in line to have tons of headache and the breeder is too new in the breed to even be of help to you if you need it. 
I'm not usually so harsh. But that price just blew me away. There's no value added in the pedigree worth that price. You could probably import a pregnant bitch yourself and have 8 to choose from for that price!
LJack is nicer on price than I am... I just noticed that that was last year's price. No telling what it is this year(assuming she didn't write the wrong year on her website...)


----------



## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

Assuming you are in the Ozark region, try Blazin Goldens. Leslie Albin. She adheres to the Code of Ethics always. Even if you have to wait, waiting and getting a puppy that can do the job you need the puppy to do is better than getting a puppy that is such an unknown. 
And I'm betting that not only would you get generations of clearances, you would also get a caring breeder AND your price tag would be far less.


----------



## aesthetic (Apr 23, 2015)

Prism Goldens said:


> Oh dear... I got all the way through the site, page by page, astounded that the writer teaches and does not use proper spelling/punctuation but...


Maybe it's me being too picky, but I could never ever buy a puppy from someone who doesn't write with proper spelling/punctuation. It's just something that gets on my nerves. It also just seems really lazy and rushed to me - not something I want to see in a breeder.

Also, they feed puppies 1 cup of food 3x a day?! That's way way way too much food for an 8 week old puppy.


----------



## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

aesthetic said:


> Maybe it's me being too picky, but I could never ever buy a puppy from someone who doesn't write with proper spelling/punctuation. It's just something that gets on my nerves. It also just seems really lazy and rushed to me - not something I want to see in a breeder.
> 
> Also, they feed puppies 1 cup of food 3x a day?! That's way way way too much food for an 8 week old puppy.


I think it does say rushed and lazy, and maybe uneducated even. None of which are attributes I would want my breeder to have. Or appear to have.


----------



## mfoery (Mar 6, 2017)

Thank you all for your help! I really appreciate it!
I will stay away from that breeder and keep searching!
I was worried when I saw some missing clearances and I thought the price was outrageous!

I have searched on this forum for breeders in the DC/MD/VA/PA area and contacted some, but if any have some more recommendations that would be great!


----------



## concreteskie (Mar 10, 2017)

*Thanks*

Wow, thanks for this whole string of posts. As someone who's always wanted a golden retriever but knows nothing about them, I found this so helpful. I looked for breeders in the DC area and landed on their page...Super cute dogs (I'm not picky on certifications btw, just want a cutie to love) but no way I'm paying that kind of money even if they were the english cream of the crop (ha). 

Agree about the grammar comments. Yikes to her students, though it does sort of explain the current state of the union, no?

-A


----------



## puddles everywhere (May 13, 2016)

Concreteskie you might have a different perspective if you get a dog with hip or elbow dysplasia and realize the cost of surgery. Or has a heart attack at age 2. A good breeder will do all they can to prevent these problems and provide you with a very healthy and well socialized puppy. 

There is a very sad post of a family that went to a not so good breeder that didn't bother to review the health or do clearances of the litter they produced. These people lost their puppy 2 weeks after bringing her home. It's important to go with a good breeder. The importance of the clearances is huge.


----------



## Millie'sMom (Sep 7, 2012)

It has been my experience, that breeders that advertise as "producing service dogs", are usually less than reputable breeders and simply are trying to justify a higher price for their puppies from uncleared parents. The reputable breeders that are following the COE are donating their puppies to reputable training organizations as a way of giving back and generally do not brag about it, as a way to promote their pups. They don't need to.

There is a gentleman in Ontario, who sells his puppies for $400 on Kijiji, no health clearances or CKC (Canada) registration and claims that he provides seeing eye dogs for an organization that does not provide dogs for that purpose. 

Please let the people, who know much more than I, to help you find a healthy puppy that is suited to your needs.


----------



## GSG (Feb 27, 2018)

What are prelims? I got a puppy in March 2017. Supposedly Snow White litter. But my puppy has a different dad listed than the person who also was looking at that litter.


----------



## cwag (Apr 25, 2017)

concreteskie said:


> Wow, thanks for this whole string of posts. As someone who's always wanted a golden retriever but knows nothing about them, I found this so helpful. I looked for breeders in the DC area and landed on their page...Super cute dogs (I'm not picky on certifications btw, just want a cutie to love) but no way I'm paying that kind of money even if they were the english cream of the crop (ha).
> 
> 
> -A


You might want to reconsider not being picky about health certifications. A dog with hip or elbow displasia can be very disabled-- needing expensive surgeries and who wants to watch their dog suffer. Puppies born to parents without heart certifications can have life threatening heart problems before they are even a year old. I've read some very sad posts by people who bought unhealthy puppies because the breeders did not breed with certified healthy dogs 
Even if you just want a family pet, you want one that is healthy and has the best chance of staying that way.


----------



## ArchersMom (May 22, 2013)

GSG said:


> What are prelims? I got a puppy in March 2017. Supposedly Snow White litter. But my puppy has a different dad listed than the person who also was looking at that litter.


Prelims are OFA evaluations that are performed prior to when the dog turns 2 years old. OFA does not consider them final until after that time. That is part of why it's recommended to wait until after 2 years for breeding. Who knows why Snow White was bred to another male, possibly she was bred to both. I'd be a concerned that she did indeed fail her OFA health certification for hips. She now has final elbows posted, but Pennhip results for hips which are more toward the "risk" category.


----------



## LJack (Aug 10, 2012)

For more information, preliminary reports are different from actual OFA certifications in two important ways. 

First prelims are done before the age of maturity which OFA benchmarks at 24 months. They can be done as young as 4 months old. 

Second, preliminary report X-ray films are viewed and rated by a single individual. The certification is done by three expert evaluators independently.

Prelims are a great tool for breeders to decide if they are going to spend a huge amount of time and money to show a young prospect. They are not however certifications and it really bothers me when breeders cutting corners refer to them as a clearance. That is a statement designed to mislead a buyer.


----------



## tasalomon (Mar 9, 2018)

I am have 2 male goldens 6 and 8 yrs old. It is my second set. I am looking for a 3 rd male to round out my family. I have crate trained 4 goldens. My dogs are the most well behaved dogs, Everyone says they want to come back as terry's dog when they die. Do u have any? Male


----------



## Heather Ann Parenti (Apr 7, 2019)

Has anyone had any issues with aggression puppies from once upon a golden or storybrooke Golden’s? Or any issues with anything in general besides parasites?


----------



## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

do two searches on this site- both kennel names. 
I think there are greater issues than parasites.


----------

