# Any Experience with Golden State Goldens?



## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

Just out of curiosity, do they pursue any other 'doggy' activites or sports (hunt tests, obedience, tracking, agility, certified therapy) with their dogs? I have some personal experience with this issue and you will want to be extremely certain that no matter how nice these folks are they are extremely rigorous with their standards for temperament in their breeding dogs. One of the best ways to do this is by getting the dogs out in the world and exposing them to different people and activities and seeing how they respond and whether they excel. 

This is just my personal mantra, but I will never buy a golden from people who are just 'family' breeders and don't do anything else with their dogs. I want to make sure that my breeder has a lot of behavioral and training experience (especially with a nice obedience foundation) so that they will be a good resource for me should I ever require their assistance in the future. Someone who just sits at home with their dogs doesn't have the contacts and experience to give the best advice. Do they have a good reputation with your local golden retriever rescue group? Do they support golden rescue with their time or money?

This is just my opinion, but I honestly feel VERY strongly about it. I wish you would consider making more visits to other breeders or go to a show and talk to the golden people, so you have more room for comparison. Just my two cents....


----------



## bruinball (Sep 26, 2011)

Nolefan,

Not to the best of my knowledge. Their website is www.goldenstategoldens.com. You make a salient point about not just paying attention to how nice they are. They don't do some of the other red flag activities such as offering unlimited registration, no guarnatees on the puppy's health, not refunding deposits etc.

Thank you for your fast reply on this


----------



## fostermom (Sep 6, 2007)

I'm not trying to be obnoxious, but purchasing a puppy isn't "adopting" a puppy. The word adopt isn't exclusive to rescue, but it is generally understood that purchasing is different from adopting, even though both include exchanging money for a dog. Sorry, this is just a pet peeve for me.

I would definitely ask for the clearances on the sire and dam prior to sending in a deposit. It seems that they only offer them once you purchase your puppy. If that's the case, then there's a good chance that you might never get them.


----------



## bruinball (Sep 26, 2011)

Fostermom,

Thanks for taking the time to comment -- point taken on my word choice! Anyway, they have provided all the clearances, the difficulty is they are all from the Russian source called FCI -- there is a translation from FCI to OFA on the OFA website and their clearances are all either excellent or good. That said, it is hard to say when its not a OFA

Thanks again for taking the time to comment.


----------



## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

Um, you say the puppies passed clearances... what about the breeding stock? I checked for the females listed and couldn't find anything about their clearances on the OFA (Orthopedic Foundation for Animals) website and I can't find anything on K9data for Golden State's Moonbeam, no pedigree info and the pedigree link doesn't work on the website. If she has had clearances done, the should easily be searched on the OFA website. This doesn't look good.... Same thing for Ace, the stud dog listed. Why no mention of eye clearances and no pedigree info? 

If these folks can't provide you with copies of the clearances (they should be able to get you a piece of paper you can see) and a yearly update on the eye clearance for the breeding dogs, you need to run in the opposite direction.


----------



## bruinball (Sep 26, 2011)

Yes, the multiple references who emailed me said the offsping which they purchased from the breeder all passed OFA with flying colors. But agreed, I couldn't find the clearances for Manya on the K9 site although she did send them to me in PDF format -- FCI, which is the Russian equivalent. The sire also had his hips and elbows cleared on the K9data site -- she sent me additonal PDFs for his heart and eyes. 

I really appreciate you taking the time to help inform me -- thanks Nolefan!


----------



## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

Run, run, run...


----------



## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

I see they are associate with Alpine White Goldens in the same area and show case the stud Pekos Lanso which also shows up on the Alpine White Goldens page. Please, please, please, I'm begging you to search for your local Golden Retriever or obedience club and get some personal referrals from people who do obedience or agility or something with their dogs and start there. You can find beautiful lighter colored goldens, but from people who are putting more into their breeding program than just color. Temperament is EVERYTHING. Please keep researching and move on. The huge paypal logos on both Golden State's and Alpine White's home pages are rather disturbing. Breeders who are active with their dogs usually have a ticker at the top bragging about their dogs' latest accomplisments, they are not in it for the money and do not generally accept paypal. Please keep looking with focus on temperament and breed standard. Best of luck!


----------



## fostermom (Sep 6, 2007)

bruinball said:


> Yes, the multiple references who emailed me said the offsping which they purchased from the breeder all passed OFA with flying colors. But agreed, I couldn't find the clearances for Manya on the K9 site although she did send them to me in PDF format -- FCI, which is the Russian equivalent. The sire also had his hips and elbows cleared on the K9data site -- she sent me additonal PDFs for his heart and eyes.
> 
> I really appreciate you taking the time to help inform me -- thanks Nolefan!


I'm not sure what you are saying, references said that their dogs passed their clearances? Did they provide you with the actual documentation or just tell you they did?


----------



## bruinball (Sep 26, 2011)

Nolefan, I think you are right -- we aren't in the market for a particular color, this was based on numerous references from folks in our area.

Fostermom, they actually sent me the FCI documentation via email (PDFs and they also offered to show me in person the actual documents). They also sent me the OFA heart certificate for the bitch


----------



## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

Bruinball,
I hope you will continue to come to this forum with your search and after you bring your puppy home. The people here are very passionate about dogs in general and Golden Retrievers in particular. Most here are like me, dog owners who are trying to learn more. However we have some extremely knowledgable breeders and trainers who give brilliant insight and advice. 

Please know that you have hit on a subject that (as you saw in other posts) is a huge hot button here. It just is upsetting to know that there are people out there breeding dogs and not doing it for the BETTERMENT of the Golden Retriever breed. Breeders who are clearly taking advantage of buyers who are not knowledgeable about proper clearances. We can't know for certain that this is the case with the breeder you are asking about, but the signs don't look good. I hope you will understand that the responses to your question are heartfelt and that we just want you to end up with the most wonderful golden possible. One that will fit your lifestyle and live a long healthy life.


----------



## bruinball (Sep 26, 2011)

Nolefan,

Trust me, I am extremely grateful for everyone's thoughtful replies. I can see through to tghe salient message, regardless of the tone of the message. I really do appreciate the thoughtfulness and I hope you guys can all see that!

I am going to keep looking -- like I said, this was a breeder recommened to me from a few people (which led to more references), so I am not at all beholden.


----------



## fostermom (Sep 6, 2007)

Good luck with your search! I hope you find a fabulous breeder and bring home your next pup (or two) soon.


----------



## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

bruinball, you are going about it in the correct way!!!!


----------



## mykrauss (Jan 14, 2012)

*Golden state goldens*

I stumbled into this forum as I was checking on possible reviews for golden breeders. I am in the SF bay area and looking for a good english golden breeder. can anyone recommend pls? I also spoke to the breeder at golden state goldens who seemed very nice but seems to be a hobby breeder. Would love some advice also if people have purchased pups that were out of state and shipped. Do you think that is an issue?


----------



## Visitador (Aug 12, 2011)

You may also try the forum dealing with choosing Golden Retriever breeders.
It has been my experience that Red Bluff is puppy mill area. I do not want to make a blanket statement about this. However, when I was researching for a puppy, the Red Bluff websites show up first in Google search, and they are for the "White" Goldens.
I remember contacting one of them for a juvenile one that showed on a website. The breeder talked so fast and barely allowed me to ask a question. It has been my experience that a good breeder will ask questions about the potential buyer. Anyway, there were tons of red flags because of the lag of tests and paperwork. Somehow, they all seem to be Eastern Europe champions.


----------



## Visitador (Aug 12, 2011)

mykrauss said:


> I stumbled into this forum as I was checking on possible reviews for golden breeders. I am in the SF bay area and looking for a good english golden breeder. can anyone recommend pls? I also spoke to the breeder at golden state goldens who seemed very nice but seems to be a hobby breeder. Would love some advice also if people have purchased pups that were out of state and shipped. Do you think that is an issue?


You may try this breeder: Star Crowned Golden Retrievers - "Versatile Goldens with English Good Looks", English Golden Retrievers, British Golden Retrievers, Cream Golden Retrievers, White Golden Retrievers, Cream Golden Puppies, California Cream Goldens, English Goldens in C Her dogs seem to have all the paperwork. I thought about getting a puppy from her, but it was all the way down south. Also, she weans her puppies using raw food...and I disagreed with her Twitter political views LOL.

You may try the other forum: Choosing a GR breeder.


----------

