# Does anyone know of Wright's Mountain Goldens reputation?



## LibertyME (Jan 6, 2007)

Basic backyard bred dogs...

Augustus was born April 25, 2010 making him 18 months old - bred too young
No hips or elbows listed in OFA

Zoey was born Dec 31, 2009 - Making her 22 months old - bred too young.
No hips or elbows listed in OFA.
She has a full sibling and a half sib with degenerative joint disease of the elbow (dysplasia) making clearances even more critical.

The breeder does nothing with her dogs other then breed...No titles or certificates...

There is no third party evaluation of her dogs - she claims to have show quality dogs...but having one or two Champion dogs in a pedigree does not make a show quality dog. Its like saying I could be an actor...because my grandfather was on Broadway...


No mention of belonging to any breed or performance club. having just been to a Green Mountain Golden Ret Club event... Vermont has a great breed club full of friendly people that could help her get on the right track.


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

If you are looking in that area, try Goldensand. Sungold is in NH and a member of the GRF. Also in NH are Watersedge and Profile... you can do way better than that breeder.


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## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

Not only that, but there is no history of clearances behind the male:

Orthopedic Foundation for Animals

I wondered if this could be an accidental breeding since both are so young, but they are advertising Augustus as their new stud so guess not. 

I would keep looking for a breeder who does all clearances and has a history of clearances behind their dog.


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## Skippy03 (Nov 8, 2011)

Well this humble pie tastes like dog crap. I guess I didn't know as much as I thought. I am actually in Massachusetts but for the right situation willing to travel. ME, NH, VT, CT, MA, PA, RI, NJ, NY pretty much the northeast.


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## LibertyME (Jan 6, 2007)

you'll be a pro in no time...youre asking questions...willing to travel and are patient! Youre more than half way there!


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## hvgoldens4 (Nov 25, 2009)

There are quite a few things that throw up red flags on this website, besides the missing clearances and underage breeding that other forum members have told you about.

Just thought I would point these things out so when you are looking at other websites, you can take these things into consideration. First, dogs are not livestock and the photos on their website show them to be more like livestock to these folks. On the ABOUT US page, the first picture is a photo of puppies laying on hay/straw. I do not know a single repuatable breeder that would put new puppies on something like that. Hay/straw is for farm animals- Not baby puppies. I would be so worried that a little piece of the straw would get into a babies nose or eye and this type of bedding can cause eye irritation and respiratory problems for the babies. Second, she says these dogs are show quality but are her family pets. Yet, there is not one photo that I saw with a quick perusal through her site where the dogs were acting like pets or a member of the family. I saw dogs sitting in front of barns, dogs sitting outside in the snow and dogs just sitting outside. If your idea of a family pet is a dog sitting outside, I suppose that is fine. We show and compete with our dogs and they are also our pets. You will find on our website photos of them showing, photos of them playing outside and photos of them in the house being our family companions. She then goes on about the school children that come to visit-"the dogs on the farm". You will find many reputable breeders do therapy work with their dogs and work with children with reading or going into schools and teaching them proper ettiquette in how to approach a dog, etc. There are also various other types of therapy work that goldens can do and they excell at these vocations because they are such people oriented dogs. However, I don't know any reputable breeders that are basically operating a "petting zoo" with their dogs. Most breeders will not allow visitors when puppies are very young as their immune systems are undeveloped and mom needs to be spending her time raising the babies and not to be stressed.

We get contacted often by this type of "breeder" looking to add dogs to their "breeding stock". Of course, the answer is always no, because I am not interested in that for my dogs, but the above are some of the things that I look at on various websites to see if what people are saying actually meets with what they are doing. 

Since you are in MA, you may want to contact the Yankee Golden Retriever Club for referrals of breeders in the area that have puppies or will be having puppies.

Best of luck in your search!

Jennifer
Harborview Goldens


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## Skippy03 (Nov 8, 2011)

Thanks for the info and encouragement everyone. I have looked up all of the recommendations and emailed those that may have had litters. Jennifer you raise some good points I didn't even consider. 

Well back to google I suppose. I'd like a puppy sooner then later I would think that out of 8 states I could find a healthy puppy ready fairly soon without costing an arm and 2 legs (willing to pay and arm and one leg) but perhaps not?


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## Skippy03 (Nov 8, 2011)

Wow! I contacted YGRC and found a breeder with a pup all ready!

I hope it works out. Just wanted to share for the newbies like me what a difference just a couple hundred dollars makes. Check this out GoldenDreams


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## Mchouinard (Nov 21, 2011)

I was shocked and see what people will write on these types of forums just from looking at some pictures. I'm glad I didn't see this before driving up. I'm happy to say my family made a 4 hour drive this weekend each way and will be making one of Wright Mountian Goldens our new best friend. Lanette could not have been nicer to us. She took the time to talk to us about each puppy and walk around the property. My girls had the best time playing ball with Lacey and Gus, they seemed like wonderful family dogs to me. Only a few weeks and our new Teddy will be coming home. Skippy03, if you have any questions I can give you more detail on our experiance.


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## golden_eclipse (Apr 1, 2011)

Mchouinard said:


> I was shocked and see what people will write on these types of forums just from looking at some pictures. I'm glad I didn't see this before driving up. I'm happy to say my family made a 4 hour drive this weekend each way and will be making one of Wright Mountian Goldens our new best friend. Lanette could not have been nicer to us. She took the time to talk to us about each puppy and walk around the property. My girls had the best time playing ball with Lacey and Gus, they seemed like wonderful family dogs to me. Only a few weeks and our new Teddy will be coming home. Skippy03, if you have any questions I can give you more detail on our experiance.


Shocked at what? ....Honesty? 

Yeah, people here care about the breed and they are going to be honest to new puppy owners what they NEED to know about buying a new puppy. It is not about being mean or worrying about competition, because most people on here are not breeders, they just KNOW what it takes to get a healthy puppy and they care about the breed very much! There are some very very qualified people here, I would think twice about questioning them.


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## hvgoldens4 (Nov 25, 2009)

Mchouinard said:


> I was shocked and see what people will write on these types of forums just from looking at some pictures. I'm glad I didn't see this before driving up. I'm happy to say my family made a 4 hour drive this weekend each way and will be making one of Wright Mountian Goldens our new best friend. Lanette could not have been nicer to us. She took the time to talk to us about each puppy and walk around the property. My girls had the best time playing ball with Lacey and Gus, they seemed like wonderful family dogs to me. Only a few weeks and our new Teddy will be coming home. Skippy03, if you have any questions I can give you more detail on our experiance.


 
I am glad that you enjoyed your trip and had a good experience with your visit. However, that does not negate the fact that the clearances are missing with the male and the female for the puppies. Clearances are recommended by the GRCA(Golden Retriever Club of America) and are part of the Code of Ethics to ensure the health and well being of the breed. These clearances are done because the issues: hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, eye problems and SAS(sub-aortic stenosis) are all very real and can cause serious health issues and therefore limit the dogs quality of life and actually lead to the dog's early demise. 

I am contacted often because someone got a puppy from the newspaper or a BYB who did not do clearances and they lost their pet at an early age because of severe and crippling hip dyslpasia(and they couldn't spend the $10000 plus to do total hip replacements) or the dog was out in the back yard and dropped over dead from SAS when it was 4 or 5 years old. Everyone takes some risks in life but you certainly can't fault someone for not wanting to risk the health of their next pet by puchasing a puppy from parents who are lacking clearances.


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## Woodyspond (Nov 27, 2010)

*Wright Mountains Goldens*

I am "shocked" as well by what the people on this thread have said about Wright. I live in Vermont and was given their name by numerous people, vets, owners, trainers etc before I finally decided on them after we lost our other Golden, Woody. I had the best experience. Her place was immaculate, her puppies were well taken care of in a "farm" setting, if you will. I now have Casey, he's a wonderful dog. His father was Jack, whose hips and eyes had clearances. I don't know about the new stud, maybe she is in the process. 
She has an elementary school come in and the children play with the puppies so that they are socialized with children. A good percentage of her dogs go to be service dogs. She spends all the time with you that you need and is available by email or phone for any followup questions or problems. She is NOT a backyard breeder, she has much experience in this field. It is her life.
So before judging a website, try people who have actually gotten one of her dogs, as I did. Everyone I do meet is very happy with her Goldens.


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## K9-Design (Jan 18, 2009)

Woodyspond said:


> His father was Jack, whose hips and eyes had clearances. I don't know about the new stud, maybe she is in the process.


Sorry, but not getting all FOUR clearances for hips, elbows, eyes and hearts is completely irresponsible, apathetic and ignorant. You don't breed a dog then get clearances "in the process." You get clearances BEFORE you breed. All FOUR of them, not a few here or there. Say what you will but NO responsible golden breeder will entertain breeding a dog without them.

You may have had a wonderful experience and no doubt you love your pup but if she is not doing all four clearances on every breed dog, she is not a responsible or recommended breeder by any stretch of the imagination.


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## Jamm (Mar 28, 2010)

Wow, and this breeder is starting goldendoodles in the new year. Their main stud is the same age as Joey! Younger then him by 5 days! Thats insane. Not mention to me most of their females looked more like a lab then a golden.


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## Swampcollie (Sep 6, 2007)

Woodyspond said:


> I am "shocked" as well by what the people on this thread have said about Wright.


People here take breeding goldens very seriously so they are taken aback when they encounter a breeder that demonstates poor judgement on a consistent basis.

This breeder has demonstrated a history of breeding under age dogs. The current "stud" isn't even two years old yet and has sired multiple litters. Face it, the breeder began using him at stud as soon as he was physically capable of breeding a female. The breeder didn't wait to see if the boy was sound, or a good representative of the breed. That kind of evaluation can't be done until the dog has become a fully developed adult, and that doesn't happen until 30 to 36 months of age for a male golden retriever. Clearances from OFA for hips and elbows aren't done because the boy isn't old enough yet. 

Is the boy a worthy breeding candidate? I don't know, you don't know, and worst of all the breeder doesn't know because the boy isn't old enough yet to really make that kind of determination. 

Very disappointing.


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## Shalva (Jul 16, 2008)

A couple things 

a breeder can be immaculate and still be irresponsible
a breeder can be a really nice person and still be irresponsible 
a breeder can produce a dog who is a nice dog and still be irresponsible
you can love and adore your dog (and you should) and still have an irresponsible breeder 
your dog can be pretty and still have an irresponsible breeder 
people can recommend a breeder and the breeder still be irresponsible

these things are not mutually exclusive... they can all be true and the breeder can still be irresponsible 

and unfortunately as soon as your breeder started breeding without health clearances, started breeding underage dogs, bred without making the dogs prove they were worth breeding etc etc she became at best a backyard breeder and at worse a commercial breeder depending on how many litters she has a year.... 

in either case... it is breeders like this that make it difficult for people who truly are trying to improve the breed and honestly that makes me really mad


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

Actually, from the website, two things are very telling: 1) the breeding of goldendoodles, right there it goes against the GRCA's position 2)the use of Penn Hip vs OFA where it is convenient. On at least 2 bitches for their penn hip clearance, it says no evidence of degenerative joint disease. That means NOTHING. What are the distraction indices and percentiles. Same goes for the underage stud dog. It says his penn hip is normal..WELL there is no such thing, that is not how penn hip operates. What are the numbers and percentiles???? What is the rush to breed a young dog without all final clearances? My girls are still babies when they are 2.


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

And not to beat a dead horse which I can do pretty well, but their stud dog in the past (Wright's Mountain Jackson) has no elbow clearance and in fact has sired pups who show up on OFA with Grade I elbows and mild hip dysplasia. Both Wright's Mountain Zoey and Wright's Mountain Ruby are sired by him! Zoey has a full sister with prelim Grade I elbow and no hip clearance... just sayin'.


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## hvgoldens4 (Nov 25, 2009)

Woodyspond said:


> I am "shocked" as well by what the people on this thread have said about Wright. I live in Vermont and was given their name by numerous people, vets, owners, trainers etc before I finally decided on them after we lost our other Golden, Woody. I had the best experience. Her place was immaculate, her puppies were well taken care of in a "farm" setting, if you will. I now have Casey, he's a wonderful dog. His father was Jack, whose hips and eyes had clearances. I don't know about the new stud, maybe she is in the process.
> She has an elementary school come in and the children play with the puppies so that they are socialized with children. A good percentage of her dogs go to be service dogs. She spends all the time with you that you need and is available by email or phone for any followup questions or problems. She is NOT a backyard breeder, she has much experience in this field. It is her life.
> So before judging a website, try people who have actually gotten one of her dogs, as I did. Everyone I do meet is very happy with her Goldens.


 
There seems to be some confusion on what a backyard breeder is. 

What goals, if any, does the breeder have with the breeding program and how does the breeder go about to achieve this? If the breeder breeds just to produce more dogs, for pets only or anything that does not go towards the bettering of the breeder's lines and the breed as a whole, this is a backyard breeder.


Often, BYBs breed dogs with major faults without even knowing the dogs have them. This perpetuates faults and problems in the breed. They do nothing to prove their dogs are of sound temperament and that they are breeding good representatives of the breed and do not have a working knowledge of the breed standard. They just breed. And often, they do not even breed purebreds and another poster had just stated that they are going to now breed doodles in the upcoming year.


Reputable breeders will belong to dog clubs and be showing their dogs in some venue and be involved with trying to better the breed through education, etc. This education is about the breeder's education just as much as it is about educating the public about the breed. Just being AKC registered is not a Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval. It just means the puppy was from registered parents and the breeder has taken the steps to begin the registration process for the puppies. Even pet stores and puppy mills can sell dogs that are AKC registered. 


What health tests have been done on BOTH parents of the litter? Any dog should have hips (OFA or PennHip), eyes (CERF), elbows (OFA) and a heart clearance from a cardiologist. All these clearances have not been done on her dogs. As a breeder, you cannot pick and chose which health clearances you are going to do. You need to do them ALL. There are mountains of evidence that show that breeding dogs without regard for these clearances will yield higher incidences of these type of genetic problems. The GRCA did not decide one day to ask that breeders do these clearances-there is clear and concise evidence that shows these issues are genetic to some degree and that only breeding clear parents will lower the incidence of these issues in the offspring. By not doing all these clearances, the person breeding is showing a callous disregard for the puppies they are producing and the families that they will be selling those puppies to.

Unfortunately, I get phone calls and emails every week from families who have not gotten a dog from a reputable hobby breeder and many of their stories are gut wrenching and range from issues where their dog literally dropped over dead out in their backyard from SAS(the heart defect that goldens can have), from having to make the difficult decision to euthanize a dog who has severe hip dysplasia because they could not afford $10,000 to have surgery on the dogs hips and I also heard from one family who had a dog with allergies so bad, he was actually allergic to himself.


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## Swampcollie (Sep 6, 2007)

hvgoldens4 said:


> Often, BYBs breed dogs with faults.


 
I have to nit pick a little bit.

There is no such thing as a perfect faultless dog. *ALL* dogs have faults. It's just that some have more than others.


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## hvgoldens4 (Nov 25, 2009)

Swampcollie said:


> I have to nit pick a little bit.
> 
> There is no such thing as a perfect faultless dog. *ALL* dogs have faults. It's just that some have more than others.


 

Sorry-I left off the word major. It should have read major faults without even knowing that the dogs possess these problems.

Yes, there is not such thing as a perfect dog and every dog has it's own faults.

That's what happens when you are trying to type and help with homework at the same time.


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

Thank you so much to the experienced and responsible breeders here who give so much of their time and energy!


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

Just for the record, the sire of Woodyspond's dog must be Wright's Mountain Jackson the dog with no elbow clearance who sired dogs with hip and elbow dysplasia which is visible on Orthopedic Foundation for Animals. While I might not discount a dog that has sired dogs with issues, he has a low number of cleared dogs and many lacking elbow clearances.


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## ragtym (Feb 3, 2008)

Another for the record - according to the website, the littermate of Woodyspond's dog (born 4/11/2010) is the dam of the litter of Goldendoodles due in January. If this is correct, she was 19 months old at the time of the breeding.


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

Well then, not so good.


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## golden_eclipse (Apr 1, 2011)

I'm glad the OP got a puppy from a reputable breeder! She has a great chance at a healthy, long lived, beautiful golden family member! Hopefully she posts pictures of the new one.


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## Skippy03 (Nov 8, 2011)

*ask and you shall recieve!*



kdowningxc said:


> I'm glad the OP got a puppy from a reputable breeder! She has a great chance at a healthy, long lived, beautiful golden family member! Hopefully she posts pictures of the new one.[/quote.
> 
> 
> I LOVE my doggy. Got him from Goldreams and he is a dream, the whole experience was great. His parents are Willow and Henry gorgeous dogs with all clearences<3


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## golden_eclipse (Apr 1, 2011)

Absolutely Stunning!!! Just beautiful! 



Skippy03 said:


> kdowningxc said:
> 
> 
> > I'm glad the OP got a puppy from a reputable breeder! She has a great chance at a healthy, long lived, beautiful golden family member! Hopefully she posts pictures of the new one.[/quote.
> ...


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