# Looking for a reputable breeder in Massachusetts



## Daisygirlmom (Dec 7, 2017)

Hello everyone,
I have recently found this forum and it has been a wealth of information and knowledge so far. We recently lost our beloved golden girl Daisy after 12 years. It has been devastating to say the least. We know though that our home is not complete without a golden girl in it so we have begun the process of trying to find a new puppy to add to our family. I have reached out to a number of breeders based on info I have found here but would love to have people's personal experiences/recommendations on them. The top 3 so far have been:
Clewbay Goldens, Brookshire and Yukon. All have been wonderful in their responses so far. Can anyone help steer me either towards or away from any of these breeders or in a new direction? Feeling rather overwhelmed. Thank you!


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## SunGold (Feb 27, 2007)

Clew Bay is a very good friend and most her dogs are related to mine, they have all their health clearances.  Yukon is also a friend and is reputable. Last I knew Brookshire had retired from breeding.


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## Daisygirlmom (Dec 7, 2017)

Thank you for your reply. Brookshire is still breeding and has been in contact with me about an upcoming litter. Sapphire Goldens in Lakeville contacted me today as well. Any thoughts on that breeder as well?


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## SunGold (Feb 27, 2007)

I am not familiar with Sapphire, but with any breeder make sure the proper health testing is done. You may also check out Abalee in CT - they have a couple litters coming up.


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

Debbie Grady has a really nice litter of 12 when 8 were expected in MA. They are my puppy Dreamers nieces and nephews ( Mystic x Merrick) . [email protected]


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## Drgrafix123 (Nov 27, 2017)

Daisygirlmom said:


> Hello everyone,
> I have recently found this forum and it has been a wealth of information and knowledge so far. We recently lost our beloved golden girl Daisy after 12 years. It has been devastating to say the least. We know though that our home is not complete without a golden girl in it so we have begun the process of trying to find a new puppy to add to our family. I have reached out to a number of breeders based on info I have found here but would love to have people's personal experiences/recommendations on them. The top 3 so far have been:
> Clewbay Goldens, Brookshire and Yukon. All have been wonderful in their responses so far. Can anyone help steer me either towards or away from any of these breeders or in a new direction? Feeling rather overwhelmed. Thank you!


Ironically, we lost _OUR_ Daisy this past August... so I know what you're going through. We got Daisy from Maryterese Russo at Colonial Goldens in Lebanon, Maine. Daisy's mom was Hip-Hop Dance and her dad was the incredible Hubba Hubba Hubba from Kelore (also in Maine). Don't know if Maryterese has any pups available right now, but we were very pleased with her and Daisy was a stunning, incredibly wonderful family member for 10 years. We're in western mass and the drive to Lebanon was not outrageous, a beautiful day trip. Going to do it again soon as our daughter is getting a pup from Kelore in January so we offered to take a ride with her. Might be tempted to think about another one ourselves.

Gone but never forgotten...


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## Nogobitak#2 (Oct 28, 2017)

Has anyone purchased a puppy from Donnas Goldens in Haverill, mass or heard about them. Thanks so much . Looking for a female. We are located on cape cod


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## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

If you can post sire/dam registered names, someone here will check for clearances for you. I do not find a website, just an ad on breeders.net- Breeders.NET which does not say much that leads me to think it will be promising, nothing about health clearances, etc And the dam photo shows what appears to be an undershot bite.


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## Riley's Mom (Jul 6, 2008)

Nogobitak#2 said:


> Has anyone purchased a puppy from Donnas Goldens in Haverill, mass or heard about them. Thanks so much . Looking for a female. We are located on cape cod


 I'm very close to Haverhill and I have never heard of her. Also there is no mention on her Breeders.net ad about health clearances. I would ask lots of questions.


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## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

Puppies cannot get their elbow and hip clearances until they are at least two years old. I believe they need to be 1 year old for their heart clearance.


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## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

Donna, it appears you are not so seasoned as you believe..
please go have your dogs' hips, elbows, cardiac and eye systems evaluated and send all of it to OFA before you breed again.
You are not doing any favors to the breed without these proper clearances... and a puppy well check is not a clearance.

So that you can't not understand the language, the clearances we speak of are recommended for safe breeding. They are performed on not the puppies but the sire and dam of the litter. Hearts are done by cardiologist, not your pet vet. They are done after one year of age. Eyes are done every 12 months. And hips/elbows are done after 24 months of age. Because you were able to sell 18 puppies in the last 12 months, that does not have any bearing on your future ability to produce safe puppies, nor does it imply your 18 puppies are going to make 2 years old in any healthy fashion. They could die of SAS, or have debilitating eye conditions- both heritable- they could have HD or ED- also heritable. There is no excuse of 'oversight' now. You've been educated. And so has anyone who happens to google Donna's Goldens in MA. This isn't about you- it is about the breed as a whole, and the harm you do to it. There will always be uneducated people to purchase your puppies, yes- but you should want to do no harm whether the people know better or not.


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

gscormier said:


> ...
> The reason that we decided to breed, was due to countless hours of scams on the internet.
> You can be assured that everything is taken care of, and although they will have a clean health clearance right before their 8th week, you can have your own vet verify.....
> 
> ...


A quick check of breeders.net shows that Donna's Goldens is listed only has having 'health certificates' for puppies.

Donna's Goldens
Donna Cormier
Haverhill, Ma, 01832

Donna, you don't seem to understand. Puppies don't get 'Health Clearances' the parents of the puppies get the clearances - it appears you haven't spent the necessary time educating yourself BEFORE producing puppies. 

*"Health Clearances" are done on the parents of the litter*. The parents of the litter should have x rays done to prove that they have no sign of:
hip dysplasia or
elbow dysplasia
a perfect heart clearance done by a board certified cardiologist
yearly eye check up 

These are the bare minimum BEFORE the breeding should ever take place.

Here is where you can read up on it:

https://www.ofa.org/browse-by-breed

I'm going to believe you when you say that the parents of the dogs are your pets, the wooden whelping pen looks like someone went to a lot of time and effort to construct it and it wasn't cheap. I hope you will be one of our success stories (we have been burned here many times but we are an optimistic group so continue to try).

PLEASE read the OFA link, I gave you and make the appointments to have your dogs' clearances done before you breed them again.

Here is the phone # to Tufts University small animal clinic 508-839-5395
Call them this week, get a referral to someone in your area who they recommend to do a good job on the xrays for the hips and elbows on both your dogs, a cardiologist the echograms and an eye specialist for the CEFF. Schedule now, so that you are able to get this done when the puppies have gone home. If you really want to try to repair what you've done, take the sire now and take the dam in a month. Use the money you are making in profit to do these clearances. No excuses.

Post the registered names of the parents and we can tell you all about their pedigrees and the clearances done on their relatives. It's important.

Go to the website for the Golden Retriever Club of America. Here's the link to get started: https://www.grca.org/about-the-breed/grca-code-of-ethics/
and
https://www.grca.org/about-the-breed/health-research/

The next thing you do is join one of these clubs and get involved. Do some basic obedience classes or get involved with hunt test training with a field training group. Find out about how to learn more about Goldens if you really want to become a good person breeding high quality pet Golden Retrievers. 

MASSACHUSETTS

Yankee Golden Retriever Club – Boston MA 02133

NEW JERSEY

Garden State Golden Retriever Club – Morristown NJ 07960
New Jersey Pine Barrens Golden Retriever Club – Medford NJ 08055


NEW YORK

Autumn Valley Golden Retriever Club of the Southern Tier – Vestal NY13850
GRC of Central New York – Syracuse NY 13201
GRC of Western New York – Batavia NY 14020
Hudson Valley GRC – Brewster, NY 10509
Long Island Golden Retriever Club – Central Islip NY 11722
Northeastern New York Golden Retriever Club – Albany NY 12210


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## gscormier (Oct 8, 2016)

We appreciate the good information and guidance.
We decided on AKC for a reason, and your advise is appreciated.
Thanks for taking the time to assist us in the proper knowledge, and where to find it.

Will get to work on the rest.
Thank you


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

gscormier said:


> ...We decided on AKC for a reason...


I don't understand this? AKC stands for American Kennel Club. AKC is simply proof of the puppy's lineage, it doesn't guarantee health or temperament or that the parents are good quality representatives of the breed who are worthy of passing on their genetics to another generation of dogs. 

Reputable breeders go to great lengths to educate themselves and to prove that their dogs are of good health - good structure (so they don't have health problems down the road that are painful or life threatening for the dog) and good, stable temperaments including traits that mean the dogs are easy to train and want to please people and actually BOTH look AND act like a Golden Retriever was intended to. 

Staying at home and being a good pet is not enough to prove that the dog is a great Golden, most dogs can be confident and friendly at home, it's another thing to get them out at a show or a hunt test or an obedience trial and have them be able to maintain excellent temperament, manners and friendly self confidence. SO much goes into it and pet homes deserve the same care behind their puppies.

There are so many reasons to educate yourself about the breed and find a good mentor. Pet homes deserve awesome Goldens, please work make changes to be sure that you are not part of someone's heartache in the future. One of the greatest heartbreaks in the world is to lose a dog before his time because his physical health or his temperament kept him from living a long and happy life with his family. You don't want to be the cause of someone's heartbreak when it might have been prevented with a better foundation and knowledge BEFORE breeding puppies.

Please require your puppy homes to purchase health insurance before the puppies go home. It would be a good safety net for the future of these puppies you have brought into the world and are now responsible for. If one of your puppies has the genetics that results in a bad elbow or an eye issue (it can happen even if neither of the parents shows a sign of it right now) these are painful and debilitating conditions and the surgeries cost $3,000 on up in your part of the country, you will want your puppy owners to be able to afford to get this taken care of. Please think about it.

I also hope you will update us and let us know how both of your dogs' clearances came out later this spring.


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## Susan Rogers (Sep 30, 2017)

I used Brookshire Goldens and we are very happy with our 6 month old girl Bailey. Here she is after just getting spayed a couple weeks ago. Her cone is off now.


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

> Call them this week, get a referral to someone in your area who they recommend to do a good job on the xrays for the hips and elbows on both your dogs


Dr. Trusdale in Seekonk MA does a nice job on hips & elbows.


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## Lincgold (May 11, 2018)

Hello, so sorry for your loss. Our 10 year old golden was diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma. We are heartbroken. We have always had a golden in our family. He was our fifth. We purchased our pups in the past at Nautiilus Golden Retreivers, Plymouth, MA and have had good results. We are considering a cream colored English golden this time. Good luck with your search. This is an awesome forum. I’ve been reading the posts for a while now and just recently signed up. I’m sure you will get loads of help from it.


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## Avram Lapidus (Jan 7, 2019)

Hello! My name Is Avram Lapidus and I reside in Swampscott,Mass.
I am in the movie business in which I write and produce feature films. Mostly comedies: so I do hope you like to laugh?
I am looking for a reputable breeder in or reasonably close to my area.
I would like to take delivery of a young pup either at the end of April or early May.
You have my word of honor that the dog will be treated with the utmost love and affection
My emal: [email protected]
phone: 781 599-3190

Shalom
Avram Lapidus


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## Kait (Apr 22, 2020)

Hello hope you are all safe and well! I live in Massachusetts and am really looking for a reputable breeder in New England. We are hoping to adopt a golden in the fall/winter of 2020. Thanks so much! Any help is really appreciated!


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## pawsnpaca (Nov 11, 2014)

Hi Kait - Welcome to the forum! Rather than duplicate already shared info I encourage you to use the search feature for this forum to search for "breeders New England" (and "breeders MA" etc.) to see what recommendations have been posted in the past. I myself posted a list of close to 30 breeders to an existing thread just in the last few days...

The search function isn't always as useful as it might be, so here's a link to the recent thread: Looking For Breeder Advice [New England]


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## Kait (Apr 22, 2020)

Has anyone heard of a dog Breeder in North Andover Ma? The woman is saying she has puppies available next weekend for $900. She has shared pictures of the puppies and parents. I am very skeptical tho


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## Emmdenn (Jun 5, 2018)

You should be skeptical...healthy puppies from health tested parents, from a reputable/ethical breeder cost about $2000to $2500. If the breeder gave you registered names of both sire & dam, you can post them here and we can look them up for you. Healthy puppies from reputable breeders are also spoken for months in advance..


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## Kait (Apr 22, 2020)

Thank you! I was very weary and declined!


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