# Once Upon a Golden & Lover's Goldens



## ArchersMom (May 22, 2013)

Do you have the dams registered name? Have you talked to the breeder about your pup's issue? Unfortunately they are not a responsible breeder. They routinely breed underage dogs and dogs without health certifications.

http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com...ever-breeder-puppy/446681-advice-breeder.html

http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com...06114-actually-decent-european-breeder-2.html

The sire of the litter mentioned in the last thread, born back in August, still isnt 2 years old yet!


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## 4goldengirls (Jun 10, 2014)

Does the stool ever get more normal when on medication? Sometimes it is the food and some dogs insides can't handle the richness of some of the higher quality foods.


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

I don't know anything about the breeder, but my puppy has to continue to be fed prescription Royal Canin Puppy GI due to pudding stools. You might try that to firm her up and give her gut time to heal. He's been on it for about 3 months and was having totally normal stools, and when we attempted to move him to a regular food it went right back to pudding stools. The vet said he may need to stay on it until he is a year old.


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## jimb4 (Jan 5, 2018)

No, it really hasn't gotten any better with meds. The vet is probably going to give me a prescription for metronidazole (antibiotic). She believes that will harden the stool. However, my concern is what will happen when she's done with the meds. Will it go back to being soft again? I don't want a temporary fix. 

I've switched her food. The breeder said she fed them Purina Pro Plan. The vet put her on a prescription Hill's Science Diet canned food to try and keep it bland. That hardened up only a tiny bit. I was then feeding her Redford Naturals (Pet Supplies Plus brand manufactured by some unknown leading manufacturer). But the kibble was so small (like the size of BB pellets). And she didn't show improvement with it. So I've put her on Hill's Science Diet (non-prescription) large breed puppy. Again, not hardening yet. She's been on it for 2 weeks now.

I'm considering putting her on Eukanuba. I get mixed reviews on the quality of it, but I used it with my old golden and didn't have issues. Seems like I can always find pros and cons on every food out there when I search the web.


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## jimb4 (Jan 5, 2018)

Thanks for your response. I have a AKC certificate. 

The sire is listed as:
ALUBYC LORD OF THE DANCE TKN 
SR95053901 08-17(EYE15 AKC DNA #V819468) (AUS)

The dam:
THEVENET CINDERELLA OF BEST OF SHOW GOLDEN'S CA TKN
SR84506201 06-17 (EYE 37)

My pup was born on 9/9/17. I don't know what all the codes above mean nor the dates. But those dates cannot be birth dates. And the parents' records were displayed on the website. Although, as mentioned, I cannot find the mother on the site anymore. The sire's records are at the link below. There are multiple docs posted. You would need to scroll through them. Looks like the sire was born on 4/20/16. The OFA showed "good" hips. My vet said that was good and that most are listed as "fair". 

https://www.onceuponagolden.com/aladdin.html


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

jimb4 said:


> No, it really hasn't gotten any better with meds. The vet is probably going to give me a prescription for metronidazole (antibiotic). She believes that will harden the stool. However, my concern is what will happen when she's done with the meds. Will it go back to being soft again? I don't want a temporary fix.
> 
> I've switched her food. The breeder said she fed them Purina Pro Plan. The vet put her on a prescription Hill's Science Diet canned food to try and keep it bland. That hardened up only a tiny bit. I was then feeding her Redford Naturals (Pet Supplies Plus brand manufactured by some unknown leading manufacturer). But the kibble was so small (like the size of BB pellets). And she didn't show improvement with it. So I've put her on Hill's Science Diet (non-prescription) large breed puppy. Again, not hardening yet. She's been on it for 2 weeks now.
> 
> I'm considering putting her on Eukanuba. I get mixed reviews on the quality of it, but I used it with my old golden and didn't have issues. Seems like I can always find pros and cons on every food out there when I search the web.


That's a lot of food switches - so it may just be that her system hasn't had time to calm down following the parasites (which she may still have, despite the positives). I would do another round of Metronidazole, and switch her to Purina EN Gastroenteric if your vet sells it. It is very bland, easy to digest, and is for growth in puppies, too. Keep her on that food for several months - let her colon really calm down. When you want to switch her back to regular food, do it very slowly over a good month, introducing it very slowly, mixed in with the prescription food. When I switched off the EN, I switched to Purina Pro Plan, because the two foods were very similar ingredient-wise. Once your pup is finished the course of Metronidazole, do another 30-day round of FortiFlora (probiotic). You need to do the full 30-days - it can take that long for the guts to get rebalanced.


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## jimb4 (Jan 5, 2018)

Sweet Girl said:


> That's a lot of food switches - so it may just be that her system hasn't had time to calm down following the parasites (which she may still have, despite the positives). I would do another round of Metronidazole, and switch her to Purina EN Gastroenteric if your vet sells it. It is very bland, easy to digest, and is for growth in puppies, too. Keep her on that food for several months - let her colon really calm down. When you want to switch her back to regular food, do it very slowly over a good month, introducing it very slowly, mixed in with the prescription food. When I switched off the EN, I switched to Purina Pro Plan, because the two foods were very similar ingredient-wise. Once your pup is finished the course of Metronidazole, do another 30-day round of FortiFlora (probiotic). You need to do the full 30-days - it can take that long for the guts to get rebalanced.


She hasn't done any rounds of Metronidazole yet, but will probably get that today. I agree with the food switches. I'm gun shy about doing yet another change. She's had 2 fecal samples both come back negative, so they believe any parasites are gone. Of course, I guess that can change. For the record, when I've done the changes, I've slowly mixed old and new to transition. I will try the probiotics again and give it a full 30 days. Thanks for the feedback. I'm really at a loss on food choice though. In this thread alone, I've had recommendations for Purina EN Gastro & Royal Canin. I've had others tell me to go with Fromm and others suggest Blue Buffalo. So I'm confused.


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

jimb4 said:


> She hasn't done any rounds of Metronidazole yet, but will probably get that today. I agree with the food switches. I'm gun shy about doing yet another change. She's had 2 fecal samples both come back negative, so they believe any parasites are gone. Of course, I guess that can change. For the record, when I've done the changes, I've slowly mixed old and new to transition. I will try the probiotics again and give it a full 30 days. Thanks for the feedback. I'm really at a loss on food choice though. In this thread alone, I've had recommendations for Purina EN Gastro & Royal Canin. I've had others tell me to go with Fromm and others suggest Blue Buffalo. So I'm confused.


For now, honestly, I'd go with a vet food. You do need a very bland, easy to digest food. Any of the vet gastro foods would be good - I only mentioned the Purina EN because I had really good results with it (my pup had giardia and coccidia and seemingly endless liquid diarrhea). The problem with the parasites, is they are hard to get positives on, and they are often there even when the fecal is negative. Also, they tend to go dormant with treatment and then come back again (it is actually more rare that they don't have at least one more flare-up after you think they are gone). 

Do the Metro for sure - but don't do the probiotic at the same time as they can cancel each other out. Do a 2-week course of Metro (argue for a longer course, if your vet is suggesting 5 days), and THEN do the probiotic. All the while, feeding only bland vet food (no treats or anything - use the kibble as treats). 

Hang in there... I know how tough and frustrating this can be. You WILL get past it.


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

The good thing about the vet prescription foods is you can switch to them cold turkey.


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## Siandvm (Jun 22, 2016)

The fecal tests they have done, have they simply been fecal flotation/centrifugation looking for ova and parasites, or have they done any more specific tests such as a giardia IFA or a diarrhea panel? There are some things which just don’t show up on a regular fecal, or can show up intermittently, or can be very hard to find. 

If they have done those, and they are all negative, I would recommend trying tylan (tylosin) rather than metronidazole. My pup had a very similar situation as yours. Metronidazole helped until it didn’t, at which point I finally took him to see Dr. Marks at UC Davis. I would have done it earlier, but reasons. He, being one of my old professors and a world renowned gastroenterologist, was appalled that I had been using metronidazole for symptomatic treatment of diarrhea and was pleased that by that point I had started tylosin. BTW, did I mention that within 24 hours of starting tylosin we had normal poop and that it has never relapsed except when he got into the cat food. He may need to stay on it for life, but he may not. I’ve been dealing with other issues concurrently and it’s hard to keep changing things when they are going well.

Best of luck. I know all too well how frustrating this can be!


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## jimb4 (Jan 5, 2018)

Sweet Girl said:


> For now, honestly, I'd go with a vet food. You do need a very bland, easy to digest food. Any of the vet gastro foods would be good - I only mentioned the Purina EN because I had really good results with it (my pup had giardia and coccidia and seemingly endless liquid diarrhea). The problem with the parasites, is they are hard to get positives on, and they are often there even when the fecal is negative. Also, they tend to go dormant with treatment and then come back again (it is actually more rare that they don't have at least one more flare-up after you think they are gone).
> 
> Do the Metro for sure - but don't do the probiotic at the same time as they can cancel each other out. Do a 2-week course of Metro (argue for a longer course, if your vet is suggesting 5 days), and THEN do the probiotic. All the while, feeding only bland vet food (no treats or anything - use the kibble as treats).
> 
> Hang in there... I know how tough and frustrating this can be. You WILL get past it.


My pup had giardia. And I believe you are dead on with there potentially being parasites even though the tests are negative. The vet is planning to prescribe a 2 week does. Thanks for your help!


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## jimb4 (Jan 5, 2018)

Siandvm said:


> The fecal tests they have done, have they simply been fecal flotation/centrifugation looking for ova and parasites, or have they done any more specific tests such as a giardia IFA or a diarrhea panel? There are some things which just don’t show up on a regular fecal, or can show up intermittently, or can be very hard to find.
> 
> If they have done those, and they are all negative, I would recommend trying tylan (tylosin) rather than metronidazole. My pup had a very similar situation as yours. Metronidazole helped until it didn’t, at which point I finally took him to see Dr. Marks at UC Davis. I would have done it earlier, but reasons. He, being one of my old professors and a world renowned gastroenterologist, was appalled that I had been using metronidazole for symptomatic treatment of diarrhea and was pleased that by that point I had started tylosin. BTW, did I mention that within 24 hours of starting tylosin we had normal poop and that it has never relapsed except when he got into the cat food. He may need to stay on it for life, but he may not. I’ve been dealing with other issues concurrently and it’s hard to keep changing things when they are going well.
> 
> Best of luck. I know all too well how frustrating this can be!


Thanks. I don't know the extent of the tests. They were the usual fecal sample, but they did say she had giardia. I will ask my vet about tylosin. Thanks again!


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## ArchersMom (May 22, 2013)

The sire won't be 2 until April of this year and so he doesn't have elbow certifications and his Pennhip was done at only 12 months. Both parents appear to be Ichthyosis carriers. I was able to find both on k9data. Sorry this information isn't much help with the stomach problem.

https://www.k9data.com/pedigree.asp?ID=597531

https://www.k9data.com/pedigree.asp?ID=785968


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## jpancal (Feb 22, 2018)

I’m curious. How did your puppy turn out? Are you still having issues?


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## SDon (Jun 2, 2018)

*Parasite problem*

Hi, I just bought a puppy from Storybrooke Goldens, formerly once upon a golden. My boy had giardia, coccidian, and round worms. I notified the breeder of this and she said she would re-run fecal samples of remaining puppies in the litter. When I reached out again to see if they had the results, she never replied. Also, after further research, it is irresponsible to breed dogs before the age of two. both of my puppies parents were not over the age of two. Just hope the next person that reads this is weary. I love my dog, I just wish his breeder was as responsible as she claims.


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## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

jimb4 said:


> Thanks for your response. I have a AKC certificate.
> 
> The sire is listed as:
> ALUBYC LORD OF THE DANCE TKN
> ...


So, since this thread popped up again today, I realized your question as to dates wasn't answered. The dates after the name is when the dog entered the stud book, typically when the animal's first litter is recorded. Not sure if it is the litter's DOB or the date the litter is registered. Their registration numbers are the SR numbers, and the codes in the parentheses are the clearances they had on OFA when the litter was registered. After their names is TKN- which is trick dog novice.. a fun thing but certainly not one that proves a dog's breed-worthiness. Nor is the CA (coursing ability- chasing a plastic bag on a course).


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## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

SDon said:


> Hi, I just bought a puppy from Storybrooke Goldens, formerly once upon a golden. My boy had giardia, coccidian, and round worms. I notified the breeder of this and she said she would re-run fecal samples of remaining puppies in the litter. When I reached out again to see if they had the results, she never replied. Also, after further research, it is irresponsible to breed dogs before the age of two. both of my puppies parents were not over the age of two. Just hope the next person that reads this is weary. I love my dog, I just wish his breeder was as responsible as she claims.


Round worms are pretty common- but sending a pup home w cocci and giardia is not a good thing. Nor is breeding animals on preliminary clearances (not sure these guys even have that) or prior to two years old prior to getting clearances. Claiming responsibility in breeding is easy- being responsible in breeding not so easy.


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## jimb4 (Jan 5, 2018)

I noticed Once Upon a Golden's website isn't even up anymore. Storybrooke is definitely the same people. Definitely something not right with them. I knew I should have trusted my gut instinct.


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## ArchersMom (May 22, 2013)

jimb4 said:


> I noticed Once Upon a Golden's website isn't even up anymore. Storybrooke is definitely the same people. Definitely something not right with them. I knew I should have trusted my gut instinct.


How's your pup doing?


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## jimb4 (Jan 5, 2018)

She had severe separation anxiety, so I decided it was best to place her with another home that had a dog. She went to a great place. The people have a lot of land and a Goldendoodle which needed a companion. They had to put down their older dog, so the timing was right for them to take on another pup. It worked out for the best for my golden. But I would not consider that breeder again.


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## EnglishCreme2017 (Nov 21, 2018)

We had the same issues with our golden from this breeder. She's now just over one year old and is FINALLY in decent health (just had her CCL repaired). The vet we go to was perplexed and our dog had to go on an extreme protocol to deal with the parasites. I don't think it's 100% resolved as she still has a odd odor and skin issues...but the poop is solid and "normal." We met both parents. We have paperwork on both parents. We feel like we rescued this puppy. She was expensive then and has continued to cost a lot of money! We are thankful for pet insurance! She is a sweet dog and super smart and beautiful.


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## EnglishCreme2017 (Nov 21, 2018)

thank you SOOOO much for posting this! We have a golden from this breeder and she has some skin and odor issues that we could not figure out....now we have direction. It's one thing after another with this puppy!


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## peachy3 (Jan 30, 2019)

EnglishCreme2017 said:


> We had the same issues with our golden from this breeder. She's now just over one year old and is FINALLY in decent health (just had her CCL repaired). The vet we go to was perplexed and our dog had to go on an extreme protocol to deal with the parasites. I don't think it's 100% resolved as she still has a odd odor and skin issues...but the poop is solid and "normal." We met both parents. We have paperwork on both parents. We feel like we rescued this puppy. She was expensive then and has continued to cost a lot of money! We are thankful for pet insurance! She is a sweet dog and super smart and beautiful.


I really appreciate your posting this. I have a puppy from this breeder and we have been through several rounds of treatment for his giardia (at almost $150 per treatment for the testing of the stool and then the meds) and we have not been able to rid him of the giardia. It took many baths to rid him of the awful smell he had upon bringing him home, the same smell in their house which should have been a red flag right there. We also feel we rescued this guy from a terrible, unhealthy situation and we can see that he is going to be very expensive. Thought about pet insurance but they won't treat for preexisting conditions (i.e. the giardia). Do you recommend we still get the health insurance for him to cover other things that might come up? Thank you.


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

peachy3 said:


> I really appreciate your posting this. I have a puppy from this breeder and we have been through several rounds of treatment for his giardia (at almost $150 per treatment for the testing of the stool and then the meds) and we have not been able to rid him of the giardia. It took many baths to rid him of the awful smell he had upon bringing him home, the same smell in their house which should have been a red flag right there. We also feel we rescued this guy from a terrible, unhealthy situation and we can see that he is going to be very expensive. Thought about pet insurance but they won't treat for preexisting conditions (i.e. the giardia). *Do you recommend we still get the health insurance for him to cover other things that might come up?* Thank you.



Yes. Chances are, your pup will not get giardia again. Usually as they get older, they can handle parasites without getting any symptoms. My pup had giardia and coccidia as a baby puppy, which started symptomatically before our 5-day wait-period on our insurance ended. So none of it was covered at the time - BUT - I spoke to them afterwards and asked if it meant any stomach/gastro issue would never be covered in the future. They said no, that so many pups have tummy issues that they really can't call them preexisting conditions. She said once it was about 8-12 months post giardia/coccidia, stomach issues would be considered new. And they were true to their word. My dog got hemorrhagic gastroenteritis in 2017 (she was 4) and it was covered, no problem at all.


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## dmowry (Sep 15, 2019)

jimb4 I was wondering how your pup is doing? We got ours 6/18. We had the same issues as you. We have struggled ever since. Many foods later, always with a slow transition, finally settling with RC HP prescription food. And still a work in progress with the vets. I have always wondered if the other pups from the liter experienced the same and if so found a solution.


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## dmowry (Sep 15, 2019)

Wow, I’m so sorry we are all having to go thru so much. I thought we were alone with this breeder. What is happening??
We were told when we took her home that stools were soft due to all of the vaccinations. However, 3 days later we took her to the vet and she had giardia. Later she got coccidia. Stool issue ever since and she is 15 months old until prescription food was started. When I first joined this forum I only read from one other person. Now I have found this page and see there are more more issues from the same breeder. I would love to talk to others who had the same breeder and see what they have experienced. And from any of you with similar issues. We have been on RC HP RX food for several months. Still have vomiting of bile approx. every three weeks but perfect poops on this food. Appetite is up and down. Now I’m having to grind up her kibble and mix with water to get her to eat. Feel like we live at the vets for one thing or another. Finally got pet insurance at some point. A few months ago she received her Rabies Booster and has had one thing after another. I feel her immune system has been compromised with all the previous parasite issues as a pup and treatments. Since the rabies booster... ear infection, benign tumor popped up on her leg, staph, and a severe allergic reaction to either the antibiotic or chicken. However, she has had at times small pieces of chicken, as a little treat, (while on RC HP RX food) without an allergic reaction so I don’t feel it was from the chicken. Her appetite has been so bad that she has lost 3 pounds (weight 59). Now due to the allergic reaction she is on steroids, Benadryl and vet is trying Pepcid AC two times a day to see if that will help with the bile issue. A holistic vet is working with us as well as our regular vet to see how we can fix her gut and have a hungry dog. We are waiting for Environmental Allergy Bloodwork to come back to see if that info could aide us as well. would love to have anyone’s input.


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## peachy3 (Jan 30, 2019)

Our pup from this breeder is now 11 months old. The giardia finally cleared up after the first several months at home but his bowels continued to be very, very soft. He has to be on a prescription diet (Purina Pro Plan Gastroenteric Formula, recommended by our vet) in order to keep the bowels firm. His appetite still isn't the greatest. I have to mix in some wet food at night to get him to eat and this seems to be working out okay. He has pretty bad tear stains all the time - not sure what the cause of that is. He had definite trust and anxiety issues (and still does to some degree). He barks way too much and can be aggressive at times. All of these issues tells me he did not come from a healthy, loving environment but of course we love him and just feel like we got a rescue with a messed up background. He is a work in progress! In comparison, we got a second pup from StormyPoint Goldens in Stafford. She is beautiful, calm and healthy. No issues with her!


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## CSuozzi (Feb 1, 2021)

peachy3 said:


> Our pup from this breeder is now 11 months old. The giardia finally cleared up after the first several months at home but his bowels continued to be very, very soft. He has to be on a prescription diet (Purina Pro Plan Gastroenteric Formula, recommended by our vet) in order to keep the bowels firm. His appetite still isn't the greatest. I have to mix in some wet food at night to get him to eat and this seems to be working out okay. He has pretty bad tear stains all the time - not sure what the cause of that is. He had definite trust and anxiety issues (and still does to some degree). He barks way too much and can be aggressive at times. All of these issues tells me he did not come from a healthy, loving environment but of course we love him and just feel like we got a rescue with a messed up background. He is a work in progress! In comparison, we got a second pup from StormyPoint Goldens in Stafford. She is beautiful, calm and healthy. No issues with her!


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## CSuozzi (Feb 1, 2021)

Hi - 

Would anyone be willing to discuss further with this breeder? I have a deposit on a puppy but am very concerned after seeing this.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!


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## ArchersMom (May 22, 2013)

What are the registered names of the dam and sire?


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## CSuozzi (Feb 1, 2021)

Here is the mother:

*Hadley
Registered Name: Storybrooke's Heart Of Gold, CA,CGC, TKN

AKC Registered Number: SR93549002
Birthday: 04/09/2016
Clearances:
HIPS: Penn hip
Elbow Clearance: GR-EL30377F24-VPI OFA NORMAL
HEART Clearance: GR-CA32149/15F/P-VPI OFA Normal 
EYE Clearance: GR-EYE6031/46F-VPI OFA NORMAL
PRA1: GR-GR1-873/20F-PI Clear
PRA2: GR-GR2-696/20F-PI Clear
MD: GR-MD35/20F-PI Clear
PRAD: GR-PRA903/20F-PI-BP Clear*

Here is the Father:
Axel
Registered Name: UKC CH, INTL CH, NAT CH, Dumbledor II, CGC
Therapy Dog
Clearances:
HIPS: GR-110630F29M-VPI OFA FAIR
Elbow Clearance: GR-EL30369M24-VPI OFA NORMAL
HEART Clearance: GR-CA23916/18M/P-VPI OFA Normal
EYE Clearance: OFA NORMAL
Patellar Luxation Clearance: GR-PA619/18M/P-VPI OFA Normal

Thank you!
Chris


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## ArchersMom (May 22, 2013)

This is the OFA page for the dam: https://www.ofa.org/advanced-search?f=sr&appnum=1906840

As you can see, she has no elbow certification, an insufficient practitioner cardiac exam and an out of date eye exam. If she really has a Pennhip exam, they didn't pay the small fee to list it to OFA.


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## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

As ArchersMom said, DK if PH was done, elbows were NOT done- ED is worse than HD imo. Eyes are out of date, and heart is an inadequate exam for a breeding animal . That's the dam. Her dam has elbow clearance and no hip, no current eye and same inadequate heart. And her sire? Nothing. 
Dumbledore II- inadequate heart, but he has current eyes, hips and elbows. Pedigree: UKC CH, Nat'l/Int'l CH Dumbledore II (SR77179901) CGC I wonder why they didn't do dam's eyes? That makes no sense really.


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