# Reputable breeder?



## acquila (Dec 24, 2008)

Out of the two desert goldens looks like the best, They require you to spay/neuter, the pups have a lifetime garuntee, and the breeder will be there at all time to give you advise.
desertgoldens mentioned something about having hips, eyes ect done, I would ask them about this just to be sure. I didn't see anything about their dogs being tested for anything on the other website.
but thats just my opinion, lets see what the pro's have to say...


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## AcesWild (Nov 29, 2008)

AT first glance I wasn't seeing really ANY thing about health from any of the breeders that being said the dogs seem to be way over priced. The parents are used from what I can tell, call names only. 

I would contact and ask about what the dogs do if anything and ask for copies of parents health records.


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## LibertyME (Jan 6, 2007)

The biggest red flag is that there are no registered names (or AKC numbers) on any of the sites...very, very frustrating! You cant dig deeper to investigate the pedigree or if health testings have been recorded on OFA.
If, if, if I wnated to spend time working with them, getting those names would be top on my list.
Have you contacted your nearest breed club?


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

Faraway Goldens
Suzanne Bria
9 Patricia Road
Orinda, CA 94563
925.253.4875
Email: [email protected]
She has a Yogi son named Finnegan, and may have very good advice or a litter in mind

Contact information:
Aubridge Goldens
Robin E. Baker 
Sacramento, CA
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://home.earthlink.net/~aubridge/
This would be my personal choice for California- love their dogs

Firemark Retrievers
Melanie Foster
Lodi CA
209.366.1083
Email: [email protected]
High power athletes- field style goldies. 


Osprey Goldens
Wendy Hunter, Jan Richards
Clayton CA 
(925) 673-1290
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.ospreygoldens.com


Birnam Wood
Sylvia Donahey & William J. Feeney
Cotati, CA
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.birnamwood.com
tremendous reputation, very involved in caring for the breed, gorgeous goldens


Starducks Golden Retrievers
Ginger Garrett and Anny Morrobel-Sosa
Arroyo Grande, CA 93420
E-Mail: [email protected]


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## buckeyegoldenmom (Oct 5, 2008)

Just a quick look through the websites:

Goldenstate...There is nothing about clearances. Doesn't mean they don't have them, but why not post the info. No AKC names to look up on K9Data or OFA if they have these clearances or check out their pedigree. And they charge more for "creme goldens" not good in my book!

Desertrose...no elbow clearances are mentioned.

Chaparral...says they have the clearances, seem to be active in some conformation obedience and agility etc. with their dogs. Give a two year guarantee.

Desertgoldens...didn't notice enough info on the site to dissuade me from them, but need all the clearance info and names etc.

I would want to see the actual documentation of such clearances, and I 
would want the official pedigree names to look up their family genetics etc.

Others probably can add more.

I don't think $1500 is probably out of line for CA, but don't know .


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## Red22 (Jul 12, 2009)

Thank you guys! I am having such a hard time finding a breeder that "has it all"!
I really appreciate you guys taking the time to steer me in the right direction. I thought these breeders were all so much better than the ones I'd been in contact with, but...

LJilly- thanks you so much for the contacts, I will get in touch with them - Really, Thank you! I feel like maybe now I'm on the right path!

Buckeyegolden - yeah, I'd think if they had the proper clearances they'd have it on their websites! 

So I need to be asking each breeder that I contact for proof of clearance and the registered name of the parents? Any other specific questions I should be asking that I may not know about? Then I look this up on k9data?


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## buckeyegoldenmom (Oct 5, 2008)

Ljilly28 said:


> Faraway Goldens
> Suzanne Bria
> 9 Patricia Road
> Orinda, CA 94563
> ...


Did you check out these breeders that Ljilly mentions? They look pretty good. There are some well known breeders list. 

Also once you have the AKC names and numbers you can look up if they jave their clearances on the OFA site. and check out their pedigree on k9data.com I would be looking at who the grandsires and dams are as well. Look back a few generations.


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

The listing Jill gave you is a great reference. To know about what to ask and look for in a breeder, our local club has this on their site which I really find helpful. http://www.dfwmgrc.org/Public-Info.htm You might be surprised to find that these "hobby" breeders have prices quite abit cheaper than the "for profits" high volume ones. Good luck in your search....... the time and effort you put into finding your pup will be well served.


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## Red22 (Jul 12, 2009)

I did contact the breeders from the list that LJilly gave me, so far no luck with anyone having available puppies  one breeder does have puppies that will be available in 3 weeks, but they only want pups to go to local families. (which is probably good 'cuz it shows they really like to keep track of their pups - but...) I am unfortunately about 7 hrs. away from them, so don't know how that will go. I am still waiting to hear back from 3 of them, so still keeping my hopes up!


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## Ladyinblack (Jul 20, 2009)

I have done a lot of research my self and visited a couple of breeders and it was dissapointing so after a year of research I have chosen to purchase my puppy from http://www.emeraldsgoldens.com/pups.html. I did contact some of the websites that you mentioned and it was not for me. It was hard to find someone that had everything and I feel that emeraldsgoldens does...Some breeders don't offer OFA clearances because they have only done preliminaries, some claim that it's too expensive and that it's not important or they bred their dogs before they were 2 years old and you can't get clearances until they are 2 years old.


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

Ladyinblack said:


> I have done a lot of research my self and visited a couple of breeders and it was dissapointing so after a year of research I have chosen to purchase my puppy from http://www.emeraldsgoldens.com/pups.html. I did contact some of the websites that you mentioned and it was not for me. It was hard to find someone that had everything and I feel that emeraldsgoldens does...Some breeders don't offer OFA clearances because they have only done preliminaries, some claim that it's too expensive and that it's not important or they bred their dogs before they were 2 years old and you can't get clearances until they are 2 years old.


Good for you for holding out and continuing the search until finding a breeder who does the health clearances and that you feel comfortable with. There are several refs in this thread to learning about what to look for and the listing that LJilly provided was very good also. There are many like me who have learned tons, over time, here from some very good and generous breeders, trainers, etc.


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## NapaValleyGolden (Mar 24, 2008)

Red22,

Are you in Northern CA? We got Cody (4 months old) from Jennifer Masterson in Petaluma, Masters Golden Retrievers and was very pleased with her. Another Petaluma breeder is Linda Giorgi (sp?) at Foxfire Goldens, where we got our first golden Jake. I believe Linda will have a litter available early fall. I believe someone else mentioned Birnam Woods? Jake's dad was a Birnam Woods dog and he was a beautiful dog.

Price-wise, $1500 is what we paid for Cody and was the price quoted by two other CA breeders also. 

Good luck


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## Red22 (Jul 12, 2009)

NapaValleyGolden -

I am actually in So. California, but I would be willing to drive up north for the right puppy from the right breeder (I seem to be having a really hard time finding a breeder who has/does it all. Do you happen to have the contact info for Jennifer and Linda? I will try googling them!

Ladyinblack - I just came acrossed the emerald website too - they do sound pretty good! I haven't heard back from them yet.


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## NapaValleyGolden (Mar 24, 2008)

Red22 said:


> NapaValleyGolden -
> 
> I am actually in So. California, but I would be willing to drive up north for the right puppy from the right breeder (I seem to be having a really hard time finding a breeder who has/does it all. Do you happen to have the contact info for Jennifer and Linda? I will try googling them!
> 
> Ladyinblack - I just came acrossed the emerald website too - they do sound pretty good! I haven't heard back from them yet.


Jennifer Masterson, mastersgoldenretrievers.com 
Linda Giorgi, foxfire-goldens.com

Good luck


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## Ladyinblack (Jul 20, 2009)

Pat, from EmeraldsGoldens usually is online around noon everyday... She is in Southern California, in Rosamond which is close to Lancaster. She has a litter of puppies that are almost 9 weeks old, only boys left, I had first pick on this litter but I had to go out of town and moved my deposit to a different litter. She also is expecting another litter that should be available to go home around Sept 20. She has another small litter that will be 8 weeks in August 7, one of those is going to be mine. Her Price for both males and females is $1,500 sometimes a little less...


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

Red22 said:


> NapaValleyGolden -
> 
> I am actually in So. California, but I would be willing to drive up north for the right puppy from the right breeder (I seem to be having a really hard time finding a breeder who has/does it all. Do you happen to have the contact info for Jennifer and Linda? I will try googling them!
> 
> Ladyinblack - I just came acrossed the emerald website too - they do sound pretty good! I haven't heard back from them yet.


Be as patient as you can. Lots of the great small-volume breeders don't have websites or any kind of publicity machine, so it can be hard to find them. They place puppies largely by word of mouth. Try to get in touch with your local Golden Retriever Club and build some relationships.


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## Red22 (Jul 12, 2009)

Ladyinblack - I did hear back from Patricia today. I haven't received too much info from her other than that she had the litter of males available. I emailed her back for more info...

NapaValleyGolden - I contacted both Linda and Jennifer and filled out their adoption questionaires, so hopefully will hear back soon!

Tippykayak - I am sooo *trying* to be patient, and find the right breeder and do all my research, but it is hard! Especially when I come to this forum and hear all you guys stories and see all the pooch pics...makes it hard to be patient!


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## Red22 (Jul 12, 2009)

I am hoping to be able to get one of the Osprey pups, the owner has been really great and is always quick to get back to me when I email with questions. Normally they require a meeting prior to the puppy availability date (8/8!) but since I am about 6-7 hours away and would have to basically make that trip twice in 2 weeks, she has agreed to a phone meeting - so hopefully that goes well! The pics of the dogs and pups on her site are gorgeous! Wish me luck! Thank you all for all your advice, I really, really appreciate it and I have learned so much (and still have a lot to learn I'm sure )!

NapaValleyGolden - I did contact Linda and she was really great, she didn't have any available pups until 2010, so she gave me the contact info for a friend of hers who was expecting a litter (unfortunately all those pups were already spoken for), but both women have been so nice and helpful! Oh,by the way, the sire to the Osprey litter is a Masters dog Thanks for the recommendation!


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

Congratulations, Red22. Sounds like you are on the right track!


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## buckeyegoldenmom (Oct 5, 2008)

Good luck! I sounds like a great possibility.  Hope all works out!


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## Zeek75 (Nov 3, 2016)

Red22, Did you end up finding a breeder that "has it all"? This was 7 years ago so I sure hope you did! I have had the same trouble finding the perfect breeder the past 6 months or so and I am hoping you can lead me in the right direction!


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