# Ears not looking like typical golden ears



## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

She is a cutie. Please do not try to train her ears to lay flat. She doesn't deserve that. No, she is not 100% Golden but it's not her fault. Take it up with the breeder you bought her from. If you spent a lot of money on a registered Golden Retriever, I'd be asking some questions.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Couple different perspectives...

Purebred doesn't mean well-bred. A lot of people can sell anyone a purebred dog, but if they breed anything and everything or they throw conformation/structure out the door while the breed for other stuff, they might end up with a lot of faults rolling into what they have. 

Generally speaking a dog may be purebred but have a lot of weird things about their appearance - it doesn't usually mean a dog is a mix.

With your pup, I see the winged ears and a white spot on the nose. Which to me suggests something else behind your pup. It may be something else visited the mom when she was in season. Or it could be something a couple generations back. 

I would leave the ears alone. 

Among else, golden retrievers are a breed where NOTHING is done to fix or alter the ears.


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## Kathryn Langston (Apr 21, 2017)

Thank you both for your responses. I really didn't want to change her ears - I was just not sure if I SHOULD. We love her so much already, so no matter what she will not be leaving our family. She just doesn't look like any golden I have had in the past. I'm not sure what to say to the breeder? Is there anything you should suggest? Thank you!


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## Kathryn Langston (Apr 21, 2017)

So update - talked to the breeder and she has been DNA tested and is purebred back for at least 4 generations. I have seen parents and grandparents of both dogs and they are gorgeous. She sent me a picture of Arrow's sibling, and she also has the same ears. I think i'm just going to not worry about is and just enjoy watching her grow up. We couldn't imagine not having her in our family


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## SheetsSM (Jan 17, 2008)

Kathryn Langston said:


> So update - talked to the breeder and she has been DNA tested and is purebred back for at least 4 generations. I have seen parents and grandparents of both dogs and they are gorgeous. She sent me a picture of Arrow's sibling, and she also has the same ears. I think i'm just going to not worry about is and just enjoy watching her grow up. We couldn't imagine not having her in our family


Who did the DNA testing? and it was your pup that was tested? If so, why? was there already a concern about parentage? 

Can you post pics of the parents and sibling or point to the breeder's website. Very curious as to how they look.


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## Kathryn Langston (Apr 21, 2017)

She was registered with the AKC do they did the testing. And yes...I think I can post pics of the parents.


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## Kathryn Langston (Apr 21, 2017)

Here's daddy


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## Kathryn Langston (Apr 21, 2017)

This is a picture that she sent me of one of Arrow's siblings - she is on the top. I feel like she and my baby look exactly alike (with the exception of the white on her nose.)


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## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

I agree with earlier comment that purebred doesn't mean well-bred. 
This puppy has flaring ears, a white spot on her muzzle and on her toes, and while she's cute as the dickens, no matter what the breeder says there's something off imo.
Why would she do DNA unless she was worried about it- it's not the norm to DNA a litter unless parentage is in question.

Love her anyway- I just hope you didn't pay a ridiculous price for her precious self.


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## Anele (Dec 12, 2014)

She's adorable!


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## SheetsSM (Jan 17, 2008)

Kathryn Langston said:


> She was registered with the AKC do they did the testing. And yes...I think I can post pics of the parents.


Just to clarify, the breeder said the litter was DNA tested? It is not common place for AKC to conduct DNA testing on litters in order to register puppies. Sires who have so many litters a year may be required to have DNA on file, but that is not the same as DNA testing puppies before they go home. Something is certainly amiss. Were there other dogs on the property and/or are these dogs living on a farm?


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

Please understand that we think your girl is adorable and no one here thinks you love her less or want to send her back, the reason this thread is continuing is because there is some concern that you have been taken advantage of if you paid a particular sum of money with the expectation that you were getting a 100% Golden Retriever puppy. There are lots of other traits besides shape and set of ears that you thought you were paying for. It's not ok if you were misled on the parentage of your little girl. The DNA testing is a big red flag to the people here who have some expertise in breeding and registering puppies with the AKC along with the breeder giving you the impression that this is normal practice.


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## Kathryn Langston (Apr 21, 2017)

I think I may be misinformed. She didn't specifically say that the puppy had been tested - I think I just inferred that from my lack of knowledge about how these things are done. The sire was tested and that is the number I have in my paperwork. She claims the mother has been with her for many years, and there were 10 puppies in this litter. Ours was the only one with white (one of the reasons we chose her) and the other puppies didn't seem to have such distinctive ears. There is another dog on the property - a black poodle. She is not from a farm, but they did live in the country.


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## Anne Y. (Jan 6, 2017)

Typical golden ears or not, she is adorable! Let her be her naturally beautiful self. No need to train her ears.


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## DanaRuns (Sep 29, 2012)

If you're concerned, maybe you should get your puppy's DNA tested. It's not that expensive. And if the test comes back anything other than pure Golden, you might be due a refund.


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## BarkWin (Apr 5, 2017)

She is absolutely adorable! 

That said, she does look like there might be something mixed in there. Her ears remind me of a cocker spaniel a little.


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## ArchersMom (May 22, 2013)

She's super cute!! Don't forget, there can be multiple sires in one litter. So her littermates might only be half siblings. You can DNA little arrow to be 100% sure that her daddy is the dog he's supposed to be.


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## 3 goldens (Sep 30, 2005)

She is just to cute! Easy to see why you fell in love with her. As to the white on her, my one golden, Buck had some white on his toes on both back feet, and a was born with a spot on the top of his head which went away as he got olde4r. I read up on that and saw many picture s of goldens with white on them, and oddly enough, a few with back, usually on their face. Kinda like a port wine birthmark on humans. I really don't know about the ers, but I suppose dogs can have defects just like human babies. But at any rate, I think youi have a keeper in that cutie pie.


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## Aayushi (May 12, 2021)

Kathryn Langston said:


> Thank you both for your responses. I really didn't want to change her ears - I was just not sure if I SHOULD. We love her so much already, so no matter what she will not be leaving our family. She just doesn't look like any golden I have had in the past. I'm not sure what to say to the breeder? Is there anything you should suggest? Thank you!


Hy can you share you share his/her pic now ?


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## Maggie'sVoice (Apr 4, 2018)

The ears and the paws are not typical for goldens. Enough so that I'm thinking a mix (likely) or poorly bred (possibility) imo. Either way she is adorable


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## Maggie'sVoice (Apr 4, 2018)

If the litter was DNA tested, then there was likely an accidental breeding. That really would be the only reason to DNA test and the look of the pups is the reasoning for that concern.


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## DevWind (Nov 7, 2016)

She is super cute! Give her time. My guy had wacky ears at that age....we called them flying nun ears! If I wasn't on my work computer, I could show you. Now, she shouldn't have any white on her but some goldens do.


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