# Sticky  A Puppy Buyer's Fact Checker



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When it comes time to search for a new puppy, the search can be intimidating and scary. Especially if you have never done this before. Breeders can have fancy websites with pictures of pretty dogs, cute puppies and say all the right things but those are not the most important things. Puppy millers, high volume breeders or byb (Back Yard Breeders) do these things to draw you in making you fall in love and never do the proper clearances to ensure the health of the dogs. We have made this thread to help the first time buyers or buyers wanting to do it right the next time after suffering a loss or going thru the pain of having to go thru surgeries with their dogs.

When you find a breeder, the first thing I would do is to go to this website and use this checklist to continue your discussion with the breeder. 

https://www.grca.org/find-a-golden/about-breeders/selecting-a-breeder/

Ask some of these questions:
1. Are the parents of the puppies two years old
2. Do the parents have their final clearances on their hips, elbows, heart cerf and yearly eye cerf 
3. Can you provide a copy of a 3 to 5 year generation pedigree
4. Are your puppies sold with a written contract
5. What is your policy about refunds and/or replacements if something goes wrong 
6. Are you willing to take the puppy back for any reason
7. What would you do if I could no longer care for this dog

After speaking with the breeder we have links to K9-data, AKC, GRCA, OFA and alike to be provided with easy explanations on how to navigate these databases to get the proper information. This would provide an easy way for puppy buyers to evaluate any claims a breeder has made regarding his or her puppies. This is all based on the premise that truth is a very good thing when purchasing a puppy. 

k9data is an open database for Golden Retriever pedigrees. This database consists entirely of information provided by end users. http://www.k9data.com/

Though you can register, it is not necessary to register just to look up your dog(s). It is important to realize it's a database which depends on the honesty of the poster, and the research of some dedicated volunteers, who make corrections as necessary and yes, they can ban individuals who have been found to post un-true information.

You enter the name of the dog you are interested in, and if the dog is in the database, the pedigree link comes up. From there you can check on siblings, offspring, COI, vertical pedigrees (which shows siblings, and, depending on the view you choose, their clearances or longevity), and 5 generation pedigrees, again offering a view of clearances or longevity.

You can then check an AKC number by copying it and going to American Kennel Club - Store scrolling down to Dogs Look up and clicking. Then just paste and enter the number. You can check on siblings by changing the last two digits, for example I may search on a dog with 01 for the last two digits. If there were more puppies in the litter, I can change the last two digits to 02, etc.


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OFA is a non-profit organization that collate and disseminate information concerning orthopedic and genetic diseases of animals. For more information about who they are you can go to https://www.ofa.org/about and read more. 

The OFA website offers much more than just a look up for one dog.

Go to Orthopedic Foundation for Animals and type in the name of the dog you are interested in. If he or she is in the database, s/he will come up along with all of his or her clearances. You want to see hips and elbows done BEFORE the dog is bred and after the age of 2 years. The trend now is to also register hearts and eyes with OFA. easily accessible.

The dog will come up with his or her clearances. Click on his or her name and the sire and dam of the dog come up, along with a list of siblings, and offspring, and their OFA data. If you are really interested in research, you can compare birth dates to clearance dates and follow as far back as you can on OFA.

Some breeders will say that they don't use OFA -they have their vet look at them. However, it takes an experienced and trained radiologist to properly read and interpret the OFA x-rays.

OFA is the gold standard for the US, while some foreign countries have their own grading system.
http://www.offa.org/

Though the links and info provided do not necessarily guarantee anything it does provide you with a way of checking on what a breeder is telling you about their litters and dogs and even about their breeding program. If after using these databases to fact-check a potential breeder and you decide something isn't quite adding up, I suggest first consulting with that breeder to get a better picture of where the misunderstanding lies. However if you suspect the breeder was being anything less than open and honest with you in their representation of their dogs or litters then it is highly suggest that that breeder be avoided as most likely other misrepresentations may also arise about health guarantee and alike after the sale. In other words, the main function for these links is as a litmus test for 'breeder honesty', beyond that you must make your own judgments of just how important the actual data is to answering other concerns you may have about health, genetics, sound structure, etc.

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What to look for in Breeder Websites

https://www.goldenretrieverforum.co...-puppy/32279-word-about-breeder-websites.html

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What clearances of dogs look like 

https://www.goldenretrieverforum.co...er-puppy/71378-what-clearances-look-like.html

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Another good list on what to look for on differences of breeders and buying a purebred puppy

The ABC's of Buying a Purebred Puppy

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What exactly is an English golden Retriever 

https://www.goldenretrieverforum.co...actly-english-golden-retriever-bev-brown.html

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There is only one National Golden Retriever Club and that club is the *Golden Retriever Club of America*. Golden Retriever Club of America - All About Goldens

Do not fall for the Golden Retriever Club of the USA
https://www.goldenretrieverforum.co...n/91122-beware-golden-retriever-club-usa.html

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We maintain that one thing we can all agree on is that a puppy buyer should never be intentionally lied to or mislead by any breeder. We've all read sad stories on this forum about owners who were lied to by their breeder. In an effort to prevent our GRF puppy buyers from having to experience this fate we have started this thread. The concept is simple to comprehend and pure in its intent.

Arguments about specific breeding practices (ie. importance of AKC, hip X-rays, etc) should then be dealt with in a separate appropriately titled thread in which the merits can be discussed in a civilized and intelligent manner.

We will ask for the membership here to submit what they feel are appropriate links complete with detailed explanations as to how to navigate, register, etc. the linked resource website. And whenever anyone has a question about their new puppy or is planning on purchasing a puppy or is trying to evaluate a breeder for honesty, they need only be sent to this thread.

Links for other countries on doing clearances:
British Veterinary Association BVA - Canine Health Schemes



*British (UK) Hip Scheme*​ 




*also applies to Australia and New Zealand*​ 





The British Kennel Club and the British Veterinary Association operate their hip-scoring scheme jointly. 
Dogs are required to be a minimum of 1 years of age at the time of being x-rayed. 
A panel of specialist Vets study the x-rays, score the areas of the hip and socket and then an overall score is then given. ​


There are 9 areas to score:
Subluxation - max score 6 per hip
Norberg angle - max score 6 per hip
Cranial acetablular edge -max score 6 per hip
Dorsal acetabular edge - max score 6 per hip
Cranial effective acetabular rim- max score 6 per hip
Acetabular fossa -max score 6 per hip
Caudal acetebular edge- max score 5 per hip
Femoral head/neck exostosis-max score 6 per hip
Femoral head recontouring- max score 6 per hip​ 

The best possible score a dog can get is 0:0, and the worst is 53:53. Each hip is scored out of a possible maximum total of 53 points per hip, with total scores a maximum possible 106 points. The higher the points, the worse the dysplasia is. The BKC publishes breed averages annually.​ 



*web links to additional information:*​*British Veterinary Association*

*BVA Hip Scheme*

You can also find information about other countries hip clearances from these websites. 

Australia Canine Hip Dysplasia

This shows ratings from several countries In Europe The Malinut Page » Int’l Hip Rating Comparisons |\.-./|

Interesting reading with different articles on hip displasia on this site 
dog hip dysplasia, HD, canine hip dysplasia


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