# Reputable English Cream Retriever Breeder in Midwest??



## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

Welcome to the forum. You are placing a serious limitation on finding ethical breeders by making the color of the dog your primary concern. (yes, I understand that health is #1 but after that you're saying it's color). By doing this you are narrowing the field of possible breeders down dramatically. 

The laws of supply and demand dictate that you are going to have to accept two facts: 1) you will have to wait longer or 2) you will have to travel much farther or possibly both. If you try to compromise your standards I can almost guarantee you will end up giving your money to a breeder you will regret associating with.

You may want to check breeders in Canada as they often have conformation dogs there that are lighter in coloring. I can't stress enough that you want to find a breeder who is doing everything right, clearances etc. and not raising puppies like they are livestock and just plan on waiting for them to have a puppy for you. I waited almost two years for the GOlden in my signature photo because I wanted her, I knew her parents and their owners and she has been worth every minute of the wait.

Have you seen this website, it's an excellent research tool: English Goldens in North America - Litters - Breeders - Stud Dogs


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

The most important part of finding a pup is that the breeder has health clearances.... hopefully for generations. Proving their dogs in some venue.... obedience, hunt, conformation etc shows that they have been compared to other dogs out there and, are in fact, breed standard. Here is a most informative article on "English cream" from the golden retriever club of America:

https://www.grca.org/find-a-golden/more-topics-before-you-buy/english-cream-golden-retrievers/


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## Piper_the_goldenpuppy (Aug 26, 2016)

Chicago Girl said:


> Help! I have been looking for a reputable, trustworthy *breeder of English Cream Retrievers in the Midwest *(MI, WI, IL, IN) and it has been tougher than I thought. As soon as I find one I think I like (from talking on the phone with them and checking out their website) they either do not have a litter coming anytime soon OR I find out negative things about them. Would LOVE a recommendation of a *nice, honest, reputable breeder* in the Midwest who breeds English Goldens out of their home and not in divided/fenced kennels. We do not want breeding rights, we want to add a puppy to our family filled with loving children. I may have found 2 or 3 that may be good, but hoping someone can reinforce my thoughts by referring. Thank you!


You might have to expand your search. I think its great that you are looking for a home-based breeder. The biggest thing is to make sure that any breeder you go with focuses on a solid breeding program that focuses on health and temperament. You want to be able to check verified clearances for the dogs, ideally for multiple generations. 

Very light/ "cream" goldens have become trendy over the past several years, and there are a lot of people out there who take advantage of this and are focused more on profit. 

I think its alright to have a preference in coat, some people love a dark golden, some a more middle-golden, and some like the light coat. I have a light golden now, but had a darker golden before. 

If you are committed to wanting a lighter coat, but also committed to wanting a reputable, ethical breeder, it just may take more homework and time. You might have to expand your search to a broader geographic area. It may also take additional time once you have found a breeder, to then wait for a puppy. But in the end you will have a puppy who has the best chance of being healthy and of good temperament, and be supporting the people who are truly committed to preserving the breed. 

If you looking for breeders, this site may be helpful. English Goldens in North America - Breeders


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## Selli-Belle (Jan 28, 2009)

Jody Brandeberry of Brandegold is north of Detroit. Her dogs are mostly of the English style but her female lines go back to Meadowpond.


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## admitchell (Sep 26, 2017)

Hi, just wanted to check if you were successful in your search. I started mine and I'm lost! I wanted to bring a puppy from the UK where we come from but it is too much hassle. I'd love to learn what you found out.


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## Chicago Girl (Sep 18, 2016)

Hello Admitchell! Yes, I ended up finding a breeder in Michigan. I am in Chicago but I found so many great ones around the Midwest. (Although I did think about looking into Canadian breeders. So glad I stuck to the Midwest. ) Here are some breeders I liked who you may want to look into. You can find them on Facebook too. Knotty Acres Farm, Deer Creek English Golden Retrievers, VanGoghlden Retrievers, Hearts of Gold, Platinum Goldens, Up North Goldens, Elkridge, and Heroes Gold
Listen to your gut. If there are no reviews or you cannot get anyone to give you feedback on a breeder...there is a reason!


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

admitchell said:


> Hi, just wanted to check if you were successful in your search. I started mine and I'm lost! I wanted to bring a puppy from the UK where we come from but it is too much hassle. I'd love to learn what you found out.



Please, please, please, be sure that when you think you've found a possible litter that you ask the breeder to supply you with proof of clearances for both parents of a litter - each dog needs a clearance for hips & elbows done at or after age 2. Each dog needs a heart clearance done by a cardiologist and a YEARLY eye exam. These are the absolute bare minimum. If you get the registered names of the parents of a litter someone on this site can help you verify the clearances on the database Orthopedic Foundation for Animals. 

Please ask questions about why the breeder is breeding the litter. When you find a breeder who is advertising the term "ENGLISH CREAM" on their website you can bet your last dollar that they are selling puppies as a money making venture. Reputable hobby breeders simply do not use the words "White Golden" " Platinum Golden" or "Cream or Creme" when talking about their dogs. These are marketing scheme words to cash in on the fad of lighter, bulkier looking dogs. It means you have to be extra careful that a breeder isn't cutting corners on health clearances or puppy raising so that you aren't taken advantage of.

I took a moment to look up dogs from one of the breeders that Chicago Girls has listed as a recommendation and it took me two minutes to find holes on OFA where the breeder has been breeding dogs with missing clearances. If the elbows are listed on OFA for the dog but not the hips it's a pretty safe bet that they were done at the same time and the dog failed the hip clearance and they opted not to list the failure.

Please do not assume that the list she gave you is 100% safe - you will need to do your own careful due diligence. There is no way I would purchase an "English Cream " Golden Retriever from any breeder who is not actively showing their dogs here in the United States in a venue like AKC or Canadian kennel club conformation dog shows or obedience or field work. It's the best way to weed out puppy farmers who are breeding puppies just to make money. 

Good luck with your search. There are plenty of lighter colored dogs in your area with heavier bone structure that should make you happy, I hope you will expand your search.

Consider contacting breeders like Shorline or Docmar or Malagold - you still need to verify clearances, ask the breeder, but these are breeders who show their dogs and plan to keep a puppy for themselves, not to just sell them all to make a buck.


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## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

Me too- 3 minutes - Knotty Acres Mikko has a litter- Pedigree: Moriani Micra Minnie Mouse bred to Bracho- Pedigree: Knotty Acre Martinek Aint Misbehaving neither of whom have any OFA record. 
I would be quite discerning using that breeder rec list above- since the first one listed (Knotty Acres) is clearly not doing things right.


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## Swampcollie (Sep 6, 2007)

Chicago Girl said:


> Help! I have been looking for a reputable, trustworthy *breeder of English Cream Retrievers in the Midwest *(MI, WI, IL, IN) and it has been tougher than I thought. As soon as I find one I think I like (from talking on the phone with them and checking out their website) they either do not have a litter coming anytime soon OR I find out negative things about them. Would LOVE a recommendation of a *nice, honest, reputable breeder* in the Midwest who breeds English Goldens out of their home and not in divided/fenced kennels. We do not want breeding rights, we want to add a puppy to our family filled with loving children. I may have found 2 or 3 that may be good, but hoping someone can reinforce my thoughts by referring. Thank you!


There is no such thing as a reputable breeder of "English Cream" Retrievers.

There is no such thing as an English Cream Retriever. There are Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, Flat Coated Retrievers, etc.


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## Chicago Girl (Sep 18, 2016)

Admitchell, this is not the best website to do research on these beautiful loving dogs. There is too much negativity here. There are some wonderful Facebook pages for English Cream Retrievers where we all help eachother and are respectful of eachother. I would suggest you look into those. The breeders I listed were just suggestions who I found to be wonderful breeders. I love our English Cream Golden Retriever. To the others - think before you type. If I suggested a breeder who was abusive to their dogs or a terrible breeder, say something. But your statements seem to be copied and pasted everywhere. If you have nothing nice to say don't say anything at all. That's what my grandmother taught me!


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Chicago Girl said:


> To the others - think before you type. If I suggested a breeder who was abusive to their dogs or a terrible breeder, say something. But your statements seem to be copied and pasted everywhere. If you have nothing nice to say don't say anything at all. That's what my grandmother taught me!


Chicago Girl, people are not speaking up to be mean. They are literally telling you and others to be careful because there are scammers out there. A lot of these scammers purchased puppies from either overseas puppy mills or backyard breeders here in the US (or puppy mills here in the US as there are at least 2 that are well known and show up in pedigrees that people have shown off). What happens is those scammers then breed like crazy and sell puppies for big dollars because they have people thinking they are purchasing something very different, very unique, very rare, or otherwise worth thousands more than something else. The sales pitch leads these people to think so and when they have their pups - they pretty much won't accept any criticism of those dogs, despite the dogs turning out kinda funky after they grow up. And why shouldn't they, no thought is put into the ending product (breed standard, structure, pigment, health) other than making sure the dogs have foreign backgrounds + are as light or "white" as possible. All puppies are cute. How the dogs turn is different. It's why we all tell people don't get dragged out to view the puppies until you've had a chance to view the adults and check clearances. Only backyard breeders breed anything they have with no regard for health beyond assuring puppy buyers that the parents are very healthy? 

And even if a dog is healthy or has all his clearances, you don't know what's behind him. And whether that's skipping a generation and showing up in his puppies. There is a reason why when reviewing clearance histories behind litters, you are going back several generations.

Other thing is some of these dogs are coming from corrupt places where even if they had some kind of clearance history, you know that some fishy stuff might have been going on. 

I get being very sensitive and protective of the choices you made. But w/regards to people who are asking for help it is better for people to speak up and suggest that they make educated choices to avoid being scammed. 

There are a LOT of scammers in this country when it comes to "english cremes".

Rule of thumb - all dogs bred here in the US need to have full clearance posted on a public database. If they do not or have spotty clearance histories, odds are they had stuff fail and sweeping it under a rug while breeding the dogs anyway.


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## rabernet (Feb 24, 2015)

Chicago Girl said:


> Admitchell, this is not the best website to do research on these beautiful loving dogs. There is too much negativity here. There are some wonderful Facebook pages for English Cream Retrievers where we all help eachother and are respectful of eachother. I would suggest you look into those. The breeders I listed were just suggestions who I found to be wonderful breeders. I love our English Cream Golden Retriever. To the others - think before you type. If I suggested a breeder who was abusive to their dogs or a terrible breeder, say something. But your statements seem to be copied and pasted everywhere. If you have nothing nice to say don't say anything at all. That's what my grandmother taught me!


Wow.

This is the FIRST place I came to when we wanted to add another golden to our family. I trust the opinion and knowledge of these folks over FB groups ANY day of the week. You don't have to be a physically abusive breeder to be a bad breeder. You could, oh, I don't know - sell "English Cream" golden retrievers at a premium with absolutely no health clearances on the dog/bitch. You could falsely tell prospective owners that they are healthier than American style goldens. Or - you could do things the right way, and the folks here will have no problems recommending and referring people your way.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Now to be fair and/or help...

Three of the breeders mentioned do clearances of sort...

Up North Goldens
Vertical pedigree: Starlite's New Beginnings

If you look at the grandma (bottom) - she is lacking hip clearances and looking her up on OFA, she has been bred and there's spotty hip clearances and at least one moderate HD listed from what is likely a pet owner who had the hips checked at time of neutering and sent the hip xrays in to OFA so they'd be listed there. The dog with moderate HD was a sibling to mom.

Platinum
Vertical pedigree: Ziya x Krim

You can click down below and view hip clearances going back 5 generations and elbow clearances going back 5 generations. And at glance everything is posted. 

VanGoghlan (or whatever it is) 
Vertical pedigree: EmmaxFinn

You can see a problem right off in that the sire for the litter being advertised has elbow dysplasia. The good news is they have this posted and are providing that info openly to buyers. Bad news though is a lot of us would not touch that litter because it's not credibly proven that elbow dysplasia can be caused by an injury without there being a predisposition or weakness to begin with. 

That said, the owner of the boy is a pretty big name and/or somebody who really is doing more than just breeding to sell. She also went the extra step and had a CT scan done - which is good and probably good enough for other people. 


That's at a glance. 

Your next level of clearance checks gets a bit more complicated...

Not just clicking on the individual dogs and following links to OFA to see what the status of eyes/hearts are if posted.

There's also genetic tests.

Because the European lines seem to have ichythosis worse than American breds for whatever reason... it's pretty important to make sure that people are first doing the genetic tests and then are not breeding carrier to carrier. 

The Vangohglenden (or whatever it is) litter is a prime example of a breeder doing it right. The girlie is a carrier of ichthy. But the sire she picked (while he had elbow dysplasia) is clear. So that means the puppies won't be affected. 

Carrier x carrier litters generally either produce carriers or affected. 

Affected means your dog will skin problems. 


^^^ All of that is just looking at clearances. Which is your first step. Next step at that is making sure that the breeders actually have a good eye for what needs to be there and are actually selecting studs to breed to (as opposed to simply buying male and female dogs and breeding them regardless of how they turn out).

I actually am pretty sure I've seen some of the dogs re/ Plantinum or Vangoglejjkjdshk at shows before. Typically local shows for them. And/or I've met the breeders. I think when people do stuff right and or make the effort it should be noted. Least of all, they should not be lumped in with people who literally breed dogs like other people breed goats.


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## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

Chicago Girl said:


> Admitchell, this is not the best website to do research on these beautiful loving dogs. There is too much negativity here. There are some wonderful Facebook pages for English Cream Retrievers where we all help eachother and are respectful of eachother. I would suggest you look into those. The breeders I listed were just suggestions who I found to be wonderful breeders. I love our English Cream Golden Retriever. To the others - think before you type. If I suggested a breeder who was abusive to their dogs or a terrible breeder, say something. But your statements seem to be copied and pasted everywhere. If you have nothing nice to say don't say anything at all. That's what my grandmother taught me!


Ah, but when a person asks for a breeder reference, and the first one listed does not do the things one should do if one is looking to breed healthy dogs, then not saying anything at all is totally wrong. It is wrong to assume we dislike this color- that's not true. I like the color. But I also cannot suggest someone go into scam world and buy a puppy from a person who knows nothing about Goldens aside from how to market for big bucks. sorry. Abuse is no different in my mind from breeding dogs without health clearances- because it is the buyer who lives with the dog who drops dead from SAS. Not the "breeder" . I didn't check out the rest of your list- just the first one. And it was sadly lacking.


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## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

Megora said:


> There are a LOT of scammers in this country when it comes to "english cremes".
> 
> Rule of thumb - all dogs bred here in the US need to have full clearance posted on a public database. If they do not or have spotty clearance histories, odds are they had stuff fail and sweeping it under a rug while breeding the dogs anyway.


Unfortunately, there are multiples more scammers than there are responsible breeders of this type in the US. Sad.


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## tracy_gxy (May 4, 2019)

Hi, i would like to ask if you know are golry dawn goldens are reputable? Their site shows elbow and hip clearances but the heart clearance has only been done once 4 years ago. they do not have a OFA eye clearace but they do have a genetic test for GR-PRA 1 and 2, prcd-PRA and is negative (which means clear?)
is this breeder reputable? since he has most of the clearances? Thank u for ur help!


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## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

Quote from site: "The Ich clear gene is so rare that statistics show that it is not a good idea to breed dogs together of the same breed that are genetically clear of Ich. The chance of them coming from the same gene pool is possible. Resulting in puppies with weak genes and or bottle necks." kinda a weird perspective, and also an untrue one...

So- since they have the 'storefront' type website, where puppies are listed for sale and bought with a click I will go through the first couple- if one you are interested in is not one of those few, post the sire and dam info for the one you are interested in and someone will evaluate for you.
Jimmy- dam: Kate- no eye clearance, cardiac done by practitioner, therefore inadequate- should be done by a cardiologist who listens to heart sounds multiple times a day. She is ACA registered. Avoid ACA at all costs, especially w a puppy priced at $2200. If he were $200, maybe. 
sire: Jade- no eye clearance, no heart clearance, no hip or elbow clearance- and he is actually far too young to be breeding anyway- plus he is obviously unbalanced structurally. 

And I would posit that since they state on their site that they only breed animals who have passed all their clearances, and it is obvious they do not especially in the case of Jade, they cannot be counted on to publish truth. 
Wendell- dam: Peaches- inadequate cardiac clearance (see above), no eye clearance, her sire has obviously not passed elbows, and her dam has no clearances. 
sire: Rio- quote: "and being sired in Hungary assures you he’s from a family reputation of health and beauty." is somewhat hysterically funny to me- they do clearances at 4-6 mo in Hungary and I would hardly rely on that rep to convince me a dog had a healthy pedigree. He has an inadequate cardiac clearance and no eye clearance. His parents have inadequate cardiac clearances and nothing else. 

I didn't go through all their dogs, but do not think you should be looking for 'most of the clearances' when they are charging a price found w a good breeder who does more w their dogs than breed them based on coat color. These things are not costly, one can do a whole Embarq panel of dna tests for $130 or so- and by the quote above on ICt, I would imagine these folks don't understand genetics at all anyway.


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## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

English Goldens in North America - Breeders not all these breeders are still following the code of ethics- but starting here is a good start.


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## puddles everywhere (May 13, 2016)

I'm sorry... I know this is an old post but just in case Chicago ??? ever reads the forum. Your grandmothers quote.. "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all" is actually a quote from THUMPER in the Disney movie Bambi. I was shocked when I was watching this movie with my grandson as I got the same speech when I was a kid .... lots of us were apparently raised by 
Disney 

I believe a very wise man once said something along the lines of the worst thing people can do is to see a problem and say nothing at all... and it wasn't Disney.


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## mzilke (May 4, 2019)

our new puppy is a mix of a American golden father his mother is British


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## mzilke (May 4, 2019)

I should have mentioned that my American, English pup has all his clearances


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