Tally-ho,
I got my pup in Jan 2008. I never got my paperwork and I can't find the old emails that had the pedigrees. She had 26 adult dogs at the time we got our pup, so there is a lot of possibilities. I looked at her website and none of the current dogs on her website ring a bell with me. She has a lot of dogs.

Sally's Mom,
I've gotten all my dogs in AK except for Reilly. None of them have tested posititve for coccidia or giardia until I brought Reilly home and he gave it to my other dogs. I am very frustrated that I did not know about either coccidia or giardia until I was getting in the car with the pup to leave. It would have been better for her to let me know before I traveled to Oregon. When I went home I could have been better prepared to segregate my dogs and keep the poop areas totally seperate so there would be less of a chance of transfer of disease. What do you suggest to your pup buyers when you send home pups if coccidia and giardia is so common? Educating buyers would be in Judy's best interest. Also buyers knowing that they may incur additional vet bills if the pup is going into a multiple dog home where other dogs might be exposed.

There is one other issue with Judy that I would like all your opinions on. When I first spoke with Judy she only had one pup available. He was 14 weeks old and had a broken tail. She told me the tail was broken in the womb and the pup was fine other than that. I didn't care since I wasn't showing the dog. We flew to Oregon to pick up the pup. When I came home with the pup I took him to the vet ASAP so that I could find out what to do about the coccidia and giardia since I had no experience with either. The vet gave me her opinion about those issues and then brought up the broken tail. The vet said the tail was very recently broken and not broken in the womb. The vet was actually more upset about the tail because it was so severely broken and the pup was in a lot of pain. She said the tail could have been fixed if the pup had been to the vet immediately, but now it was too late and it would need surgury to repair the break. The tail is bent at a full 90 degree right angle, its not just a kink. Any opinions on broken tails?

Coccidia is not usually a big issue especially in older dogs. Giardia is everywhere...if you go hiking or on walks in the woods, you have potential exposure. With giardia, just cleaning up the poop doesn't limit exposure...at least once during the course of treatment, you need to bathe the rear end as the giardia cysts can hang out in the fur. I have never sold a pup with parasites, but not infrequently, they do get "the diarrhea" due to stress.. In the scheme of things if the pup is otherwise healthy neither Coccidia nor giardia should be very debilitating. I am more afraid of parasites like hookworms. The next time you purchase a pup you could keep it isolated from the others until it is clear of parasites...

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Janice and The Celebration Gang -
"Samantha, George, Tiki, Emily, Mick and Basil" Gone but not forgotten, Sally(Windjammer's Ima Country Girl CDX CGC), Laney(Mandell Marlenes Celebration UD RA CGC), and Cookie(Starseeker's Kissmas Cookie CDX RE CGC).

It's kind of like when a client adopts a cat from one of the shelters. The shelters always give a sheet that owners sign off on on upper respiratory viruses. Many of these people already have established cats in their households. Inevitably, the stress of moving from the shelter to the household activates a resp. virus. New cat starts sneezing...established cat has already been exposed... I usually tell people to wait several weeks before exposing the cats due to the contagious viruses. Clients rarely listen, however, and they have already signed a waiver with the shelter...

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Janice and The Celebration Gang -
"Samantha, George, Tiki, Emily, Mick and Basil" Gone but not forgotten, Sally(Windjammer's Ima Country Girl CDX CGC), Laney(Mandell Marlenes Celebration UD RA CGC), and Cookie(Starseeker's Kissmas Cookie CDX RE CGC).

Sally's mom,
thank you for the information. Up here parasites aren't generally a problem since we don't have fleas or ticks to transmit them. When it comes to parasites that are in the dirt and don't require fleas and ticks, I have heard of other dogs getting giardia here, but not often, more often it's people that get it. Its interesting about bathing the dogs bottom to eradicate the cysts. I was not suggested to do that by my vet, but I'm sure it would have helped. I have heard that finding the giardia cysts in the feces is very difficult and they aren't always present. Do you find that to be true?

My last pup is from here in AK. The breeder did worm all pups, but she was under the impression that only round worms could be remotely possible. We are actually a very dry climate with only 12 to 15 inches of precipition per year (including melted snow). I understand that hookworms require 40" of rain per year?

I would be interested to know a bit more about coccidia. Reilly was my only pup with it. After treating him with the pills from Judy, they were gone and did not transfer to my other dogs. It was only giardia that transmitted.

We send all our fecals to Idexx and they are much better at detecting things than we used to. Rounds and hooks can be transmitted from the mother to the pups. The website 01 VeterinaryPartner Home Page - VeterinaryPartner.com - a VIN company! is very helpful in finding good info on both giardia and Coccidia.

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Janice and The Celebration Gang -
"Samantha, George, Tiki, Emily, Mick and Basil" Gone but not forgotten, Sally(Windjammer's Ima Country Girl CDX CGC), Laney(Mandell Marlenes Celebration UD RA CGC), and Cookie(Starseeker's Kissmas Cookie CDX RE CGC).

Hooks can survive in most climates, I am in Toronto and a couple of my guys picked them up a few years ago. Whips are usually found in the warmer moist climates (I have had a dog bring those home from a show).

Giardia is usually transmitted dog to dog, in bird feces, streams etc. Most adults, like coccidia, can fight it off, puppies can be symptom free until they move to their new homes (stress lowers the immune system).

In my opinion, if a breeder is up front with these issues, and provides the meds for them, they are doing the right thing. Coccidia is a common ailment, that does require a breeder to be on top of as it can quickly allow a young puppy to go downhill.

Here is a great link on the parasite Coccidiosis: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention

Cheers
Rob

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Conquerer Golden Retrievers
http://www.conquerergoldens.com

I didn't get Bella from that breeder, but her grandma is there (UCI National Champion Timberline Journey Thru Time).

Bella's mom (Wood Duck Mocha Motion) must have come from there too. I can't comment on the breeder, but if my breeder trusts her, she can't be all bad.

Bella's pedigree: Pedigree: Grasslands Liberty Belle

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Grasslands Liberty Belle "Bella" CGC (5-7-2012)

ibby, Sorry to be so slow replying. As far as details go, I'm not sure what to say other than that I didn't experience the cleanliness issue that turtle66 brought up and that our puppy was healthy. The actual exchange took place at the petsmart by the PDX airport, as Judy was in town and was able to bring pups to me and another new owner.
Our pup appeared to be in perfect health. She gave the remaining meds, her packet of information (mainly consisting of feeding guidelines, neuter recommendations, and medication info) some food samples, and one very fluffy pot-bellied puppy. Ridley is now just over a year old and to date has had no health issues except some reoccurring skin flaking which has been largely resolved by adjusting his diet.
His temperament has been sweet, if energetic, since day one.

We too were told Ridley would be given under a limited registration. This was only slightly problematic, but in large part due to our not caring about his registration status all that much. In order for a puppy to receive a registered status, the breeder has to record and submit the litter to the AKC. From there, you should be able to register your pup using a breeder-provided pin. Worth noting is that we never received this pin, nor did I really try all that hard to get it. The nature of the "limited" status (i.e., no breeding) had me mostly uninterested in registering him. If this is important to you, I would recommend that you contact Judy (which as has been discussed can be difficult) and ask what needs to be done to make that happen. If you do this, I would be interested to hear what comes of it. My wife was a little suspect of us not being given the pin or any guidance on registering, but as Ridley has gotten older and developed into a handsome boy, most reservations have gone away. Knowing what I know now about how hard it can be to reach Judy, I would have perhaps pushed harder for info.

Please let me know if I can answer any questions ibby, I was a little unsure what to say (and the details are a little fuzzy).

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Ridley

i searched for a review on wood duck goldens in google and this thread came up. we have our deposit down and will be picking our puppy up in 2 weeks. were lucky enough to live somewhat close so this weekend ill be making my 4th trip to her place. the first time we met the pregnant mother (felony) she gave birth the next day. she sent us litter pictures and we put down our deposit. we went to meet the pups at 5 weeks, then 6, and 7 weeks this weekend. i havent noticed really any of the negative comments about her or her dogs or her place. all the dogs weve met have been clean, and super active, athletic dogs. i do agree she seems like a more 'face to face' person but she keeps inviting us back every week. she does have a lot of dogs (36) not including the 2 current litters. She does seem to truely care about every one of them though. She mentioned Giardia and Coccidia to us and that the puppies go home with the remainder of their medicine. I havent brough up infomation on registering so ill do that on our next visit. so far so good i guess.

Hi, sorry, I didn't know this thread resurfaced.
Yeah, Nana came with coccidia and giardia. This is my third time treating. Fingers crossed that it works this time... I'm extremely frustrated. Didn't get the pin for the limited registration, and she never responds when I ask for it.

I feel like any time I talk about a breeder or a bad experience with a breeder, I somehow get slammed for it, so I dunno. I'm glad people are having similar experiences though, so that proves I'm not crazy.

I'm not angry that Nana had giardia and coccidia when we got her, because stuff happens, but from what it sounds like, Judy really needs to clear that out of her kennel if every single puppy over the years has gotten it. It sucks. This should be something she talks to you about before you put down a deposit, because treating it practically comes with the package of getting a puppy from her.

I wish I researched harder, but I thought I did everything right. Former president of the oregon grc, current vice president... yet has 37 dogs, constantly has litters, each puppy is sent home with giardia and coccidia, and never I've never gotten registration. I'm beyond frustrated. I've been up since 4 in the morning from her diarrhea and have lost countless nights of sleep because she needs to go out every hour.

However, Nana does have a wonderful temperament. She's very sweet, has excellent social skills, and everyone she meets falls in love with her. She's extremely smart, and pretty mellow, so I guess Judy has that down.

I'm guessing that the experience of living in the area vs living outside of the area is completely different. I didn't get to visit any of the pups before pick up day, and I rarely got e-mails with updates and pictures. Everytime she would finally call me back, though, she would say how busy she was with everyone else visiting... oh.

Well. I guess it's my bad for living 700 miles away.

Edit: Also, I didn't know she had giardia/coccidia until I finished the 10 hour drive to get her.

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