I am in search of a good breeder. Our puppy will be joining our 7 year old golden, Eli, and will be a part of our family. Has anyone heard of Dee's Goldens in Westerly RI? I appreciate your help! What a great forum!

Are you looking at a particular litter, & if so can you provide the registered names. A quick perusal of her website, she claims to do clearances, but a major turn off for me is a breeder looking to ride on the coattails of goldens in the pedigree--i.e. touting champion bloodlines but doing nothing herself to attain championships on the actual dogs being bred. It doesn't take long for a great pedigree to tank due to indiscriminate breeding.

CERF (eye clearances) are only good for a year. She may be doing them each year but not sending them in, but that goes against the GRCA code of ethics.

She makes no mention of heart clearances & I don't see many listed on OFA. Goldens need their hearts cleared by a cardiologist.

I would also ask questions on how she decides on what dogs to breed--appears she is using her own stud with her own girls--typically the best stud is not the one in your own backyard.

I would also ask her specifically about elbows. Finally Jordan of Glocester was bred without an elbow clearance (has hips). And there is Ripley Dee's True Blue who was bred before 2 and has an elbow prelim clearance listed but no final clearance listed on OFA which makes me think she didn't pass. Gold-Rush Private Ryan who is being used as a stud also doesn't have an elbow clearance.

You want to see a pedigree stacked with COMPLETE clearances for generations--I just don't see it with this breeding operation. This is something you'll want to discuss with her. If it were me, I'd be walking away.

You were given great contacts in your other thread of reputable breeders--did they not pan out?

I've been looking at so much information it's overwhelming! I am not looking to get a pup right away. I am thinking spring or summer. This will not be a show dog. He will be a member of our family and of course i want the right breeder for health reasons. Thank you for your help. I will go back and look at those recommendations. (I am still trying to figure out if I am using this site correctly. I find it a little confusing.)

I am not from your area, and cannot recommend another breeder, but I think you can do better. I am sure some of the members that are familiar with the breeders in your area will have some good recommendations.

In the litter planned for the spring of 2013,

Kelsea, does not have heart or hip clearances listed on OFA and her eye clearance listed is from 2010 (should be done yearly). The eye clearance may have been done and not submittted. Heart clearance needs to be done by a cardiologist not a general practice vet, you need to ask the breeder, to see the clearance. I may be mistaken, but if the dog has had its hips cleared by OFA it will be listed on the OFA database, otherwise it is not considered a clearance. Hips may have been done by OVC in Canada, but I would think that unlikely.

Ryan has no elbow clearance listed on the OFA database.

When looking for a puppy, from a reputable breeder, you need to be able to independently confirm the 4 core clearances. Hips, elbows, heart by a certified cardiologist and eyes (CERF exam done yearly). It is also nice to have a breeder to who is active in the dog world, showing in confirmation, participating in one of the dog sports etc. Personally, I would want to see something more than a CGC on a breeding dog.

There is lots of great information on the forum, on what to look for in a good breeder. Good luck with your search for a puppy

Welcome to the Forum epeck. Learning how to research and find the right breeder is a big chalenge. Take a breath, slow down, read the stickies, use the search feature, and get familiar with Orthopedic Foundation for Animals.
On clearences, they are worth their weight in gold for increasing your odds that you will get a healthy puppy. For US dogs, you will see hip and elbows listed on Orthopedic Foundation for Animals if they have them. Not listed = no clearence
For eyes and hearts they should be, but some breeders do not take the time or want to spend the minimal fee to record them ( a personal pet peeve of mine), so if they are not showing up, you need to ask to see them.
We are here to help you so if you have questions just ask. It is great if you can provide names of potentials sires and dams and we can double check them with you.
I am going to shoot you a PM about why you might want a pet puppy from a "Show" breeder. You will not be able to PM until you reach 15 posts.
Good luck!

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Laura, Jinx, and Rocky
UKC CH Wildfire's A Kind of Magic CGC
http://www.k9data.com/pedigree.asp?ID=474956
Rocky the old min pin who thinks he's a golden

[QUOTE=LJack;1850174]
For eyes and hearts they should be, but some breeders do not take the time or want to spend the minimal fee to record them ( a personal pet peeve of mine), so if they are not showing up, you need to ask to see them.

I have seen other breeder threads, stating they do not send in the clearances because of cost. I believe OFA is $12 for inital eyes and then $8 for updates and only $15 for cardiac, basically $27. Should it not be a bit of a red flag if the breeder doesn't have or won't spend that small amount of money? My concern would be if they don't have $27 for clearances, do they have the money required to breed a litter? I understand the costs of breeding a litter can be considerable. Would they be able to afford a c-section or other unexpected expense. If they do not wish to send the money, what else are they cutting corners on? JMHO but I would be concerned

It is true not sending them in is a pet peeve of mine. I did say they don't want to spend the money, not that they don't have it to spend.

I think this attitude comes mostly from old timers. I know humans as a whole are not real fond of change. So,we see the "if I have not sent them in for 15-30 years why should I now?" mentality.

They can not see the value, are too stuck in their ways, or like that people have to ask to see them. Some really do like people to have to ask. Remember a lot of breeders are face to face folks and don't do well online or have no online presence. So, they might use not sending in hearts and eyes as a way to generate a face to face or phone interaction.

Even understanding a few of the reasons behind this, it is still irritating to me. First, it is in our Code of Ethics. Secondly, this information is important to future breeders. What happens if your house burns with all your records? What if a long time breeder dies and a spouse gets rid of all the records?

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Laura, Jinx, and Rocky
UKC CH Wildfire's A Kind of Magic CGC
http://www.k9data.com/pedigree.asp?ID=474956
Rocky the old min pin who thinks he's a golden

You are very fortunate to live in an area where there are a lot of reputable breeders that do have all their clearances and have beautiful, good temperment dogs. I'd keep looking and get on a waiting list now for a spring litter.

I would definitely look into the breeders mentioned on the other thread.

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You have all been so helpful! I have not contacted any breeders yet but from what I am learning and the advice you've given me i am thinking I may contact the following breeders to open lines of communication. Any thoughts on the breeders I've listed here? Many many thanks to all!!
http://www.simplesite.com/cloverdale/591781
GingerRun Golden Retrievers - golden retriever breeders connecticut puppies
Valentia- Home Page
FoxRun Goldens
SunKissed Golden Retrievers
Sunfire Golden Retrievers - Home and News