My parents sent me a picture of Ella when they found her online and my first thought was that she looked like a lab. I even told my parents that she didn't look full blooded and found a new breeder, but they insisted on getting Ella. When we went to pick her up, and I got to see her up close she looked like a Golden to me then. I still questioned the white patches all over her, but then looked it up and it said it is an unfavorable quality in Goldens. We will not be breeding her or showing her, she is just a pet so we are okay with the white patches. I love Ella and I will be okay if she isn't full blooded, but I would be upset with the breeder for not being completely honest. I have had other people say she didn't look full blooded either so now I want your opinions since you all know a ton about Goldens on here. I never saw any pics of the parents, but my dad has the papers for her. So what do y'all think?

The first left pic is when we picked her up on 12/21, the top right pic is her 2nd day at home. The bottom left is her sleeping and where you can see the white patches on her chest. The bottom right was a picture of her that I took yesterday. Also, there is a picture in my signature, I think she looks most like a Golden in that one.

Attached Thumbnails

       

__________________
Ella~10/28/12
Gotcha Day~12/21/12

She looks like a mix to me. I am not saying your breeder did this but, they have been known to use papers from other pups that may have passed. They also may use papers from pups that owners that did not get the pups fixed. So, the owners never get the AKC papers. Just saying, food for thought. She may be a full golden but at first glance I would say no. Just FYI

I think she is mixed. The white feet, belly, tip on her head, and her very short hair is a little unusual for a full blooded golden. She is gorgeous though.

It's extremely unlikely that she's a full Golden. White mismarks are common in the breed and harmless unless you're showing in conformation, but her marks are more extensive than I've ever seen on a full blooded GR. My Jax has a large white blaze on his chest and two white toes on a front foot, and he's one of the most mismarked I've ever seen, and that's a lot less than Ella.

Add to that the fact that her coat and features aren't quite typical for a Golden of her age, and I'd put 99% odds on her being a mix. So what, though? I can't support the idea of careless and dishonest breeding, but once it's over and done with, a dog deserves the same amount of love regardless of the care and honesty of her breeder.

__________________

I think it's likely she has something else in her.... but definitely her expression looks golden to me. She looks very sweet<:

__________________



Always loved, never forgotten, all our previous boys -

Ugh this makes me mad, I do not like dishonest people. Lol. He seemed like an honest breeder too, that's why I trusted what he said. But when I started thinking about it, I knew I had never seen a Golden with a large amount of white. So what do you think she's mixed with? Lab?

__________________
Ella~10/28/12
Gotcha Day~12/21/12

She's absolutely adorable, but I also think she's mixed. I am guessing she is maybe mixed with Lab.

Have you considered doing a DNA test?

It is possible the breeder did not know. It only takes a few minutes unsupervised outdoors for a strange dog to have gotten her mother pregnant. A litter can have different fathers. You could DNA test her and report your suspicion to AKC for further guidance.

If someone I sold a puppy to doubted the lineage I would have given a refund and taken the puppy. If they wanted to keep the puppy then I would have DNA tested Cozy and paid for the stud to be tested too. If the results came back as the puppy was not the stud's pup- I would have offered a partial refund if they wanted to keep the pup or a full refund & I would get the puppy back.

If the results came back as Cozy and the stud as a match for the puppy then the Debbie
Doubter would have to reinbursement for the cost of the DNA tests or give me the puppy back for a partial refund.


She is adorable though. I love her markings. They give her such character!

__________________
I do what I like and like what I do. Yorkies- Cozy (4/1/06), Roxy & Zoey (2/11/08), Lucy (4/6/09); Golden- Buddy (4/13/09- Rescued 12/11) Maine Coon cats- Mika (1998) and Tallulah (2000)

Thanks for the info! I did not know that there could be different fathers! They live out in the middle of nowhere so I wonder what other dogs they have. I think we should DNA test her, we most likely will. As much as I wanted a full blooded Golden, I would never return her. I could never do that to a dog. She's wild, but i love her. lol. I think that we should get a partial refund since she's not full blooded though. We have the breeder on Facebook so we just messaged him.

__________________
Ella~10/28/12
Gotcha Day~12/21/12

Definitely not purebred IMHO, but she's absolutely adorable! I love the picture of her in the jersey Hopefully the breeder is responsive to you! I heard those DNA kits are reasonably accurate, and you can get them online at Amazon if you so choose in case the breeder doesn't have an answer (or won't help you figure it out).

__________________


Gotcha 12/15/12.