[nolefan]

I had to have my 10 year old golden, Baxter, put to sleep last month and my house is horribly empty without him. I need a new baby to help me move forward and quit moping and have been reading this forum with great interest. I was hoping that someone out there would let me know if they've had good (or not so good) experience with Nancy and Ivory Goldens. I think all the info on her site looks very good and would just like to have some more opinions. I had found someone very reputable in my town but her next litter is still not bred and I am not sure I'm going to be able to make it until April without a dog in my house. Nancy just happens to have a brand new litter that surprised them with quite a few more puppies than the sonogram showed. Of course the litter available soon is more expensive than the one I will have to wait for. Do you all think I'm being silly.... it's so ideal to have a good breeder right here in town and it's ridiculous that I can't be patient until spring.... (my husband thinks I've lost my mind) thoughts, observations please.

www.ivorygoldenretrievers.com is the link

 

[BeauShel]

Here is a thread that talks about this breeder and others that might be able to help you.
http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/showthread.php?t=56447&highlight=Ivory+Golden+Retrievers

 

[damita]

If you post the names of the sire and dam - I know someone would be happy to check the clearances out for you. I had a very hard time getting any of the pages to open on her website so could only do a few OFA searches. Looked pretty good with the exception of one heart clearance done by a vet instead of a cardiologist and that the CERF exams only show one check (this should be done annually for any and all breeding stock until the age of 8 min). This may simply be that she doesn't send the CERF report in but I would ask to see them all. I would also like to see some sort of title at the end of the names - even be it a CGC or CGN, rally or CD title. Something to show that they are indeed as smart as they are pretty. I will disclaim here that I know nothing of this breeder personally and can only comment on the limited amount of information I was able to access on the website.

 

[tippykayak]

I too have no personal knowledge of this breeder, but I put a couple of dogs in at random, and not all of them have all their clearances. Now, those dogs are young (3ish), so perhaps they aren't ready to breed and thus haven't done the clearances. Some of the eye clearances seem to be old too, and those need to be done every year.

So it certainly seems like they're on top of things in general, but you need to look at the sire and dam on offa.org to make sure that those clearances are impeccable, and you should look further back in the pedigree too in order to make sure those clearances are in order too.

If you post the sire and dam, people can help out and look for you.

 

[nolefan]

The sire is "Romeo" Thevenet Latin Lover and the dam is "Zoe" Madonna of the Morning Valley. I can't tell you how much I appreciate you all with some experience taking a look at this.... I went in and tried to plug in names on the OFA site and couldn't make it work.....

I also appreciate you all pointing out that I need to ask about the hobbies these dogs have. The litter I am going to have to wait till March/April to bring home has a father with his showring championship and a junior hunter title and mama is a certified therapy dog. Since I would really like to have a weekend hobby with my dog, I thought that parents with aptitude was probably something I should consider.

 

[nolefan]

http://www.ivorygoldenretrievers.com/Zoe.html

http://www.ivorygoldenretrievers.com/Romeo.html

Here are links to the individual dogs' pages if that would make this a little easier.
Again, I truly appreciate the help here. I know I'm a little carried away and not being entirely rational about this...

 

[inge]

I'm no experienced OFA searcher, but the easiest way to do it, is put in part of the name and the breed, and then scroll down until you reach 'your' dog. I put in "thevenet" and "madonna" and both dogs came up immediately.

 

[Pointgold]

http://www.ivorygoldenretrievers.com/Zoe.html

http://www.ivorygoldenretrievers.com/Romeo.html

Here are links to the individual dogs' pages if that would make this a little easier.
Again, I truly appreciate the help here. I know I'm a little carried away and not being entirely rational about this...

Both dogs have OFA hip/elbow, heart and (outdated) CERFs.

 

[Bogey's Mom]

Where are you located? You said you were looking for more options. Maybe we could help?

 

[Tahnee GR]

Okay, I understand what International Champion means here in the States, but what is a National Champion?

 

[rappwizard]

From the IABCA web site. . . "Puppies have the opportunity to earn a National Puppy Title in three shows;" here in South Florida, people use the term Nat'l CH for any of their puppies that earn the National Puppy Title at an IABCA show.

 

[AquaClaraCanines]

I am assuming your name means you like the 'noles and live in Florida.

 

[rappwizard]

That's what I thought too; Mid-Florida Golden Retriever Club, the breed club based up in the center part of the state, has several litters listed this month through it's puppy referral program; it has a huge newsletter this month--takes nearly a minute to download but if Nolefan wants the link, I can send. I'm not a member but it is available to non-members. Mid-Florida, like my breed club, Everglades, requires that the breeders provide clearances on both sire and dam as per Golden Retriever Club of America Code of Ethics (hips, elbows, heart and current eyes) so that is one less step to worry about.

 

[nolefan]

Actually, I am a Florida State grad (and yes, I'll be glad when football season is over)who has been displaced.... I am just south of Charlotte, NC in a wonderful little town called Fort Mill, SC.

You all are going to roll your eyes over what a goof I am.... I know that I have a reputable breeder right here in my town, Tanglewood Goldens is right here and I have been e=mailing back and forth with Joanne. She has a brand new litter, (all spoken for) so I will have to wait till Thanksgiving to go out and meet her and her dogs in person. I have seen nothing but positive things about her. Her female, 'Willow' is expected to come into heat in the next few weeks and she will be bred to 'Bond'. I love that Willow has her therapy dog certificate and Bond has a junior hunter title in addition to being shown to his championship in the ring. Common sense says that I need to be patient and bring home a wonderful Tanglewood puppy in March/April, but I am having a tough time in my dogless house. I don't know how I'm going to wait till spring. I know potty training will be more pleasant in the spring, but I can't stand the wait.

I was just sort of looking around to see if anyone else who did a good job with the English lines might happen to have a litter available sooner. The dog I just lost, Baxter, was primarily field lines, Top Brass. I thought I would like my new dog to look very different than Baxter, so I have been focusing primarily on the English lines.

I welcome any input you all might have.... again, I know I'm being an idiot about this, just struggling. Please be kind

 

[Bogey's Mom]

Well, it's not close to you, but a forum member and excellent breeder in Wisconsin has a litter due any day now. The dam is from English lines and the sire is a Champion who is also about to finish his master hunter.

http://doolingoldens.com - click on upcoming litters and you can see pictures of puppies from the last litter. It is a repeat breeding and they are now about 18 months old.

Edited because I forgot to add k9data links to sire and dam:
http://www.k9data.com/pedigree.asp?ID=153141
http://www.k9data.com/pedigree.asp?ID=190631

 

[tippykayak]

Tanglewood Goldens is right here and I have been e=mailing back and forth with Joanne. She has a brand new litter, (all spoken for) so I will have to wait till Thanksgiving to go out and meet her and her dogs in person. I have seen nothing but positive things about her. Her female, 'Willow' is expected to come into heat in the next few weeks and she will be bred to 'Bond'. I love that Willow has her therapy dog certificate and Bond has a junior hunter title in addition to being shown to his championship in the ring. Common sense says that I need to be patient and bring home a wonderful Tanglewood puppy in March/April, but I am having a tough time in my dogless house. I don't know how I'm going to wait till spring. I know potty training will be more pleasant in the spring, but I can't stand the wait.

I think you know the answer to your own question. Life without a dog sucks, but getting a great dog takes time and patience. Don't rush into a litter you're not 100% confident about. A great breeder is harder to get litters from, but totally worth the wait.

For the record, I don't know anything about Tanglewood, but just from the way you were talking, it sounded like you knew what you should do.

 

[nolefan]

thank you everyone.... I will keep hanging in there.

 

[Bogey's Mom]

Are you willing to travel for a pup??

 

[nolefan]

I am.... would prefer to be able to drive to pick him up, but would fly if necessary. Hate the thought of shipping a puppy alone on a plane.... I looked at the Doolin site, they are beautiful dogs.... sounds like good people.