Hi 👋 new member here

althagolden said:

Hello everyone! I am a new member here. I will have a new puppy soon but I’m not so sure how to pick my boy.

I had a golden before and he was a dark red one. I would like to pick my new boy with the same color, darker not light or cream.
here is a photo from the breeder photo. I will be the 3rd to pick. I really like the right one because his color darker than the other 3, but as the 3rd person to pick so i am not sure if I will get that one.

any suggestions? From their ears i could see the colors are darker than their coat.
Thank you 😀
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rhondas said:

The puppy's adult color will basically be the color of his ears but color should be the last priority when picking a puppy.

Is your breeder not picking the puppy or at the very least recommending between 2 puppies based on what you have told them you are looking for in your puppy.

Additionally has your breeder followed the GRCA COE? Are all OFA clearances done, are yearly eye exams done. Has the breeder done DNA panels?

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pawsnpaca said:

Welcome to the forum! Based on the ear color, yes, the one on the far right is likely to be darkest. I would expect the other three to all end up about the same color (which I would guess to be on the darker end of medium gold), so if you are choosing one of them, I'd choose based on personality and the breeder's recommendation for which would be the best fit for what you want in your dog. Color is just cosmetic (though I understand wanting a particular "look" to a dog), but the wrong personality could make what should be a a fun and joyful experience one that is stressful instead...

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FurdogDad said:

Welcome to the forum! I agree with Lisa. Any of those pups will be medium to dark in color as adults....it's a cute bunch. Temperament/individual personality is a much more important consideration than a specific shade of color.

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althagolden said:

thank you all for the kind answers and suggestions.
@rhondas, no the breeder told us the darkest boy only 2. We did told the breeder that we wanted the dark golden. And actually, this litter isn’t suppose for us, but because there are 2 darker one so we can pick one, but the breeder also told us if we coming on june and we don’t really want this litter then we can wait for the darkest red male ( this male is just turned 1 year old ) and hasn’t successfully impregnate the female.
yes every tests they already passed but i am not sure about the eyes exam.

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pawsnpaca said:

I'm not sure if I followed your answer to rhondas, but... Are you saying that they've been trying to breed a boy that is only a year old? Per the Code of Ethics, breeding dogs can't get their final hip or elbow clearances until they are at least 24 months old, so if the breeder is breeding animals under that age, he/she is doing so unethically (and I would wonder what other corners are being cut). Assuming you want a healthy, long-lived dog, one with a low probability of orthopedic, eye or heart issues, your best bet is to get one from a breeder who is following the Code of Ethics.

GRCA Code of Ethics - Golden Retriever Club of America

grca.org

Verifying clearances is a bit of a learning curve, but we're happy to check them for you if you'd like. We'd just need the AKC registered names/numbers of the parent dogs.

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rhondas said:

If your breeder is using a 1 year old sire there is no way that he is doing any hip, elbow, heart or eye clearances. He is not following the GRCA COE.

Do you have the registered names and AKC Registration Numbers for the dams and sires of the litters you are looking at? If so then then someone can look at the public OFA database where all clearances are stored for all dog breeds to verify the info.

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althagolden said:

oh no, this litter is not coming from the one year old male.The one year old male, i already deposit for the litter because i wanted the darker boy. But the one year old male / the stunt has not do his thing yet.
no i dont know about the AKC name Or the number. But the owner name is Martin from Las Vegas

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pawsnpaca said:

If the breeder is even considering trying to breed a one year old dog, then it's safe to say he is not a reputable/ethical breeder. I'll attach below a good article about what makes a breeder "ethical." If you are not already committed (financially or emotionally) to this breeder or this litter, I would hold off and let us help you find an ethical breeder to work with.

How To Recognize Ethical Breeders – Reputable Breeders, Part 1

“Are these ethical breeders?” In this post, I discuss different types of breeders and how to know if they are ethical… or not. - The Canine Chasm

thecaninechasm.com

Why Buy Your Next Puppy From A Show Breeder?

I hear this more often than I'd like to admit: "I just want a pet, not a show dog." And it breaks my heart because it's just so wrong. As ...

dogopinionshere.blogspot.com

I just want a regular puppy

I'm aware that there are many posts regarding show dogs vs pets but I felt as though I needed to write this post to help possibly educate someone or affirm their choices. When I began my search for a Golden Retriever puppy I had no idea the whirlwind journey it would take me on. Naively, my...

www.goldenretrieverforum.com

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JerseyChris said:

Here is a good approach you can use. Tell him that you have a friend that knows the breed well and would like to have the AKC registration numbers on both the Sire and Dam to verify clearances are in place. His answer will let you know if he is following the GRCA Code of ethics.

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althagolden said:

yesterday i told my husband about this and he sent him a text and the breeder said the dogs are AKC registered. But he didn’t tell us about the number. I only know the female and the male first name.
So if the breeder do all the test to both parents OFA certified / DNA test, are we going to receives the paperwork result or how do we know that they are telling the truth?

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pawsnpaca said:

If the breeder provides you with the dogs' AKC registered name or number (and there is NO good reason why he shouldn't be able to do that upon request), at the very least, the hip and elbow clearances can be independently verified in the OFA database. https://ofa.org/ If they aren't there, either they weren't done or the dog failed.

Heart and eye clearances have to be mailed to OFA. It's part of the Code of Ethics that they should be included in the database for ease of reference. However, it is possible that the breeder did them but didn't send them in, in which case you should ask to see copies. Don't let him say he'll give all this to you when you pick up the puppy - what will you do if he doesn't or you find out at the last minute that the clearances aren't there? Disreputable breeders count on you either not knowing what to ask for, not knowing what you are looking at, or not being willing to turn a puppy down on the day you pick them up.

There are many people on this forum who know exactly what to look for and we are more than happy to do research for you. At a minimum, we need a website or breeder/kennel name to see if we see red flags right away. Otherwise, the BEST thing to allow us to research would be the dog's registered name and/or number. If the breeder sends you scans of clearances, we can look at those for you too and let you know if they look valid or not.

For example, my dog Castor's registered name is Beau Geste Wrinkle in Time and his registered number is SR90451203. If you plug either of those into the OFA database it will take you to his page where you can see that the four core clearances (hips, elbows, heart and eyes) have been done: https://ofa.org/advanced-search/?appnum=1868846

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