[bigblackdog]

I know this is not going to be popular here....but I would not buy a puppy from this kennel. I live close by, and through the years have had a bunch of different Kyon Goldens come through to board with me. This is a big scale kennel operation. There are 8 studs, and 8 breeding females....many puppies produced. All of the males have their CH, and some females....but none have titles in anything else. No obedience, no tracking, not even a CGN on any of them. Once they get their CH...they are in business. I know that they do health testing, and that is good. I've had 2 that the dogs have seizures, and a few died young of liver failure, and other health problems. No breeder can produce perfect puppies.... and when you are producing so many puppies per year, there are bound to be problems.

Are they COE breeders? Yes. I prefer a breeder that shows their dogs, and does something with their dogs...sport, obedience, etc. and dogs that do not live in kennels for most of their lives. A breeder that can follow what they have bred, and that usually means a litter or two a year. We have other good breeders in Ontario...COE that are smaller scale...that don't make their living producing puppies.

 

[bigblackdog]

This is the first time that I'm hearing a bad thing about them. Interesting view point and I appreciate that in this forum there's multiple opinions people are willing to share. From what I've gathered, they are doing titles and many of the puppies that are going to homes are achieving titles, etc. So I am surprised that people who are that invested into competing would be getting a dog from a shaky pedigree.

Re other breeders: who would you recommend instead?

I never said the pedigree was shaky. I just thought people should understand that this is a commercial kennel. This is not someone showing, working and titling their one or two dogs, and keeping a pup from a future litter. The males all have their Championship...I assume that they must be nice dogs. They either use their own males for studs for their own litters, or stud their dogs out to other breeders that want to use them for their litter. They also breed and raise Norwegian Buhund dogs. Lots of dogs, and lots of puppies produced. As far as I know the dogs live in the kennels. It's a large scale operation...and is what it is.

 

[bigblackdog]

I said when you produce 100's of puppies that often shows up. One with the seizures showed up at our local animal shelter. The new adopted owner brought him to me to board and told me that they had adopted him, even though he did have problems with seizures. I asked if they knew who the breeder was (he looked like a Kyon dog)...sure enough he was a Kyon dog the past owner had handed in his papers. I told the new owner that they really should get in touch with Kyon to let them know that one of their dogs ended up in a shelter. Also Kyon should know that the seizures. Kyon was very happy that the new owner got in touch. The owner did eventually PTS because the seizures were so bad. The other Kyon dog also started seizures but at a later age. As far as I know...none of the Kyon dogs that I took care of (which would be a fraction of what they produced) lived a long life.
When someone breeds for many years...and produces many puppies...there are always bound to be some sort of health problems that show up. Often people don't talk about it.

 

[bigblackdog]

May I ask which lines were affected(parents)? How long ago did you discover the dogs with the seizures?

These were not my dogs!! They were dogs that were brought to be boarded here with me. I did not have their papers and know their pedigrees. I just mentioned that there were health problems in their lines...just like they show up in some pedigrees. Also when a high volume of puppies is produced, then often things show up. If breeder produces 10 puppies a year, and things are good.....and a high volume breeder produces 100 puppies a year there are higher chances of things showing up. It's up to the breeder to decide what health problems they are producing, and when to stop using certain lines.
The one Kyon dog that was adopted from our shelter was about 4 years ago....and the other dog with the seizures was bought as a puppy and developed seizures later in life, was about 8 years ago. I also had one boarding that died young of liver failure from Kyon.

I live in Ontario, and Goldens make up a large part of my boarding clientele. We live close to Georgian Bay. I have met some wonderful Goldens through the years....and always ask from what breeder they come from. We have a wonderful choice of ethical breeders here in Ontario.