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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

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Original poster

DP has found a golden retriever breeder but...

36 replies

Boxbox2 · 14/01/2022 17:55

He won't text the breeder asking any questions before we go to visit he says he doesn't want to hassle them and throw the sale!

I want to know at the very least how old the pups are so I can plan how much time we have to buy things for the pup if we decide to keep one. All I have to go on is that there are three bitch pups, they look like Goldens, and there are two photos of them (they look to me about 8 weeks old if I had to guess).

Aaaargh! Could you please help me establish what I need to ask the breeder in person when we visit this weekend, as DP is being useless and insisting I be more laid back about the whole thing?

OP posts:

Goawayangryman · 15/01/2022 10:59

I absolutely would not go and ask questions blind. You will end up coming back with a puppy. And a potential lifetime liability for tens of thousands of pounds vet bills for any of hip and elbow dysplasia, dietary problems, progressive eye disease leading to blindness, cancers, icthythosis, I could go on.

How.much are the puppies? That's another good indicator.

Goawayangryman · 15/01/2022 11:03

Both parents should be tested for:

Hip Dysplasia
Elbow Dysplasia
Recessive and dominant genetic conditions including ICT-A, PRA, etc.

Should not cost more than £2k, £2.5k if from amazing lines fully health tested.

Bitch should be at least 18 months of age and no older than 8. Should not be bred back-to-back.

Should have good, stable temperament. Not prone to resource guarding as a minority of GR are and it can be very hard to deal with.

Are you aware of how much food GRs eat and how much insurance is? Mine is £60 a month insurance and £80 for food and she is only 6 months old. Add on routine vet care, worming and flea treatment.

whatisthisinhere · 16/01/2022 11:47

It's very odd if you don't 'now anything about the puppies, or the breeder. Golden safe very expensive right now, and not many people are breeding the, from what I've seem, other than bybs and people who are charging a lot. The bybs tend to be around £1000 less than those breeding from health tested dogs. It's worth paying the extra. If you go and see the puppies, you're going to fall in love with the cuteness if you're not careful. Try to see more than one litter, go and see some from health tested parents that cost a little more. Make an informed decision

GoodnightGrandma · 16/01/2022 11:48

If they’re not asking you about your family and home/garden they’re not good breeders. Walk away.

GRGirl · 16/01/2022 20:29

Our GR developed a limp at circa 6 months and was thought to have hip and elbow dysplasia and a possible shoulder issue with his cartilage.

We have normal insurance and it wouldn't have touched the sides of the £3/4k per joint (bearing in mind that we were talking about 6 possible joints) that the surgeons were talking about.

It wasn't any of those things it was something entirely different (that only cost 1.2k )

Buy a Golden without seeing hip and elbow scores from the parents??? How rich are you OP?

Skeumorph · 17/01/2022 12:46

Your DP can choose to act like a total idiot, but he has no right to insist that you act like one.

However, you've not lost any time here really as these aren't good breeders. Walk away. Or rather, just disengage and when your idiot DP brings it up, tell him you already changed your mind, wrote it in a text but then decided not to send it to him in case it counted as 'hassling'.

NandorTheRelentlessCleaner · 18/01/2022 08:06

Yeah that sounds quite suspect OP

User48751490 · 18/01/2022 11:17

Any reputable breeder won't have a litter of puppies ready for you. You have to wait on them! That's how it usually works.

longtompot · 18/01/2022 11:39

Most odd. I had to send a long email detailing about our family home and life and what we could give to our puppy. There was lots of detail and a few questions from the breeder, but this was all before we even got to meet the mum or the puppies were even born! There was a danger there wouldn't be enough puppies born and we wouldn't even get one.

Your dh is being foolish. You can't be laid back about the life of a small creature. You don't know what the mums/parents life has been like, if they are tested well. You don't know if there are any potential conditions the puppy could have, issues with joints and eyes etc The fact he says he doesn't want to throw the sale by asking too many questions says to me he is buying a puppy no matter what, which is not good.

If I were you op, I would write up a list of questions you have for the breeder and would tell your dh you will be walking away if there are any alarm bells about the setup. Just because it's a neighbour he knows who has recommended them doesn't mean they are reputable.

MrsWinters · 18/01/2022 12:46

Decent breeders want to be hassled and have you ask lots of questions as it’s a sign their pups are going to a caring home and gives a good indication of the mindset of the owners.
Join Golden Retrievers - sourcing reputable breeders UK group on Facebook. Lots of good advice, and if you have the breeders names you can send them through to the admins and they’ll be able to advise you on how legit they are.
There’s lots of scammers out at the moment so be careful.

shootinbrak · 29/01/2022 11:03

@Goawayangryman

Both parents should be tested for:

Hip Dysplasia
Elbow Dysplasia
Recessive and dominant genetic conditions including ICT-A, PRA, etc.

Should not cost more than £2k, £2.5k if from amazing lines fully health tested.

Bitch should be at least 18 months of age and no older than 8. Should not be bred back-to-back.

Should have good, stable temperament. Not prone to resource guarding as a minority of GR are and it can be very hard to deal with.

Are you aware of how much food GRs eat and how much insurance is? Mine is £60 a month insurance and £80 for food and she is only 6 months old. Add on routine vet care, worming and flea treatment.

This without a doubt - also anyone who will tell you they don’t need to test because parents had great scores etc runaway from as they will not be a decent breeder. They need to have the scores of both parents available, the BVA keeps a record of these as well and if KC registered will be on the KC site. We bred one of working GRs last year mainly because as many have said the waiting lists are crazy and we couldn’t secure a new puppy from our normal breeder who recommended breeding ourselves. I dealt with numerous enquires over the period and also asked a lot of questions myself including then rejecting some people because they were not suitable, we also had video calls with people prior to house visits both for our peace of mind and there’s. All puppies except the one we kept and another we held for an extra 2 weeks for a family member left just at the start of the new year. I still have the new parents in touch with me now keeping me updated on various things and asking questions or for recommendations if needed. The breeder should always be available for contact and should also be the first point of call if a new owner couldn’t keep the puppy for any reason (this is usually listed in the contract) the low contact is a major red flag

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