GoldenWei

Hi, I breed goldens. I am in NSW. Our puppy referral officer gets approx 30-40 enquiries every month. Puppies usually are spoken for before they are born. There are not a lot of breeders in Qld, and you will have to wait for a puppy from a reputable breeder. I get enquires every day and the only place I advertise is on the NSW GR Club website. I have now decided not to send puppies interstate, firstly because there are plenty of good homes in NSW waiting for a puppy, and secondly, because I really would like to meet the owners of my new puppies. Be careful with facebook groups, there is a huge one with backyard breeders selling puppies, the admins have kicked a lot of us breeders off the group! There is one I would recommend you join someone may be able to help you find a puppy, however the group doesn't really allow for advertisements, and, to be honest, most of us don't need to. There are a number of breeders that I can tell you to stay away from and they normally have puppies available, but I can't name them in a public forum. Golden Retriever facebook group

Did you end up getting them done yet, and who did you use?

I'm about to do one of mine next week.... Dr Karen Hedberg is the vet who does all my x-rays, she is sending them to Makara, so it will be interesting to see the results. I didn't breed this boy, lines are different to what I have had previously, scores are pretty good all the way through his pedigree though so I'm hoping his will be too. I haven't had any done since Dr Rawlinson retired.

Please do not desex your golden before 6 months. They need their hormones to grow properly. The hormones tell them when to stop growing up and start filling out. You can usually tell when a golden has been desexed early (probably any dog for that matter) they will have long legs and look out of proportion. I tell all my puppy buyers, males between 12-18 months, females, atleast 9 months and preferably after their first season. I know some people don't like to deal with seasons, but it is better for them to have one. There is research into early desexing indicating that it can increase the risk of Hip Dysplaysia, in a breed where we are trying to better the hip score average and breed out this issue, I'd do everything in my power not to increase the chance of this happening.....

You sound like you would provide a great home for a puppy. As others have said, breeders are busy... but, as a breeder, I always respond if people have put in a lot of effort such as giving me a detailed email about their lifestyle etc or filled in a puppy application form. Its the ones that send a one line email of how much or do you have puppies available that I mostly ignore.

Babies are two weeks old today and so damn cute. Eyes are open. Still have one little bubba under 900g, the rest are over 1kg. How's your girl going now LOTG??

Yep, 10 better to look after than 12 that's for sure!!

10 Bubbas arrived overnight, last girl via c-section. All up 8 boys and 2 girls! Mum and bubs doing well, big babies, humans buggered, as is mum I think.

Thanks :-)

So sorry to hear about the little angel LOTG :-( Congrats though on the other two bubbas.

PT - I don't think you will be far off, if at all!! I think I can see 11. Def 10!!

How's she going? Took Faith for an xray this am - what you think.... vet an I agree on double digits.

Wheee :D :D Exciting!! My bitch dropped to 37.4 today and I freaked... LOL! Still not ready to go.. but I've got 2 more days left in the office to get through before I'm ready for her to pop! Oh and an hour 15 minute drive on Saturday to drop off a poodle on Saturday.. I've told her she can't go until next Wednesday night. Hopefully she obliges. Getting close :-) I'm taking her in for an xray on Saturday. Poor girl,she's so big! She needs to hold on until Wed night too as I have a couple of appointments on Wed morning and then I'm all hers :-)

Good luck. Isn't it amazing, I felt Faith's move a couple of days ago and I just melted :-) I too had forgotten how lovely it is.

So cute, congrats!!

Have a litter of goldens due 1st May, she looks like she's carrying a football team though so I am expecting her to go a few days early This is her at 7 weeks (not the best pic) She's bigger than she was last time, and she had 9!

DOGS NSW did close down over christmas for around 3 weeks (can't remember exactly how long). I don't normally register my puppies until I know which one I am going to keep (assuming I want to keep something) - and, I won't make this decision until they are 8 weeks. Assuming they did a normal registration, 10 days is normally the turnaround DOGS NSW indicate, then, it's possible that they wouldn't of had the papers back until early this month. I wouldn't panic just yet, but, I would be following them up. They should of supplied an information pack with their details on it, and as others have said, if you can remember the prefix, just look up dogzonline breeders list or stick the prefix into google.

I had a quick look on the pedigree facility of the DOGS NSW member area, there is a Trenlie Sweet Charity, Trenlie was a boxer breeder but it doesn't appear that they have had many litters so I would guess they aren't breeding anymore

I like to see a lot of relevant information in an email contact, can't stand the ones that say do you have any puppies available and how much. I like to email first so breeders can respond in their own time, some breeders do prefer phone calls though and hate to be emailed.

The protective instinct, depending on how you have worded it, MAY ring alarm bells..... it may not as well. You could always leave that bit out and raise it in a phone conversation or when you visit them, that way you can explain it better and any misunderstandings can be sorted out in the conversation. While your intentions may be sincere, someone elses that may want a "protective instinct" may not be.....

My golden babies are on Holistic Select (eagle pack) - and they have been since they were 8 weeks old. They are on the Adult large and Giant breed formula but the large and giant breed puppy version would also be suitable as it is still low in protein and fat percentages. I like holistic select as the calcium and phosphorus ratio is also correct. I hate puppy formulas as a general rule but the holistic select one is fine.

Hey CD. That is such an awful awful experience to go through. I hope I NEVER experience something like that. I have only bred two litters. My first I had the mastitis and a low grade infection with mum, she wouldn't eat much for the last 3 weeks of her pregnancy and for the first week or two without me hand feeding her. By the time she had her pups she was quite skinny. The second litter, my goldens, was straight forward however we lost the first puppy born because of a cleft palate. These are nothing like what you have experienced and if I were you, I don't know if I would ever do it again either. Having said that, you were probably just very unlucky and, being so rare, it probably wouldn't happen again, but I know that you would be thinking that it would if you ever mated Aria again, or another bitch. I have had the same breed as you for almost 20 years now. There were issues with my fourth golden, they were so severe I thought I would never have another again, he was PTS at 9 months and if it wasn't for some wise words of the breeder of my third golden, I wouldn't of had two of the beautiful goldens I now have today, nor would I have had the gorgeous litter of puppies two of which are currently playing happily together at my feet. She said to me, and I am no way a religious person at all, "God sends his greatest tests to those who matter because he doesn’t want weak people looking after his animals." Things can still go to sh&t, and with both my beautiful goldens I have raised I thought that they would have the same issue, I was so nervous with them I couldn't relax until after they were about 9 months of age. The two puppies we have here, I am so careful with what I am feeding them, and the same memories are coming back on if they, or any of the 6 puppies we had will have the same issue or not. It took me so long to find a stud, I did so much research and I hope I chose the right one, but we can only try our best. You have done an amazing job with your babies, you should be proud of what you have achieved with your first litter. I saw pics of your babies and they were absolutely gorgeous. Time heals, it's been just over 2 years since we had our boy PTS, I still cry sometimes when I think of what he went through, not so much about what we went through now, I know we made the right decision, just knowing the amount of pain HE would of had to go through is what is so tough to handle for me. You will get through this, it will get easier, I promise. *hugs*

My babies are a week old today, one has doubled her birth weight, the rest are't far behind, and half of them are over the 1kg mark already!! No eyes open yet but a couple look like they will be opening soon. They are adorable little chunkers, can't believe they are a week old already

cowanbree - I've had goldens for almost 20 years, and I can't say that I notice their smell.... I could just be used to it though! We bath ours very regularly though, so that probably helps.

Jackofhearts - Some bark heaps, and others bark rarely, it's probably something that you will need to discuss with the breeders and ask whether or not the lines have a tendency to be barkers. I have 3 goldens, my bitch rarely ever barks. You never hear her. One of my males was a terrible barker but has quietened down in the last year or two, he's now 6.5. My other one CAN be a barker at times, but nowhere near as bad as my other boy.