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Joyful Golden Retrievers
Responsible Breeding
This has many different answers depending on who you ask. I will answer this question based on my own thoughts and beliefs! This is subject to change as research evolves in regards to health testing/puppy raising/etc.
One thing I want to mention off the bat is that you're not rescuing your puppy if you are buying from a backyard breeder or store. As soon as you give that backyard breeder or store your money, they will see that they can get money (their ultimate goal) from doing nothing and continue with their antics.
If you are on the other side and planning to/currently are breeding, even if it's only once, please choose to do it correctly for the sake of the puppies being produced, their families, and the future of the breed.
By purchasing from a responsible breeder, you are helping to preserve the breeds and supporting those individuals who truly care about producing HEALTHY, HAPPY puppies.
AKC/UKC Registration
Your breeder should be breeding only AKC/UKC registered dogs (There are other reputable registries overseas). Meaning both the parents of the puppies are actually registered with AKC. Any other registry (CKC, APRI, etc.) is less reputable no matter how hard people try to convince you.
Do not fall for the scam "the grandparents are registered but we didn't register the parents so the puppies cannot be registered" or "The parents are AKC registered but we are not registering the litter, therefore we are not offering AKC registration on the puppies". In these scenarios, most of the time the "breeders" are breeding two dogs that they legally should not be breeding. Do not get caught up in that, they will likely get in trouble for it and you don't want to be a part of that. You should ALWAYS have the option to have your puppy registrable with AKC. Full or limited rights will vary on the breeder, many responsible breeders do not sell full rights outright, especially to new breeders. They will require you health test/title the dog prior to gaining full rights. Limited registration means you can not breed the dog. Full registration means you can breed your dog.
Most pet owners think that being AKC registered really only shows that their puppy is purebred. I am going to tell you that being AKC registered shows you so much more! Not only can you go back in the lineage to look at where your puppy came from but you can also look into the health, longevity, color, breeder, titles, etc. of the past dogs. I, as a breeder, am constantly scouring pedigrees trying to learn as much as possible about This may be very handy, especially for health because when you are looking for your best friend, you want them to have the best possible chance at a long health life! Along with that, registering your puppy with AKC can also prove your ownership if you ever need to.
Health Testing
At a minimum, a responsible breeder for the Golden Retriever Breed should be conducting OFA hip/Pennhip, OFA elbow, OFA cardiac, and OFA eye exams, as well as DNA genetic testing for MD, DM, GRPRA 1&2, GRPRA-prcd, NCL and ICH These are the recommended health testing per the Golden Retriever breed via OFA and AKC.
By completing these health testing requirements your breeder can 100% avoid recessive genetic diseases and prevent issues such as Hip/Elbow Dysplasia, Genetic Cataracts/Genetic Heart Diseases. While there is no guarantee with Hip/elbow/eye/cardiac issues, by doing the testing, your breeder can be sure that the parents do not have any issues, therefor minimizing the potential for issues in the potential offspring.
Do not fall for the excuse, "We are only breeding for one litter", "We are only breeding for pets", etc. Even if you are only breeding pets or only plan to have one litter doesn't mean your puppies are exempt from receiving deadly/life altering genetic diseases, health testing is just as important!
Also don't fall for "We don't need to health test because my vet said my dog is healthy and we have never seen any issues". Recessive genetic diseases cannot always be seen in the parent dogs BUT they can be passed onto the puppies and cause life altering issues or even death at a young age... Recessive genetic diseases like MD, DM, ICH, NCL, PRA 1&2, PRA-prcd are 100% avoidable!
Along with this, any reputable breeder will have health testing open to the public. There should be no secret in the results. All of our health testing is listed on our males & females pages.
Raising the puppies till 8 weeks minimum
Your puppy should be staying with his mom/siblings for at least 8 weeks. While your puppy will likely be weaned from its mom around 5-6 weeks, your puppy still has a lot of behavioral aspects they need to learn and develop with its siblings. It is important that they stay with their mom/siblings for the extra 2-3 weeks to learn behavioral manners and develop mentally a little more to begin learning as soon as they get into their new home.
