Your Custom Text Here
Born July 28, 2024
Well socialized to different floor textures, materials, sounds, noises, and people
Extremely biddable and sweet
Microchipped, dewormed regularly, vaccinated twice, early neurological stimulation, socialized with children, a puppy pack included, and a positive clicker training session for the whole family
Give us a call at 269-591-1281 for more info
Give us a call at 269-591-1281 for more info
These boys are ready and waiting for you 😊❤️😍
Key Largo, Montego, baby why don’t we go down to Kokomo… We’ll get there fast (barring construction)…
We headed down to Kokomo(, Indiana) last weekend for a show with IABCA. As a breeder, it is invaluable to us to receive critiques on each dog by 5 different judges. More perspectives and more opinions from professional judges always helps us make better breeding decisions.
Plus, it's always great to get out and meet other dog owners who are as enthusiastic about the breed as we are!
By seven weeks, we are training your puppy that potty happens in the litter box or outside. Your puppy has been raised since birth with a clean home. Mom kept them clean in the beginning and the humans provided a nice cozy nest separate from the potty, eventually transitioning to the dog door.
Our puppies potty train very quickly, most families report reliability within three days using the bell method taught in the training book we provide. During our appointment we always take time to talk about potty training successfully.
Enjoy the following video of one of our litters managing their potty location at a very young age.
Parents have been extensively health tested
Pennhip tested twice
Echocardiogram by cardiologist twice
Elbow xrays with CT scans after two
Eyes annually by ophthalmologist
Thyroid annually starting at two
Genetic testing done - no affected
Puppies are thoroughly socialized by being raised in our home, handled by a variety of people (including small children), using The Rule Of Seven, and more
Puppies go home after 8 weeks of age and the 2nd set of vaccinations (schedule varies)
Puppies are started on litter around 3 weeks of age and dog door trained starting around 5 weeks of age - this early potty training makes it easier for our families and typically have success within 3 days
This repeat litter has older siblings with championships and fantastic health testing
As many of you know, there are two hip scoring systems widely used for dogs in the US: PennHIP and OFA. Both use radiography (X-rays) of the hip joint to measure ‘dysplasia’. Dysplasia is simply a looseness or ‘laxity’ in the hip joint which allows the hip bone to rub back and forth against the cartilage of the joint. This rubbing flattens the end of the hip bone and erodes the cartilage making the hip joint shallower, which inevitably leads to osteoarthritis as the dog ages. Hip dysplasia and its eventual arthritis are one of the most common health problems in most large dog breeds (including Golden Retrievers.)
(A formatting note: every link in brackets like this: [0] is a link to a scientific paper on the topic. We really wanted to get this right, and spent a lot of time researching and organizing our conclusions. Hopefully we can help the next person spend a bit less effort and put all the data at their fingertips.)
So if both PennHIP and OFA use radiography to measure hip joint laxity, why would we choose one over the other? What’s the difference? Well, there are two main differences between the two methods:
OFA uses a single radiographic view: a stretched hip-extended view. PennHIP uses three views: the same hip-extended view, plus two in a neutral, natural position with hip joints gently compressed and ‘distracted’ (pulled into tension.)
They score the hip differently. OFA uses a panel of three radiologists looking at the hip-extended view, and voting on how good they think it looks (taking into account any arthritic damage, the depth of the socket, and how well-seated the ‘ball’ at the end of the thigh bone is) on a somewhat subjective Excellent-Poor scale. PennHIP uses a subjective judgement of arthritic damage (like OFA) but for the depth and seating of the ball uses an objective measurement: how far the ball slides in/out of the socket between the compressed and distracted view.
Different radiographic views have different advantages. The hip-extended view tends to show the damage from osteoarthritis well; the legs are flexed out of the way, and you can see spalling and deterioration of the joint clearly. As such, it’s a natural method to measure the progression of arthritis. However, we now know that the stressed hip-extended position minimizes hip laxity on the X-ray [1], with less than half the visible laxity of neutral position X-rays of the same dog [2, 3]. This makes expert subjective hip ratings like OFA vary significantly on the same hip-extended radiograph [4, 5], and makes them less heritable [6].
The PennHIP DI on the other hand is objective, much more heritable [7], has very good repeatability between experts [8], and most importantly is actually a good predictor for degenerative joint disease in the future [9]. It’s simply a better tool for a breeder focused on hips. This is clear to us from the evidence and many other prgorams are switching to PennHIP. In fact, the largest hip-focused breeding program in the US (from the service dog organization Seeing Eye Dog) has also switched to PennHIP after generations of OFA-breeding [7].
There are two notable downsides to PennHIP. First, it requires that a dog be fully sedated to improve radiographic accuracy. That impacts the dog’s liveliness for a day or two. We’ve seen no significant side effects other than that, though there’s always the possibility of rare side effects to sedation. Second, it costs significantly more. Between the additional training needed for PennHIP vets, the extra time required to do more radiographic views, and the extra sedation required it can easily cost twice as much. For our program, the improvement in accuracy and reliability is absolutely worth it.
We are thrilled to offer links to published and peer reviewed scientific studies about pennhip and we also encourage everyone to speak with any veterinarian who does both pennhip and OFA about the positives and negatives about each. Every one we’ve ever spoken to strongly favors PennHIP; they know how much more clear the X-Rays they get are.
Check out our current and upcoming litters at our Puppies page!
Seeing Eye Dog Involved In >10,000 Dog Pennhip Study
“Among 116 GRs evaluated in generation 8, mean DI decreased to 0.40.” Compare this to the international mean of 0.54.
"CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Dogs judged as phenotypically normal by the OFA harbored clinically important passive hip joint laxity as determined via distraction radiography. Results suggested that OFA scoring of HE radiographs underestimated susceptibility to osteoarthritis in dogs, which may impede progress in reducing or eliminating hip dysplasia through breeding."
"All EMDs in the FCI grade “A” grouping were shown to have hip laxity by PennHIP distraction index to be greater than 0·3, the biological threshold above which hips are at risk for later development of osteoarthritis (OA) of CHD. We found similar results in our study of OFA hip scoring in the USA. Of the dogs given the best hip score, “OFA Excellent”, 56 per cent were found to have hip laxity greater than 0.3 and thus at risk for OA (Fordyce and others 2000)."
"Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Establishment of a selection index that makes use of breeding values jointly estimated from the DI, DLS score, NA, and EHR score should enhance breeding programs to reduce the incidence of hip dysplasia in dogs."
"To avoid the potential problems associated with inbreeding and extreme selection, a moderate approach has been suggested in conjunction with PennHIP® testing, particularly in breeds with few or no members having tight (degenerative joint disease–unsusceptible) hips."
We are thrilled to be working with Family Raised Goldens to offer two new programs for wonderful families considering getting a puppy. These programs give them an opportunity to keep one of our hand-picked cream of the crop puppies. We have occasional opportunities for these programs; contact us if you’re interested!
Someone who takes care of one special, hand-picked puppy for two or more weeks at a time.
The family pets, touches, socializes, and generally loves on this puppy while we’re running tests to determine it’s best career; these puppies are usually being considered for either a breeding or service position if all their tests come back with flying colors.
You may be interested in playing with and snuggling some of the best puppies the breed has to offer.
You might want a dog, but be unsure about how well it would fit into your life and family; this program lets you give it a trial run with a phenomenal puppy.
You may like being part of something great, helping us socialize the next generation of Golden Retrievers with some of the best hips in the Golden Retriever breed.
269-591-1281
Those of you interested in keeping one of these dogs long term should consider our new Guardian Program. We’re partnering with families who want one of our best dogs as a full loving family member. They get to keep and love on one of our carefully selected breeding dogs until it’s retired from our program… at which point the dog becomes theirs! Win win win.
If you’d like one of the best and healthiest dogs in the world as a pet.
If you’d like to be an integral part of breeding the next, better generation of Golden Retriever.
If you are interested in participating in our Socialization Program (keeping special puppies for a few weeks to months) or participating in our Guardian Program (keeping one of our cream-of-the-crop dogs permanently), please give us a call!
Born August 25th, 2019
Microchipped
Fully vaccinated and examined four times by vet
Dewormed regularly (clear fecals)
Treated monthly for fleas, ticks, and heartworm starting at eight weeks
Puppy Culture raised with ENS
Basic clicker training
Parents pennhip tested, elbows CT scanned, hearts clear, and eyes clear
Parents genetically tested and clear for over 165 diseases
While we won't be giving them pumpkin spice lattes, these little pups will be able to enjoy the coming fall with us!
During these first two weeks the puppies will be kept in a quiet and dark place. Their eyes and ears are continuing to develop.
Starting at 2 weeks of age these puppies will have a novel experience each day (Puppy Culture). Early experience will be things like soft toys, water bottles, and other gentle stimulation.
Starting at 3 weeks they will experience more noisy experiences including different types of music, frequent close vacuum noises, and piano floor mats.
By week 4 puppies will be introduced to a litter box and start taking soft treats. They will also be introduced to a platform and a small slide.
At 5 to 6 weeks they will start playing with the wobble board and we will be on our way to an automatic sit (manding). We will continue practicing with treats and work on toy/treat exchanges (resource guarding).
During their 6th week, they will get their first examination and set of vaccines by the vet. We will make this a happy experience by using treats and making sure everyone has a great impression of the vet!
During the 7th week we will continue to work on preventing resource guarding, automatic sit, and introduce kennels for going in and out of.
Week 8! The week our families are waiting for! Puppies will receive their 2nd vet exam and 2nd set of vaccines administered by the vet. Families will be scheduled starting the day after to come get their puppy! Families should plan to spend 2 to 3 hours watching the training demo and choosing their puppy.
Bach is out of Simon and Nola. He is the best male from his litter. If you are looking for a proven male with an exceptional temperament, check out our fella Bach!
Pennhip, 0.30 (TOP 3%)
Proven stud
Exceptional temperament
Elbows, prelims clear
Cardiac, normal
Eyes, normal
Genetic testing, clear of over 165 diseases (icth, pra1, pra2, pra-prcd, dm, md, and ncl)
269-591-1281 for more information
Available for approved ladies
They spent the morning playing out front and getting into the mud, then each had their heart and breathing checked by the vet, and their final vaccines administered. They took the shots like a champ; no Kennel Cough or Coccidea for our little puppers!
We still have a couple of pups left; if you’re interested in this amazing litter, check it out over at our:
Puppies Playing With Puppy Culture!
Read moreA few boys available July 6th!
Read moreTara and Bach puppies arrived May 6th!
Read moreTara and Bach puppies coming May 11th!
Read more
