How many litters of pups are too many?

[Papa Deuce]

That is my big concern here. I had a golden with hip dysplasia, and we were fortunate that it showed up when he was 10...instead of in his earlier years. Honestly, HD is an awful thing for the dog and is extremely costly. And it is especially common in goldens who are poorly bred. Think about it this way, if she was ignorant to the issues with overbreeding a female it's probably unlikely se was super concerned about genetic predisposition for hip issues.


Good luck with it, Goldens are awesome dogs.

Ok, and I am somewhat ignorant here, she sasy she has vet papers on both parents saying that their hips are ( or were ) fine, and we will get a copy. wheteher she overbred this particular dog, I can't say, but I really do feel like she wasn't in it for the money. But she also may not have been the smartest breeder, either.

 

[Lanshark]

Our first Golden came from a rescue. We adored him and he didn't develop hip issues until he got old. He was still able to handle stairs and we gave him Rimadyl when he did goofy golden stuff, like run around with his tennis ball, and we knew he would be sore. He died at 12. He had cancer.

Or current Golden we got from a breeder after a bunch of research. We paid a lot for a health guarantee on hips, heart and eyes.

I can't figure out why she'd be giving a puppy worth several hundred dollars away unless there is something going on. Most good breeders put a lot of money into their pups before they ever go to their new homes.

I'd probably call my vet and talk to her before I'd go to see the puppy. Golden puppies are, IMO, the cutest of any puppies. Once you see her it will be difficult to resist.

 

[RNMOM]

Papa,

The hip clearance from the vets is the best you can expect. Many dogs don't get hip dysplasia until they are older. Goldens are prone but all large dogs are.

As for why she would give the last two pups away? Well, if I just lost a long time companion and had probably recouped my $ from the other pups and just didn't have the heart or the energy to deal with selling, I would probably do it too. JMHO.

I want to say a thing about dogs with fancy breeders who are show quality breeders. We have a neighbor and also my DH's former boss who both bought goldens from show qualitly breeders. Different ones in fact. The neighbors dog has horrible allergies and arthritis in his legs at the age of 7. My DH's boss's dog died at age 5 of cancer of the foot.

Life is a crapshoot. Dogs are just like people in that there are no guarantees. I, as an experienced dog owner and a nurse, feel I am able to judge the dog in it's home environment and judge the owner/breeder enough to determine my chances of a healthy dog. That is all I wanted to recommend to Papa Deuce. I hope it all turns out well for you and your family.

Now as for setters. The breed standard actually says they are EXTREMELY intellegent. Well, I kinda think they are because it takes us a long time to convince him to do things our way and not his way. He is turning out to be a pretty good dog but he will always be one to have to watch. I have to say though, our golden could catch a piece of popcorn anytime. Tucker just lets balls, toys, popcorn hit him in the head then looks at me confused. Is that dumb??? You bet!

 

[Jynohn]

I used to breed Great Danes, and the most I would ever breed a female is three times. Health clearances cannot generally be given until the age of two, so if the dog were to have one litter a year, that means she would be spayed by age four. However, Great Danes are generally not long-lived, so four would be considered middle aged. Not sure about Golden Retrievers, but seven times does seem like she was overbred.

However, if this woman is no longer breeding and just wants to find good homes for the remaining puppies, I would still consider taking the pup. The one thing I would want to see first, however, is OFA clearances on the parents' hips. If she is a reputable breeder, she should have these readily available. With the high prevalence of hip dysplasia in Goldens, I don't think I'd take a puppy from untested parents even if it were free. There's a big potential for heartbreak and huge expenses down the road if the parents were untested.

Best of luck in your search!