I've owned 4 goldens used for upland and waterfowl. I currently have an 11 month old from Tidewater Goldens from Guelph, Ontario. By far the most trainable dog I've had: wonderful about the house, other dogs, and loves people. Great on/off switch. We'll see how he does with birds as he's just getting into more formal training but was hunting ducks last autumn as a pup and loved watching the big dogs work. He's birdy as all get out so that bodes well: watches every goose that goes by. My last dog was from Ambertrail Goldens also from Ontario: hard headed but would hunt hard but not a fun dog to train or have about the house (e.g., food bowl issues) and aggressive with other dogs. That dog died at 3.5 years of age from lymphoma - could be chance or could be the breeding. I'll not buy a dog there again or from those lines. I also had a golden from Goldwings in Magrath. Great dog - loved upland and solid on waterfowl. He was a bit of a runt (whole litter was - wouldn't take a pup from such a litter again). That dog had a honking cough his whole 8.5 years. Have a look on k9data.com to check the inbreeding. Some breeders line breed - potential troubles. Look for "view genetic information" in breeding on that website (breeders should post the test breeding). Higher than average coefficient of inbreeding could be trouble. After all that, my first golden was bred by 2 friends: both parents hunted and that dog was amazing - could line a fallen bird for a long long way - lost very few with her. Only very distant field trial lines but that was over 20 years ago and the show lines can be problematic. Lots of good dogs out there - lots of hard headed dogs too. Some with weird coats. Watch that hips, knees, and heart are good. There's no guarantee but a bit more upfront might save a lot of vet bills down the road. Be prepared to wait for a good pup from the breeding you want. With my current pup, I'd say he was 100% worth waiting a few extra months.
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