Menu
Login
BUYER BEWARE! It is very, very sad for me to write this review. We were PROUD owners of Maddison 12 and Irie 14, both goldens, who both passed due to old age. I will admit that we got caught up in the loss of our wonderful dogs and made a quick decision to purchase a dog from North Star Golden Retrievers located in Logan, Utah. Maddie passed in 2008 and Irie passed in July of 2010. I will also admit that we did not do our research. We were excited to adopt a puppy for Christmas, so we adopted one of the last two available dogs from North Star Golden Retrievers located in Logan, Utah. As mentioned earlier, we raised two goldens with no problems. Irie was an amazing dog. She was amazing since the day we picked her out. KEY WORD….PICKED HER OUT! WE DID NOT PICK HER FROM A BREEDER’S WORD OVER THE PHONE OR FROM A PICTURE ON THE INTERNET. This was a huge mistake on our part and a warning for other dog adopters. INSIST ON SEEING THE DOG AT THE LOCATION WHERE IT WAS BORN!
Our other dog Maddison was a gift from my mother and she had some quirks, like chasing light, but we NEVER had any dominant, aggressive behaviors from her EVER! Our goldens were always complete angels. We have hundreds of pictures of them with our family. WE ADORED BOTH OF THEM!
Our son was so excited for our new pup, Ruby! He cried for three days straight when Irie passed in July of 2010 and he was so excited to get Ruby on December 12, 2010. I knew something was wrong from the second the dog (Ruby, her North Star name is Sunshine Girl) entered our car. Susan Seegmiller met us at the airport. We did not go to her location….I wonder why? (You cannot find a physical address for her location and she only provides a PO Box on her website.) Susan had a van full of dogs that she was shipping all over the country. She gave one dog to us in the airport parking lot and one dog to another lady from Utah. The dog she gave us was crazed, agitated and not the normal disposition of any golden retriever that I have ever known. We just assumed the pup was nervous. However, within 30 minutes of us waiting for Susan to ship the other dogs, the dog had scratched my face (blood drawn) and cut my 10 year old son’s lip (blood drawn). When Susan finally gave us our ridiculous puppy packet (just a bag full of stuff to make Susan more money), our dog had pottied in its crate and was yelping like crazy! Susan saw our pup in the back of our SUV and said, “Well it looks like she pottied in her crate and she doesn’t like the crate very much”. Then Susan slammed the back of our SUV down to quiet the noise from the crazed dog. The dog never did stop barking. LOOKING BACK, WE SHOULD HAVE GIVEN HER THE DOG BACK AND TOLD HER TO HAVE A NICE DAY!
We took the dog home and it has been COMPLETE HELL ever since. The dog literally cannot be loved or petted without constant biting, jumping or humping your leg and she is a female. SHE ACTS SOOOO AGGRESSIVE AND DOMINANT. She also acts like she is looking for a fight. We NEVER had a problem like this with our other goldens ever. My husband raised two Dobermans and never had this problem.
My husband contacted Susan Seegmiller on January 8th to tell her about our struggles and she offered to take the dog back for training for an additional $1400.00 dollars. She said that “she never does this”, but she would make an exception for us. Yeah right, what a racket! I ALREADY PAID $1800.00 FOR A VERY SCARY DOG – WHY WOULD I PAY THIS WOMAN ANYMORE MONEY? She also told my husband that she knew exactly what type of dog we have….a sassy dog that needs immediate intense training or she will end up at the pound. I thought she took all of her dogs back? This is what the breeder who sold us this dog is telling us? We almost fell for her $1400.00 training because we want to so desperately to give this dog a good home.
Then tonight, January 10th, 2011 we gave the dog a treat (from a dog food company that Susan Seegmiller may get kick backs from) and when my husband was simply petting the dog…. the dog growled and snarled like a PIT BULL. My husband called Susan right after this incident because when I got near the dog to put her in the crate away from my son, she bit my thumb (blood drawn, again). WE HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED ANYTHING LIKE THIS? The one great thing about the pup is that she is basically pottied trained, but we don’t know if how she was trained as a tiny puppy is why she has an aggression problem? Also, I would never take another dog until 10 or even 12 weeks of age. Susan let them go at approx. 8 1/2 weeks.
We are so sad for our son and we are sad for the pup. After the episode tonight, our son cried himself to sleep. There have been a few moments when the dog is almost loveable, but then the constant biting, clawing and aggressiveness is too much. I don’t know how to describe the behavior? She is a gorgeous dog, but you can only really enjoy petting her when she is sleeping. I have checked out multiple books from the library and I have now spent $72.00 for dog training tapes that Susan recommended, again there is a link on her website that may provide her with kick backs. The videos that she recommends are produced by a guy that trains police German Shepherds. I thought I bought a golden retriever with an amazing temperament. Anyway, Susan said the dog is our problem AND SHE WILL NOT REFUND OUR MONEY. Susan Seegmiller will not take any responsibility for this dog. We just want other people to be aware of dogs that look cute on the internet. Also, be aware that there is another serious complaint on the internet about North Star Golden Retrievers. We are contacting the Better Business Bureau and the AKC. Her website looks great and promises a lovely temperament, but this poor pup in my opinion, was just used to make money. I am afraid that it is to the point that we will take the dog back to Susan and lose our $1800.00 dollars. It will be interesting to see if she will actually take the dog back. The contract that we signed made us promise to give the dog back to Susan. I just hope our story helps other families and these beautiful dogs.
**UPDATE** January 11th -- we contacted Susan Seegmiller to return the dog. She will no longer answer her phone, she just sends emails. She will contact us in a couple of days to make arrangements for the dog. January 12th -- We called Susan at 8AM to let her know that we will make the 2 hour drive to Logan to return the dog before our son gets out of school today. She texted by husband back and said that she will be in meetings until 3PM today. **Do your research on this breeder!*
***After I wrote this, I found several articles on the internet that sadly report that golden retrievers are becoming more aggressive dogs due to breeding and that bites from these dogs are on the rise.** Please check it out for yourself.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
We had a totally different and very positive experience buying a Golden from North Star Goldens in 2015. We did visit the kennel and my son was allowed to go inside the fenced in area the puppies were playing in to interact with them and choose the puppy he wanted. Maverick has been a joy! He passed his therapy dog testing at 17 months. He’s so well behaved. I take him to doggy daycare a couple of days each week because he loves to play with other dogs. All the daycare workers and trainers tell me they love him and he’s their favorite! In fact they call him the “angel dog” because he’s so good with the small dogs and large dogs. They especially like him to play with the small dogs who have been attacked by larger dogs to show them that not all large dogs are aggressive! I can’t imagine our lives without him! He has definitely enriched our lives and especially our son’s. We have recently started talking about getting another puppy next year and definitely want another puppy from North Star Goldens. JKC
One thing that many people do not realize about raising a litter golden retriever puppies is that they learn to scrap with each other as part of their socialization after 7 weeks of age. It is very important to separate the litter into much smaller groups of two to three puppies. With every litter I’ve had, seven weeks and two days seems to be the turning point for them. As somebody who raises her puppies inside of the house, I am very careful not to let them mutually socialize each other into being little scrappers. The notion of adopting out puppies at a minimum of 12 weeks is not helpful, especially when the dogs are outside in runs. Compared this to the way I keep them, which is to have them in our home and be with them constantly. There has developed, in our society and overseas, an unrealistic impression that every golden retriever Is a mellow sweet angel that will never be any trouble. In reality, most of them are rowdy and explorative when they’re young. We forget about this as mellowness of age settles in. Then 12 to 14 years later, we get a puppy. With the new puppy, dealing with the energy level can be difficult, especially because we are not as young as we used to be. It’s very important to remember the golden retrievers are first and foremost hunting dogs. They are by nature energetic, and persistent, but unlike other breeds with these qualities most settle down happily beside the family in the evening. These are the two characteristics Lord Tweedmouth bred them for. Goldens basically have two temperamental variations. The first that we are most familiar with in our idealizing of the breed is a show line golden. These do not have as much energy, And this type of disposition is appropriate for guide dogs and service dogs. The second type of temperament is the field line golden. These are dogs who want to run and hunt and they take a long time to settle in to the graciousness of adulthood. They are very good dogs but they do take a lot more work. I would never rehome a puppy that had a field line disposition to a home with a young child. You can work with your dog, but you need to be prepared for a lot more activity with a field line. And considering that North Star Goldens advertises hunting dogs, you can expect field line from them. For me what gives your story a glimpse into your needs is that you complained that he pooped, and she gave a response that you deemed inappropriate. It seems to me the Northstar Goldens’ business practices are not very good, but I would not have sold a puppy to you. It’s important to me that my puppies be valued and loved. I would have refunded your deposit on the spot and advised you to look for a trained adult.
We had a golden retriever from North Star. He only lived to be 8 years old and died of Cancer. When we got the puppy he had some problems with his eye. He looked like he had a cataract. Susan said the puppy had been scratched in the eye, no big deal. Her vet was not any better, he agreed with the diagnosis. We took the puppy to an eye specialist and was told that he had a genetic problem with the eye. We were lucky that as he grew the area in question was smaller. When I look back on how she delivered the puppy to me I question whether she is a breeder who loves the dogs or is in it just for the money. We have had 4 Goldens so far and I would never buy another one from her. When I went to see her before giving her the deposit, I was allowed to see the male dog only. I was not allowed anywhere near the mother or the puppies. I should have questioned that but I was trusting and thing all people are honest. We are getting a new puppy next week and am going to Washington State to pick him up.
there is quite a bit of consistency in the complaints about this breeder. She does have quite a few litters available and one would suspect that if she is a good breeder she would post her dog's OFA ratings and a way ( the dog's pedigree) so that a responsible buyer could check them. She does list the pedigree of dogs that have died.
Thank you so much for all of your opinions. I am in the market for a Golden and I contacted Susan. This is a blessing to have run into all your comments here. I am throwing away her contact information today. I love animals and find it heartbreaking that someone would exploit them in this way.
I picked my pup Chandler from Susan's home in 2010 and he is the most amazing golden ever and Susan was wonderful to work with. I'm sorry you didn't get quality time with your pup when you picked him up but it sounds like he has some issues. I apologize you had such a horrible experience but Susan and North Star Goldens are amazing. I recently lost my arm in an accident and plan on going through her for my service dog. My experience was great.
Just my two bits...I am also a North Star puppy client, have referred several people to North Star & would continue to do so. My experience has been nothing but very impressed. I've been a dog owner all my life and am now a professional trainer, I've worked with multiple breeders & have done a lot of research & I haven't seen anything to validate the claims that this kennel needs to be reported to anyone for any reason. After my puppy experience & personally witnessing the experiences of a few others we found Susan to be over-the top helpful & exceptionally protective of the health & well-being of all of her puppies. I've been on her property more than once & saw that North Star is nothing like a puppy mill. There really aren't that many breeding females, they're all clean, healthy, regularly exercised & interacted with, live in very large runs...more like large yards, really, which are attached to a big beautiful barn where they go to get out of the weather (when they're not in her house). Our north star golden has been a perfect fit for our family...awesome temperament & great for this season of our lives (very small kiddos still). She went to a lot of pains to make sure we were getting the right fit, & we really appreciated that. Also, just FYI...a friend of mine who recently bought a north star puppy said that apparently Susan is not even associated with north star anymore, it's Cindy now & I guess she was awesome to work with too, but I don't know, I bought my puppy from Susan. I appreciate breeders like North Star Goldens who go the extra mile to improve the breed & create a wonderful puppy experience for their clients.
I have to agree that I would never do business with Susan either. She now does not return my phone calls. I have left her messages, sent her texts, and she has my $500 deposit. I tried to get it back and she will not give it back to me. I do not understand why. Life happens. She sold the puppy I was going to purchase a year ago, so why not give back the deposit to someone who is in need and asks. Sorry to see these bad reviews and that others are having trouble with this breeder as well. I will also contact the better business bureau. Susan, I hope that you read this and have a change of heart. It is not too late. God always forgives.
BUYER BEWARE: I've just had the worst experience with Susan Seegmiller from North Star Goldens. Do NOT buy a puppy from this breeder. I drove 8 hours each way (16 hours total) to go meet a puppy in person before paying full price (although Susan did everything to try to convince me to pay $5, 800 up front sight unseen for a 'trained' puppy). The reason why a trained puppy is important to me is that I am a paraplegic and would continue to train the dog to service dog standards with a professional public access and mobility dog trainer. I paid a $500 non-refundable deposit sent via a wire transfer (so I can't reverse the charge). I also signed a puppy purchase agreement (but, I don't have a copy of her signed version so I am questioning if the agreement is valid). A $500 deposit was the only way Susan Seegmiller would hold the puppy for me until I could see it in person. She met me in Clarkston, Utah and I followed her to her home, which she claims cannot be found via GPS. I still don't have an actual address for Susan Seegmiller's North Star Goldens. There is reason why she is untraceable. Upon arriving at her home, and meeting the puppy, I was informed that the 16 week pup had a mysterious lump on it's head. The lump was golfball sized (her wording, which she also referred to as a 'goose egg'). The lump was in fact golf ball sized. She said she had the lump checked with a needle biopsy by her local vet on the Thursday prior to my trip (4 days prior) and claims that the lump was reportedly not infected or cancerous. She had no more information. (Note, she was telling this information to me, a vulnerable woman whose golden retriever died just 6 weeks prior from cancer). She still has no explanation for the mysterious lump and brushed it off saying it would likely disappear in a week. She pressed me to make a decision to purchase the puppy at full price that afternoon. I asked her if I could sleep on it and let her know the next morning. She asked me for full payment (i.e. the remaining $5, 300) the next morning. She said she had two other interested buyers ready to buy the puppy and I felt her to be extremely pushy. That night, in a hotel room in Logan, Utah, I didn't sleep. I went with my gut instinct and declined the puppy the next morning. I couldn't justify paying full price for a dog with a mysterious lump of unknown origin. Thinking this lady might have a conscience and a heart, I thought she would consider refunding my $500 deposit (especially if she had two other buyers ready to purchase the puppy). She declined any refund. She wrongly mislead me and should have disclosed the lump and questionable health of the puppy before I made the 16 hour roundtrip drive. In hindsight, thank God I got in my car and made the trip to meet her in person, see her facility (a kennel), and listen to my gut intuition. I have learned a very expensive lesson. I am out of pocket $500 (deposit), $25 wire transfer fee, $120 hotel room, plus gas mileage and one work day. I saw many dogs in small enclosures and a couple in a dry dirt enclosure outside. She is quite obviously in this business for the money. She has little to no compassion for another human being given the circumstance, and I am shocked at what has transpired. I am thankful that Susan Seegmiller didn't get any more money from me and I have also learned to do more thorough research. I shall never put a deposit on a puppy until I have done as much research as possible, and visited the facility in person. BEWARE, Susan Seegmiller has SIX dogs about to give birth mid September, 2013 to six litters at one time. I question this lady, her business and her integrity. I forewarn anyone who is considering purchasing a pup from this operation. She will take your money in a heartbeat. She is pushy. More importantly, she did me a disservice by not disclosing the health of the puppy upfront. Be careful.
OMG, the anti-puppy parent messages are so obviously coming from this Susan S. breeder person. Honestly she sounds more like a puppy mill, AKC should most definitely investigate her. I know how this game works, trust me, I know a lot of breeders - from top of the line to the worst of the worst. It sounds like, based on all the info provided here, this woman is your typical byb (backyard breeder) with only $$$$ on her mind. The internet is their best friend because they can hide behind it and paint a picture of what they know you want to see. They know this is an emotional buy for you and they take full advantage of this. Puppies born to breeders with this mentality of money, money, money rarely have good temperments- how can they when the parents are just thrown together with no prior thought, just to breed and create more pups = more $$$. These type of puppies born to irresponsible breeders probably sit on their excretements all day, develop rashes, eat their own feces because of poor nutrition yet the "breeders" claim show quality or better, with the temperment of a Delta Socirty service dog- yeah, right!
My family purchased one of Susan Seegmiller's Golden puppies. We had an awful experience with this breeder too. She is only interested in taking your money and telling you whatever lies she can conjure up to sell you one of her puppies. I assure you that "totaleclipse" commenter is Susan Seegmiller of North Star defending herself. Just look at the bias in her comments. Once she gets your money, she will never answer your phone calls or emails. Her web site is very impressive but not her customer service after the sale. She told us we could contact her with any issues during the lifetime of the dog. It took her 14 days to answer our desperate calls and emails that we sent to her asking for help with the puppy right after we received our puppy and then she told us she could not help us. She goes out of her way to use bogus addresses and names to hide herself in all the puppy paper work. Ask yourself why?
Do not buy from this company, you will not get a good dog. She is running a puppy mill and is very good at convincing you that if you are paying $1800 for a Golden then you must be getting a top quality dog. Not true.
I appreciate what you have said about this breeder. I looked at her pups and her Dams. There are no clearances listed for several of the Dams she is using. No pedigree information to research the dogs' clearances. I will not buy from this breeder.
I'm going to start off by saying that your story really intrigued me. There have been multiple incidents of online scamming, and I have been subjected to many of them myself. So I decided to personally check out Susan's reviews online and her kennels, just to see what was there about her. I was expecting to get more bad reviews much like your own. But surprisingly, after some seriously thorough research, and extensive background checks. I have found nothing but good about her and her operation. Her whole kennel checks out as great, and top of the line, she has great health benefits, and according to tons of reviews from other breeders and buyers on reliable sites, "Susan" is one of the best breeders in the nation, and her puppy's are VERY well cared for. I am going to have to agree with "Totaleclipse" in saying that you are probably another one of those ### who sits around all day and makes other peoples lives just as horrible and angry as your own. I am not saying that this dog isn't, a normal puppy, and that it might have had an accident, due to it being probably just a little nervous around someone like you. but your description of Susan is totally contrary to anything I have found. You obviously do not have the experience to handle a puppy. I have been dealing with this particular breed for more years than you have even been alive, and I can tell you first hand that it is, one of the best, and nicest breeds of dogs that you will ever find. It is just in it's nature to be perfect, the only times you will ever have a problem with them is if you abuse them. Even if this dog was abused which I seriously DOUBT considering Susan's great reputation. After 4-5 weeks of living with you (Remember for a puppy, that is half its life) and it still has this behavior? That means you are obviously too INCOMPETENT, to EVER own a puppy. If you honestly cannot give it the love it needs, and treat it in a way that will spark good behavior traits then you should not own dogs. And seriously, shame on you for being so horrible to that poor puppy, that is really only a baby! Fat ### like you really sicken me! You are obviously such a horrible human being that this puppy truly cannot express any love towards you at all! And anyone who can honestly defend this woman (at least with a strait face), has serious problems of their own.
Anyone looking for a Golden Retriever, English Golden Retriever, etc:
Please use only breeders who follow the Golden Retriever Club of America's (GRCA) Code of Ethics and Breeding Guidelines. This will help to get you the healthiest puppy possible.
From the GRCA.org website. Please note that 24 months is specifically addressed as the age for final clearances for both dogs in the US and for dogs that were imported from OUTSIDE the US. It also specifies when/how often eye exams should be done and what kind of vet should be doing heart clearances:
a. Hips – for U.S. dogs, a report from Orthopedic Foundation for Animals; or PennHIP at 24 months of age or older. For dogs outside the U.S., report from a health registry approved by the Golden Retriever club of that country (e.g. Canada - Ontario Veterinary College; Great Britain - BVA/KC Hip Score) A report from the accepted health registry of another country may be used for U.S. dogs that are 24 months of age or older when x-rayed.
b.Eyes – appropriate report from a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmology (ACVO) or from a BVA/KC approved ophthalmologist (Great Britain), or a report from the Canine Eye Registry Foundation. For dogs outside the U.S., a report from an ophthalmologist as recommended by the Golden Retriever club of that country after 1 year of age. Examinations must be done within 12 months of a breeding.
c. Hearts – appropriate report from a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Medicine, Cardiology Specialty or a certification by the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals by a cardiologist (the number will be followed by a C) at 12 months of age or older.
d. Elbows – for U.S. dogs, a report from Orthopedic Foundation for Animals at 24 months of age or older. For dogs outside the U.S., report from a health registry approved by the Golden Retriever club of that country at 24 months of age or older. A report from the accepted health registry of another country may be used for U.S. dogs that are 24 months of age or older when x-rayed.
While I agree with the poster who stated that a lot of the problems here are because the family did not research enough and bought a puppy from someone selling puppies on the Internet, I have to strongly disagree with that poster's comment that "Certain things are NOT meant to be refunded; especially after being used in a person's home for 5 weeks- like panties and toothbrushes and medications; neither are plants, gold fish, and puppies (or any live animal for that matter) it's too big of a liability after this length of time has passed- I could see within 3 days, or one week, but 4-5 weeks, no way!"
WRONG! Any responsible breeder will take a dog that he or she bred back, regardless of the age of the dog that he or she placed in what was hoped to be a forever home. The key word there is RESPONSIBLE. The contract for my collie puppies states in no uncertain terms that if for any reason, at any time in the puppy's life, if the new owners cannot or will not care for their puppy, I get the puppy back. PERIOD. It doesn't matter if said puppy has been with the new owners three hours or thirteen years. (And, yes, I actually went to an animal shelter seven hours from my house because one of those puppies had grown up, grown old--as in 10 years old--, and the owners didn't want her around their new baby, so they took her to a shelter. Fortunately, the shelter scanned her and found the microchip I still had registered in my name. Demi came home for the last year of her life.)
And, to the people who have that "wonderful, nightmare dog" I hope that she works out. You have my heart-felt sympathy on the loss of your two older Goldens, and my empathy with your horror story.
Taking the dog back, yes, refunding for the dog...no. The above poster is SPOT ON
**Thank you for all of your comments! I had no idea that our plight would ever be heard by others. Our new mission is to now spread the word about not picking dogs off the internet. GO TO THE LOCATION OF THE BREEDER! There are books and online lists about how to test for temperament; however, you are the only one that can determine temperament that you are looking for! The breeder is just looking to sell all of their pups, unfortunately.
I have included a kind of conclusion to our story. Susan obviously knew the type of temperament of dog that we received and she did not want the dog back, nor did she want to infect all of the other puppies that she has at her facility, wherever it is? I have a gut feeling that Susan Seegmiller wrote or had something to do the response from “totaleclipse”. Just to comment back to “totaleclipse”. Yes, we made a huge mistake not insisting that we see exactly where the dog was born and not meeting the dog in person before signing a contract. LESSON LEARNED! Also, the description over the phone from Susan was that the dog was the first one up and the last one to go to bed. She was spirited and would be great for a ten year old –NOT! She also emphasized that she was keeping a sister from that same litter. Our dog was only called a “sassy dog” that needs IMMEDIATE attention after we called Susan about temperament problems. That is when she tried to con us in to paying an additional $1400.00 for training. BUT WE HAVE TO ASK? WHY DID SHE HAVE THREE LITTERS OF PUPPIES AT CHRISTMAS TIME? I WONDER? WAS SHE LOOKING FOR THE “ I HAVE TO HAVE A DOG FOR CHRISTMAS”? WINK, WINK.
Dog experience? Wow! – the North Star website guarantees a dog with a “perfect” temperament. Why would you need experience for a perfect dog. Look it up for yourself. We bought the $72.00 training videos and you basically send your dog through military boot camp to get the dog to obey or else. We are very much about schedule and discipline, but come on. You better plan to spend every waking day of your life to get your dogs to act like the dogs in these ridiculous videos. As for experience, we have had two goldens, my husband and his family raised everything from poodles to Dobermans and I grew up with 3 poodles and we have never had problems like we are experiencing with our North Star golden.
To update, we had a dog trainer come to our home. She is a wonderful woman and has high hopes for our dog. Unlike the breeder, she gave us the support we needed to know that it may take a lot of time, but the dog can be trained and not for $1400.00.
Yes, we still have our wonderful, nightmare dog! After Susan sent us an email and said that she hoped that we would find a nice home for the dog; we made a family pact to keep her. SUSAN SEEGMILLER COULD CARE LESS ABOUT THIS DOG. We could not send her to a shelter. Our entire family has battle wounds from this dog, but we made a commitment to love her. She is so sweet at times, but she still cannot stop biting and she is still constantly jumping and scratching. I could go into detail about everything we go through to train her. We have her leashed to us, we have done everything the dog trainer told us (I won’t bore you with the details), and it is getting better (some days), but it is going to take time and we are committed to sticking it out. Our sweet ten year old is the reason our dog is still here. He loves her soooo much and I just pray that she will relax with the aggression. A lot of times he cannot be around her, but he still loves her. They love each other through the doggy/baby gates.
As a final thought--- We had an “Ah ha!” moment tonight. We went to our “puppy class” suggested by our dog trainer. She is the instructor for this class. There was another golden about the same age as ours. She was an “angel”, just like the golden we lost in July of 2010. However, that is not my point. The point is that the owners had owned two other goldens from puppies to death and then they purchased one in early 2010 that was aggressive. I was waiting to hear that it came from North Star, but it actually came from Delta, Utah. The owner pointed at our dog and said that the dog she had from Delta was exactly like ours and she was the worst dog EVER! They ended up having to put the golden down because of intestinal problems and aggression sadly at 5 months of age. The dog finally bit her hand to the point that it was too much and the expense of the health problems that the dog had were too much to handle. I NO LONGER HOLD ANY JUDGEMENT ON DOG OWNERS! Thankfully, they got their new, sweet Christmas puppy this year and she is amazing. But I could see that out dog brought back a huge amount of emotion for the other owner in our class. Our dog was the worst in the class, but that is okay because we think she was great! Tonight, she was not biting!….just pulling, barking and acting obnoxious. I think there are obviously some breeding problems in Utah with goldens. Just do your research. I completely take responsibility for our rash decision, but we will see our pup has a happy life to the end! For biter or for worse! DO YOUR RESEARCH, DO NOT BUY A DOG ON LINE AND INSIST ON MEETING THE DOG BEFORE SIGNING A CONTRACT! We love goldens! We just want breeders to maintain the integrity of this breed.
Also, one last thought…none of our EXPERIENCED DOG OWNER FRIENDS will take a pup before 10 to 12 weeks. If it is not a puppy mill, then the pups are with the mother and she teaches the pup good socialization/behavior skills. Do your research! The longer the pup is with the breeder; the bigger the expense for them!
This is the conclusion to our story:
Buyer Beware! Do not be fooled by Susan Seegmiller or her website. We purchased a dog from Susan and the entire process dealing with this woman and the dog that we received from her has been a nightmare. Please do your research on this breeder. There is another very serious complaint about Susan Seegmiller/North Star Golden Retrievers Logan, Utah that you can find by doing an internet search. You cannot find a physical location for her operation and her website only provides a PO Box. You pick a puppy based on her word and a picture on the internet. To resolve the problems with the dog that we received, she offered to train the dog for an additional $1400.00 after we had already paid $1800.00 for the dog. Susan also pushes expensive dog food and training videos produced by a police dog trainer. On her website, she guarantees to provide you with a golden retriever with a “perfect temperament”. Then why is the catalog that we received with the training videos full of choke collars and other items to use with dominant and aggressive dogs? Susan was wonderful to work with until we had problems with the dog and wanted to return the dog. We weren’t even going to get our money back from her. However, returning the dog became a game to Susan and we couldn’t put our son through anymore of Susan’s unprofessional mind games. Also, let’s be honest she didn’t want the dog back because it could make her other puppies sick. Before Susan would answer the phone on one ring, now we only hear from her through texts or emails. We have now hired a professional dog behaviorist to work in our home with the dog and we are praying that this 12 week old pup can be rehabilitated (we received her at 8 ½ weeks). The poor puppy has shown such aggression since the day we received her. It just makes me sad to think about how she was raised before we received her. We are experienced dog owners. We raised two golden retrievers from puppies until they were 12 and 14, both passed due to old age. I just hope our story helps other families and golden retrievers everywhere.
Grow up and take responsibility for your lack of research! I am always amazed at how stupid people can be when buying stuff online. You're trying to off-load this puppy (after having this dog for over a month in your home!) back onto the breeder after you realized you didn't like her temperament. It sounds like you were in an emotional shopping frenzy looking for a quick Christmas puppy "We were excited to adopt a puppy for Christmas". Now why would you do that? You're probably one of those fat house wives with nothing better to do than sit in front of your computer all day looking for some unknowing merchant (in this case, a breeder) to chew up and spit out all over the world wide web. G-d help those poor fools who don't please you in every way-including your poor husband and this poor puppy. No wonder why this breeder "will no longer answer her phone, she just sends emails..." She was smart to get every communication with your types in writing! Smart girl!
You should be ashamed of yourselves, calling yourselves responsible, experienced dog owners. If it was close enough for you to drive the dog back to the breeder then shame on you for not caring enough to make the drive to see what the dog was like before you made such a big commitment. (On her website it looks like other people have taken the time to visit when selecting thier puppy from North Star). According to your own words the breeder leveled with your husband about this dog’s temperament, but you went ahead with it anyway?
"She also told my husband what type of dog...a sassy dog that needs immediate training..." duh! No matter what the breeder said, i would NEVER leave this up to another person to make this selection for me! It is your responsibility! Shame on you for not being willing to wait for a calmer dog..."so we adopted one of the last two available dogs from North Star Golden Retrievers located in Logan, Utah." NEVER make "a quick decision to purchase a dog" - as you say.
"I would never take another dog until 10 or even 12 weeks of age. Susan let them go at approx. 8 1/2 weeks."
Oh, by the way, the prime time to start training a puppy is about 8 weeks old- they're a clean slate at this age; just out of the nest, away from momma and littermates. By the time they are 12 weeks and up you have lost a vital window for training and socializing. (Again lack of research and responsibility on your part).
What is wrong with this? “She will contact us in a couple of days to make arrangements for the dog". It sounds like she was working with you guys; but I guess the only way this breeder was ever going to make you happy was when you ordered her to jump, she was supposed to say "how high?”
Certain things are NOT meant to be refunded; especially after being used in a person's home for 5 weeks- like panties and toothbrushes and medications; neither are plants, gold fish, and puppies (or any live animal for that matter) it's too big of a liability after this length of time has passed- I could see within 3 days, or one week, but 4-5 weeks, no way! This breeder was smart not to take this dog back from you crazed, irresponsible "dog owners" who spend as little time selecting their next pet as they did their son's Christmas toys! For all anyone knows, you could have abused and neglected this puppy (it certainly sounds like it, maybe not intentionally, but because of lack knowledge and experience) which may explain why it acted so aggressively towards you. Who knows...? My two cents, I wouldn't have done it either.
lkjlksdjfo;u;oiasud;f hlsdjfl;is;jdf;lksjdfl;ksdjfl;is
It is sad that you have to compare your dog to as pit bull in order to try to get your point across. Why slander the name of another breed when obviously your perfect Golden Retriever breed is being aggressive? I am sorry for your predicament, but to call out pits like that is just sad and ignorant. I do hope you get your money back though.