Some actual facts since T.I.B.S.C. seems to be making things up as he/she goes along:
1. I have had Goldens for over 31 years. I have bred exactly 1 litter and that was 20 years ago. I gain absolutely nothing when the people that I have educated don't go to T.I.B.S.C.'s friends and I have not referred anyone to a specific breeder or set of breeders when I've posted here or anywhere else.
2. The only Golden breeders who have ever confronted me have been the ones who could not/would not back up the inaccuracies and lies that they have posted. Almost without exception, instead of proving that what I say is not true, they choose to attack me in an attempt to deflect any scrutiny away from themselves. They also usually claim that I'm part of some group that is out to get them.
3. The database that T.I.B.S.C. speaks of, K9Data, locked the record of a Kinship dog after the owner removed the breeder information and the registration number from the dog's record multiple times. The administrator of the site added back the information that had been removed - information that had been verified as correct by the AKC records and then locked the dog to keep the information from being removed again.
4. I get my information from a variety of sources including the AKC records, and the OFA and CERF (Canine Eye Registration Foundation) databases. Considering that the information in K9Data is user-entered, I would never trust it as being 100% true.
5. Yes, there have been cases of fraud with the OFA. That is why they instituted the Permanent Identification designation and check. Dogs that are permanently identified get a PI suffix. Those that aren't get a NOPI suffix. Penn-Hip doesn't take any more precautions than the OFA does to ensure against fraud.
6. In order to get the best reading possible, Penn-Hip, OFA and BVA/KC all require that the x-rays be read by a panel of Orthopedic specialist. It is highly unlikely that a general practitioner vet has this specialized training to look at hip and elbow x-rays and give an informed reading. Three sets of eyes are invariably better than one set.
7. The OFA doesn't evaluate eyes and hearts - they only record the results of examinations given by the vets that physically examined the dog. So if there are "inaccurate" reports in those two areas, they are not coming from the OFA. They are coming directly from the forms filled out by the vets that performed the exams.
8. With the exception of Penn-Hip x-rays, it's not the vet that submits the information to the OFA or CERF, it's the owners. If x-rays or eye exams aren't submitted, that is because the owner didn't send them in, not the vet. FYI: an exam done by a practitioner vet that does not have Canine Ophthalmology training is not even eligible to be sent to CERF.
9. The reason that a "Qualified" vet is not an appropriate option for doing genetic/health testing is simply because most of them lack the specialized training needed to accurately assess the dog. AVCO vets (Canine Ophthalmologists) and ACVIM vets (Cardiology specialty) get an additional 3 years of training in those fields. They are trained to look/listen for things that a practitioner vet is not. They also have specialized equipment that a practitioner may not have. It's the difference between a human going to their general practitioner to have a heart condition checked versus going to a Cardiologist to have it checked. A GP might be able to hear a murmur but not necessarily diagnose it correctly.
10. If a breeder chooses not to work with the OFA for hips and elbows, I have no problem with that as long as they use a recognized authority (Penn-Hip, BVA/KC) to get their health/genetic testing done. The OFA is perfectly willing to accept and list results from BVA/KC and Penn-Hip in their database as well as CERF results (and other genetic tests as well.) What I have a problem with is when people choose not to use ANY recognized authority to do their checks and then blame it on their dislike of the OFA.
For anyone still reading this - health testing reduces the probability that a puppy will develop an inherited disease. This is particularly true when there are several generations of tested dogs. This is a fact. It's true, health testing that simply looks at the dog and not at its genetic makeup is not a guarantee that the puppies from said dog will not develop an issue. However, those"little pieces of paper" tell you that the breeder cares so much about the puppies that they produce that they were willing to take the extra time and expense to go to experts in the various field (Orthopedics, Cardiology, Opthalmology) and make sure that the dogs they are breeding are not affected by those issues. Cleared parents = higher probability that the puppies will not develop issues. There are no genetic tests for Hip & Elbow Dysplasia, SAS (heart issue), or most eye issues that plague Goldens (and Berners for that matter). There is only the visual inspection. It just makes sense that those inspections should be done by experts in those areas.
As far as Cancer goes - it occurs in every line, in every country. Some lines are more prone to it than others. Golden Retrievers as a BREED are more susceptible than other breeds. There is not a genetic test for it but there are several different studies being done to try and find the genes responsible and create a genetic test for it: http://www.morrisanimalfoundation.org/blog/category/dog/golden-retriever-health.html
This is not about club membership or selling puppies, it's about helping people see the difference between breeders who do everything that they can to create healthy puppies and those that don't.
Do your homework before you buy - go to the Golden Retriever Club of America (GRCA) website (grca.org) if you are looking for a Golden. Go to the Bernese Mountain Dog Club of America (BMDCA) if you want a Berner. In either case, make sure that the breeder that you are looking at is doing the best that they can to insure a healthy puppy - by doing the appropriate genetic and health testing!
Golden recommended testing: http://www.caninehealthinfo.org/brdreqs.html?breed=GR
Berner recommended testing: http://www.caninehealthinfo.org/brdreqs.html?breed=BMD
New website for Harold & Lea(h) Winkler - http://importgoldens.com/index.html
New website for Harold & Lea(h) Winkler - http://importgoldens.com/index.html
New website for Harold & Lea(h) Winkler - http://importgoldens.com/index.html
New website for Harold & Lea(h) Winkler - http://importgoldens.com/index.html
New website for Harold & Lea(h) Winkler - http://importgoldens.com/index.html
New website for Harold & Lea(h) Winkler - http://importgoldens.com/index.html
New website for Harold & Lea(h) Winkler - http://importgoldens.com/index.html
It's impossible to cross breed two dogs of the same breed. "English" labs are the same breed, just a different style.
Just to clarify, this statement is incorrect - "The puppy which I purchased was sold as an American Kennel Club (AKC) certified dog which means that she is not only considered to be a purebred dog but more importantly she comes from a lineage that is disease free."
There is no such thing as an AKC certification for health. AKC is a registry for purebred dogs, that's it. They do not certify that any line is disease free. Even if this breeder had notified AKC (which they are not required to do), the AKC would not have withheld the registrations.
I'm not defending the breeder in the slightest but people need to understand that AKC registration simply means the dog is considered to be a purebred dog. It does not guarantee that the dog you receive has been bred responsibly.
