I am very excited to be taking this step into the breeding world as I will be mentored by the very best in the business – Bon’s breeder, Pat Swallows of Topmast Goldens and Gayle Watkins of Gaylan’s Goldens, who bred my boy, Dice, and Bon’s dam, Abbi.
Pat has been incredibly helpful so far, and I have learned so much from her. Pat has been active in Goldens since 1972, so she brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to this breeding.
Gayle has actively shown and bred multi-purpose golden retrievers since 1979 and most recently, has founded Avidog® International, LLC (www.avidog.com), a company that focuses on empowering, inspiring, and encouraging breeders and owners to transform the way they whelp and raise their puppies. Gayle has developed a unique, state-of-the-art puppy rearing and development program that gives all of our pups, no matter their future, the best possible start in life. The Avidog® puppy rearing system is carefully designed, from conception to placement, to bring out the best in every puppy. It mixes science, nature, and experience in a balanced blend of mental, physical, and social developmental opportunities with nutritional support. Furthermore, before pups are placed, they are thoroughly assessed on conformation (structure, type and athleticism), temperament, and working ability, using a comprehensive evaluation process that seeks to give every owner the ideal puppy for them and provide them a training plan for their individual puppy. Pups will be raised using this ground-breaking puppy raising and evaluation techniques developed by Avidog International/Gaylan’s Golden Retrievers and followed by Topmast Golden Retrievers.
The wording of this breeding philiosophy is not mine, and I would like to thank Gayle and Pat for their guidance and for allowing me to share their words here.
Our litters are of tremendous importance to us and all of our efforts will be concentrated into caring for and socializing our pups. As I start into this venture, my goal at Audeo Goldens, as it is at Gaylan’s and Topmast, is to produce beautiful, companion hunters that are able and willing to compete in all aspects of Golden activities.
At Audeo, our first concern is longevity; we simply do not accept that golden retrievers should live only 10 years, and we will be doing all we can to turn the tide. After longevity, we will balance temperament, conformation, working ability, and general health. We will breed only Golden Retrievers who are intelligent, confident, and loving. We are equally concerned about the serious genetic problems facing Golden Retrievers so, at a minimum, all of our breeding dogs must test clear for inherited orthopedic, eye, and heart diseases. We are also concerned with allergies, cancer, breeding or whelping problems, seizures, and swallowing disorders.
In conjunction with physical and mental soundness, we seek to produce good looking, typey Golden Retrievers with intelligence, drive, and birdiness. Achievement of these goals will be measured in the hunting field, as well as the obedience and agility rings, tracking fields, and other performance events.
Audeo puppies will undergo a well thought-out development program during their first nine weeks that has been developed by Gaylan’s Goldens. They will be handled and socialized from birth, with daily individual attention.
Between four and seventeen days, this daily attention will include Gaylan’s Early Scent Introduction (ESI) program and the U.S. Military’s Early Neurological Stimulation exercises (see Dr. Carmen Battaglia's article in the AKC Gazette, May 95 and Golden Retriever News). This early neurological stimulation has been shown to improve cardiovascular performance, strengthen heartbeats, strengthen adrenal glands, increase stress tolerance, and increase resistance to disease. In tests of learning, stimulated pups were found to be more active and were more exploratory than their non-stimulated littermates, over which they were dominant in competitive situations. Secondary effects on learning have also been noted, including increased calmness, decreased errors, and reduced distress signals when stressed.
The pups will be socialized with adults, children, other dogs, and cats. By the time they go home between eight and nine weeks, they will have been introduced to game birds, had daily walks in the woods, started their housebreaking and simple obedience training, and been in crates and on multiple car rides. If the weather permits, the pups will also be introduced to water.
Our goal is to carefully place each pup with a well-suited family, ideally in a competition, hunting, and/or working home. We will make every effort to match each owner or family with the pup that suits him or her. To do this, we will gather information from prospective owners about their lifestyle, experience in dogs, and expectations for their pup. We will also keep careful records of each pup's reactions and personality to assist in placement. During their eighth week, we will evaluate the puppies' temperaments, using the Avidog Puppy Evaluation Test (APET), a test that Gayle has have developed. This test will enable us to make the best match between puppies and owners, as well as to help new owners develop a training plan for their pup’s first year. In addition, we will do hunting, structural, and conformation assessments.
We will have a long-term commitment to all of the puppies we breed. We will expect to remain in contact with our puppy owners throughout the dog's life (and often beyond). We provide information on the successes and health of each pup's parents and relatives, as well as suggestions on training, showing, and, if appropriate, breeding. Owners have access to an online group where owners of our dogs can chat, discuss training and other issues, and brag about their pup.
Our commitment to producing healthy, stable pups demands that we collect genetic and temperament information from all dogs of our breeding. For this reason, we require that all of our pups be screened for genetic diseases at 24 months of age at the owner's expense. This screening provides important health information to owners and includes OFA hip and elbow x-rays, an eye exam by a certified veterinary ophthalmologist, and a heart exam by a board-certified cardiologist. We also urge owners to commit to annual eye exams for the life of their dog due to the growing presence of pigmentary uveitis in Goldens.
Despite our best efforts, we acknowledge that dog breeders are creating living beings and there is no way to produce perfect dogs. Even in dogs from the most conscientious breeders, health issues and physical flaws must be expected by breeders and buyers alike. While we carefully screen all breeding stock, the ambiguity surrounding the environmental and hereditary causes of hip and elbow dysplasia, cataracts, SAS, epilepsy, thyroid, pigmentary uveitis, progressive retinal atrophy, and other genetic diseases make a guarantee impossible. As breeders, we feel our requirement is to take responsibility for the dogs we have produced and we do so by warranting our dogs against genetic defect, offering a refund of half the purchase price for any dog debilitated by one of these diseases. Similarly, if any puppy purchased specifically for breeding has a disqualifying fault under CKC/AKC standards, we will reimburse the owner half the purchase price or offer a pup from a future breeding at half price. We do require that all of these affected dogs be neutered prior to sending the refund, but they do not need to be returned to us. However, we will always take any dogs of our breeding back at any time for any reason.
Before being placed in their new homes, the puppies will be examined by our veterinarian and have their first set of vaccinations, as calculated by a nanogram we will run on their dam to verify optimal timing of this first vaccination. They will be microchipped. They will be examined by a board-certified veterinary ophthalmologist and a board-certified veterinary cardiologist.