Current Litters

We are not expecting any more puppies until this fall.  There is a very active local golden retriever club in Austin and I frequently know of other litters available.  Please feel free to call me if you need referrals to other litters.

Unless otherwise specified, all of our puppies are sold on American Kennel Club Limited Registration.  Limited Registration means that the puppy is AKC registered but no progeny produced by this puppy is eligible for registration.  These dogs can be shown in obedience trials, field trials, agility trials, tracking tests and hunt tests. Show puppies are occasionally available and are sold on full registration.  

We request that puppy buyers do not spay or neuter their puppy before the growth plates close.  There is mounting evidence that not only do early neutered animals grow taller than they were originally genetically programmed to grow, but there is also an increased incidence of orthopedic problems and cruciate ligament tears.  Other potential problems are delineated in an excellent article by Chris Zink:  http://www.caninesports.com/SpayNeuter.html.  If you are a person who is compelled to neuter or spay your pet before puberty, please don't buy a Ducat golden.

There have also been many problems associated with obesity in dogs.  There is such a strong connection between obesity and degenerative joint disease that even a little excess body weight increases osteoarthritis. There is almost twice the rate of hip dysplasia and other skeletal abnormalities in the overweight dog.

Excess body fat has proven to reduce life span and increase other diseases. The study most often cited is a study done by Kealy, et al. in 2002. The researchers took 24 paired littermates and studied them during their lifespan. One of the pair was allowed to eat unrestricted for 15 minutes twice a day. The other one was restricted to 75% of what they normally would have eaten. The most shocking data showed that osteoarthritis could be delayed and lowered by restricting calories. The average body score of the ad lib fed dogs was 6.7 (out of a 9) and 4.6 on the restricted fed dogs. They discovered that if you can reduce the body score the dog will feel and walk better.

One of the most surprising results was that the restricted fed dogs lived a full 2 years longer than the ad lib fed dogs. The researchers discovered that excess body fat reduced life span and increased other diseases.

Unfortunately acute trauma (such as cruciate ligament tears) and intervertebral disc disease in dogs are also associated with obesity. And dogs are succumbing to some of the same diseases afflicting humans such as diabetes and asthma. Sleep apnea and tracheal collapse are associated with obesity and most common in terrier types. There are also urinary problems associated with obesity, in particular, urethral sphincter mechanism incompetence. In short, obesity in dogs has been linked to lameness/arthrosis, poor skin and coat, exercise intolerance, hypertension, cancer, shorter lifespan and anesthetic risk.  Please don't let your Ducat dog get overweight!