Tropico Kennels, Lisa Barreras Total fraud! Poor quality pups riddled with genetic problems. Does not honor guarantees! Do not buy! Palmdale California

I am writing this report in Defense of Tropico Kennel puppies and dogs, from a different point of view. I have read all of the threads here and feel all parties have valid points, but the whole thing seems like a sucker punch to ruin the reputation of a well known breeder to our area.

I can not speak for all of the puppies purchased from Tropico, but I can speak for a small portion of puppies that I have been in personal contact with over the last 9 yrs. I have never met Lisa (Tropico) personally and have no affiliation to her or her family, friends or private life at this time.

I am writing this on behalf of all the people looking at this report who are looking to buy a puppy from Tropico.

When you ask around the Los Angeles area for a good Golden Breeder, Tropico Kennels always finds its way into the conversation. If you ask around for a good Golden doodle breeder the same applies. Why? Because so many folks, of all walks of life, are happy with their dogs. I know people who have purchased dogs from Lisa on more than one occasion and I know people who simply admire her dogs.

My old partner in business had an incident with Lisa and her contracts. Lisa did honor her contract. A replacement puppy was provided, with no additional money to be paid. This puppy in particular was no fault of breeding; it was simply the wrong dog for the buyer. When purchasing a puppy, the general public has no idea what they are looking for. Temperaments vary from pup to pup, neither good nor bad, and sometimes in the matchmaking process, people choose the wrong pup for their intention. This was the case. The puppy in question was a little too high energy for the family who purchased it. There were small children in the home, the mother was overwhelmed and needed a couch potato vs. An athlete.

So Lisa honored the puppy and replaced it with a more docile puppy. No biggie, just a miss match. The owner simply bit off more than they could chew. She didn't have to replace this dog, but she did. There was nothing WRONG genetically, temperament, or otherwise. She replaced it.

In my opinion, this is not a perfect process. No one could be 100%, 100% of the time. But Lisa and Tropico do a good job producing great family companions. Beauty and Brains. I have never seen a dog from Tropico that is aggressive, nervous, shy, UN socialized, skittish, sick or wary. That doesn't mean it doesn't exist, it simply means I have not seen it. I always feel confident sending folks in the direction of Tropico if they are looking for a great dog....and breeder.

As with any purchase it is buyer beware. The choice is put on the consuming public. If you don't feel comfortable, keep looking. If you don't like the price, keep looking. Are Tropico pups expensive? Yes. But they are not over the top in comparison to others. Lisa's' dogs HAVE gone up in price over the years. But so has my rent, the gas, the price for a home, college tuition, and the price of milk. It is what makes the world go round. Should she be slammed for that? If you can find a better puppy at a better price, go for it. She is a reputable breeder, who takes pride in her work, and does a great job producing really great puppies.

As far as deposits on a dog, I don't see what the gripe is on this. If you want to get a hotel room at a good hotel, you leave a NON REFUNDABLE deposit, same with a house, day care for children or many other things in life. If you back out, your problem. 300 dollars may mean the difference of another round of shots until puppy finds another client, food, housing, time and energy for care, cleanup, time spent showing to new people..... The list could go on and on. The rules are just that, RULES, of the breeder. She has the right to run her business as she sees fit, if you don't respect it, that is okay. Don't buy a puppy from her. I am almost certain she didn't Call YOU! YOU called her. She didn't solicit your business, you did. She also didn't sign a check and go to the post office to send it. It is not about being greedy, IT IS HER RULES. If you don't like them, that is okay. But bending the rules is not an option. $300 take it or leave it. I hear this complaint from people all the time so I figured I would comment on it.

Now, let's look at something else. We all know Toyota makes a good car. Low gas mileage, low maintenance, good looking and a nice drive. Just ask Toyota, they will tell you. Ask Nissan, and they will tell you the same thing about their cars as will BMW. But if you want to know the real deal ask the people WHO OWN, DRIVE and SERVICE them! When it comes to dogs, the consumer OWNS them, the VET does the maintenance on them, and the TRAINER drives them.

Nothing about that is mentioned in any of these reports. Every breeder has a passion for their operation. They have titles and accolades to prove it. They will tell you why you should or shouldn't buy from someone else. She doesn't do this, she doesn't do that, her dogs don't have this, her dogs don't have that on and on blah blah blah. Someone can't possibly suggest that a breeder is GOD in the breeding process. I have seen show dogs that are so trashed emotionally they can't make it down the street with out having a melt down. They have all kinds of trophies; titles in front of their name are beautiful to look at and will attack your neighbor due to excessive shyness.

So obedience titles and conformation titles do not predict the temperament of one particular puppy. Maybe you are a better breeder than Lisa, great! Congrats. But to suggest Lisa is a fraud, a menace to the breed, and she should burn in hell for her actions is ridiculous. Well the breed clubs won't talk to her! Who cares? Have you ever owned her dogs? Have you ever met her dogs? Have you ever trained her dogs?

The people in this report, Pam and Clairyce have a lot of passion, which is clear. I respect that. But come on ladies, seems a little over the top from the outside looking in. You may be able to control a lot of things, but you can't throw a tantrum and point fingers to someone who doesn't love her dogs any less than you love yours. This report comes across like Tropico Kennels is on its way to ruining Goldens as a breed, and Lisa is the lying witch behind the whole thing. Simply not true.

So why am I writing this you may wonder (or not!) Well I will tell you. I went in search of a breeder who bred a puppy owned by a woman named Jenny. Jenny purchased this puppy and paid a lot more than a thousand dollars for him.

He is now 5.5 months old and has come up very possessive aggressive, territorial aggressive and has an extremely low threshold for pain. He snarls, growls and snaps at her children, and does not submit to authority with any ease. He freezes and stands erect while approaching his food, and has resource guarding down to a science. Bares his teeth while he is resting and you try to pick him up. He goes blank in the eye, and then snaps out of it. Clearly a problem.

So I attempted to contact the breeder for Jenny. I wrote numerous emails to addresses that were no longer valid. I then went on line to see if I could tract down any information. That is how I found this site. Isn't it IRONIC that the very breeder I was looking for is the EXACT SAME person that started this RIP OFF REPORT! Clairyce A Gaston of RDO Goldens. All the accusations and finger pointing at Tropico and I have a puppy right now as we speak from RDO that is aggressive as hell. Go figure. All those tests and pedigree's and hoopla and this happens. How can that be??

Like I said in the opening of this, I have never met Lisa from Tropico Kennels but, I can tell you this. I train the dogs she breeds. I have trained more Tropico dogs than most people will own in a life time. I am also referring my client to her if she chooses to buy another puppy. So to all the consumers out there keep this in mind, call your local REPUTABLE TRAINERS and ask them who makes good dogs that train up great, make wonderful companions, and have RESULTS time and time again. For me, Tropico does that. I am shocked Lisa is on this RIP OFF report. Her Golden Retrievers are just that. Golden!!

TROPICO KENNELS has another website posted with the same information -- except for the kennel name. The site is SOUTHERN CAL KENNELS.

You can get a look at it using Google and searching for the name -- unless SOUTHERN CAL KENNELS aka TROPICO KENNELS removes it. If they remove it -- you can always use the Google 'Cached' link to see what it used to look like.

My husband and I recently bought a goldendodle puppy form Lisa Barreras at Tropico Kennels, a puppy whom we named Poe. He is healthy, happy, calm and loving and we are utterly pleased with him. Indeed, after thirty-five years of owning mostly Clumber Spaniels, this is the first dog my husband actually loves. Since my husband is in the process of going blind due to a degenreative eye disease, I was hoping that he could relate to a dog, since eventually I hope he can get a seeing- eye dog. However, for that to happen, he needs to be able to bond with a dog, which he has done with Poe. Our marvellous vet, who has seen thousands of dogs, in addition to giving Poe a clean bill of health was so impressed with how calm and caring the dog is that he suggested that we consider making him a therapy dog. As a long-time dog -owner, though not a breeder or someone who shows dogs, I can attest to the fact that this is the easiest dog I have ever owned ( including the Clumbers, who were extremely easy). He is a delight; sweet-tempered, curious but not at all agressive. I spent the summer walking him on the beach with friends who had dogs ranging from a Jack Russell to a Tibetan Mastiff and he got along perfectly with all of them. He has yet to have an accident or to chew anything that did not belong to him. What more can one want or expect from a puppy? If owner satisfaction enters into the picture, then I give Tropico kennels top grades for the puppies they breed.

Before I start, this message is for Lisa from Tropico Kennels. This will be my final post on this thread. My initial intention for responding to this thread was to help educate consumers looking for a puppy. I have allowed my emotions to interfere with my original intent and let myself to be drawn into a non-productive flamewar. There is nothing to be gained from furthering the argument here and I will no longer be part of it.

For the consumer looking for a puppy:
The information that follows is what I believe is generally regarded as the "best-practice" when looking for a reputable, responsible breeder of any breed of dog.

This information applies to Golden Retrievers and Goldendoodles but can be applied to most other breeds as well. The specifics of the genetic testing involved will vary between breeds and the best way to find out which tests are recommended is to visit the Parent Club of the breed you are interested in.

The best place to find a Golden Retriever breeder is the Golden Retriever Club of America also known as the GRCA. The site can be found by doing a search on the club name. The GRCA was formed in 1938 to promote the health and well-being of the Golden Retriever breed. They provide information about the Golden Retriever breed, information about the GRCA & Golden Retriever Rescues, and they also provide a puppy referral system that will connect you with a reputable, responsible breeder in your area. The litters from these breeders have been pre-screened for the desired health clearances before being listed on the puppy referral list.

A checklist of questions to ask yourself and the potential breeder before you buy - from the Delaware Valley Golden Retriever Rescue - taken from the Golden Retriever Club of America website:

1) Where did you find out about this breeder? Responsible breeders will breed only when they have a waiting list of puppy buyers. They usually don't find it necessary to advertise in newspapers or with a sign out in the front yard. The Golden Retriever Club of America (GRCA) maintains a national information list available online at the GRCA website.

2) Do both parents (the sire and dam) have elbow & hip clearances from the OFA (Orthopedic Foundation for Animals) or PennHip? Ask to see the certificates. "My vet okayed the x-ray" is not a valid clearance.

3) Do both parents have current eye clearances? This must be performed every year. Ask to see the certificates.

4) Do both parents have a veterinarian's clearance, preferably with ultrasound by a canine cardiologist, on the hearts of both parents? Ask to see the certificates.

5) Are both parents at least two years old? OFA hip clearances cannot be obtained before that age. PennHip determines hip conditions at an earlier age. Elbow clearances can be obtained for dogs of any age.

6) How often is the dam bred? Breeding every heat cycle IS TOO OFTEN and may indicate that profit is the primary motive for the breeding.

7) Do all four grandparents, siblings of the parents and any other puppies that they may have produced have these clearances? A responsible breeder will keep track of these statistics and honestly discuss any problems that have occurred in the lines and what has been done to prevent them from recurring.

8) Are both parents free of allergies or epilepsy?

9) Is the breeder willing to provide you with references and telephone numbers of other people who have purchased puppies from him/her?

10) Will the puppy have a limited registration (which means if the dog is bred, the puppies cannot be AKC registered) with a mandatory spay/neuter contract? A breeder who cares enough about the breed to insist on these is probably a responsible breeder.

11) On what basis was the sire chosen? If the answer is "because he lives right down the street" or "because he is really sweet," it may be that sufficient thought was not put into the breeding.

12) WILL THE BREEDER TAKE THE DOG BACK AT ANY TIME, FOR ANY REASON, IF YOU CANNOT KEEP IT?! This is the hallmark of responsible breeding (and the quickest, best way to make rescue obsolete).

13) Will the breeder be available for the life of the dog to answer any questions you might have? Is this someone you would feel comfortable asking any type of question?

14) Is the breeder knowledgeable about the breed? Is he or she involved in competition with their dogs (field, obedience, or conformation)?

15) Are there a majority of titled dogs (the initials: CH, OTCH, CD, JH, WC... before or after the names) in the first two generations? The term "champion lines" means nothing if those titles are back three or more generations or there are only one or two in the whole pedigree.

16) Are the puppy's sire and dam available for you to meet? If the sire is unavailable, can you call his owners or people who have his puppies to ask about temperament or health problems? You should also be provided with pictures or videos.

17) Have the puppies been raised in the home - not in a kennel, barn or the back yard?

18) Is the breeder knowledgeable about raising puppies, critical neonatal periods, and proper socialization techniques? Puppies that are raised without high exposure to gentle handling, human contact and a wide variety of noises and experiences OR are removed from their dam or litter mates before at least 7 weeks may exhibit a wide variety of behavioral problems! Temperament, a genetic trait carried over from the parents, still needs development from the early beginnings of a puppy's life. The breeder should provide extensive socialization and human interaction to the puppies in the litter.

19) Does the breeder provide a 3-5 generation pedigree, copies of all clearances, the guarantee, health records and material to help you with feeding, training and housebreaking?

20) Have the puppies' temperaments been evaluated and can the breeder guide you to the puppy that will best suit your lifestyle? A very shy puppy will not do well in a noisy household with small children, just as a very dominant puppy won't flourish in a sedate, senior citizen household. A caring breeder will know the puppies and be able to show you how to test them so that good matches can be made.

21) Do the puppies seem healthy, with no discharge from eyes or nose, no loose stools, no foul smelling ears? Are their coats soft, full and clean? Do they have plenty of energy when awake, yet calm down easily when gently stroked?

22) Do the puppies have their first shots and have they been wormed?

23) Does the breeder have only 1 or at most 2 breeds of dogs and only 1 litter at a time? If there are several breeds of dogs, chances are the breeder cannot devote the time it takes to become really knowledgeable about the breed. If there is more than one litter at a time, it is very difficult to give the puppies the attention they need and may indicate that the primary purpose for breeding is profit, rather than a sincere desire to sustain and improve the breed.

24) Does the breeder belong to the Golden Retriever Club of America and/or a local Golden Retriever club and has he/she signed a breeders' "Code of Ethics"?

25) Do you feel comfortable with this person? Keep in mind that you are entering into a decade-long relationship. If you feel intimidated or pressured, keep looking! It's worth the effort. From all of us at DVGRR, good luck!
-------------------------------------

The best way to find a good breeder is to have this checklist available to you when you call or visit prospective breeders. If at any time, a breeder attempts to make excuses for not having final clearances - a Preliminary Consultation Report is not a final clearance, seriously consider walking away. Also, if at any time the breeder refuses to answer your questions, walk away.

By following these guidelines and asking these questions, you will help to insure that you are getting the best puppy possible for your family.

For those people looking for Goldendoodles:

Because there is no Parent Club for Goldendoodles, there is no central location to get a puppy referral. In addition, since Goldendoodles are a mixed breed, they are not eligible for registration with the AKC so you will not be able to get a referral there either. However, there is a resource that will tell you what to look for in a Goldendoodle breeder, including what genetic testing is recommended. Because URL's are not allowed here, you can do a search for Goldendoodle breeder on Google and look for the address with the word goldendoodles in it. It is listed under the heading of "Goldendoodle Home Page". Be aware, however, that not all of the breeders listed on this site will be reputable and responsible breeders. Use the questionnaire above to help determine what kind of breeder you may be dealing with. Not all questions will apply but the more generic ones will.

Special emphasis should be given to the following questions:

1) Do the parents of the puppies have their final clearances? This looks like the same question as above but both the Poodle and the Golden Retriever have different clearance requirements and you should verify that they both meet those requirements. The requirements for Golden Retrievers are listed above. The requirements for Poodles can be found at the Poodle Club of America site or the Canine Health Information Center (CHIC) or they can be found at the Goldendoodle site mentioned earlier.

2) If the parents are both Goldendoodles, verification of clearances is more difficult. However, the OFA and CERF recently started accepting hybrids (mixed breeds) such as the Goldendoodle into their databases. You can ask the breeder if they are utilizing these certifications. If they are not, you may want to consider finding a breeder who does.

3) Is the Goldendoodle puppy being sold with a spay/neuter contract? Goldendoodles that are not intended for breeding should be spayed/neutered as they and other mixed breeds begin to lose any health benefits that may have been gained in the cross after the first generation.

You can find all of the information listed here and more at the following websites. All of these sites can be found by doing a search on the full name of the club/certifying agency.

Golden Retriever Club of America (GRCA)
Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA)
Canine Eye Registration Foundation (CERF)

One final note: I realize that this is a lot of information to remember but this puppy will be with you for 10-12 years and as the GRCA says:
"Think ahead to 10-12 years of veterinary bills and the importance of choosing a puppy whose ancestors have been screened for common health issues which have a genetic basis. ...The best source of a healthy, well-socialized puppy is a conscientious breeder with a long-term commitment to the breed and a reputation to uphold. "

Before I start, this message is for Lisa from Tropico Kennels. This will be my final post on this thread. My initial intention for responding to this thread was to help educate consumers looking for a puppy. I have allowed my emotions to interfere with my original intent and let myself to be drawn into a non-productive flamewar. There is nothing to be gained from furthering the argument here and I will no longer be part of it.

For the consumer looking for a puppy:
The information that follows is what I believe is generally regarded as the "best-practice" when looking for a reputable, responsible breeder of any breed of dog.

This information applies to Golden Retrievers and Goldendoodles but can be applied to most other breeds as well. The specifics of the genetic testing involved will vary between breeds and the best way to find out which tests are recommended is to visit the Parent Club of the breed you are interested in.

The best place to find a Golden Retriever breeder is the Golden Retriever Club of America also known as the GRCA. The site can be found by doing a search on the club name. The GRCA was formed in 1938 to promote the health and well-being of the Golden Retriever breed. They provide information about the Golden Retriever breed, information about the GRCA & Golden Retriever Rescues, and they also provide a puppy referral system that will connect you with a reputable, responsible breeder in your area. The litters from these breeders have been pre-screened for the desired health clearances before being listed on the puppy referral list.

A checklist of questions to ask yourself and the potential breeder before you buy - from the Delaware Valley Golden Retriever Rescue - taken from the Golden Retriever Club of America website:

1) Where did you find out about this breeder? Responsible breeders will breed only when they have a waiting list of puppy buyers. They usually don't find it necessary to advertise in newspapers or with a sign out in the front yard. The Golden Retriever Club of America (GRCA) maintains a national information list available online at the GRCA website.

2) Do both parents (the sire and dam) have elbow & hip clearances from the OFA (Orthopedic Foundation for Animals) or PennHip? Ask to see the certificates. "My vet okayed the x-ray" is not a valid clearance.

3) Do both parents have current eye clearances? This must be performed every year. Ask to see the certificates.

4) Do both parents have a veterinarian's clearance, preferably with ultrasound by a canine cardiologist, on the hearts of both parents? Ask to see the certificates.

5) Are both parents at least two years old? OFA hip clearances cannot be obtained before that age. PennHip determines hip conditions at an earlier age. Elbow clearances can be obtained for dogs of any age.

6) How often is the dam bred? Breeding every heat cycle IS TOO OFTEN and may indicate that profit is the primary motive for the breeding.

7) Do all four grandparents, siblings of the parents and any other puppies that they may have produced have these clearances? A responsible breeder will keep track of these statistics and honestly discuss any problems that have occurred in the lines and what has been done to prevent them from recurring.

8) Are both parents free of allergies or epilepsy?

9) Is the breeder willing to provide you with references and telephone numbers of other people who have purchased puppies from him/her?

10) Will the puppy have a limited registration (which means if the dog is bred, the puppies cannot be AKC registered) with a mandatory spay/neuter contract? A breeder who cares enough about the breed to insist on these is probably a responsible breeder.

11) On what basis was the sire chosen? If the answer is "because he lives right down the street" or "because he is really sweet," it may be that sufficient thought was not put into the breeding.

12) WILL THE BREEDER TAKE THE DOG BACK AT ANY TIME, FOR ANY REASON, IF YOU CANNOT KEEP IT?! This is the hallmark of responsible breeding (and the quickest, best way to make rescue obsolete).

13) Will the breeder be available for the life of the dog to answer any questions you might have? Is this someone you would feel comfortable asking any type of question?

14) Is the breeder knowledgeable about the breed? Is he or she involved in competition with their dogs (field, obedience, or conformation)?

15) Are there a majority of titled dogs (the initials: CH, OTCH, CD, JH, WC... before or after the names) in the first two generations? The term "champion lines" means nothing if those titles are back three or more generations or there are only one or two in the whole pedigree.

16) Are the puppy's sire and dam available for you to meet? If the sire is unavailable, can you call his owners or people who have his puppies to ask about temperament or health problems? You should also be provided with pictures or videos.

17) Have the puppies been raised in the home - not in a kennel, barn or the back yard?

18) Is the breeder knowledgeable about raising puppies, critical neonatal periods, and proper socialization techniques? Puppies that are raised without high exposure to gentle handling, human contact and a wide variety of noises and experiences OR are removed from their dam or litter mates before at least 7 weeks may exhibit a wide variety of behavioral problems! Temperament, a genetic trait carried over from the parents, still needs development from the early beginnings of a puppy's life. The breeder should provide extensive socialization and human interaction to the puppies in the litter.

19) Does the breeder provide a 3-5 generation pedigree, copies of all clearances, the guarantee, health records and material to help you with feeding, training and housebreaking?

20) Have the puppies' temperaments been evaluated and can the breeder guide you to the puppy that will best suit your lifestyle? A very shy puppy will not do well in a noisy household with small children, just as a very dominant puppy won't flourish in a sedate, senior citizen household. A caring breeder will know the puppies and be able to show you how to test them so that good matches can be made.

21) Do the puppies seem healthy, with no discharge from eyes or nose, no loose stools, no foul smelling ears? Are their coats soft, full and clean? Do they have plenty of energy when awake, yet calm down easily when gently stroked?

22) Do the puppies have their first shots and have they been wormed?

23) Does the breeder have only 1 or at most 2 breeds of dogs and only 1 litter at a time? If there are several breeds of dogs, chances are the breeder cannot devote the time it takes to become really knowledgeable about the breed. If there is more than one litter at a time, it is very difficult to give the puppies the attention they need and may indicate that the primary purpose for breeding is profit, rather than a sincere desire to sustain and improve the breed.

24) Does the breeder belong to the Golden Retriever Club of America and/or a local Golden Retriever club and has he/she signed a breeders' "Code of Ethics"?

25) Do you feel comfortable with this person? Keep in mind that you are entering into a decade-long relationship. If you feel intimidated or pressured, keep looking! It's worth the effort. From all of us at DVGRR, good luck!
-------------------------------------

The best way to find a good breeder is to have this checklist available to you when you call or visit prospective breeders. If at any time, a breeder attempts to make excuses for not having final clearances - a Preliminary Consultation Report is not a final clearance, seriously consider walking away. Also, if at any time the breeder refuses to answer your questions, walk away.

By following these guidelines and asking these questions, you will help to insure that you are getting the best puppy possible for your family.

For those people looking for Goldendoodles:

Because there is no Parent Club for Goldendoodles, there is no central location to get a puppy referral. In addition, since Goldendoodles are a mixed breed, they are not eligible for registration with the AKC so you will not be able to get a referral there either. However, there is a resource that will tell you what to look for in a Goldendoodle breeder, including what genetic testing is recommended. Because URL's are not allowed here, you can do a search for Goldendoodle breeder on Google and look for the address with the word goldendoodles in it. It is listed under the heading of "Goldendoodle Home Page". Be aware, however, that not all of the breeders listed on this site will be reputable and responsible breeders. Use the questionnaire above to help determine what kind of breeder you may be dealing with. Not all questions will apply but the more generic ones will.

Special emphasis should be given to the following questions:

1) Do the parents of the puppies have their final clearances? This looks like the same question as above but both the Poodle and the Golden Retriever have different clearance requirements and you should verify that they both meet those requirements. The requirements for Golden Retrievers are listed above. The requirements for Poodles can be found at the Poodle Club of America site or the Canine Health Information Center (CHIC) or they can be found at the Goldendoodle site mentioned earlier.

2) If the parents are both Goldendoodles, verification of clearances is more difficult. However, the OFA and CERF recently started accepting hybrids (mixed breeds) such as the Goldendoodle into their databases. You can ask the breeder if they are utilizing these certifications. If they are not, you may want to consider finding a breeder who does.

3) Is the Goldendoodle puppy being sold with a spay/neuter contract? Goldendoodles that are not intended for breeding should be spayed/neutered as they and other mixed breeds begin to lose any health benefits that may have been gained in the cross after the first generation.

You can find all of the information listed here and more at the following websites. All of these sites can be found by doing a search on the full name of the club/certifying agency.

Golden Retriever Club of America (GRCA)
Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA)
Canine Eye Registration Foundation (CERF)

One final note: I realize that this is a lot of information to remember but this puppy will be with you for 10-12 years and as the GRCA says:
"Think ahead to 10-12 years of veterinary bills and the importance of choosing a puppy whose ancestors have been screened for common health issues which have a genetic basis. ...The best source of a healthy, well-socialized puppy is a conscientious breeder with a long-term commitment to the breed and a reputation to uphold. "

Before I start, this message is for Lisa from Tropico Kennels. This will be my final post on this thread. My initial intention for responding to this thread was to help educate consumers looking for a puppy. I have allowed my emotions to interfere with my original intent and let myself to be drawn into a non-productive flamewar. There is nothing to be gained from furthering the argument here and I will no longer be part of it.

For the consumer looking for a puppy:
The information that follows is what I believe is generally regarded as the "best-practice" when looking for a reputable, responsible breeder of any breed of dog.

This information applies to Golden Retrievers and Goldendoodles but can be applied to most other breeds as well. The specifics of the genetic testing involved will vary between breeds and the best way to find out which tests are recommended is to visit the Parent Club of the breed you are interested in.

The best place to find a Golden Retriever breeder is the Golden Retriever Club of America also known as the GRCA. The site can be found by doing a search on the club name. The GRCA was formed in 1938 to promote the health and well-being of the Golden Retriever breed. They provide information about the Golden Retriever breed, information about the GRCA & Golden Retriever Rescues, and they also provide a puppy referral system that will connect you with a reputable, responsible breeder in your area. The litters from these breeders have been pre-screened for the desired health clearances before being listed on the puppy referral list.

A checklist of questions to ask yourself and the potential breeder before you buy - from the Delaware Valley Golden Retriever Rescue - taken from the Golden Retriever Club of America website:

1) Where did you find out about this breeder? Responsible breeders will breed only when they have a waiting list of puppy buyers. They usually don't find it necessary to advertise in newspapers or with a sign out in the front yard. The Golden Retriever Club of America (GRCA) maintains a national information list available online at the GRCA website.

2) Do both parents (the sire and dam) have elbow & hip clearances from the OFA (Orthopedic Foundation for Animals) or PennHip? Ask to see the certificates. "My vet okayed the x-ray" is not a valid clearance.

3) Do both parents have current eye clearances? This must be performed every year. Ask to see the certificates.

4) Do both parents have a veterinarian's clearance, preferably with ultrasound by a canine cardiologist, on the hearts of both parents? Ask to see the certificates.

5) Are both parents at least two years old? OFA hip clearances cannot be obtained before that age. PennHip determines hip conditions at an earlier age. Elbow clearances can be obtained for dogs of any age.

6) How often is the dam bred? Breeding every heat cycle IS TOO OFTEN and may indicate that profit is the primary motive for the breeding.

7) Do all four grandparents, siblings of the parents and any other puppies that they may have produced have these clearances? A responsible breeder will keep track of these statistics and honestly discuss any problems that have occurred in the lines and what has been done to prevent them from recurring.

8) Are both parents free of allergies or epilepsy?

9) Is the breeder willing to provide you with references and telephone numbers of other people who have purchased puppies from him/her?

10) Will the puppy have a limited registration (which means if the dog is bred, the puppies cannot be AKC registered) with a mandatory spay/neuter contract? A breeder who cares enough about the breed to insist on these is probably a responsible breeder.

11) On what basis was the sire chosen? If the answer is "because he lives right down the street" or "because he is really sweet," it may be that sufficient thought was not put into the breeding.

12) WILL THE BREEDER TAKE THE DOG BACK AT ANY TIME, FOR ANY REASON, IF YOU CANNOT KEEP IT?! This is the hallmark of responsible breeding (and the quickest, best way to make rescue obsolete).

13) Will the breeder be available for the life of the dog to answer any questions you might have? Is this someone you would feel comfortable asking any type of question?

14) Is the breeder knowledgeable about the breed? Is he or she involved in competition with their dogs (field, obedience, or conformation)?

15) Are there a majority of titled dogs (the initials: CH, OTCH, CD, JH, WC... before or after the names) in the first two generations? The term "champion lines" means nothing if those titles are back three or more generations or there are only one or two in the whole pedigree.

16) Are the puppy's sire and dam available for you to meet? If the sire is unavailable, can you call his owners or people who have his puppies to ask about temperament or health problems? You should also be provided with pictures or videos.

17) Have the puppies been raised in the home - not in a kennel, barn or the back yard?

18) Is the breeder knowledgeable about raising puppies, critical neonatal periods, and proper socialization techniques? Puppies that are raised without high exposure to gentle handling, human contact and a wide variety of noises and experiences OR are removed from their dam or litter mates before at least 7 weeks may exhibit a wide variety of behavioral problems! Temperament, a genetic trait carried over from the parents, still needs development from the early beginnings of a puppy's life. The breeder should provide extensive socialization and human interaction to the puppies in the litter.

19) Does the breeder provide a 3-5 generation pedigree, copies of all clearances, the guarantee, health records and material to help you with feeding, training and housebreaking?

20) Have the puppies' temperaments been evaluated and can the breeder guide you to the puppy that will best suit your lifestyle? A very shy puppy will not do well in a noisy household with small children, just as a very dominant puppy won't flourish in a sedate, senior citizen household. A caring breeder will know the puppies and be able to show you how to test them so that good matches can be made.

21) Do the puppies seem healthy, with no discharge from eyes or nose, no loose stools, no foul smelling ears? Are their coats soft, full and clean? Do they have plenty of energy when awake, yet calm down easily when gently stroked?

22) Do the puppies have their first shots and have they been wormed?

23) Does the breeder have only 1 or at most 2 breeds of dogs and only 1 litter at a time? If there are several breeds of dogs, chances are the breeder cannot devote the time it takes to become really knowledgeable about the breed. If there is more than one litter at a time, it is very difficult to give the puppies the attention they need and may indicate that the primary purpose for breeding is profit, rather than a sincere desire to sustain and improve the breed.

24) Does the breeder belong to the Golden Retriever Club of America and/or a local Golden Retriever club and has he/she signed a breeders' "Code of Ethics"?

25) Do you feel comfortable with this person? Keep in mind that you are entering into a decade-long relationship. If you feel intimidated or pressured, keep looking! It's worth the effort. From all of us at DVGRR, good luck!
-------------------------------------

The best way to find a good breeder is to have this checklist available to you when you call or visit prospective breeders. If at any time, a breeder attempts to make excuses for not having final clearances - a Preliminary Consultation Report is not a final clearance, seriously consider walking away. Also, if at any time the breeder refuses to answer your questions, walk away.

By following these guidelines and asking these questions, you will help to insure that you are getting the best puppy possible for your family.

For those people looking for Goldendoodles:

Because there is no Parent Club for Goldendoodles, there is no central location to get a puppy referral. In addition, since Goldendoodles are a mixed breed, they are not eligible for registration with the AKC so you will not be able to get a referral there either. However, there is a resource that will tell you what to look for in a Goldendoodle breeder, including what genetic testing is recommended. Because URL's are not allowed here, you can do a search for Goldendoodle breeder on Google and look for the address with the word goldendoodles in it. It is listed under the heading of "Goldendoodle Home Page". Be aware, however, that not all of the breeders listed on this site will be reputable and responsible breeders. Use the questionnaire above to help determine what kind of breeder you may be dealing with. Not all questions will apply but the more generic ones will.

Special emphasis should be given to the following questions:

1) Do the parents of the puppies have their final clearances? This looks like the same question as above but both the Poodle and the Golden Retriever have different clearance requirements and you should verify that they both meet those requirements. The requirements for Golden Retrievers are listed above. The requirements for Poodles can be found at the Poodle Club of America site or the Canine Health Information Center (CHIC) or they can be found at the Goldendoodle site mentioned earlier.

2) If the parents are both Goldendoodles, verification of clearances is more difficult. However, the OFA and CERF recently started accepting hybrids (mixed breeds) such as the Goldendoodle into their databases. You can ask the breeder if they are utilizing these certifications. If they are not, you may want to consider finding a breeder who does.

3) Is the Goldendoodle puppy being sold with a spay/neuter contract? Goldendoodles that are not intended for breeding should be spayed/neutered as they and other mixed breeds begin to lose any health benefits that may have been gained in the cross after the first generation.

You can find all of the information listed here and more at the following websites. All of these sites can be found by doing a search on the full name of the club/certifying agency.

Golden Retriever Club of America (GRCA)
Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA)
Canine Eye Registration Foundation (CERF)

One final note: I realize that this is a lot of information to remember but this puppy will be with you for 10-12 years and as the GRCA says:
"Think ahead to 10-12 years of veterinary bills and the importance of choosing a puppy whose ancestors have been screened for common health issues which have a genetic basis. ...The best source of a healthy, well-socialized puppy is a conscientious breeder with a long-term commitment to the breed and a reputation to uphold. "

Before I start, this message is for Lisa from Tropico Kennels. This will be my final post on this thread. My initial intention for responding to this thread was to help educate consumers looking for a puppy. I have allowed my emotions to interfere with my original intent and let myself to be drawn into a non-productive flamewar. There is nothing to be gained from furthering the argument here and I will no longer be part of it.

For the consumer looking for a puppy:
The information that follows is what I believe is generally regarded as the "best-practice" when looking for a reputable, responsible breeder of any breed of dog.

This information applies to Golden Retrievers and Goldendoodles but can be applied to most other breeds as well. The specifics of the genetic testing involved will vary between breeds and the best way to find out which tests are recommended is to visit the Parent Club of the breed you are interested in.

The best place to find a Golden Retriever breeder is the Golden Retriever Club of America also known as the GRCA. The site can be found by doing a search on the club name. The GRCA was formed in 1938 to promote the health and well-being of the Golden Retriever breed. They provide information about the Golden Retriever breed, information about the GRCA & Golden Retriever Rescues, and they also provide a puppy referral system that will connect you with a reputable, responsible breeder in your area. The litters from these breeders have been pre-screened for the desired health clearances before being listed on the puppy referral list.

A checklist of questions to ask yourself and the potential breeder before you buy - from the Delaware Valley Golden Retriever Rescue - taken from the Golden Retriever Club of America website:

1) Where did you find out about this breeder? Responsible breeders will breed only when they have a waiting list of puppy buyers. They usually don't find it necessary to advertise in newspapers or with a sign out in the front yard. The Golden Retriever Club of America (GRCA) maintains a national information list available online at the GRCA website.

2) Do both parents (the sire and dam) have elbow & hip clearances from the OFA (Orthopedic Foundation for Animals) or PennHip? Ask to see the certificates. "My vet okayed the x-ray" is not a valid clearance.

3) Do both parents have current eye clearances? This must be performed every year. Ask to see the certificates.

4) Do both parents have a veterinarian's clearance, preferably with ultrasound by a canine cardiologist, on the hearts of both parents? Ask to see the certificates.

5) Are both parents at least two years old? OFA hip clearances cannot be obtained before that age. PennHip determines hip conditions at an earlier age. Elbow clearances can be obtained for dogs of any age.

6) How often is the dam bred? Breeding every heat cycle IS TOO OFTEN and may indicate that profit is the primary motive for the breeding.

7) Do all four grandparents, siblings of the parents and any other puppies that they may have produced have these clearances? A responsible breeder will keep track of these statistics and honestly discuss any problems that have occurred in the lines and what has been done to prevent them from recurring.

8) Are both parents free of allergies or epilepsy?

9) Is the breeder willing to provide you with references and telephone numbers of other people who have purchased puppies from him/her?

10) Will the puppy have a limited registration (which means if the dog is bred, the puppies cannot be AKC registered) with a mandatory spay/neuter contract? A breeder who cares enough about the breed to insist on these is probably a responsible breeder.

11) On what basis was the sire chosen? If the answer is "because he lives right down the street" or "because he is really sweet," it may be that sufficient thought was not put into the breeding.

12) WILL THE BREEDER TAKE THE DOG BACK AT ANY TIME, FOR ANY REASON, IF YOU CANNOT KEEP IT?! This is the hallmark of responsible breeding (and the quickest, best way to make rescue obsolete).

13) Will the breeder be available for the life of the dog to answer any questions you might have? Is this someone you would feel comfortable asking any type of question?

14) Is the breeder knowledgeable about the breed? Is he or she involved in competition with their dogs (field, obedience, or conformation)?

15) Are there a majority of titled dogs (the initials: CH, OTCH, CD, JH, WC... before or after the names) in the first two generations? The term "champion lines" means nothing if those titles are back three or more generations or there are only one or two in the whole pedigree.

16) Are the puppy's sire and dam available for you to meet? If the sire is unavailable, can you call his owners or people who have his puppies to ask about temperament or health problems? You should also be provided with pictures or videos.

17) Have the puppies been raised in the home - not in a kennel, barn or the back yard?

18) Is the breeder knowledgeable about raising puppies, critical neonatal periods, and proper socialization techniques? Puppies that are raised without high exposure to gentle handling, human contact and a wide variety of noises and experiences OR are removed from their dam or litter mates before at least 7 weeks may exhibit a wide variety of behavioral problems! Temperament, a genetic trait carried over from the parents, still needs development from the early beginnings of a puppy's life. The breeder should provide extensive socialization and human interaction to the puppies in the litter.

19) Does the breeder provide a 3-5 generation pedigree, copies of all clearances, the guarantee, health records and material to help you with feeding, training and housebreaking?

20) Have the puppies' temperaments been evaluated and can the breeder guide you to the puppy that will best suit your lifestyle? A very shy puppy will not do well in a noisy household with small children, just as a very dominant puppy won't flourish in a sedate, senior citizen household. A caring breeder will know the puppies and be able to show you how to test them so that good matches can be made.

21) Do the puppies seem healthy, with no discharge from eyes or nose, no loose stools, no foul smelling ears? Are their coats soft, full and clean? Do they have plenty of energy when awake, yet calm down easily when gently stroked?

22) Do the puppies have their first shots and have they been wormed?

23) Does the breeder have only 1 or at most 2 breeds of dogs and only 1 litter at a time? If there are several breeds of dogs, chances are the breeder cannot devote the time it takes to become really knowledgeable about the breed. If there is more than one litter at a time, it is very difficult to give the puppies the attention they need and may indicate that the primary purpose for breeding is profit, rather than a sincere desire to sustain and improve the breed.

24) Does the breeder belong to the Golden Retriever Club of America and/or a local Golden Retriever club and has he/she signed a breeders' "Code of Ethics"?

25) Do you feel comfortable with this person? Keep in mind that you are entering into a decade-long relationship. If you feel intimidated or pressured, keep looking! It's worth the effort. From all of us at DVGRR, good luck!
-------------------------------------

The best way to find a good breeder is to have this checklist available to you when you call or visit prospective breeders. If at any time, a breeder attempts to make excuses for not having final clearances - a Preliminary Consultation Report is not a final clearance, seriously consider walking away. Also, if at any time the breeder refuses to answer your questions, walk away.

By following these guidelines and asking these questions, you will help to insure that you are getting the best puppy possible for your family.

For those people looking for Goldendoodles:

Because there is no Parent Club for Goldendoodles, there is no central location to get a puppy referral. In addition, since Goldendoodles are a mixed breed, they are not eligible for registration with the AKC so you will not be able to get a referral there either. However, there is a resource that will tell you what to look for in a Goldendoodle breeder, including what genetic testing is recommended. Because URL's are not allowed here, you can do a search for Goldendoodle breeder on Google and look for the address with the word goldendoodles in it. It is listed under the heading of "Goldendoodle Home Page". Be aware, however, that not all of the breeders listed on this site will be reputable and responsible breeders. Use the questionnaire above to help determine what kind of breeder you may be dealing with. Not all questions will apply but the more generic ones will.

Special emphasis should be given to the following questions:

1) Do the parents of the puppies have their final clearances? This looks like the same question as above but both the Poodle and the Golden Retriever have different clearance requirements and you should verify that they both meet those requirements. The requirements for Golden Retrievers are listed above. The requirements for Poodles can be found at the Poodle Club of America site or the Canine Health Information Center (CHIC) or they can be found at the Goldendoodle site mentioned earlier.

2) If the parents are both Goldendoodles, verification of clearances is more difficult. However, the OFA and CERF recently started accepting hybrids (mixed breeds) such as the Goldendoodle into their databases. You can ask the breeder if they are utilizing these certifications. If they are not, you may want to consider finding a breeder who does.

3) Is the Goldendoodle puppy being sold with a spay/neuter contract? Goldendoodles that are not intended for breeding should be spayed/neutered as they and other mixed breeds begin to lose any health benefits that may have been gained in the cross after the first generation.

You can find all of the information listed here and more at the following websites. All of these sites can be found by doing a search on the full name of the club/certifying agency.

Golden Retriever Club of America (GRCA)
Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA)
Canine Eye Registration Foundation (CERF)

One final note: I realize that this is a lot of information to remember but this puppy will be with you for 10-12 years and as the GRCA says:
"Think ahead to 10-12 years of veterinary bills and the importance of choosing a puppy whose ancestors have been screened for common health issues which have a genetic basis. ...The best source of a healthy, well-socialized puppy is a conscientious breeder with a long-term commitment to the breed and a reputation to uphold. "

Now for someone who is so adamant on health clearances, I have gathered some information off of the k9data web site in regards to your dogs pedigree. I only went back the first 3 generations and this is what I found, now mind you, you stated good breeders test their dogs for: hips, elbows, eyes, heart, Vw and thyroid and that they should all be finals! So why would you buy a dog unless it came from a pedigree of all completely tested dogs? According to you the breeder is not an "ethical" breeder unless they do ALL the final testing on ALL of their breeding stock, that's what you said right?

CH Tuxedo's Acclaim To Fame OS, hip & eye only

CH Tuxedo's Champagne Punch, no elbow

Am. CH Laurell's Cause For Applause OS SDHF, no heart

Am. CH Summit's Almond Delight OD, hip only

Am. Ch. Faera's Future Classic OS, no thyroid

Am. CH Laurell's Going Hollywood OD, hip & eye only

Am/Can CH. Freedom's Celebration OS, hip, eye & thyroid only, no elbow, no heart

AmCH Laurell's Scarlett O'Beara OD SDHF, hip & eye only

Am/Can Ch Miramichi's Pier Connection OS, hip only

Hybrid Vigor: Klondike's Chato De Shamrock, hip only

Am CH Asterling's Buster Keaton OS, hip & eye only

Am CH Faera's Puppy Kidd OD, hip, eye & heart only

BISS Am. CH. Asterling Go Getm Gangbuster OS SDHF, hip & eye only

Am. CH Laurell's Final Play OD, hip only


Hybrid Vigor:

They all have to do with hybrid vigor, because they all explain about the need for diversity in a gene pool! They are all along the same subject line in regards to genes and diversity of genes. You ramble on as if you know anything, as I said previously your not a vet, your not a geneticist, I have provided you with a web site specifically about hybrid vigor, it was written by a vet who is also married to another vet and she is also a "geneticist", show me a web site or an article that says anything to the contrary of what she says, that is written by someone with EQUAL schooling as she has, show me even one??? YOU CAN'T!!! Unlike you I have never acted like I was an expert on any given subject! Why do you accuse me of something that your guilty of doing!

You said: "Claimed to be knowledgeable about Golden Retrievers and genetics"

Show me where I claim this???

You said:"Hmm..she's a labradoodle breeder."

SO??? She breeds Labradoodles, because according to her they are healthier than Labs or Poodles! She's the one with the schooling NOT YOU!

Further more if you know so much, then why were you so stupid as to make the comment about Ariel???

You said: "Claimed to be responsible yet breeds dogs with disqualifying faults - info gathered from her website.*** Tropico's Little Mermaid - Ariel, the b***h that you advertise as a "F1 Goldendoodle". Again, more lies from you. It is a genetic impossibility for a Goldendoodle to look that much like either one of it's parents. This is the same b***h that you sold to Misbehav'n Doodles. Funny how she's advertised as a GOLDEN RETRIEVER there."


For your information I breed Goldendoodles, because I like them, not because they have hybrid vigor, that is just an added plus! And BTW the Golden Retrievers I breed do not have disqualifying faults! There are Retrievers I have bred that you can see on my web site that look far better than yours does!

You said:"You claim that SAS is a minor health concern when in reality, it is a potentially deadly heart disorder."
SAS is not something that shows up often in Goldendoodles like it does in Golden Retrievers! I did not say SAS is a minor health concern in general, you took it out of context, I said SAS is a minor health concern for a GOLDENDOOLE and I make this statement based on what I have read and from my own experience thus far.

You said: "Bred uncleared Poodles to Goldens to produce dogs that she claims are "healthier" than purebreds based on hybrid vigor, something which may or may not be present in dogs - "
Well I've already addresses the hybrid vigor issue and as for my Poodles they do have their prelims from OFA and they were x-rayed at 22 months of age (that's only 2 months shy of 24 months), because I wanted to use them for breeding and didn't want to wait another 2 months and then another month after that for test results! I x-rayed them at 6 months and then again at 22 months, there was no reason to x-ray them again a third time 2 months later!!!

Read the OFA web site statistics on prelims at that age! ONCE AGAIN YOU ARGUE WITH THE EXPERTS! I did not initial the release authorization and that is why they are not coming up on the OFA web site. Back at that time the release authorization was for something else, it had nothing to do with releasing preliminary information for dogs that passed their prelims! You even stated yourself that is something new! I have the OFA prelims here for anyone to view them and verify them, they can be verified through the vet that took the x-rays Dr. Alex Stern and through the OFA's Dr. Keller that read and graded them! The OFA not only mails the results back to the dogs owner, they also mail the results back to the dog owners vet that took the x-ray's, so my vet can also verify the results!

You said: "The breeders who are members of the GRCA cannot advertise their dogs in the GR News without having final clearances so only doing prelims would be detrimental to them in the long run."

My response to that is what those breeders do is not my business, I do NOT advertise in the GR News! I have read what the OFA has to say about prelim statistics and I am comfortable breeding my dogs if they pass their prelims! If I was breeding dysplastic dogs I would have been out of business by now! Further more a dog with an excellent final OFA can still produce puppies with OCD, elbow dysplaisa and CHD, just because they have good hips doesn't mean they do not carry the gene for CHD, the purpose of OFA is for the breeder to know they are breeding sound dogs and then they have to be honest enough that if their sound dog continuously produces unsound dogs, then they need to have that dog fixed! Are you aware that Laurell's purposely bred a dog that they knew was dysplastic? You seem to be fond of the Laurell's dogs! There are plenty of show breeders that wouldn't fix their dogs, because they spent so much money making them champions, they rely solely on their dog having an OFA certificate instead of relying on statistics of what their dogs produce!

Example: You made comments about Rush Hill's Joy To The World's bloodlines, she comes from lines that many many show dogs come from!

You said:"I'll do your homework for you - your b***h from Mega lines is Rush Hill's Joy To The World. In addition, her sire, Magnum, died of hemangiosarcoma as did many of his siblings and children. Any other research of your lines that you'd like me to do for you? Oh, yes, the Gold-Rush that you so heavily relied on in the beginning carries both cancer and heart disorders."
I ask everyone reading this to go look at her (Rush Hill's Joy To The World) pedigree on k9data, you can look up all the offspring and siblings of Magnum's, if what your saying is true, then that is even more reason people should buy Goldendoodles, Magnum is in hundreds of Golden Retriever pedigrees! Another case of a popular show dog being used over and over again as a sire, for anyone reading this please go to this web site below, they discuss what they call FREQUENTLY USED SIRES and how it can harmfully affect a breed:
1) The Canine Diversity Project is (from their website):
The Canine Diversity Project is an attempt to acquaint breeders of domesticated Canidae (dogs) with the dangers of inbreeding and the overuse of popular sires.

This Gold-Rush dog that you have accused me of heavily relying on, which dog is this?

You said: And yes, we have 2 dogs with similar pedigrees. However, the dog I spoke of comes from lines that are in NO way related to these dogs. Your assertion that I implied that they did is incorrect.
You need to tell me which Gold-Rush dog you were speaking of, because you do have Gold-Rush dogs in your pedigree, so don't tell me they are not related, because they are!!!


CERF
My dogs are CERF tested and passing, you said they were not, yet you knew very well that you don't have to mail the tests to CERF! Yet you were quick to state that I did not CERF test my dogs and that I was breeding Poodles with no clearances!

A preliminary OFA and a CERF test in a court of law will be considered health clearances! You committed libel when you said I was breeding Poodles with no clearances! That's why you didn't want me to find out who you were! I'm sure you also didn't want me to gather information on you and your pedigrees!

You said:"I deleted your prelim information from thepoodlepedigree database because as I said above, the information on the prelims should have been available on the OFA website unless you elected not to share it and even the OFA does not consider a prelim as a final certification."

YOU HAVE NO BUSINESS CHANGING THE INFORMATION FOR MY DOGS ON K9DATA OR POODLEPEDIGREE! THE INFORMATION I PUT ON THOSE WEB SITES WAS TRUE AND CORRECT, SO WORRY ABOUT YOUR OWN DOGS, NOT MINE! YOU MUST SERIOUSLY HAVE NO LIFE AND TONS OF TIME ON YOUR HANDS!!! HOW WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO GO DELETE ALL THE INFORMATION FOR YOUR DOG AND FOR ALL YOUR DOGS SIBLINGS???

Gold-Rush Tropico's Rose:

I was only on her papers as a co-owner and those weren't even all my litters!
I only had 3 litters from her! I'm not even on her papers anymore!
I disagree with the dates you have given for her litters, because I have never heard of a dog coming in heat that close together and the AKC doesn't even register litters bred that close together, so I will have to research the dates with the AKC, because I have not had time to do so. Her first litter was an accident and accidents do happen! Nevertheless it is better to breed a younger female rather than an older one and to breed a female back to back has no ill side affects if she is cared for properly. An intact female that goes too many heats without being bred has far more chances of getting "pyrometra",
which can kill her!!! It is far better to breed a younger female and retire her still young and it is far better to breed a younger female back to back, rather than to keep skipping heats and breed her when she's older!

Example: If you breed a female starting at 3-4 every other heat and retire her at 7-8, it is worse for her and her offspring than if you bred her at 1 year and bred her back to back a few times and then retired her at 4. I myself personally have enough female dogs where I can still retire them young and not have to breed them back to back! However there are plenty of breeders that breed their females back to back and it is NOT harmful to the female or to her pups!

If you do not agree with me I don't care, save your comments, because you can ask any vet and they will agree with me!

Megaesophagus:

I do not read the GRCA web site and I do not get the GR News, so I would not have any idea about those articles regarding Mega, I had NEVER even heard of Mega before!

You had previously mentioned a Gold-Rush dog that is from lines known for heart problems, which dog is this, because I see Gold-Rush dogs in your dogs pedigree! You accused me of basing my foundation stock on this dog, but you never said which dog you were speaking of? Why would you bad mouth Gold-Rush, but then have a dog out of Gold-Rush lines? Why wouldn't you stay clear of any Gold-Rush dogs??? I would also like to know where you got your information from, so that I can go and verify it! Don't talk about another breeders lines unless you can back it up with facts! I can easily contact Ann Johnson the owner of Gold-Rush and verify anything you claim!

You also said:
"Oh, yes, the Gold-Rush that you so heavily relied on in the beginning carries both cancer and heart disorders."

And you said:
I'll do your homework for you - your b***h from Mega lines is Rush Hill's Joy To The World. In addition, her sire, Magnum, died of hemangiosarcoma as did many of his siblings and children.

However this is untrue, go look at your dogs 5 generation pedigree they are definitely related! Your dog does come from Gold-Rush dogs that are in BOTH dogs pedigrees!

You also accused me of hiding my dogs, when in fact they are all listed on k9data, again you keep committing libel! Imported dogs come pre-named and the AKC will not allow you to rename them, so you can not type in "Tropico" and expect to find all my dogs!

You said:
If you weren't so busy trying to mask all of the fallacies you have spouted here, you would know that. I'll give you a hint, take a look on K9data at the Tropico dogs that you DIDN'T enter. If you can't figure it out from there, that's your problem.

YOUR THE ONLY ONE MASKING FALLACIES, YOU BETTER KNOW SOMETHING FOR A FACT BEFORE YOU SAY IT ON A PUBLIC FORUM SEE YOU IN COURT!!!


You have also said over and over that I have unhappy customers, where are they??? Look at all the clients who have come on here to DEFEND me! I don't see any complaints???

You said:"BTW, none of your puppy owners have actually identified themselves here as you claim. Natasha from West Hills California isn't exactly enough information to identify her with, is it? And Beth from Atlanta, yep, she's really easy to identify from that information."

This week I will be posting on my web site an article about Ellen & her Goldendoodle Charley, Ellen is one of my clients that came on here and defended me, she has both a Goldendoodle and a Golden from me, her Goldendoodle is a service dog at UCLA hospital!

YOU DIDN'T WANT TO GIVE YOUR INFORMATION BECAUSE YOU KNEW THEN I COULD SUE YOU FOR LIBEL, IF YOU HAD BEEN TELLING THE TRUTH THEN YOU WOULD HAVE HAD NO PROBLEM SAYING WHO YOU WERE!!!

Let's start with the easy stuff:

1) The Canine Diversity Project is (from their website):
The Canine Diversity Project is an attempt to acquaint breeders of domesticated Canidae (dogs) with the dangers of inbreeding and the overuse of popular sires.

There don't seem to be any articles here about hybrid vigor (heterosis) specifically but there are articles about declining gene pools in certain breeds.

2) Purebred Dog Breeds into the Twenty-First Century: Achieving Genetic Health for Our Dogs, by Jeffrey Bragg:

Is exactly what it says it is - an article on how Dr. Bragg believes that PUREBRED dogs can be improved by having an open studbook registry. He mentions heterosis (hybrid vigor) in passing but it is NOT the main focus of the article.

3) The Genetic CUL-DE-SAC:

Another article on the lack of genetic diversity in purebred dogs. There is no information regarding hybrid vigor here either.

4) Kate's Family Pets:

Hmm..she's a labradoodle breeder. I will give her credit though. She understands that hybrid vigor decreases with each successive generation and only breeds to get F1 crosses. She also neuters all of her dogs before they go into new homes.

So, you gave me 4 links, one of which was specifically about hybrid vigor.

Prelims:

The OFA DOES put prelim info on the website:
"In an effort to encourage open sharing of health test results, on January 1, 2004 the OFA began posting preliminary Hip and Elbow results for dogs tested after that date on its website IF the owner initialed the authorization block to release all results (including abnormal results)." So, according to the OFA's web site, if your dogs received their prelims after January of 2004, their information should be on the website, unless you didn't initial the release authorization. Also, prelims are not considered as certifications by the OFA, that's why they aren't issued a final OFA number. If it were possible to make a determination of the actual final result, the actual final ratings would be given BEFORE the dog was 24 months.

Gold-Rush Tropico's Rose:

A litter with you as the breeder was born on 5/17/1998 (pup birthdate verified with the AKC). By your own admission, dogs are pregnant for 2 months. So you bred her around 3/17/1998. She was born 6/28/1997 (birthdate verified with the AKC), which I believe would have made her 9 months old when she was bred the first time, right? 2nd litter born, again, with you listed as breeder, 11/12/1998 with Rose as the mother. If this information isn't true, then you entered it incorrectly because you are the one shown as entering it in the change log. The litter dates listed for Rose are: 5/17/1998, 11/12/1998, 06/05/2000, 09/07/2000, 10/05/2001, and 04/15/2002. As for the comment about bitches only going into season every 6 months, that is an AVERAGE only, bitches can go into season anywhere from 4 months to 2 years. It's all dependent on the b***h. According to the dates in K9data, it looks like Rose went into season at least 2 times when her pups were 4 weeks old.

Megaesophagus:

There is an article from as recently as 2004 with information about Mega on the GRCA website. There have been numerous articles in the GR News about it. I named one dog that came from a line that has produced Mega in the past. I never said that it was the ONLY line that did. If 3 pups that were diagnosed with megaesophagus from the same litter, the odds are that there is Mega in the lines.

Your assertion that "if you do a preliminary OFA when the dog is almost two, most breeders see no reason to x-ray the dog again at two" is your opinion. Most breeders do prelims at a year and then final x-rays at 2 years or they just do final x-rays at 2. Very few do prelims that close to finals because it doesn't make sense. Why only get a prelim when you can wait a few months and make it final? The breeders who are members of the GRCA cannot advertise their dogs in the GR News without having final clearances so only doing prelims would be detrimental to them in the long run.

As for your "outing" me, that's fine. I have nothing to hide. If you had taken just a moment to actually look at Faith's litter, you would have seen that it was not bred by me. The litter was bred after Faith was leased to another breeder. The litter prefix is Rumours, not Ragtym. I have no website advertising pups or a kennel, just an information website called Ragtym's Golden Retriever Information Page. I am not a breeder. Faith is spayed and only had 1 litter. All of this is verifiable through the AKC. If you want to nitpick, there are 3 dogs with the Ragtym prefix or with Ragtym in their name in k9data. However, I'm not the breeder of any of them. I had one accidental litter 20 years ago, it's not in k9data.

I deleted your prelim information from thepoodlepedigree database because as I said above, the information on the prelims should have been available on the OFA website unless you elected not to share it and even the OFA does not consider a prelim as a final certification.

And yes, we have 2 dogs with similar pedigrees. However, the dog I spoke of comes from lines that are in NO way related to these dogs. Your assertion that I implied that they did is incorrect.

To anyone who may be looking for a Golden Retriever puppy, please visit the Golden Retriever Club of America website before making a purchase. The GRCA is the parent club of the Golden Retriever and was created to help protect the future of the breed. They have helpful information about the issues that plague Golden Retrievers, information on what to look for in a responsible breeder and guidelines in place that will help to insure that you get a healthy Golden puppy.

The foundation stock of the dogs I am breeding right now come out of my European bloodlines and my Laurell's dog, whom by the way has a pedigree almost identical to your dogs pedigree, so don't go bad mouthing my bloodlines and telling me I have MEGA in them, when you have the same bloodlines, your definitely a real piece of work lady! Anyone can verify what I'm saying, here's the dogs names, anyone can look them up on the k9data web site.
My dog: Laurell's Lookout here I Come
Your dogs: Shilo's All Bets Are Off

I'll make this as short as I possibly can, since your not worth my time! Your just an angry Golden Retriever breeder like Clairyce Dolson Gaston, that can't stand the fact that I breed Goldens and Goldendoodles!!!

Why did you DENY being a Golden Retriever breeder???

As for the statement you made where you said:

"It is a genetic impossibility for a Goldendoodle to look that much like either one of it's parents."

My response to that is your an idiot!

My Mini Goldendoodle named "Ariel" is the daughter of the Golden Retriever named "Ariel" on the Misbhaven web site.
My Ariel was named after her mother, whom Jodi owns, and her father is Jodi's Toy Poodle named Nemo! Just goes to show how much you know about anything!

As for hybrid vigor let's read what the "experts" have to say, like geneticists & vets, because as far as I'm aware your none of those. See info on hybrid vigor below, anyone can Google this info for the web sites below to come up, as this site won't allow me to post the actual links to any of these web sites.

1. The Canine Diversity Project
2. Purebred Dog Breeds into the Twenty-First Century: Achieving Genetic Health for Our Dogs, by Jeffrey Bragg

3. The Genetic CUL-DE-SAC by Susan Thorpe-Vargas Ph.D., John Cargill MA, MBA, MS, D. Caroline Coile, Ph.D.
4. Kate's Family Pets. About Kate, Kate's a veterinarian working in rural New South Wales, who has an Honors degree in genetics as well as a veterinary degree. Her husband Bruce Watt is also a veterinarian.


As for the Poodles & Goldens that I use for breeding, they have all passed OFA & CERF testing and I have the certificates from OFA & the CERF tests from the eye vet in Tustin as proof.

Eye Care for Animals
3025 Edinger Ave
Tustin, CA 92780
949-733-8271

If you do not mail the actual eye test that the vet passes or fails to CERF, then it will not show on the CERF web site, but that doesn't mean that the dog didn't pass the CERF exam, there are plenty of breeders that keep the actual CERF tests and do not mail them to CERF. Unlike an OFA x-ray, which is passed or failed by vets that work for the OFA, the vet you take your dog too for the CERF exam is the one that passes or fails the dog and then if the owner of the dog wants to they can mail the results to CERF at an additional cost to get a CERF number. The eye exam is done yearly, so I see no reason to pay an additional fee for each dog, every year to get a CERF number, I have the actual CERF test with the vets signature, which can be verified.

As for OFA, preliminary OFA's do not show up on the OFA web site and if you do a preliminary OFA when the dog is almost two, most breeders see no reason to x-ray the dog again at two. The dogs not going to get bad hips or elbows in a month or two and unnecessary exposure to x-rays is not good for the dog. This is why the OFA recommends anesthesia, so you do not have to subject the dog to repeat exposure. I have included information copied right off the OFA web site to this regard (see below). The information about repeat exposure and anesthesia are also on the OFA web site.

I'm only using 3 of my Poodles right now, the rest I have never used! I don't even own Chewy, he was sold to another breeder in Fresno a long time ago.

You have named litters of pups and names of dogs that aren't even mine, just because a dog has "Tropico" in front of it's name doesn't mean I own the dog. Every pup that leaves here goes out with the Tropico prefix in front of their name on their papers and if they are on full registration, then sometimes I stay on the papers as a co-owner. Gold-Rush Tropico's Rose I don't even own her, I sold her a very long time ago. One date you gave of a litter right after the other, that's not even possible to have two litters born that close together! Dogs come in heat every 6 months and they are pregnant for 2 months! As for charging more money for full registration papers, when I charge more and the pup goes on full registration it's a pick of the litter puppy (show quality), it's not like I just sell a pet quality puppy for more money on full registration! All breeders charge more for their pick of the litter pups!

I hadn't ever heard of Mega before, NONE of my Goldens have ever had it, so say whatever you like about me not knowing about Mega, I don't see anywhere on my web site where I'm claiming to be the know it all of Golden Retriever lines, that's you accusing me of saying that, but I've never said it! I also do not have any dogs that I'm even breeding out of Rush Hill's Joy to the World, so the Mega didn't come from her! I sold her years ago, the Goldens I'm breeding are from European lines and that's why you don't see them on k9data if your looking under Tropico, because they come from the other countries already named, I'm not "hiding" the dogs as you so claim, they are on k9data under their names.

Anyone who wants to speak with one of the clients who defended me on this web site can email me off of my web site to get any of those people's email addresses, unlike you they have no problem saying who they are, because they are real clients of mine, you only have a problem giving out your identity, because your a Golden Retriever breeder named Pam Saxton. On this web site your initial is P and someone named Pam Saxton changed all my Poodle information off of the Poodlepedigree web site, why did you take down the preliminary OFA information I had on that site??? Why would a Golden Retriever breeder be on a Poodle pedigree web site messing with MY Poodles information??? This web site won't allow me to put email addresses on here or any kind of links, otherwise I would list all those clients of mine email addresses that defended me right on here. BTW why do you check this web site every day??? Why are you so obsessed with me??? Anyone who wants to verify your a Golden Retriever breeder can look on the k9data web site and look you up by the name of one of your dogs: Shilo's All Bets Are Off . They can also verify your dog has off spring on that same web site, that makes you a GOLDEN RETRIEVER BREEDER!!!!!!! Now that I know who you are I will track down your address and I will include you in the law suit that I have pending against Clairyce Dolson Gaston for slander, defamation of character and libel, I've already hired an attorney to start on a law suit against Clairyce Dolson Gaston! She's the one that started this entire thread and tried to act like she was a ripped off customer and then when I called her on it she admitted who she was!!! Your BOTH Golden Retriever breeders that have committed libel and will be held accountable in a court of law!

Someone who is as wicked and judgmental and medaling as you... I'm sure doesn't lead a very happy life! Go back to the chat rooms and bug the other breeders like you say you do, because I don't have time for you! Have fun checking this web site EVERYDAY like you do, because I won't be back, I'll be following up in a court of law!!! I'm sure you'll have more comments to my comments, which is great for my court case against you!!!

OFA policy on Releasing Preliminary Evaluations to the Public Domain.
Frequently, breeders want early knowledge of the hip status on puppies in a given litter. Preliminary hip evaluations may be as valuable to the owner or breeder as the final OFA evaluation. This allows early selection of dogs for use as show/performance/breeding prospects and dogs best suited for pet homes.

The OFA accepts preliminary consultation radiographs on puppies as young as 4 months of age for evaluation of hip conformation. If the dog is found to be dysplastic at an early age, the economic loss from the cost of training, handling, showing and so forth can be minimized and the emotional loss reduced. These preliminary radiographs are read by the OFA veterinary radiologists and are not sent to outside radiologists. The same hip grades are given to preliminary cases.

A recent publication* compared the reliability of the preliminary evaluation hip grade phenotype with the 2 year old evaluation in dogs and there was 100% reliability for a preliminary grade of excellent being normal at 2 years of age (excellent, good, or fair). There was 97.9% reliability for a preliminary grade of good being normal at 2 years of age, and 76.9% reliability for a preliminary grade of fair being normal at 2 years of age. Reliability of preliminary evaluations increased as age at the time of preliminary evaluation increased, regardless of whether dogs received a preliminary evaluation of normal hip conformation or HD. For normal hip conformations, the reliability was 89.6% at 3-6 months, 93.8% at 7-12 months, and 95.2% at 13-18 months. These results suggest that preliminary evaluations of hip joint status in dogs are generally reliable. However, dogs that receive a preliminary evaluation of fair or mild hip joint conformation should be reevaluated at an older age (24 months).

*Corley, EA, et al. Reliability of Early Radiographic Evaluation for Canine Hip Dysplasia Obtained from the Standard Ventrodorsal Radiographic Projection. JAVMA. Vol 211, No. 9, November 1997.

I'll do your homework for you - your b***h from Mega lines is Rush Hill's Joy To The World. In addition, her sire, Magnum, died of hemangiosarcoma as did many of his siblings and children. Any other research of your lines that you'd like me to do for you? Oh, yes, the Gold-Rush that you so heavily relied on in the beginning carries both cancer and heart disorders.

So, which of the following was a lie??

1 - Bred more than 8 litters in 5 months - info gathered from her website.
*** There's 4 litters on your site right now...

2 - Bred dogs with no health clearances - info gathered from her website.

Tropico's Jennifer Lopez, Tropico's Da Ali G Show, most of your poodle studs.

3 - Claimed to be responsible yet breeds dogs with disqualifying faults - info gathered from her website.
*** Tropico's Little Mermaid - Ariel, the b***h that you advertise as a "F1 Goldendoodle". Again, more lies from you. It is a genetic impossibility for a Goldendoodle to look that much like either one of it's parents. This is the same b***h that you sold to Misbehav'n Doodles. Funny how she's advertised as a GOLDEN RETRIEVER there.

4 - Claimed to be knowledgeable about Golden Retrievers and genetics yet bred a b***h from lines known to produce Megaesophagus and then stated that she didn't know where it came from or what it was.
*** Well, we know that one is true because I just had to TELL you which one it was.

5 - Bred uncleared Poodles to Goldens to produce dogs that she claims are "healthier" than purebreds based on hybrid vigor, something which may or may not be present in dogs - info gathered from her website.
*** Tropico's Rusty - cardiac clearance only, Tropico's Cream Soda, cardiac clearance only, Tropico's Mr. Snowy, NO clearances, Tropico's Mr. Creampuff, NO clearances, Tropico's Chewbacca - NO clearances.

I'll add some more here since you conveniently missed those as well --

You claim that SAS is a minor health concern when in reality, it is a potentially deadly heart disorder.

You claim that Goldendoodles are healthier than their parents and base it on a questionable theory called hybrid vigor. Never mind that, if it even exists which is debatable, hybrid vigor decreases in successive generations so the effects are short lived. In addition, hybrid vigor will not protect Goldendoodles from the genetic diseases that plague BOTH Goldens and Poodles.

You've bred bitches as young as 9 months old (Gold-Rush Tropico's Rose) and you bred her again on her next heat!

For the last time, I'm not Clairyce. If you weren't so busy trying to mask all of the fallacies you have spouted here, you would know that. I'll give you a hint, take a look on K9data at the Tropico dogs that you DIDN'T enter. If you can't figure it out from there, that's your problem.

BTW, none of your puppy owners have actually identified themselves here as you claim. Natasha from West Hills California isn't exactly enough information to identify her with, is it? And Beth from Atlanta, yep, she's really easy to identify from that information.

How about just for once, you actually answer some of the accusations against you instead of deflecting blame onto someone else?

I'll do your homework for you - your b***h from Mega lines is Rush Hill's Joy To The World. In addition, her sire, Magnum, died of hemangiosarcoma as did many of his siblings and children. Any other research of your lines that you'd like me to do for you? Oh, yes, the Gold-Rush that you so heavily relied on in the beginning carries both cancer and heart disorders.

So, which of the following was a lie??

1 - Bred more than 8 litters in 5 months - info gathered from her website.
*** There's 4 litters on your site right now...

2 - Bred dogs with no health clearances - info gathered from her website.

Tropico's Jennifer Lopez, Tropico's Da Ali G Show, most of your poodle studs.

3 - Claimed to be responsible yet breeds dogs with disqualifying faults - info gathered from her website.
*** Tropico's Little Mermaid - Ariel, the b***h that you advertise as a "F1 Goldendoodle". Again, more lies from you. It is a genetic impossibility for a Goldendoodle to look that much like either one of it's parents. This is the same b***h that you sold to Misbehav'n Doodles. Funny how she's advertised as a GOLDEN RETRIEVER there.

4 - Claimed to be knowledgeable about Golden Retrievers and genetics yet bred a b***h from lines known to produce Megaesophagus and then stated that she didn't know where it came from or what it was.
*** Well, we know that one is true because I just had to TELL you which one it was.

5 - Bred uncleared Poodles to Goldens to produce dogs that she claims are "healthier" than purebreds based on hybrid vigor, something which may or may not be present in dogs - info gathered from her website.
*** Tropico's Rusty - cardiac clearance only, Tropico's Cream Soda, cardiac clearance only, Tropico's Mr. Snowy, NO clearances, Tropico's Mr. Creampuff, NO clearances, Tropico's Chewbacca - NO clearances.

I'll add some more here since you conveniently missed those as well --

You claim that SAS is a minor health concern when in reality, it is a potentially deadly heart disorder.

You claim that Goldendoodles are healthier than their parents and base it on a questionable theory called hybrid vigor. Never mind that, if it even exists which is debatable, hybrid vigor decreases in successive generations so the effects are short lived. In addition, hybrid vigor will not protect Goldendoodles from the genetic diseases that plague BOTH Goldens and Poodles.

You've bred bitches as young as 9 months old (Gold-Rush Tropico's Rose) and you bred her again on her next heat!

For the last time, I'm not Clairyce. If you weren't so busy trying to mask all of the fallacies you have spouted here, you would know that. I'll give you a hint, take a look on K9data at the Tropico dogs that you DIDN'T enter. If you can't figure it out from there, that's your problem.

BTW, none of your puppy owners have actually identified themselves here as you claim. Natasha from West Hills California isn't exactly enough information to identify her with, is it? And Beth from Atlanta, yep, she's really easy to identify from that information.

How about just for once, you actually answer some of the accusations against you instead of deflecting blame onto someone else?

I'll do your homework for you - your b***h from Mega lines is Rush Hill's Joy To The World. In addition, her sire, Magnum, died of hemangiosarcoma as did many of his siblings and children. Any other research of your lines that you'd like me to do for you? Oh, yes, the Gold-Rush that you so heavily relied on in the beginning carries both cancer and heart disorders.

So, which of the following was a lie??

1 - Bred more than 8 litters in 5 months - info gathered from her website.
*** There's 4 litters on your site right now...

2 - Bred dogs with no health clearances - info gathered from her website.

Tropico's Jennifer Lopez, Tropico's Da Ali G Show, most of your poodle studs.

3 - Claimed to be responsible yet breeds dogs with disqualifying faults - info gathered from her website.
*** Tropico's Little Mermaid - Ariel, the b***h that you advertise as a "F1 Goldendoodle". Again, more lies from you. It is a genetic impossibility for a Goldendoodle to look that much like either one of it's parents. This is the same b***h that you sold to Misbehav'n Doodles. Funny how she's advertised as a GOLDEN RETRIEVER there.

4 - Claimed to be knowledgeable about Golden Retrievers and genetics yet bred a b***h from lines known to produce Megaesophagus and then stated that she didn't know where it came from or what it was.
*** Well, we know that one is true because I just had to TELL you which one it was.

5 - Bred uncleared Poodles to Goldens to produce dogs that she claims are "healthier" than purebreds based on hybrid vigor, something which may or may not be present in dogs - info gathered from her website.
*** Tropico's Rusty - cardiac clearance only, Tropico's Cream Soda, cardiac clearance only, Tropico's Mr. Snowy, NO clearances, Tropico's Mr. Creampuff, NO clearances, Tropico's Chewbacca - NO clearances.

I'll add some more here since you conveniently missed those as well --

You claim that SAS is a minor health concern when in reality, it is a potentially deadly heart disorder.

You claim that Goldendoodles are healthier than their parents and base it on a questionable theory called hybrid vigor. Never mind that, if it even exists which is debatable, hybrid vigor decreases in successive generations so the effects are short lived. In addition, hybrid vigor will not protect Goldendoodles from the genetic diseases that plague BOTH Goldens and Poodles.

You've bred bitches as young as 9 months old (Gold-Rush Tropico's Rose) and you bred her again on her next heat!

For the last time, I'm not Clairyce. If you weren't so busy trying to mask all of the fallacies you have spouted here, you would know that. I'll give you a hint, take a look on K9data at the Tropico dogs that you DIDN'T enter. If you can't figure it out from there, that's your problem.

BTW, none of your puppy owners have actually identified themselves here as you claim. Natasha from West Hills California isn't exactly enough information to identify her with, is it? And Beth from Atlanta, yep, she's really easy to identify from that information.

How about just for once, you actually answer some of the accusations against you instead of deflecting blame onto someone else?

I'll do your homework for you - your b***h from Mega lines is Rush Hill's Joy To The World. In addition, her sire, Magnum, died of hemangiosarcoma as did many of his siblings and children. Any other research of your lines that you'd like me to do for you? Oh, yes, the Gold-Rush that you so heavily relied on in the beginning carries both cancer and heart disorders.

So, which of the following was a lie??

1 - Bred more than 8 litters in 5 months - info gathered from her website.
*** There's 4 litters on your site right now...

2 - Bred dogs with no health clearances - info gathered from her website.

Tropico's Jennifer Lopez, Tropico's Da Ali G Show, most of your poodle studs.

3 - Claimed to be responsible yet breeds dogs with disqualifying faults - info gathered from her website.
*** Tropico's Little Mermaid - Ariel, the b***h that you advertise as a "F1 Goldendoodle". Again, more lies from you. It is a genetic impossibility for a Goldendoodle to look that much like either one of it's parents. This is the same b***h that you sold to Misbehav'n Doodles. Funny how she's advertised as a GOLDEN RETRIEVER there.

4 - Claimed to be knowledgeable about Golden Retrievers and genetics yet bred a b***h from lines known to produce Megaesophagus and then stated that she didn't know where it came from or what it was.
*** Well, we know that one is true because I just had to TELL you which one it was.

5 - Bred uncleared Poodles to Goldens to produce dogs that she claims are "healthier" than purebreds based on hybrid vigor, something which may or may not be present in dogs - info gathered from her website.
*** Tropico's Rusty - cardiac clearance only, Tropico's Cream Soda, cardiac clearance only, Tropico's Mr. Snowy, NO clearances, Tropico's Mr. Creampuff, NO clearances, Tropico's Chewbacca - NO clearances.

I'll add some more here since you conveniently missed those as well --

You claim that SAS is a minor health concern when in reality, it is a potentially deadly heart disorder.

You claim that Goldendoodles are healthier than their parents and base it on a questionable theory called hybrid vigor. Never mind that, if it even exists which is debatable, hybrid vigor decreases in successive generations so the effects are short lived. In addition, hybrid vigor will not protect Goldendoodles from the genetic diseases that plague BOTH Goldens and Poodles.

You've bred bitches as young as 9 months old (Gold-Rush Tropico's Rose) and you bred her again on her next heat!

For the last time, I'm not Clairyce. If you weren't so busy trying to mask all of the fallacies you have spouted here, you would know that. I'll give you a hint, take a look on K9data at the Tropico dogs that you DIDN'T enter. If you can't figure it out from there, that's your problem.

BTW, none of your puppy owners have actually identified themselves here as you claim. Natasha from West Hills California isn't exactly enough information to identify her with, is it? And Beth from Atlanta, yep, she's really easy to identify from that information.

How about just for once, you actually answer some of the accusations against you instead of deflecting blame onto someone else?

I'm getting tired of coming on here and wasting my time responding to the idiotic nonsense you keep stating, all the information you have written is false information. I am not going to address each thing, because why should I defend myself against what are clearly all lies.

When someone fills out a rip off report on this web site it gives them the option to give a fake name and a fake address if they are worried about retaliation! This statement can be verified, all anyone has to do is go and start filling out a report and you will see that you are given that option!

So if you really are who you say you are, then give everyone your contact information and your real name, but I know you won't, because your a liar, your probably Clairyce Gaston (the Golden Retriever breeder that started this entire thread), so you'll just keep making up some stupid excuse why you won't. No one else has a problem with people knowing who they are, or even giving out their contact info, so what are you worried about? All the clients of mine who have come on this web site to defend me would have no problem giving people their contact info, because they are all "real people".

You keep mentioning all these customers who are so unhappy with me, yet all I see are my customers DEFENDING me. Your just a Golden Retriever breeder who hates Goldendoodles, that's making up lies to try to steal customers away from me! Get a life!

Right here you say: "In response to your request for information about Mega, do your own research and figure it out for yourself."

Well my response to that is that if you knew of a dog in my bloodline that came from a line of dogs with Mega, then you would state who the dog was, it just goes to prove your nothing more than a liar! Get a life! No one is going to listen to someone who won't even state who they are! Also none of the claims you've made are verifiable, because they're not true.

This entire thread was started by a breeder, NOT SOMEONE WHO WAS RIPPED OFF!

You said:
"how would you know about what line of golden she owns? That seems like pretty detailed information from me? HOW WOULD YOU GET IT?"

Did you miss the part of my response earlier where I said that I have had Golden Retrievers for 23 years? In that time, I have learned how to research pedigrees. I have also learned how to use the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals and the Canine Eye Registration website to research genetic histories. The American Kennel Club website has a search option to look up the relatives of a dog you are interested in, if you know how to use it.

Lisa didn't have to share her Goldens names with me, she has publicly posted them to k9data. Go there and do a search on the name Tropico, you'll find them. The names of her poodles are posted on poodlepedigree and on her website.

You find it funny that I question Tropico Kennels' breeding ethics? I find it sad that you don't.

Somehow, you always seem to skip over the important parts of people's posts to nitpick at the small stuff. Examples: the taxes, the kennel license, the oh-so important "sellers permit". None of that stuff has any impact on her breeding ethics or rather, her lack thereof.

How about just for once, you look at important issues?

The breeder of your dogs has:

* Bred more than 8 litters in 5 months - info gathered from her website.
* Bred dogs with no health clearances - info gathered from her website.
* Claimed to be responsible yet breeds dogs with disqualifying faults - info gathered from her website.
* Claimed to be knowledgeable about Golden Retrievers and genetics yet bred a b***h from lines known to produce Megaesophagus and then stated that she didn't know where it came from or what it was.
* Bred uncleared Poodles to Goldens to produce dogs that she claims are "healthier" than purebreds based on hybrid vigor, something which may or may not be present in dogs - info gathered from her website.

Putting aside your feelings about your "healthy" dogs from her, do you truly believe that someone who has done all of these things (and more) is a reputable/responsible breeder?

If you answer yes to that question, I'd be interested in knowing your reasoning.

Still fighting to protect Golden Retrievers from unscrupulous/irresponsible breeders like Tropico Kennels...

P,
If you only just looked at lisa's website and made your own decision reagrding her breeding practices(which by the way is a very silly analysis) how would you know about what line of golden she owns? That seems like pretty detailed information from me? HOW WOULD YOU GET IT?

I highly doubt lisa shared that information with you considering she has no idea who you are, and you say you aren't a friend of Clairyce.And you say you aren't a breeder. Strange. I think its funny that you are slinging mud at a breeder who you never have had an interaction with, never bought a puppy from or ever had her buy a puppy from you. Funny isn't it?

Still a happy tropico owner,
natasha

Beth said in her response about Lisa and her puppy with Megaesophagus:

"This is the first she heard about megaesophagus and even checked with the breeders of her dogs"

That's funny - Lisa owns a female Golden from a line that is WELL known for producing Megaesophagus but this is the first she's heard about it?

It seems to me that if Lisa is as well-versed in Goldens and genetics as she implies that she is, she would have known about the Mega behind her female a LONG time ago. It's not a new problem, it's been around for several years.

SIGH

So Lisa, please do tell us who the parents of the GoldenDoodle litter with THREE pups of megaesophagus were so I can keep tabs on your site to make sure those dogs never reproduce again?

Never mind that the above kind of blows away your "hybrid vigor" claims...

And why do you persist in listing your location as "Panorama, California" when everyone knows your kennel is located in Palmdale?

And the least you could do is spell my name right...

You keep bringing up the fact that Tropico got a grade A from the kennel licensing people. Have you ever stopped to consider that the complaints against her have to do with her breeding/selling ethics and nothing to do with the way she keeps her kennels?

I'm not a breeder, I'm not a friend of Clairyce's but I do know who she is. I looked at your website and I made up my own mind about what kind of breeder you are.

As for my name, I don't give that out on public forums, it's not safe to do so. If you want to accuse me of hiding, then so be it. My personal life is none of your business or any other persons for that matter.

This is me, copied from another post:

"But since you asked, I'm not a breeder, not right now anyway. I have a 10 year old spayed female Golden Retriever and a 1 year old unneutered male Golden. He will probably be neutered soon because he's 2 inches under the standard and I'm not into breeding "miniature" Goldens although I could probably make a mint doing it.

I've bred, raised, and shown Golden Retrievers for 23 years. I've shown several dogs to their championships, put several obedience titles on different dogs and competed in all areas of dog sports. I've been a member of several dog training clubs and am currently a member of the Golden Retriever Club of America.

I believe that anyone who breeds more than 2 breeds is not doing it to better the breed. I believe that anyone who will not even do basic clearances on their dogs should not be breeding. I believe that anyone who breeds "designer" breeds or "rare" types/colors of dogs is in it for the money. I don't believe that anyone who "swaps" breeding dogs is thinking of the dogs wellbeing. I can't stand pet stores or the people who sell dogs to them. I think that people that buy from pet stores are seriously uninformed about how the dogs got there and haven't done enough homework. My definition of puppy mill is anyone who breeds large numbers of puppies (one breed or more than one breed) with limited/no health testing, who either don't use limited registrations or they charge more for unlimited registrations, and who use will-register-anything registries."

BTW Lisa, the definition of reputable has NOTHING to do with following the law as you so laughingly state on your website. The definition is actually: "1. held in good repute; honorable; respectable; estimable". You try to hold other breeders to standards that you yourself aren't meeting. Your definition implies that anyone who doesn't have a sellers/breeders permit is breaking the law and therefore, not reputable. However, not every county in California or anyplace else for that matter REQUIRES those so your logic is severely flawed and misleading to anyone who reads your website.

Your website also states that "a responsible breeder does not breed dogs with "severe faults"." but you are breeding undersized Golden bitches (" They are out of one of our small 40 lb Golden Retriever females and our male Mini Poodle Spongebob."). Being undersized is a FAULT! In fact, it's a DISQUALIFYING fault! What happened to the responsible breeder thing, eh?

You are breeding Poodles with NO clearances to your Goldens to produce Goldendoodles with no clearances. How do you justify that - hybrid vigor? You do realize that hybrid vigor, if it even exists in dogs, decreases with every successive generation?

You sell plain old cream colored Golden Retrievers as "RARE", misleading the public into thinking they are getting something they are not.

Between the months of July and November, you have EIGHT litters of Goldendoodles and Goldens listed on your site, with more litters on the way. Eight litters in five months, so much for not breeding very much. Lessee, assuming that each pup sells for approximately $1200 (which is the LOW end of your selling prices) and every litter has approximately 5 pups, you stand to make approximately $48000 off of those eight litters. And you express outrage that "some breeders have multiple litters at a time and are selling them for a lot more money than just $1200 a puppy", hmm...sounds a lot like what you are doing. How very hypocritical of you...

Why aren't the names and pedigrees of your Goldens listed on your site? Are you afraid people might see that they don't have all the proper clearances? If you have such fabulous "International" Champions, why aren't they prominently featured on your site? I would think you would be proud to show them off.

I don't have to be one of your "happy" puppy buyers like Natasha to known EXACTLY what kind of operation you run and what kind of breeder you are.

Who are you? Why don't you list your name instead of only Colorado Springs? What is your name and the name of your kennel?

Yes I have made appointments for both parents to be spayed, and yes I have followed up with everyone. In fact I'll point them to this web site to see if they want to make their own comments, my customers are very happy with me, under all circumstances. Unlike your allegations I do honor my guarantees.

By the way I have another long post on it's way soon, and "Natasha" does not even know who Sue Arn is, I just pointed her to YOUR web site Cairyce, and "Natasha" only has her 3 "pets", 2 Great Danes and 1 Goldendoodle from me, unlike your breeder friend "P - Colorado Springs, Colorado U.S.A.", Natasha is an actual person who actually bought a puppy from me!

Beth,

You acquired your puppy in August and by November, it had been diagnosed with Megaesophagus? Since you have a young pup, it obviously wasn't acquired over time and that makes it genetic in nature. The fact that there are 2 others in the litter also points to genetic Mega.

So my question is this, did Lisa spay and neuter the parents of these pups after she learned of this? Has she followed up on any other litters produced by those dogs? If she didn't, why not? Megaesophagus can be a devastating disease, often resulting in the death of the dog because of aspiration pneumonia. If Lisa is as responsible as you say she is, she should take that extra step to insure no one else goes through what you will probably go through.

I wish you the best of luck with your pup, you may have a long road ahead of you with him.

I purchased a Goldendoodle from Tropico Kennels in August '06. The whole experience went smoothly and Lisa was very responsive to all of my multiple questions. We visited her facility - it was very clean, the dogs looked healthy and there was plenty of room for the pups to play.
Our puppy is very smart, loyal and well-adjusted.

Last week we found out that our puppy has megaespohagus - a disorder with the functionality of the esophagus which means we have to feed our puppy elevated, and keep him elevated for 20 minutes afterward. This is a disorder that any dog can aquire over time or be born with it. This has no reflection of the type of care the dog received at the breeder and this can be something that is herditary - that maybe the parents carry the gene but not have themselves.

We alerted Lisa of this issue and she was quick to respond, letting us know that she just found out that the 2 other dogs in our puppy's litter had this same issue. She was very devastated and wanted to find a solution for us. This is the first she heard about megaesophagus and even checked with the breeders of her dogs who said theur dogs were okay.

Despite her guarantee of having to ship our puppy back, she gave us the option to keep him, ship him back, receive another puppy or get a full refund. She would even pay for the shipping and health certificate.

Regarding the the 2 other pups that were affected, she took one of them back and the other person decided to keep theirs and get an additional pup. We also decided to keep our pup and she is sending us another pup in addition - at no cost.

This proves that Lisa goes above and beyond and stands by her guarantee - willing to work with each individual. We are very heppy with our experience with Tropico Kennels and would recommend them to anyone.

Beth
Atlanta, GA

Regarding "Rocky", the dog bought back from an abusive home... that figure of $2500 was arrived at because that dog has had EXTENSIVE training and solcialization, not to mention ALL the health clearances recommended by the GRCA. He has also been NEUTERED so that no one can buy him for use as a stud dog.

If we get any inquiries on this dog at that stated price, chances are that is a family that knows the value of all the things that we, his breeders, have had done for HIS direct benefit. Just because his true vslue is $2500 does not mean that is what we will charge someone for him.

Regarding a "Sellers Permit". Lisa lives in Los Angeles County which requires them, I live in Kern County which does not (as I am sure your very good friend SUE ARN is aware of since she lives here also with her SIXTY Golden Retrievers).

Regarding my "allegations" regarding the b***h she bought from us in 1995. Hey, as far as we knew, that b***h was in a PET HOME abd should not have been bred, EVER. It was only a fluke that we found out about it, and when we did, we immediately filed a formal complaint with the AKC, which Lisa managed to dodge by blaming the whole thing on a relative's ignorance. Nice.

Regarding my "always having puppies for sale"... sometimes I keep pups for further consideration and they don't always pass muster. Thus they go up for up for sale as soon as I make up my mind that they are not turning out for whatever reason. Sometimes that decision is made earlier, sometimes later.

I will not keep dogs for competition unless there is a reasonable chance they will be breedable later on, so any individual that has missing teeth when the adult teeth are in at 6 months, does not grow into the height standard by 1 year, or fails to pass hips or elbow or heart or eye exams between 12-18 months is made available to a pet home with full disclosure as to why that particular dog is being placed. I don't have a back-up purpose for my undersize, non-clearance Goldens such as mini-Doodles.

I have FOUR adult Goldens on my property right now and TWO half-grown pups. How many do YOU have?

Natasha,

There's so much misinformation in your post that it would take hours to rebutt it. So I'll just stick with one point - the healthy puppies part.

Tropico lists 6 Poodle studs on their website:

Tropico's Rusty, Tropico's Cream Soda, Tropico's Mr Snowy, Tropico's Mr. Creampuff, and Tropico's Spongebob, and Tropico's Chewbacca.

Of those:

Tropico's Rusty has an OFA heart clearance, no CERF clearance listed. He is old enough for final OFA hip & Elbow clearances but he has none.

Tropico's Cream Soda also has an OFA heart clearance but no CERF and no hip clearance. He is also old enough for final hip & elbow clearances.

Tropico's Mr. Snowy & Tropico's Mr. Creampuff are not old enough for OFA clearances (DOB 10-22-05) but have no CERF clearances listed.

Tropico's Spongebob has both a cardiac and patella certification but no CERF listing.

Tropico's Chewbacca (DOB 03-11-05) is not old enough for final OFA hips & elbow certifications but has no CERF clearances listed.

Keeping in mind that CERF (eye clearance) can be done starting at 1 year, Rusty, Cream Soda, and SpongeBob should all have listings from 2004 onward.

Poodles are subject to several genetic disorders: hip dysplasia, several eye disorders, Sebaceous Adenitis (an inherited skin disorder), and von Willebrand's Disease (vWD), and inherited blood clotting disorder.

Hip dysplasia can be mild enough to be undetected without x-rays or severe enough that the animal has to be put down. vWD can cause an animal to bleed to death from a simple cut.

The eye disorders vary from PRA and Cataracts that can cause blindness, to other less devestating eye defects like corneal dystrophy, entropion, persistant pupillary membranes.

Of her 6 listed poodle studs, none have eye clearances, none have hip clearances, 3 have cardiac clearances (with 3 just barely old enough to get them), none have an SA clearance, and none have a vWD clearance.

BTW, I've only listed the Poodle studs because Tropico doesn't bother to list their Golden/Goldendoodle dams on their website. However, a search of the CERF website for Tropico Goldendoodles turns up no hits at all, no hits for Tropico Poodles, and very few hits for Tropico Golden Retrievers.

So, if Tropico is breeding these poodles to their Golden/Goldendoodle females and they are passing on these diseases undetected, how exactly does that make the puppies healthy?

Hello Claryce,
I have taken some time to go over your website of Golden Retrievers...now i seem to remember you saying that Tropico stated on its site that they only breed one or two litters a year which aside from being ridiculous because they post pictures of every litter born there with dates is ironic because it says that you only breed one or two litters a year. Which seems impossible because i have watched your site over the past few months and you always seem to have puppies for sale. You also said that lisa over prices her dogs, i seem to remember you having a three year old golden returned to you that had behavioral issues and you were asking 2,500 for him, that seems a little steep to me especially for a dog that has problems. Also, you have a section on your site blasting a Golden Retriever breeder who recently sold puppies to Oprah. Now it seems to me that Oprah being a BILLIONAIRE! would have the resources to do the proper research and find a reputable breeder. How is it that she fell in to such an awful place? HMMM. Maybe you should just stop trying to knock down your competition and leave everyone to their own business. Also, i have yet to see a complaint from anyone who actually bought a dog from Tropico on this site. I have said this before but i feel it needs to be said again.
Lisa has a grade A from the state of california for her kennel, she also has a sellers permit..DO YOU? Her grounds are spotless and i know, because i have actually been there! She pays taxes, i know, because she charges sales tax. Now i wonder if i tried to find your sellers permit with the state would it be there?
I dont know where your motivation comes from. Tropico hasn't done anything to you, and in terms of the alligations you made saying that Lisa lied to you and bred your dog...PROVE IT! Do you have paperwork? Oh, and since a dog only goes into heat every 6 months and the gestation period is another 2 months, wouldn't you have had a full 2 years to put a stop to it, because she apparently bred three litters?
A person has the right to buy any dog they want, and if they have the money to spend it is their decision. There is a demand for Goldendoodle puppies and lisa is meeting that demand. There is nothing wrong in that. Also, she does have multiple litters every year and the puppies are healthy. Its true that not every puppy is going to be absolutely perfect...because PERFECT DOESN'T EXIST! Even in breeding pure breeds, i'm sure you know that no matter what you do sometimes there can be problems but its how you handle those problems that matter.
If Lisa's dogs were all so unhealthy and riddled with defects she wouldn't be able to have such happy customers who refer their friends to her, and adore their dogs.

A proud Tropico Owner

Are you speaking of Clairyce (the breeder who responded to Tropico) or of Tropico Kennels? They are 2 considerably different entities.

If you are speaking of Clairyce, you could not be further off base.

I won't speak to the part about forgery because I don't know what was pursued down that avenue besides what Clairyce wrote already.

"She complains she bred her dog...a responsible breeder would have spayed/neutered before selling the dog"

Not true - there is plenty of evidence to suggest that early spaying/neutering can be detrimental to the dog. In addition, Clairyce did what a responsible breeder would do, she sold the puppy on a Limited Registration, which SHOULD have kept her from being bred. Tropico forged Clairyce's signature and had the LR reversed so that any puppies she bred could be registered with the AKC. Tropico was the irresponsible party in this case, not Clairyce.

"If she is selling massive quanties (and she must be with that many females being bred) how many of them are being bred without her knowledge? How many are dumped or end up in shelters?"

This doesn't make any sense. Who are you talking about?? Clairyce never said anything about breeding multiple females herself, she stated that Tropico has multiple females being bred. Clairyce sells her pet puppies on LR's and her show pups on full registrations. The registration type you get from Tropico depends on how much money you want to spend.

So, if you weren't taking issue with Clairyce, I apologize. If you were, you might want to reconsider. She is a very responsible and reputable breeder. Tropico is not.

The breeder complains that this person forged documents. Did you have her arrested for forgery? She complains she bred her dog...a responsible breeder would have spayed/neutered before selling the dog. Did the original breeder microchip the dog in case in ends up in a shelter? I bet not. If she is selling massive quanties (and she must be with that many females being bred) how many of them are being bred without her knowledge? How many are dumped or end up in shelters?

Just so you know, Lisa does pay taxes. There is no statement on her website that says she only breeds a specific number of litters per year. She has an "A" grade from the health department. I'm sorry she kept your money, but most people do have a non refundable deposit policy no ifs ands or buts.

Thanks Clairyce,

Sounds like you have seen this con artist in action. I could tell what kind of person we were dealing with when we rec'd 6 threatening e-mails after placing a stop payment on a check to her company. After we authorized the check to be preocessed for payment, she took this whole thing 1 step more in the wrong direction. She had a friend, who works for our bank, look into our PERSONAL RECORDS and state that we did not stop payment on more than 1 check. Now on this website she is offering us a return of our deposit if we supply here with a statement from our bank. I have never dealt with such a person in my entire life!

One would think that a breeder of such a kind animal would be a little more decent. Instead she chooses to keep our money for no real reason.

Was it really that much of a hassle? Is she not going to be able to sell the dog? Were her efforts truly worth $300.00?

I think that it was more like, I've got someones money that I don't have to refund and now I can turn around and sell it to someone else for $2000 that she claims cold fetch $12000

There is nothing worse than greed. It really is too bad that I have had to come to such extreme measures to get my voice out there. I was VERY SURPRISED THAT I FOUND TROPICO KENNELS ON THIS WEBSITE. Amazing that a dog breeder would be on here. I would have thought to only find large coporations with angry customers. But no, low and behold, here we are on www.ripoffreport.com

Then she comes on the site trying ever so desperately to explain and defend herself. As I stated earlier, an owner of a company to come on here defending herself as much as she has, certainly would look like she has something to hide?

If I was a business owner and I found my company or name on here, I would be embarrassed as hell and I would work promptly to get rid of my nuisance. Simply send the money back to the rightful owner. Not that big of a deal.

My wife and I simply want our deposit back for a dog that she is re-selling and didn't even have in her possesion yet. I have a feeling that some other unlucky individual will stumble across her website and purchase the dog within a timely fashion.

I personally feel that she is in violation of the Dept. of Health and Saftey Code. I beleive that those laws apply to her in this scenario. I won't truly know until I hear back from my lawyer.

All I know is at the end of the day, people like Lisa Barreras will get burned some day. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but someday. I just hope that something as trivial as a $300 deposit is in the back of her mind when that day comes.

I'm not sure how much money she has made of off deceiving people by overbreeding, not documenting a dog's history properly, forging signatures, maybe not reporting her income properly to the IRS, etc.... I'm sure she has made enough where it would not be that big of a deal to return someones deposit!

BTW, the "trigger" for AKC site inspections is SEVEN litters per year, since you admit the AKC inspector has inspected you "on more than one occasion" that right there pretty much disproves your claim of breeding only "one or two litters per year" as just another big fat LIE, eh?

What Ms Barerras conveniently forgets is that she LIED to buy a puppy from me and my co-owner in 1995, telling us she only wanted a pet. Then she FORGED our signatures to reverse the Limited Registration (which we sell ALL our pet puppies on) and bred three litters on the b***h before she was 2 and a half without health clearances. We filed a complaint and the AKC revoked the registration on that b***h and all the puppies produced by her. Ms Barerras promptly started using her maiden name, moved, and changed her phone number to evade lawsuits. We started getting dozens of phone calls from her disgruntled puppy buyers when they received their notices from the AKC that they now had unregistered dogs, since Ms Barerras was in hiding our kennel prefixes were on the ancestors in the pedigrees on their pups and we had no reason to hide.

You can put ANYTHING on a website If people looking don't know how to verify what they read, breeders can and do get away with all kinds of false advertising.

* Saying you do health clearances without giving the registered names of the dogs you are really breeding makes it impossible to check the OFA website to verify if a puppy's parents really have clearances or not.

* Showing only a few dogs on your website that really do have health clearances while you have other unclear dogs being bred is nothing more than the old "bait and switch" method of defrauding your buyers.

* Masquerading international champions as AKC champions (international championships can be won without any competition whatsoever, AKC championships require actually defeating other dogs) also sounds like fraud to me

* Saying on your site that you only breed one or two litters a year to evade the numbers written into the CA Puppy lemon Law doesn't mean you aren't breeding and selling LOTS more than that in actuality. A subpoena of your AKC breeding records might show otherwise, eh?

* I was unaware that donating money to a rescue means you DO rescue work.

* Doodle breeders believe their own hype because it is the basis for their whole sales pitch. Simple Mendellian genetics dictate that in any crossbred litter, 25% will inherit most of their traits from the sire, 25% will inherit most of their traits from the dam, and that the other 50% will inherit a blend. Rescues are already filling up with Doodles that are hyperactive, barky, nippy, DO shed, ARE allergenic, and have severe hip dysplasia, eye disorders, skin problems, and other serious health issues. Read for yourself at http://www.partipoodleworld.com/Doodles.htm or http://www.bmdcc.ca/x-bred_myth.htm Both the Golden Retriever Club of America and the Poodle Club of America COMDEMN the deliberate breeding of these designer mutts for no practical reason except to charge exorbitant sums from an unsuspecting public. The GRCA will EXPEL any member found to be breeding Doodles.

We continue to get regular complaints from people who have bought aggressive puppies from Tropico that attack their owners over food and toys, puppies with heart murmurs, and Tropico dogs that have died at ages 3 and 4 from cancers or other serious disorders. Ms Barerras is all honey and sweetness when she is trying to hard sell a puppy but have a problem with one and you are on your own. Ms Barerras told one person back east who bought a show quality b***h from her that developed genetic heath problems that the CA Puppy Lemon Law didn't apply to her because she was a rescue. WHAT??? She will say anything to dodge the responsibility to stand behind her pups, including routinely begging people seeking redress for defective puppies not to sue her because she is getting a divorce while her husband drives a brand new Ford Excursion and brags to anyone who will listen that the wife's dogs paid for his nice new ride.

MANY people have told us that Ms Barerras has SO many puppies and talks to SO many people that from one phone call to the next she forgets who she has talked to and what she has told them such as who the parents are of what puppies. Consequently she tries to avoid giving out specific details about specific puppies. Do an online search on "Tropico Golden Retrievers" and see how many high traffic volume sites she advertises on. Why does she need all that advertising if she really only breeds "one or two litters a year?"

I have seen some of her so-called show quality dogs in the ring and trust me, those buyers were BILKED. There is not a one I have seen that is likely to EVER finish an AKC championship.

Among other Southern California breeders, Ms Barerras is well-known to be vicious, vindictive, and dangerous. Malign her and she will threaten to harm your dogs when you are not home and destroy your reputation. Several breeders have recorded her threats on tape and have taken out restraining orders on her. She has called MANY bogus anonymous complaints in to Animal Control and the IRS on other breeders. She is poison.

If Ms Barerras produced decent quality pet puppies and conducted herself in a reputable and ethical manner, she would never hear a peep out of me. Like it or not it is not illegal to puppy mill. But not only did she LIE to us when she bought that puppy from us in 1995, but now she tries to pass herself off as a responsible SHOW breeder while evading doing all the things that responsible show breeders do. It is the health clearances, competition, and written guarantees that are actually HONORED that sets truly responsible breeders apart from greedy breeders just out to make as much money as they can on the backs of their dogs and the ignorance of the puppy buying public.

Breeders such as Ms Barerras rely on the fact that most folks just looking for a nice puppy don't know how to read past the obvious on a fancy website. They put some photos of cute puppies and children on their site and hide behind a bunch of half-truths and generic information to suck you in quick, get a deposit as fast as possible, and sell any puppy to anyone anywhere with the money to buy it with no intention of being there if anything goes wrong after the pup is sold. This gives all breeders a BAD NAME and the rest of us will simply have to do what we can to show the public the difference.

I certainly have NO reason to be jealous. That is just ridiculous. I have eleven REAL championship titles to my credit (obtained WITH competition) and more dogs pointed and expected to finish soon. Ms Barerras's dogs are hideous, unsound, and have nothing to offer me or the Golden Retriever breed. She is a bad breeder, a proven fraud and liar. I am personally insulted by her bad ethics since I live in the same general area and have to listen to complaints from people who have been burned by her. When all her bad karma catches up with her I don't want to be anywhere near.

And BTW, my problems with SUE Arn (NOT Jennifer as she calls herself) are quite different but just as legit. What a surprise that you are citing another puppy miller as if you can legitimize each other. You know what they say lie down with dogs..

This report was written by another Golden Retriever breeder residing in Rosamond California. I also believe that this same breeder wrote another bad report on this web site about Sandar Goldens as well. So does Jennifer the owner of Sandar Goldens agree, she too thinks this same breeder is the one who wrote a report about her.

This breeder has been harassing Jennifer for years. You can really tell how hateful the author is by their tone and what they have written.

In my defense I will say that I have in fact produced AKC champions and International champions from my own breeding dogs. So I do know what a show dog is, I have produced them. In fact to attest to the quality of dogs that we produce, AKC inspector Elizabeth F. Dove has on more than one occasion, when she has been out to inspect our AKC record keeping, our dogs, and our facility, she has mentioned how when she is ready to have another dog, that she would love to get a Golden Retriever from us. She has said this every time she has been out to inspect us. We have always passed our inspection with the AKC and with compliments. In fact for an inspector, who's job it is to go out to kennels on a daily basis as their job, for them to want a dog from us, out of all the breeders she meets, I think says something. Anyone who wants to can easily verify what I am saying by calling her 919-233-3600.

Our prices are also not exorbitant as the author so stated, we charge the current market price for the quality dogs that we sell. And Goldendoodles are wonderful dogs, the only complaints they get are from pure breed dog breeders, none of their owners have any complaints. In fact just the opposite, owners are raving about their Goldendoodles. I have yet to see any complaints from owners on the internet, they are all from pure breed dog breeders, even the vets are raving about them. Pure breed dog breeders everywhere are losing revenue and pure breed dog sales are way down, due to all the healthier designer dogs that are coming out, so these breeders are clearly expressing their anger all over the internet, just as this author has.

And if anyone can say that they purchased a dog from me and then I would not honor their guarantee that I gave them, then please let them come forth. I did not sell a dog to the person who wrote this rip off report. So how could I have not honored their guarantee? And I will gladly provide references to anyone who is interested to talk to someone who I have honored their guarantee. Being a breeder as long as I have, any breeder who would say they have NEVER had a dog they have sold end up with a problem later would be lying, but any problems I have ever had, as minimal as they have been, I have always honored my guarantee. And like I said I would gladly provide references to this affect.

There are also absolutely no law suits pending against us, and we have never lost a law suit in court, that is a flat out lie, this author repeatedly commits libel, slander, and defamation of character. We also do not breed our dogs as often as the author claims, we retire our dogs young, at ages 4 to 6 and then skip heats between breedings. You can see on our web site that we retire our dogs that young, because we sell our retired breeding dogs as pets and we advertise them on our web site.

I have known about this report for a long time, however I didn't feel that I should defend myself against lies that were told by my competition, out of what clearly seems to be jealousy. But since I responded back to the party who stop paid their check, I figured I should set the record straight for consumers on this post as well.

I also want to mention that I have never been turned down by any dog clubs for membership. And that contrary to what the author stated we are involved in rescue, this can easily be verified by calling our local animal shelter in Lancaster. In the past I have even donated money to Gold Haven and I tried to help them find homes for their dogs, by sending them people who were looking for older dogs. I have not only rescued and placed dogs in new homes myself, but I have rescued and placed cats as well. And to the contrary we do not try to avoid the law, in fact if you read our web site, you will see that we are one of the very few breeders who have a kennel license, a seller's permit, we pay taxes, and we make sure everything we do is legal and law abiding, we are not trying to avoid any Ca. laws, in fact just the contrary. We even have an A rating from Animal Control, this can also be verified. An A is the highest rating a kennel can receive.

I think that when you are in business, some people are going to have good things to say about you, and some are going to have bad things to say, like the old saying goes, you can't please all of the people, all of the time, and there are always two sides to every story. There are also breeders like this author who want to hurt their competition, which just goes to show the threat we are to them, because we are successful at what we do. Anyone who has purchased a dog from us, could easily prove it. So if the person who wrote this report is truly someone who was ripped off by us, then why are they being anonymous. State who you are and what happened. I know you won't, or should I say can't, because your not telling the truth. Saying these things about us is slander, libel, and defamation of character. If the person who wrote this doesn't want to look stupid, then I suggest you say who you are, tell us your name, prove that we sold you a dog, and prove your accusations to be true, other wise I hope the people reading your report will know better and see that you are the one who is the fraud. This web site is meant for people who have been ripped off by a company, not for breeders who just want to bad mouth other breeders.

Mrs. Barreras

Please read new comments posted about Tropico Kennels. I'm very interested in learning more about this company. Any violations in the state of California, previous lawsuits, others who may have been deceived or lied to about the quality of their dogs for sale.