As I’ve said before, I spend quite a bit of time online and sometimes I come across things that just make me shake my head. I was looking up kennels that specialize in that rare gem of a Golden Retriever, the “English Creme” aka White Golden, Platinum Golden, British White, you get the picture. While looking at kennels, I have seen one thing in particular bothered me - the sheer number of foreign breeders who are providing Goldens to what I would consider to be irresponsible breeders. I have seen dogs in these kennels that have come from Spain, Russia, England, the Netherlands, etc.

Some of these dogs were purchased as pups but I have seen a lot of adults that have been placed over here after being shown, sometimes VERY successfully in their home countries. These are not the dregs of these foreign kennels but some of their nicer dogs and bitches! The sad part is that once these dogs have reached our shores, they are rarely used for anything but breeding “English Creme” Goldens or, and this is becoming more common, “Teddy-bear” Goldendoodles…

When I see these dogs, I have to wonder if the breeders knew what kind of situation awaited their dogs “across the pond”? I have to believe that they did not. I have seen one dog that was proudly advertised on his breeders website as going to America to be shown here. This dog is now being used used to produce litter after litter of “English Cremes” and Goldendoodles. As far as I know, he has never stepped foot into an American or Canadian show ring.

I’ve often thought about contacting these breeders to let them know where their dogs are. A few things usually stop me:

1. I don’t want to offend them by suggesting that they may have made a mistake by placing the dog where they did.
2. I don’t know what the situation regarding the placement was - what if they really didn’t care where the dog went as long as it wasn’t in their kennel any longer?
3. In all honesty, I don’t know what good it would do to upset these breeders with this information. Unless there is a specific clause in a contract between them and the new owners or fraud was committed, there is nothing that they can do.
4. Is it really my business to get involved in this?

That last one is a big one - I have no stake in the “English Creme” market. I am just concerned that these breeders may not know what is going on here. Does that give me the right to notify them? I know that if someone found a puppy of mine in a questionable situation, I would want to know but I can’t speak for other breeders.

I’d be interested to know if my assumption that most of these breeders are unaware of what has been happening here is correct. If you know of or are an overseas breeder who has sent dogs to the US or Canada, I’d like to hear from you. You can email me directly by clicking here or feel free to leave a comment.