Welcome to Doane Family Golden Retrievers! 

We are a small golden retriever breeder located in Onondaga County in New York, where we live on 6 acres in the country of Manlius and Pompey NY (near Syracuse). We have 2 or 3 litters a year, and all of our dogs are part of our family. We are not a kennel, our dogs live in the house with us and participate in family activities with us. 

As responsible breeders we focus on health and temperament. All of our dogs are registered through the American Kennel Club and are fully health tested through OFA for heart, eyes, hips and elbows before breeding. We also screen our dogs hips with the Pennhip test. This is one additional look at the hips by using three x-rays, it just helps guarantee that our dogs are not affected by hip dysplasia before breeding. Another important health testing we do is DNA genetic testing through Animal Genetics, this just makes sure the parents are not carriers of any of the diseases known to effect golden retrievers.

Our dogs all have championship and titled bloodlines. Their pedigrees are packed with obedience titles, hunting, dock diving and Fast Cat, to name just a few. Some are even certified therapy dogs. We spend a lot of time researching pedigrees and have traveled as far west as Idaho and as far south as Mississippi for our parent dogs. When we determine the stud for our females, we again research the pedigrees of other breeders to determine which male would compliment our females the best in producing the most wonderful and healthiest puppies.

Unfortunately, sometimes dogs do not always pass all of their health testing and therefore cannot be bred. When this happens we will look for the best possible home, if we cannot find one that meets our expectations then we keep them. If you are interested in an adult dog please check the available dogs tab to see if we have any available. We don’t just let our dogs go to anyone, but if you think you would make a wonderful and loving home and fit our description of what we are looking for then please fill out the application.

Once breeding has occurred, we keep an eye on mom for the next 9 weeks. We bring her to the vet twice during her pregnancy to make sure her and the babies are all doing well and staying healthy. Delivery happens naturally in our home unless an emergency arises and mom needs a C-section. My husband and I are both with the mom during the entire delivery to make sure everything is going smoothly. We weigh the babies and put a colored collar on them shortly after delivery. After the babies are born and we have a final count, we will make an announcement on Facebook and Instagram and share pictures. At this time we will also reach out to the families on our waitlist. If any puppies become available we will also post this on Facebook.

The babies are weighed twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening to make sure they are all gaining weight. During the first few weeks mom and babies spend almost all day together. On the third day we start ENS (Early Neurological Stimulation) this lasts until 16 days old. It consists of 5 exercises for 5 seconds and is performed daily. During this time, their neurological system is growing rapidly and it’s the best time to expose them to mild stressors. Adult dogs who were exposed to ENS have stronger heart beats, stronger adrenal glands, more tolerance to stress and greater resistance to disease.

Our puppies are raised in the house with us until they are 8 weeks old and ready to go home with their forever families. We start all of our puppies on potty training, start basic commands and socialized with other dogs, people and children. We raise all of our puppies using the Puppy Culture Method and are exposed to new sounds, experiences and smells. We will also expose them to being in a crate, riding in a car, potty area, wearing a collar and use their names when calling them.

Our puppies are a big part of our family and we want them to be a big part of yours as well, that’s why we do our very best to start them off right before they leave us. We love each and every one of our babies and ask that you please keep in touch by sending us pictures and letting us know how they are doing!