Hunting Golden Retriever

Thinking about another pup and I think a Golden would be the best choice. We have had two and I have known them most of my life.
Im using the internet to find breeders and reach out but wanted to check here for any leads on good kennels for Hunting Goldens, which seems to be a unicorn these days. Im in no hurry and trying to get ahead of the game. Our pointer is 8 and likely has several good years to hunt but I wouldnt mind an overlap and we miss having a Golden. Any info appreciated. Thanks.

http://www.thunderstruckretrievers.com

We have a 3 year old from them, our 6th hunting Golden so far, and she’s by far the brightest, birdiest, most awesome dog we’ve ever had. Todd and Benita are also great to work with, super nice folks.

The breeder I got my 5 yr old golden from is not what I’d consider a “hunting line”, but she is an awesome hunter. I think if you do your research on training, any dog from a retriever pedigree can turn into a good hunting dog. I’m not sure how much dog training you have done in terms of the hunt/field test variety but I’d recommend checking out and/or joining your local retriever club. The breeder Brian linked above looks about as good as you can get for a hunting line of goldens.

A friend of mine had a golden that was a machine in the grouse woods. Unfortunately the dog passed away at 3 years old from a tumor. I’ll try to find out where he got him. They can be amazing bird dogs.

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suzuki wrote:

…any leads on good kennels for Hunting Goldens, which seems to be a unicorn these days.

IMHO, this is the issue with the popular breeds. These dogs were developed as hunters, but as they became popular, more and more people bred them, and more and more people desired the breed with no intentions of hunting, so many “breeders” didn’t select for hunting characterics when choosing sires and dames.

Good luck in your search, Mike. Your last golden seemed like a great dog!

I have a letter sent out to 3 kennels including Thunderstruck. One of them already got back to me and I had a pleasant conversation with the owner. I’m taking it slow and am determined to find a good one.

suzuki – for my own curiosity, what other kennels did you reach out to?

I had a field bred golden from Top Brass Kennels and he was outstanding for pheasants and waterfowl. I miss that dog a ton. http://www.topbrass-retrievers.com/

Gitchi Gummi wrote:

suzuki – for my own curiosity, what other kennels did you reach out to?

Wild Wing Goldens out of Cumberland Wi
Wildfire Goldens out of Montgomery Mn

These both found by internet search. I take the experienced advice from here more seriously but I have time to visit them all and meet the adult dogs.

john23 wrote:

I had a field bred golden from Top Brass Kennels and he was outstanding for pheasants and waterfowl. I miss that dog a ton. http://www.topbrass-retrievers.com/

I know of their reputation but I am not willing to work with someone so far away. I have just decided to keep in within reasonable driving distance if possible. Thanks for the suggestion. Glad you had the opportunity to have a good one!

john23 wrote:

I had a field bred golden from Top Brass Kennels and he was outstanding for pheasants and waterfowl. I miss that dog a ton. http://www.topbrass-retrievers.com/

Interesting! I was just looking at my golden’s pedigree this morning… On the sir’s side, Topbrass Marlboro Man is my dogs great grandpa. And on the dam’s side, Topbrass Dixie of Harbor City is her grandma. That must be where she gets her hunting skills from! Small world!

I’m picking up my golden pup tomorrow from Thistle Rock Goldens.
They have been breeding hunting Golden’s for 50 years and have great backgrounds.
Good luck with your golden!

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I hadn’t read the responses two years ago. Topbrass Dixie was the sister of my pup, Leo. Dixie and Leo flew up from Florida in the same crate. Small world indeed!

I second Thistle Rock Goldens. We got a boy from them 13 years ago and he still kicked butt on pheasants last year. The nice thing we’ve noticed about both Thunderstruck and Thistle Rock dogs is that they are very hard workers, but also great companions in the off season. You see some dogs that are so full of fire that they can’t turn it off at home and just chill out, but as long as our dogs get a good round of exercise every day they’re content to lay on the deck and watch the world go by.

My Thunderstruck pup continues to impress me. Like said, limitless energy but can settle down when appropriate. Mine has yet to prove herself on birds. That is her last hurdle as far as I am concerned. She could have been a great duck dog. Sees birds in the air, would rather fetch than breath and swims like a fish.

I’m also interested in my next golden and have been looking at the Thunderstruck line.. Looking at their current/expected liters, it looks like most of their breeding stock has the Topbrass line in their pedigree which is awesome. The dogs and offspring I’ve seen from the Topbrass line have all been excellent hunting dogs.