Nicholberry Goldens

Before you buy a puppy from us, we'd like to get to know you. We breed a few select litters of English Golden Retriever puppies each year and are very careful about the homes to which our puppies go. There are many breeders with a “Pay Pal” feature on their website who will sell a puppy without any knowledge as to where they are going. That is not us. We pour our hearts into these puppies, preparing them to be healthy, happy and loving members of your family and we would be remiss to simply sell a puppy to just anyone.            

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In addition, we want to match the right litter and the right puppy to the right family. Our primary focus is raising puppies to do therapy work, which calls for intentional and thoughtful matchmaking. Beyond that, we love raising puppies for families who want to welcome a healthy and well-socialized puppy. Our childhoods are both filled with wonderful memories of Golden Retrievers, and we are honored by the opportunity to bring that same kind of joy into other families.

 

Matchmaking is therefore the cornerstone of our placement process. The puppy best suited for an active couple who wants to explore Yosemite National Park with their Golden Retriever may be different than the puppy who shows all the potential to become a crisis response dog. While the same puppy might be able to do both, it is our job to know every nuance of a puppy's personality and temperament so that we can make the best match.

 

Each of our dogs has its own distinct personality and energy level, as does each puppy and yes, you can see a lot of a puppy’s personality by eight weeks of age. So it’s vital to the happiness of the puppy and the happiness of your family that we get to know you a little before placing a puppy with your family. And if you are hoping to pursue therapy or service work with your puppy, then that is essential too (please visit our Therapy Dog page, as this is the focal point of our breeding program).   

      

Our waitlists are chronically full, and yet we long to see families find a good puppy even when we have none to offer. We established the Nicholberry Collective for this reason - a hand-picked group of breeders who I personally mentor and whose breeding programs I rigorously oversee. Email for more information.

 

Last, read Puppy Brain, as there is an entire chapter devoted to finding a breeder. At the end of the day, even if you don't get a Golden Retriever from us or the Collective, we want to see families get healthy, emotionally balanced puppies, which starts with knowing how to discern responsible breeders from backyard breeders and puppy mills.