about us

Many breeders focus on a “show” quality dog or a certain look. At Summer’s Goldens, we focus on life-long family companions. While we carry many Champion bloodlines, we use careful genetic selection to lower the COI (Coefficient Of Inbreeding) of our dogs and improve the breed. Lower COI contributes to better long-term health and benefits golden retrievers as a whole. We don’t breed just for today; we breed with the future in mind to have healthy, happy golden retrievers for decades to come.

We follow the health-testing guidelines of the American Kennel Club and the Golden Retriever Club of America by examining our adult dogs’ hips, elbows, eyes, and heart through the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA). We also evaluate their hips using PennHIP, one of the most objective, scientifically proven hip exams for dogs. We only want the finest goldens to become mothers and fathers.

Not only are our adult dogs examined in these four key areas, but they are also genetically tested through Embark, one of the most reputable and thorough genetic companies. Embark partners with Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine to research the latest developments in canine genetics. Although genetics are not fool-proof to guarantee healthy puppies, we recognize their role in allowing us to make the best possible breeding decisions to minimize risks and help our puppies live long and healthy lives. Pairing healthy, genetically diverse parents is especially important for purebred dogs like golden retrievers.

We also adhere to the USDA’s standards for raising all of our dogs in a high-quality environment with plenty of love and attention. We care about our adult dogs’ physical, mental, and social health. Check out our Adult Dogs to see pictures and information about our mothers and fathers.

Not only do we focus on health, but we also take extra care to socialize our puppies well. We strive to cultivate friendly personality traits in our Golden Retriever Puppies for sale. High-quality socialization during the first two months of a puppy’s life is one of the most critical components of its lifelong development. Socialization provides a strong foundation for emotionally healthy, well-adjusted adult dogs. This is easy to claim but hard to do. There simply is no replacement for quality time spent with puppies.

We follow the lead of Dr. Carmen L. Battaglia and perform early neurological stimulation (ENS) exercises when the puppies are 3-16 days old. Studies have shown that dogs exposed to these exercises at a young age have improved cardiovascular performance, stronger heart beats, higher tolerance to stress, stronger adrenal glands, and greater resistance to disease. You can read more about early neurological stimulation on the AKC and Breeding Better Dogs.

We continue thorough socialization until the puppies leave us. This includes exposing our puppies to a variety of different surfaces to walk on; human touch all over their bodies; temperature changes; different sounds like fireworks, doorbells, cats meowing, and car engines; children; baths and nail trims, and more. We want our puppies to be more than just physically healthy; we want them to be mentally and emotionally ready for their future families. 

We screen all potential families through our Puppy Application. We are committed to finding a forever home for each puppy, so we want to make sure the puppy is a good match for each family.