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We have English Type Goldens ranging in color from very light cream to medium gold.

Our focus is always on health, longevity and loving temperament so that you will have a great addition to your family.  We also specialize in service and therapy dogs.  While we don’t train them for you we have litters specifically bred for this purpose.

We’ve been breeding quality Golden Retrievers for over 26 years. 

We are located just outside Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Please browse our site and contact us if you’d like more information.  We love to talk Goldens!

Welcome to VanGoghldens!

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All of our breeding dogs get all of the health certifications, genetic testing and temperament testing available.  We adhere to the the Golden Retriever Club of America’s Code of Ethics.  If a dog does not pass hips, elbows, eyes or heart it will not stay in our breeding program.  All puppies come with copies of their parents health clearances.

Our puppies always come with a health guarantee, shots, have been de-wormed, vet checked and microchipped.  They are socialized with kids, cats and dogs and raised in our home with countless hours of love and attention.

Always do your research!  We may not be the right breeder for you but always research a breeder’s knowledge of pedigrees, health clearances and their reputation.  In dogs you often get what you pay for.  A relationship with your breeder should be for the life of your dog and often beyond.  If we aren’t right for you we can recommend reputable breeders in our state, across the US/Canada and worldwide.

About

My name is Kara VanDenBerg and I, along with my family, have been breeding Golden Retrievers since 1996.  I grew up with dogs all of my life but my parents only wanted smaller dogs.  So at 18 I bought a house with the main purpose of finally being able to get my dream dog, a Golden Retriever.  I was fortunate enough to buy my first show dog from Ellen Manke of Amberac Golden Retrievers.  We love Goldens of all types and colors and have been blessed to have amazing Goldens from the US and overseas. Over the years our breeding program has evolved and we are now breeding English type Goldens.

I have my degree in animal behaviorism so temperament is of paramount importance to me.  Any dog that is food aggressive, overly shy, or any extreme from the breed standard will not make it in our breeding program.  Our dogs are our pets first and foremost.  We have four young daughters and the dogs live in our home with us, our kids and our cats.  We do not own a kennel and our dogs are our family.  When you get a puppy from us you can be assured that it is very well socialized with kids, cats, and dogs.  One of our cats actually sleeps in the whelping box with the puppies so they grow up thinking of cats as friends and siblings.

My very first pet Golden came from English lines.  He lived to be 16 years old. Meanwhile my show lines were not seeing that kind of longevity.  With incidences of cancer increasing and longevity not being where I wanted to see it I started looking closer at import pedigrees.  (I’m not implying you can’t get longevity here)  As both an adult whose dogs are like children and a mother of human children that are attached to their dogs the thought of having a dog drop dead at 6 from hemangiosarcoma or one of the other big cancer killers is terrifying to me.  The facts are you love your dog no matter if it sees 6 years or 16 years and I for one want the most I can get out of my dogs. (Don’t we all)  There is absolutely no such thing as a perfect dog or a flawless pedigree but we’ve spent countless hours studying pedigrees to do our due diligence on finding the healthiest lines we can.

After temperament and health/longevity we try to make them beautiful. We like to show our dogs.  However, we realize that most puppies are going to pet homes and while everyone wants a pretty dog we realize it’s not everyone’s goal to compete in conformation.  That being said our dogs come from some of the top show lines worldwide.

Golden Retrievers are our passion.  We breed for the betterment of the breed. We do everything in our power to improve the breed while producing the best temperament, health and beauty we can.  We’d love to talk with you further about our breeding program.

We are members in good standing of the Golden Retriever Club of America and strictly adhere to the Code of Ethics set forth by the national club.

We are members in good standing of the Golden Retriever Club of Canada

Available Puppies

We actually have puppies available for a change! Our girls decided to give us a ton of boys so if you are open to a boy puppy we’ve got one for you.

Charlotte and Bernie had 6 boys and 1 girl on Jan 16th. This is what the puppies pedigree looks like. (Bernie X Charlotte)  This is a repeat breeding of our Hazel. Due to so many boys we do have some reservations available.

Our puppies are typically reserved before birth.   We may do some breedings for puppies that will be available in 2024 if you are interested. We have a few reservations available for our upcoming litters.

If you are interested in reserving a puppy from this litter or a future litter the first step is to take our questionnaire.  If you do not hear from us after submitting your questionnaire please feel free to call or text us.

We often have the option with our co-ownership program with one of our existing girls or future pick puppies.  Click the link to learn more.

If you are looking for an older puppy or adult please go here.

Wondering about puppy pricing and reservations? click here