The health guarantee, in full

The first seventy-two hours

Take the puppy to your own vet within seventy-two hours of collection. If that vet finds a existing health problem that makes the puppy unfit to keep, you may return the puppy and we refund the purchase price in full, including any deposit. We ask for the vet’s written findings so we can learn something from it.

Two years, hips and elbows

If the dog is diagnosed with moderate or severe hip or elbow dysplasia before its second birthday, confirmed by an OFA reading of x-rays we may ask to see, we will either replace the puppy from a future litter at no cost, or refund the purchase price. You choose which. In neither case do we ask you to return the dog — asking a family to give back a dog they have had for eighteen months in order to claim a warranty is a way of making sure the warranty is never claimed.

Two years, genetic conditions on the panel

The same terms apply to any of the inherited conditions we test both parents for. Because we do not breed carrier to carrier, an affected puppy from one of our litters should be impossible; if it happens, it is our failure and it is covered.

What is not covered

We are telling you this plainly rather than burying it:

• Anything caused by injury, over-exercise while the dog is still growing, or letting the dog get fat. Weight is the single biggest thing you control about your dog’s joints.
• Parasites, kennel cough, and the usual small infections a puppy picks up after leaving here.
• Conditions that are not inherited — anything where the cause is environmental or unknown.
• Any claim where the dog has not had routine veterinary care, vaccination and worming.

The clause that matters most

We will take the dog back at any point in its life, for any reason, at no cost to you. At eight weeks or at eight years. You do not have to explain yourself, and we will not make you feel bad about it.

There is no time limit on that, it is not conditional on anything, and it is written into the contract you sign. It exists because no Golden Pup dog should ever end up in a shelter, and because circumstances change in ways nobody plans for. If you cannot keep the dog, call us before you do anything else.

Spay and neuter

Puppies are placed on a limited registration and a spay/neuter agreement, with the timing left to your vet — for a Labrador that is usually somewhere between twelve and eighteen months, and doing it too early has its own risks. Breeding rights are a separate conversation and a separate contract.