I'm a new dog owner and wanted to get a golden from somewhere local. I didn't want a cream golden and wanted a more gold toned one so I stumbled upon Annette. I was skeptical at first because i did see the previous reviews and how there's not much on social media but i took the leap anyways. She was able to answer all my questions and let me visit her home with all the cute dogs. She had a nice contract that I reviewed. I had a long list of questions for her that's she was able to answer. Katsu was born in 4/1/2021 and she hasn't had any problems since. She's such a sweetheart with LOTS of energy. 100% golden retriever vibes that loves humans more than dogs. I love katsu so much and couldn't be any happier with her! No one knows where that spot came from, but I wanted that genetic deformity. It got smaller but it's still there! No health problems and all her vet visits are good. I was also able to speak with people who got puppies from annette as well and it really put my mind at ease! read more

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We love our pup, Roz! Great disposition, smart, eager to please, just a pure classic golden retriever experience. Annette was open and accommodating, even helping fill in with some puppy care early after the adoption when we needed to do some travel. She answered every question clearly and gave us all sorts of paperwork upon request, and gave us a good stack of information for adoption/take-home day help ensure success. Puppy visitation was also accommodating and reassuring; we got to meet the pup's mom and her (last remaining) littermates; seeing the mom in person helped give us that final boost of confidence in adopting from this lineage. read more

Contango Vineyards Golden - Our happy pup from Contango a couple months out from adoption - Pet Breeders Near Me

BEWARE OF UNETHICAL AND DECEPTIVE PRACTICES AT CONTANGO VINEYARDS GOLDENS It's hard for me to write such a negative review since we are committed to our dear puppy Sunny. But I feel compelled to warn others about the unscrupulous practices of this breeder. In May, we put down a deposit for a golden retriever puppy from a litter supposedly sired by "Bentley", an accomplished show dog with Canine Good Citizenship and other achievements. It wasn't until June, when we arrived with our whole family to choose our pup, that Annette casually mentioned for the first time it was a dual-sire litter. Having fallen for one cute puppy, and not really knowing what dual sire meant, we felt it was best to give Annette the benefit of the doubt. It turned out to be a mistake. After picking up our puppy Sunny a couple weeks later, paperwork showed he had a parasitic infection as well as an undescended testicle that Annette knew about a few weeks earlier but choose not to disclose. DNA tests later confirmed that all 14 pups in that litter were sired by a dog named Everest, of which little is known. This completely contradicted Bentley as listed in the AKC marketplace advertisement and in our contract. When I gently suggested simple transparency improvements to her business, Annette adamantly refused to make any changes. The deception appears intentional. One owner here reported their Contango puppy arrived with pneumonia and fleas, then exhibited resource guarding aggression, needing extensive training to correct. Another stated their puppy developed serious congenital health issues requiring surgery at 5 months old. Our own Sunny started exhibiting troubling resource guarding after staying for a period with Annette. This is a very serious issue and we are working with a professional to address it. Despite assertions from "T MC" that such behavior is highly abnormal in goldens and likely the fault of the owner, this pattern points to major problems with Contango's breeding practices. Beware also the suspicious review patterns here, like the glowing / defensive one from "T MC," who appears to be an affiliated breeder (they have only one other review, and its about a vet who helped with a litter from one of her dogs). There were also a flurry of generic 5-star reviews on 8/15 from dubious accounts. Yelp, to their credit, removed most of these reviews, agreeing they violated terms of service, but left a few up, including that of "Ellie B." from "CA, CA". While Annette seemed well-intentioned at first, her lack of ethics and refusal to improve are resulting in unhealthy, unstable dogs, as well as heartbroken families. I regret supporting this unscrupulous breeder and would caution others to find one truly committed to placing healthy, well-socialized puppies. read more

We were so lucky to have picked the best puppy from Contango Vineyards in Petaluma. Our Beautiful Olivia the love of our lives always looks like she is smiling. The happiest and most loving dog I have ever owned. When growing up I always had German Shepard's. So glad to have a Golden around the house. read more

Hi, we really love our pup - but this is not a breeder for people who live in the City and/or first time dog owners. These goldens are lovely, but I feel confident that after our first year with our boy (who is our first dog as a family) that they need a LOT of training. Resource guarding issues are very pronounced (from likely both genetics and breeding practices). I know you never know what you get, but our pup was in a 2 litter situation where there were 20+ puppies of two different litters roaming together - which I believe makes the guarding issues much worse as from day one the pups fight for food (both given & at their mom). We love our guy, he is part of our family, but we have sunk a lot of money and time and effort into training him (like over 15-20K), and at every turn have little set backs that show that it's not an age thing but probably a forever thing to keep him calm and behaved. If you're a first time dog owner with kids and looking for an easy breezy dog, I'd look elsewhere. read more

After looking for a family dog for a while, we are so happy to have found Contango Puppies. They are local for us and Annette is great! She is very thorough with the adoption process and very detailed. You get all the documentation and records that puts your mind at ease. It had been a while since we had a puppy and she was great with all the questions we had. She provides updates often and when is time to take the puppies home you are met with the most friendly staff. The puppies are so loved and we couldn't be happier with our choice. Thank you Annette! read more

I can't say enough about how amazing Annette is at Contango Goldens. I found them threw AKC.org and as the puppies were growing to the 8 weeks when we pick them up we got pictures and video up dates! When Serenity came home we were given a Togo packet and a baby blanket her mom slept with! They had thier first shots, crate trained and 80% potty trained. This made training so much easier! The first two nights she woke up at about 4 hrs but other then that she was always in her crate and slept the night. Annette is still available for any questions I have. My mom was in another town and a man had two goldens and after talking my mom mentioned contago goldens and he even knew about them and said they have a great reputation!!! I will never get a golden from any where but Contango Goldens! Thanks for helping one of my dreams come true! read more

Contango Vineyards Golden - Serenity - Pet Breeders Near Me

Our puppy, Winnie, is a true testament to the fabulous nature of this breed. We are on day 6 with her, and she is the most wonderful dog already. Her mama was Poppy, and Winnie is turning out to be as sweet as she was. Training her has been going extremely well. She waits by the door to go out to potty, and has already learned to sit and lie down. We've had her checked out by our vet and was told we have a perfect healthy puppy. She is so smart and everyone has remarked on what a calm, sweet puppy she is. She has been great with young kids, all sorts of people, and new situations. Had a golden growing up who was amazing, and our new girl has pretty much sealed the deal on never having any other breed of dog. She is everything and more than what we were even hoping for. Thank you, Annette, for this wonderful girl. Update: almost 8 months old and absolutely wonderful still. Health is perfect. Something else nice to mention is that she is not very vocal at all. Only barks every now and then when she is excited during play. Great with people and other dogs. read more

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We are about 2 months into owning who we feel is the best puppy in the world! Prior to picking Annette, we interviewed a few local Sonoma County breeders, and I felt the most at ease when talking to Annette. We eagerly awaited the golden birth, and Annette kept us updated along the way. She quickly answered all questions, and is flexible and candid. We now have owned our golden boy for 2 plus months, and both our vet and trainer have remarked how his disposition and excellent health reflect the goodness of the breeder. He potty trained in 2 days, having practice before leaving his birth place. He was very well adjusted on arrival to stimuli, and is loving and predictable with humans and dogs. He LOVES adventure and is so willing and open to new experiences. He is a joy to train and to learn and grow with. We adore everything about him, we are having so much fun, and he's so beautiful too. read more

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I HIGHLY RECOMMEND Contango Goldens (formerly Contango Vineyard Goldens) I got my Golden from Annette 14 years ago and just lost her with almost no health issues HER ENTIRE LIFE. Annette has always been quick to answer any questions, whether it be medical/vaccines & meds, training, nutrition, etc. She knows her stuff!!! She is calm and easy to talk to and therefore I can only imagine there could have been a good outcome had the person been reasonable. If this review is making you question Contango Goldens, remember this: you are hearing a biased, "one side of the story" opinion. The negative review is in no way indicative of Annette, and honestly: 1. Pneumonia. How did the "supposed" pneumonia get past 2 vets (Annette's & new owner's). Annette would never have sent home a sick puppy! 2. I would be very wary of a vet who recommends any type of surgery on such a young dog... (this type of problem is generally never even diagnosed until after1 y/o). Did the new owner talk to Annette before the procedure to allow Annette to get a second opinion? 3. "Resource Guarding" is extremely rare in Goldens... I suspect this was an issue with the new owner/environment. A Golden, much less a Golden puppy, never has a real issue with it, and, 4. The fleas... I find this almost comical. It is impossible on a country property to control fleas like you can inside your own home and enclosed yard... I can especially imagine this if you are a breeder and you want your litter to get out for some fresh air and playtime... I would much rather have fleas on my puppy that has been able to get outside, than to gave my puppy confined indoors or worse, to have my puppy's immature little body bombarded by flea meds that can shut down his/her tiny organs. Let's be real: there are a lot of red flags with that person's review! I thoroughly enjoyed my Golden Girl for many years! I have recommended her many, many times... Talk with Annette... you will appreciate her experience and expertise and genuine affection for her puppies! read more

Our girl is 10mos now. Unfortunately we've had a Myriad of digestion problems since the start. Most recently we began noticing her fur falling out and bloody spots on her skin. Found out her natural dermaboro (sp?) mites are in large quantities and attacking her skin. Vet noted no dog with this should be bred and usually this comes from one of the parents. Our vet bills have been thru the roof, only saving grace is pet insurance. We've also dealt with numerous respiratory problems that rise up at minimum every 60 days. Looking back I see lots of red flags with this breeder but I'll admit that we ignored them. However this is our baby and no way will we give up on her. The only reason for 3 stars is she does have a wonderful disposition and is insanely sweet and smart. read more

What we've experienced with our puppy in just 5 months: 1 - Came home covered in 40+ fleas 2 - Came home with pneumonia 3 - Food/Toy Aggression when you get near him 4 - Joint issues 5 - Elbow dysplasia surgery This is our experience that we feel obligated to tell, to warn others or push CVP to make much needed changes. As we near the end of a 2 mon recovery with our 7 mon old GR from elbow dysplasia surgery, we can't help but ponder over our experience from Day 1. We were referred to CVP not by someone who purchased a puppy, but someone who just knew of them. We got first place on the list. We were allowed to visit beforehand to see the puppies and choose ours! We were ecstatic. They are AKC registered which sounded good and explained the price, which we thought meant quality. We were also naive. We've never done this before. In hindsight, it is our fault for not asking standard questions. We felt nervous to interview a breeder. In fact, we expected to be interviewed by the breeders, but we were not. CVP claims that their dogs have no issues. No medical history or clearances on the parents were ever offered. After continual major issues arose, we did tons of research, too late, and learned that a quality breeder does not match the experience we had at CVP. Lesson learned the very hard way. And we take ownership for that. Day 1 - We bring him home and bathe him and pull off over 40 fleas. We texted Annette to notify her. She nonchalantly thanked us and said she'll let the other families know and that the vet will give us something for him. We figured this was a fluke so despite the frustration, didn't think much of it. Later in conversation, she defended him being covered in fleas saying "it's normal where we live" "I told you he had fleas". We said "no you didn't!" And she then said "oh okay, I thought I did". Wow, you knew your puppies were covered in fleas, and youre okay with that? Day 2 - Despite never owning my own puppy, I notice that he's breathing at an unusually fast rate and there is a raspy noise in his throat. After some X-rays, it was found that he had pneumonia. When we notified Anette, it was an instantly defensive response. She said her vet didn't catch it and ours didn't either. That is true. I had to ask for X-rays because nothing showed up in the stethoscope with his lungs but it was very obvious to me, after owning him for only a day. The point is, he came home to us with pneumonia. From our interactions with Annette, it seemed obvious that this was more of a business transaction and that she was not ultimately concerned about the welfare of one of her puppies. Day 2 - Our puppy started "resource guarding" with a toy, and that quickly escalated to treats and other toys. Every breeder, vet and trainer we reached out to said that this behavior is extremely abnormal for this breed and age. There are a variety of breeder-related issues that can cause this. With the help of a trainer we worked relentlessly with our puppy on this issue. The issue escalated one day and at just 3 mon old, he bit my husband causing a serious laceration. We couldn't feel good about keeping a dog that has this kind of issue. We reached out to Annette - After much converaation, she offered to take him temporarily to try to work with him and then wanted to give him back to us. We weren't up for that. She then said if we brought him back, she would give us half our money back.($750) We only had him for a month, dealt with pneumonia + severe behavioral issues and kept her updated the whole way through. Their offer didn't seem fair to us. We also didn't feel comfortable bringing him back, as she took convincing to promise us that they wouldn't put him down, for his resource guarding issues. We knew he just needed extra skill and attention that we weren't capable of. Ultimately we decided to take it as a loss, emotionally + financially and find a rescue for him. An amazing lady had this behavior worked out of him within a week. Despite our fears, we decided to give him one more shot, as we were so devastated at losing him in the first place. He is with us to this day. 4 mon old - His knees start cracking loudly when he sits. Saw a specialist - said watch it and bring him back in 1 month for re-evaluation. We did, as the popping still hasn't gone away to this day. 5 mon old - Re-evaluation. During that visit, specialist discovered when he manipulated his front elbows, he would whine. Xrays found elbow dysplasia. Specialist says this is "extremely unusual". We did the corrective surgery calling for 8 wks of recovery. These 5 months have been truly insane. Not what you would expect from a "quality breeder". Do yourself a HUGE favor, ask questions, get guarantees, a contract, and don't be naive as we were. Flukes happen, but the amount of issues we've had doesn't seem to be a fluke. The total lack of care and concern from the breeder, has left us with a very painful learning lesson, as we move forward. read more

Had nothing but good results buying from this breeder... our Molly is 6 yrs old now one of the best Golden's we've ever had...would buy another one without a doubt read more