Acquired heart disease is most often related to the diet, environment, and physical fitness of your Golden. The longevity of a Golden is directly affected by these factors. AVVI (atrioventricular valvular insufficiency) is the most commonly diagnosed form of heart disease in all dog breeds, followed by DCM (dilated cardiomyopathy). Acquired heart disease can also be related to the health history of a Golden's parents and grandparents. Congenital heart defects usually appear in a puppy's first year of development, which is why we at Golden PuppiesTM provide a one year health guarantee against congenital defects. All of these factors stress the importance of knowing the health history of a Golden's parents and grandparents before they are included in our breeding program.
In the past year, we have had probably one or two people call us who lost their Golden to DCM (purchased form other breeders) and wanted to know if our breeding dogs had any history of this heart disease. Fortunately, we have not had any such disappointments with heart disease, but we have not been using grain-free dog foods on a regular basis except for short periods of time. We do not believe that all grain-free dog foods will definitely and eventually lead to heart disease, but we do think it is important to do your homework and make an educated and informed decision before deciding on your dog's food diet. Their seems to be strong evidence and we do believe that diet is one of the main contributor to DCM specifically in Golden Retrievers. For a more detailed discussion of this subject please see our article on Grain-Free Dog Food.
We are exclusively a Golden Retriever Breeder of AKC pure bred Golden Retrievers and we have Golden Retriever Puppies for sale in Florida and California.