WARNING: Do not buy a puppy from Shady Lanes in Spooner, WI - Page 1

I've seen other posts on here about Cindy Manning from Shady Lanes in Spooner and I thought it's time to post. My story started back in March of '09. I admit that I was only 20 and was very naive about purchasing a dog from a breeder. I called Cindy to inquire about a puppy and she mentioned there was a litter born the night before (how convenient?) I sent in my deposit and was promised 2nd pick male of the litter. Back when I got my pup, she only charged $300 for males. I "assumed" they were so cheap because she lives in the middle of nowhere. There was my first sign! Just about ANY other breeder I've spoken to charges at least $1,000 for golden puppies. (Last I checked, she's now up to $550 for males and I think $600 for females). She sent me weekly pictures of the puppies and I remember asking her if she knew which was which. She replied that it's "impossible to tell them apart at this age." (WRONG). When they were 5 weeks old she sent an email saying my day to pick the pups would be the next Saturday at 1pm. What? At 6 weeks?? I didn't know much, but I DID know that was very young to send a puppy to its new family. I immediately emailed her saying that I had already taken a week off of work after the 7th week (to spend time bonding/training the puppy) and that I had a 6 hour drive and to get back at night just wasn't going to work for me. It was a HUGE hassle for her (and she gave me a ton of attitude), but she allowed me to come at a different time (still at 6 weeks... how dumb was I.) 

(I should mention that I heard about her from a coworker of mine who already had a deposit from a different litter. When my puppy was just about 6 weeks, she went to pick hers up. And get this: she also drove 6 hours to get to the breeder, and when she got there, HER PUPPY WASN'T THERE. She had 3rd pick female all along. Got up to Cindy and was told "all the females have been taken. But here's a male." She called me in tears. She was so disappointed that she had her heart set on this puppy and left empty-handed.) Note: That same coworker also posted a "review" of Cindy on this site.

My biggest mistake was still going. I had my heart set on this puppy, already bought all the supplies, and had a name picked out for him. On the way to her house, I got nervous that we'd get all the way there and have the same disappointment as my coworker. So I called her. It took 2 hours to finally reach her and she said she was home and had the males in a pen waiting for me.

I was surpised at how the place looked. It was honestly a step above a puppy mill. ALL the dogs were outside in kennels. And there were a LOT more than were just listed on the website. (When I asked about this, she said she was "dog-sitting" for friends.) I quickly picked my male, paid her, and left. (Side note: on his papers, his birthday was a day off from what she originally told me. She couldn't even get the birth date right??) 

I wish I could say the trouble was over there and that everything was great after that. It got worse. When my puppy was around 10 weeks old, he started showing SERIOUS aggression issues. He was always dominant, (again, I was naive in getting a dominant puppy as my first dog), but this was something else. I took him to our vet and she didn't even believe me. "Goldens are good dogs!" I thought the same thing. I emailed Cindy. She DID offer to give me a different puppy, but by this time I had already fallen completely in love with my pup (not to mention it was a 6 hour drive to get to her house!) She never emailed back to see how he was doing.

He was a very difficult puppy to raise, but I thought we had managed to train the aggression out of him. Wrong. Just before his third birthday, he attacked my young daughter. She needed stitches. I could not believe that a golden had acted like this. I admit that I was naive, and I know I made a few mistakes, but he was a very happy, well-loved, and well-trained dog. (Although, looking back, his training could have been better.) A little while after attacking my daughter, he attacked me. The one person he always viewed as "alpha." That same day, he went to stay elsewhere. We found him a home on a lake with an older couple with no children. They were aware of the issues he had, and took him in anyway. I know dogs are "forever dogs", but when I'm worried about the lives of my family, I just couldn't keep him anymore. I still hear from his new family and he's finally doing well (after attacking their cat once and their other golden twice). 

After many long discussions with my vet, she truly believed something was horribly wrong with his breeding. It's extremely rare for goldens to act that way... especially towards children! Although it has become increasingly more common because of the popularity of the breed.... 

After that first email to Cindy years ago when he was a puppy starting to show aggression problems, she NEVER emailed me back. Not once. What kind of breeder doesn't check in? Especially when they KNOW there's a major problem??

Needless to say I learned many very hard lessons that resulted in many tearful, sleepless nights. I loved that dog to death, and I still do. II still have contact with his new family and it sounds like he's doing well. Although part of me is just waiting for him to snap again... and if that happens I think there's only one more option for him and I can't even bare to think about it.  And I hope if anyone actually reads this, that they take away one thing: STAY AWAY FROM CINDY MANNING. 

SOS.

We got a golden from Cindy in December 2010.  She had temperment issues from the beginning.  We thought she'd grow out of it, but it only got worse. 

We found out when she was 1 1/2 years old she had severe hip dysplasia.

We ended up having to re-home her due to her anger issues and an infant in the home.  I definitely would recommend NEVER getting a dog from Shady Lane Farms!