Frequently Asked Questions

If you’re interested in welcoming a Katchafire puppy into your family, please complete our Puppy Enquiries & Application form. It helps us get to know a little about you, your home and the kind of Golden Retriever you’re hoping for. We’ll then get in touch when appropriate to talk further.

We are a small kennel and usually plan only a few litters each year. Our breeding plans depend on the timing of our girls’ seasons, health and breeding decisions, so dates can change. Planned and upcoming litters will be posted on our Puppies page and shared on our Facebook and Instagram pages when we have news to share.

Yes, to a degree. As the puppies grow and their individual characters begin to emerge, we get to know them and can help guide families towards puppies that may suit their home and lifestyle. We also take your preferences into account, including things such as gender. Final puppy matching usually takes place at around seven to eight weeks.

Puppies are still very young when they leave us, though, and their personalities will continue to develop as they grow, so we can never promise particular characteristics.

Yes. Our breeding dogs are health tested before being bred, including hips, elbows, heart, eyes and relevant DNA testing. Eye testing is repeated annually. We use these results, together with temperament, pedigree and other factors, when making our breeding decisions.

We try to keep our dogs’ health results and pedigree information up to date on independent pedigree databases, including Retriever Pedigree Database Online and K9data. If you would like to see more detailed health information for a particular dog, we’re happy to point you in the right direction.

Our puppies are raised as part of our family in our home and on our farm. As they grow, we gradually introduce them to everyday household life, different people, surfaces, sounds and environments, along with age-appropriate play and new experiences. We also introduce things such as crates, car travel and early toilet habits, helping each puppy build confidence and prepare for life with their new family.

Every Katchafire puppy leaves home vet checked, with their first vaccination, microchip, Dogs NZ registration and age-appropriate worming. We also provide health and puppy-care information and a Katchafire puppy pack to help you and your puppy get started.

Our puppy families may also receive additional benefits through breeder programmes we participate in, such as puppy food, pet insurance and other new-owner offers. These programmes and their contents can change from time to time, so we’ll let you know what is currently available when your puppy is preparing to go home.

The contents of our physical puppy packs can also vary from litter to litter. Puppies travelling by air are unable to take the physical goody bag with them.

Our puppies usually leave for their new homes between eight and twelve weeks of age, depending on the individual puppy and their new family’s circumstances. Before leaving, all the necessary health checks, vaccination, microchipping and paperwork will have been completed. We’ll arrange collection or travel individually with each family as homecoming approaches.

Yes. Puppies can travel by air within New Zealand. We exclusively use AirCare Pets for our puppy transport because they are conveniently located for us and, most importantly, they are a service we know and trust. We’ll work with AirCare and your family to arrange the journey as homecoming approaches.

Yes, we may place puppies with suitable families overseas. International travel requires additional planning and must meet the animal welfare, import and export requirements of the destination country. We use AirCare Pets to help arrange international transport.

We generally prefer puppies travelling internationally to be a little older and more robust for the journey. Requirements vary depending on the destination, so overseas placements and travel arrangements are discussed individually.

Yes. If you are looking for a puppy for showing, potential future breeding, or specialist work such as assistance or medical-alert training, please tell us when you apply. Being upfront about your plans helps us understand what you are looking for and, where possible, select a puppy with suitable potential.

For homes with particular requirements, we assess the puppies as they develop and may seek additional opinions before making a final decision, usually at around eight weeks. At that age we can only assess the puppy in front of us — there are no guarantees about how any puppy will develop as an adult or whether they will ultimately be suitable for a particular role.

Puppies intended for future breeding are considered individually, and we will want to understand your experience, breeding plans and goals before agreeing to place a puppy in a breeding home.

Working or field-line and conformation or show-line Golden Retrievers share the same breed heritage, but generations of selection for somewhat different purposes can result in differences in build, drive, working style and other characteristics.

There can also be differences in appearance, but colour alone does not tell you whether a Golden Retriever is from working or conformation lines. If you’re unsure which might suit you best, we’re happy to talk through the differences and what you are looking for in a dog.

You can also read more about the breed and the development of the different lines on our Our Breed page.

Our interest in our puppies doesn’t end when they leave Katchafire. We’re always happy to hear how they’re getting on and to help with questions as they grow. We love receiving updates, photos and hearing about the lives our puppies go on to have with their families. If you’re unsure about something, you’re always welcome to get in touch.