Golden Beekeeper’s Retrievers

06/20/2026

Final days with our Tulip x Toby puppies. Bittersweet.

06/19/2026

06/16/2026

7 Week Pupdate – our Tulip x Toby puppies are nearly ready for their next big adventure! The pups start going home soon — healthy, bold, and birdy.

The puppies had first vet visits, AKC microchips, and passed their Volhard Puppy Aptitude Tests + each pup has instinctively chased live quail!

🩺 Health
Clean bills of health across the board at the vet! Each pup:
• Has received core vaccines
• Has been genetically tested
• Has been AKC Reunite microchipped
• Continues to grow strong and confident

🧠 Volhard Testing
Day 49 aptitude testing helps guide our final placements, evaluating:
• Confidence, recovery, sociability
• Birdiness and work drive
• Sensitivity and willingness to follow
Each pup is matched with a home that suits their temperament and future goals — from hunting and sport to service work and family life.

🐦 Live Bird Exposure
Live quail work began and they nailed it!
• Strong prey drive across the litter
• Confident around scent, sound, and movement
• More bird work to come this week

🐾 Socialization & Skills
• Interactions with kids, adults & our adult dogs
• Grooming, handling & household desensitization
• Calm, confident during fireworks and loud sounds

✨The best is yet to come! ✨

06/13/2026

The Volhard Aptitude Test takes place tomorrow at 49 days. We'll review these results, combined with our observations over the last 7 weeks (temperaments, live bird introductions, water exposure, etc.), and begin to place our puppies to their homes over the next several days. We take great pride and care in this process, so please be patient with us as we crunch the data.

If you are interested in learning more about the Volhard Aptitude Test, you can read more here: https://www.volharddognutrition.com/content/choosing-your-puppy.pdf?srsltid=AfmBOorG0lL4-dtigYQvcLZ4xjZPtWBuXrjO_JJvRWQccIbwZZCNJSXB

Thank you, as always, Brent Eckler / Country Acres .

06/13/2026

Catching up on this last week. Here are some more photos from our vet visit. We loaded up the boys in one Ruffland and the girls in another and traveled a couple blocks to see Dr. Seger. 🐝😍🥰

06/13/2026

Thank you to Dr. Seger and her wonderful staff at the Animal Clinic of Pinckney, as always. They take great care of our adult dogs and our precious puppies. 🐝🥰😍

06/12/2026

Home Depot offers many training opportunities for Hank. ♥️

Sweet Pea x Toby ‘25

06/10/2026

The puppies have been getting tons of exposure to firework soundtracks lately - preparing them for the upcoming Fourth of July shortly after they go home! They hear these crazy desensitization sounds and immediately it’s nap time. 🎇 🎆 😴

06/08/2026

Happy birthday to Ted, the backbone of our family and family owned business. The trainer, the hunter, the guide, the chef, the handler, the builder, the fixer, plus so much more. Cheers to you, Ted, we couldn’t do this without you! 🐝😍🥰

06/08/2026

6 week pupdate on our happy, sweet Michigan Field-Bred Golden Retrievers - Tulip x Toby ‘26! From field to family—these pups are becoming confident, well-rounded bird dogs.

Following The Puppy Brain + Puppy Culture protocols, plus ENS & ESI, we’re focused on building curious, resilient puppies ready for both hunting and home life.

✨ Sensory Exposure:
These pups have explored wet carpet on a clean boat floor, woodchips, pavement, sandbox, grass, our pond area, kiddie pool, splash pad, and supervised full free range of our backyard. Plus lots of 1-on-1 enrichment, too!

🐾 Socialization:
They’re learning great manners from our 6 adult dogs and have had several puppy family visits, plus visits with neighborhood kids of all ages. Early lessons in canine communication + impulse control are well underway.

🔊 Sound Training:
Desensitized to household sounds + fireworks, with overnight sound training for calm, confident sleep habits.

🐦 Birdy Beginnings:
Introduced to feathers + scent from goose, duck, quail, pheasant, and pigeon.

🧠 Temperament Testing:
The Volhard Puppy Aptitude Test is coming up, which helps us to match each pup to the right home based on temperament and drive.

🩺 Health:
They’re receiving 6-week vaccinations and visiting the vet; AKC Reunite microchipping is also next for lifetime ID.

🏡 Going Home Soon:
In the coming weeks these pups will begin heading to their new homes! Bred for hunting, but raised to be loyal, affectionate family companions too.

Stay tuned for their final weeks with us!

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