Every litter, logged from first breath.

Birchwood is a small golden retriever program in Middlebury, Vermont. Every health test, temperament note and milestone is written down and handed to you — so you know exactly where your puppy comes from, and who raised it.

Join the waitlist Read the program

A golden retriever mother resting with her newborn puppies in a whelping box

Health-tested parents Puppy culture Temperament matching Lifetime support

Section I · The program

A small program, kept in one hand.

Birchwood raises its litters in the house, with the records open. Here is what the program covers — and what stays with you long after your puppy comes home.

A hand writing notes in a notebook beside a resting golden retriever — Plate II · the keeper's notebook

01

Health-tested parents

Every dog we breed is health-tested before a litter is planned. The records are kept on file, and they are yours to read line by line before you commit to anything.
02

Puppy culture program

From the first days in the whelping box the litter is handled and weighed, and introduced to sounds, surfaces and people at the pace each puppy can take.
03

Temperament matching

We write down what we see in each puppy — bold, careful, curious, steady — and match the litter to the families on the waitlist, not the other way round.
04

Waitlist deposits

Once we have talked, a deposit records your place on the list and holds it against your name while you wait for a litter.
05

Lifetime breeder support

The ledger does not close when your puppy leaves. Feeding, training, a change in circumstance — write to us and we answer, for as long as you have the dog.

Section II · Litter log

Weeks one through eight, as we write them.

Puppy culture is not a slogan here; it is a set of entries. From the first morning in the whelping box to the day a puppy leaves, we record what we see.

Week one

Warmth, weight checks and quiet. The litter is handled from the first day so that human touch is familiar before anything else is.

weighed each morning
Week two

Eyes open. The box gets busier, and we begin to record the small differences in how each puppy meets the world.

first looks
Week three

First steps, first wobbles, first opinions. New sounds and new textures are introduced a little at a time.

new sounds, gently
Week four

First teeth, first solid food, more room and more mess. The box is rearranged, and the notes get longer.

solid food begins
Week seven

Temperament matching. Families on the waitlist are read against the litter — what each puppy needs comes first.

match by fit, not by order
Week eight

Records copied, the packet assembled, and the trip home. The page is signed by hand and handed over with the puppy.

home

Golden retriever puppies sleeping together on clean bedding — Plate III · the whelping box, week one

Section III · Health & records

Health-tested parents, and the packet that comes home.

Testing should never be a talking point — it should be paper. Every dog we breed is health-tested before a litter is planned, and the paperwork leaves with your puppy.

The parents’ health testing

Written down and kept on file before a litter is ever planned — and yours to read before you commit to anything.
In the packet
The litter’s week-by-week log

The same entries the keeper writes by hand in the whelping room, copied in full: weights, firsts, and what we saw in each puppy.
In the packet
Settling-in notes

What the first nights at home usually look like, what we feed, and what to expect in the weeks after your puppy arrives.
In the packet
A name to write to

Support for the life of the dog. Feeding, training, a change in circumstance — write to us and we answer.
For life

An adult golden retriever standing in a Vermont meadow at the edge of birch woodland

every record is copied and walked through with you before your puppy goes home

Kept in the Birchwood ledger · Middlebury, Vermont

Section IV · The waitlist

Add your name to the ledger.

Tell us a little about your household — how your days look, who is home, and what you hope for in a golden. We read every application ourselves and write back either way.

A deposit holds your place once we have talked. No obligation to apply — ask us anything first.

Every litter, logged from first breath.

A small program, kept in one hand.

Health-tested parents

Puppy culture program

Temperament matching

Waitlist deposits

Lifetime breeder support

Weeks one through eight, as we write them.

Health-tested parents, and the packet that comes home.

The parents’ health testing

The litter’s week-by-week log

Settling-in notes

A name to write to

Add your name to the ledger.

Come and read the records yourself.