retriever be a good candidate ? He is in perfect health and extremely playful yet. no behavioral problems of any type. truly the perfect dog.

The rule of thumb is if you are using an old dog or female, use a young opposite sex. Males will still produce sperm & be viable at older ages, & it is not harmful for them to breed (whereas there are risk factors involved for a female to carry a litter to term late in age, esp if it is a first litter). However, the sperm count may be lower, & the swimmers a bit slower. Hence the recommendation that the female be young, for a greater chance of the breeding taking & resulting in puppies.Best of luck on your litter!

I doubt your male has been 'proven' at age 9 months in the hunting, show, tracking, or performance ring. If you researched Goldens, you know they CAN have several scary health problems. OFA will not give you a definite OFA registered number on his hips until the Golden is over 2 years of age.Here's some questions to ask yourself from a Labrador lady: http://www.eventhorizonfarm.com:80/dailylife.htm Does dog just all have pedigrees just crammed full of champions and or working dogs with titles? Must be or you would not be breeding them right?Otherwise you would just be contributing to all those who are euthanized every day.It sounds to me like you should not be breeding. Just stop now before you do more damage. Please. If you want another pup, buy from a responsible, selective breeder. And you need to meet ALL of the following criteria EVEN if you are the owner of the male dog - you are still responsible if you agreed to a breeding: 1. you have homes already for many of the pups - before the mating The potential buyers will give you a $100 deposit to hold their pup.2. you have found a female - dog that meets all the points in the section above relating to the requirements of Golden Retrievers. 3. you are prepared to offer a lifetime guarantee (or at least two years) for the health of the pups 4. if, during the lifetime of the pups, any need to be returned for whatever reason, you take that pup (now adult dog) back and find a home for him/her.5. all non-show quality pups are sold with a spay/neuter agreement 6. all prospective buyers have been fully screened by you 7. you are going to offer support and advice to your puppy buyers for the life of the pup 8. you have the money to cover a stud fee, possible c-section and complications, vaccinations, and still get no income from the sale of any pups. If you own the male, you need to check out the background of the female, her health clearances, have ready a specific contract on what constitutes a litter, and what the exact terms are. 9. have you consulted with the breeder of your Golden and sought their advice? Now that's just a starting point. If you can't or won't meet these criteria, perhaps breeding at this time is not the best thing for you or your dog.http://www.k9magazinefree.com/k9_per...archive15.h... http://www.eventhorizonfarm.com:80/dailylife.htm