Winterhill Kennel

Winterhill Farm & Kennel Made the 2019 Humane Society of the United States horrible hundred puppymill list. Many complaints filed to the State. more

back in 2011 this lady ripped me off $100. when I was stuck on the turnpike in Massachusetts with my daughter, I decided to look at the receipt and it was a hundred bucks over. I called her and she said "if you don't like the dog returned it" knowing I had a 8 year old daughter that has a puppy in her lap. The dog end up sick. He was interpreted in end up with mental problems more

!YOU ARE DEALING WITH AN EXPERIENCED BREEDER!! The Laws in Mass. don't protect breeder dogs or the Buyers.CAREFULLY read the paperwork they make you sign and its up to you to decide if you want to go forward. Get the "written" detailed health guarantee, that details what is included and what is not. If you decide to pay and rescue a dog from this breeder, be prepared to take the dog to the vet the same day you pick it up (fecal and blood tests are a must). Also, be prepared if the dog is sick this breeder will most likely blame you, so document everything! If genetic issues are suspected, be prepared to spend a lot of money for that test just to prove its genetic...Did you know that breeders can administer their own vaccines, except rabies? Certain vaccines can be purchased at feed stores. So your trusting the breeder to ensure the vaccines where stored properly, not expired and injected properly to protect your new puppy. As of this date, do you also know this breeder is the Town Animal Control Officer? So if you purchased a sick dog (kennel cough,multiple parasites- some humans can contract, etc), how can you complain to the ACO/breeder?? You must report it to the Dept. of Agriculture, which the current laws give them very limited enforcement powers.I would suggest before you purchase a dog from this breeder, do your research, ( FOI request with the Dept. of Agriculture). Yes, Winterhill has sold some dogs without health issues (genetic or diseases), hence the positive reviews, but they have also sold many sick ones as well. Many people don't report the sick dogs either. Its up to the Buyer to make an informed decision on the risk you want to take. These dogs are not cheap & vet bills amount very quickly (read the contract )!! Breeders aren't regulated like pet stores ( Im not advocating for pet stores but consumer protection laws apply). I hope this breeder would change her practices, clean up her kennel and stop over breeding. more

This place is awful and gave me a sick puppy .they ignore the calls and say the same thing to everyone and then tara starts yelling at you for her mmmmm more

Our puppy has a degenerative muscle disease and needs help in all aspects of life. We have spent thousands and he probably won’t see his first birthday. We are devastated and don’t want this to happen to anyone else. The owner is awful, so unprofessional and it’s all a scam! As much as I want all the puppies saved from here so they don’t have to be treated poorly don’t do it to your family. more

This farm,, and I use the term loosely, sold a puppy to my friend and he passed away last night! Owner tried to blame this family! The puppy was so sick and had emergency vet visit and regular vet visits! This place has been reported to the Agricultural Dept in MA and they have been reported by many people. This breeder needs to be stopped. Found out she’s also the dog warden. Very sad! Do not purchase a dog from them. Hopefully something can be done to stop the breeding! more

To the person that bought the golden retriever you bought a puppy from a puppy mill! A working farm or just animals running around!? House is a mess was dirty and they do not show you both parents if so! Only 1 or neither they give you an excuse! They say they’re breeders of how many breeds?? She has different dogs to sell that’s not a breeder that’s a puppy mill!! Do your homework before you give her money and never get it back!! more

This “Breeder” should be shut down! Awful living conditions! Owner is very rude also do not waste your time and money with this place! more

I recently got a female golden retriever pup. I read all the reviews and it was 50% good and 50% negative. The property is a farm. It is what you would expect a working farm to be. There's cows,chickens, ducks, goats, horses, etc. I saw the pup I was interested in and also asked to see her parents. I was shown her parents without a problem. I needed to be sure and I decided to come back the next day. I was allowed in the house the day of pickup. It was clean and cute. No animal odor or noise. Not everyone is cheerful by nature, myself included. This is their business. It's no nonsense and don't want their time wasted. Their contracts protect their business. If you plan on breeding your dog then this is not the place for you. I got a puppy from a pet store that lived 12years and a purebred golden that only lived 6 years. It's a crap shoot no matter where the pet comes from. Be realistic. My golden retriever has a personality of her own. She has loved to be outside from the day we picked her up and we love her to death. Oh ya...clean bill of health for our private vet. more

Awful awful awful! Do not buy any dogs from here! Owner is rude! Not friendly at all the place is dirty I felt itchy leaving there. I should of read the reviews before I bought a puppy from this lady! It made me sick to see all the reviews on how the dogs were sick and how much money you would have to spend at the vets. This lady should not be selling any dogs! She’s a puppy mill not a breeder and when you ask to see the mother of the puppies she says NO! What “breeder” says no?! That’s shady and obv she’s hiding something and that should of been a red flag to go!! I saw on the reviews it said the dogs live in dirty cages and kennels I believe it And I wish we i never wasted my time going there and lost money to this so called breeder! The contract was soooo shady I wished my husband never signed it I never saw a contract like that. I talked to other real breeders and they all say that’s very weird she says no refund and return puppy if you don’t want ans you can’t give the puppy away? Very odd that’s another read flag! I should of read it ans said I’m all set and called the animal control on her! Those poor animals all living there are prob sick too. It’s an awful seen! I can go on and on but there’s 10 pages of complaints to read so do not buy a puppy from this puppy mill or you’ll be in a lot of $$$ more

This is the most cruel and thoughtless owner. She had a family who backed out of a puppy because it was too snowy out, so she offered a discounted rate on a 10-week old puppy. No deposit required. We already had an application submitted and approved, so we swooped in that day and said we would take him. All week of conversations back and forth we set up a time and date to pick him up. On the morning of going to pick up our puppy, literally 30 minutes from getting in the car, we get a message saying the family who backed out wants him back and we can’t have him. We spent the whole week buying stuff for our new boy. Name tag, toys, and everything else. We have messages saying that we were the first in line and people were behind us waiting. After telling us this she showed no emotion and was very rude in her messages. She is doing this so she can sell the puppy at the normal rate to the original family and not the discount rate she offered to us. She offered us her puppy (a female) that she was going to keep. She has no emotional attachment to these animals, even ones she considers “her own.” Had she told us this scenario could happen, we would have picked him up the day of the posting. We were told we didn’t need a deposit, so why would we think that this cruel and thoughtless thing could even happen. But according to her very condescending reply “we have no obligation to anyone.” We are heartbroken and devastated this happened to us and we want to make sure other people don’t have to deal with this on the morning they are going to pick up the newest member of their family. more

Do your research on this place before you buy. Google, read all the reviews. This place is a puppy mill with sick dogs more

Drove from NH- got a golden retriever pup- it was many years ago before i knew better. The man let me see the kennels- crates with wire bottoms stacked, hundreds of puppies, no parents, so sad. It haunts me. The dog had lots of medical problems, etc. I have had two Goldens since and learned what a good breeders are- 5 health clearances, parents on site, kept inside, etc. This place should be shut down. Amazed it is still open more

We purchased two Bichon females 6 months apart, born 4/26/96 & 11/6/96. The first pup was ok when we brought her home. The 2nd one had a snotty nose and was the runt of the litter. Leah gave the dog its last booster just before we left with it. She gave us a $50 discount because the dog was sick. We could not see the parents for either dog. About 1 week after having the dog home, it went into a seizure. After consulting with a specialist, it was concluded that the combination of the dog being sick and the last minute vaccine triggered the reaction. The vaccine was a cocktail, a vaccine for a variety of things, not just one. With small dogs, it is never a good idea to give them cocktail vaccines, they need them spread out and when they are healthy to minimize the chance of a reaction. Here is the list of the medical issues these pedigree dogs had throughout their lives, which ended before they were 10: hip dysplasia, bad gums/teeth, cataracts, skin allergies and bladder stones to name the major ones. We contacted a real show breeder to buy our next pair. After intense interviewing, we were allowed to buy. This pair was nothing like what we got from Leah. They were the real deal, not the result of some backyard breeder who maybe had good intentions, but really has no business breeding dogs. They are 5 1/2 years old and there has not been a single problem. If you cannot see the parents or living conditions, or don't go through intense interviewing, or don't sign a contract for spay/neuter and guarantee of return upon some kind of problem where the dog cannot be kept, keep looking. Consult the breed specific forums on the internet for recommendations. I'm afraid that the other complaints against WinterHill reflect our own experience. We couldn't see the parents or kennels, we got sent home with a sick dog, and no way are the dogs bred from real "champions" as we were led to believe. The health issues over the lifespan of our two from WinterHill is all of the evidence needed to reinforce that. more

I drove almost four hours to reach winter hill kennels from northern New Hampshire last month in search of a puppy. I ended up getting a beautiful HEALTHY and overall amazing eight week old golden retriever puppy. He did have worms- which is expected when getting a new puppy- Leah sent me home with medication and a follow up with my vet determined he was clear. I had a great experience here and next time I'm looking for a puppy I will contact them first. We now have the most amazing puppy. Thank you winter hill! You've made our family extremely happy! more

Paul G. - So sorry to hear your puppy is sick too. We also bought a puppy from the April 24th, 2012 litter. He was also sick with Coccidia which caused a lot of diarhea and caused him to be severly underweight. Just a question, how was the hip dysplasia diagnosed. I have been kind of worried because he seems slow to get up sometimes and if he tries to take off from a start really fast his legs will slide out from under when on our hard wood floors. Also had another possible genetic issue with an undecended testicle that caused problems. more

I was trying to look for a dog for my husband.i have looked at many places,I have read lots of post and like all they have good and bad comments.i was trying to figure out true from false.the post under mine said all negative things,then said she Leah has people post for her....and said that it is her children's friends...so that would mean you know Leah and her children and have a problem with her ..so anyway I have read all comments and decided to check out the place.i did meet people at the door.and asked if I could see the kennel and the only question I was asked was if I went to any other kennels or places with dogs,I asked why ...she explained that she didn't want her dogs to catch anything.and no I didn't go anywhere near other dogs that day so I came in seen the dogs.and FYI the dogs were clean.yes I could smell a poop smell but I was at a kennel .didnt think it was going to smell like clean laundry lol.well point of my story is I did purchase a pup from Leah and brought my dog to the vet ..and I got a great healthy puppy ..i have not had any problems so this is a true comment not a person attack.betty more

I bought my labradoodle pup from Leah last July and she has suffered from many bouts of diarrhea so bad that the vet believes she may have a genetic problem such as Addison's disease. Also she was recently diagnosed with severe hip dysphasia which was confirmed by another vet specialist. My pup was from the April 24, 2012 litter. Anyone that bought a labradoodle pup from that litter with problems should certainly contact the Mass Dept of Agriculture. Winterhill kennels BBB rating is D-! I'd like to hear from anyone else that has had problems from that same litter - vssman1 "at" hotmail "dot" com more

I just bought a chocolate lab last weel from leah, brought my dog to the vet,my dog was very healthy and all up to date on shots .i have four kids at home my dog is so sweet and kind to all my childern.i met my dogs mother and father they were beautiful and very clean.i cant believe some of these comments i had all my questions answered and was told only truth about my dog.and as for the comment about no one was there not even a dog running around there was a cute chubby dog there when i puklled up,and there were three people inside when i got there.im very happy with my dog and breeder..kristen more

I read a lot of the reviews and have to agree that my dog was sick when I brought him home. He had a runny nose, diarrhea and ear mites. His ears wreaked of a bad smell. Although a lot of reviews reported expensive vet bills, mine were not too bad and it didn't take too long getting our puppy in good health. I didn't get to see his parents or the kennel either and it was a quick transaction. I never received papers for him. He is a great dog with a great disposition and we love him. I am not sad that I got him, but would not take the risk in purchasing another dog from this breeder. more