About Alliebeck Goldens ...

Diane Senterfitt & Geoff Weisbart

Although individually growing up with Golden Retrievers, our combined enthusiasm for Golden Retrievers started in 1987 when we purchased our first Golden Retriever puppy, Alex. Little did we know that Alex would engender a passionate love for and complete immersion in sporting dogs and especially Goldens. The passion and love grew and lead to a breeding program dedicated to preserving the health and enhancing the qualities that make Goldens a key part of the family and one of the most popular breeds in America. Purebred dogs are the heart and soul of the canine species. The Golden Retriever is a special breed of purebred dogs and we have become firmly committed to the breed and its great heritage. Our goal has never been to breed quantity, but quality. We therefore breed and raise a very limited number of litters, with the purpose of breeding to maintain the breed standard to insure our puppies have the great characteristics of a beautiful and healthy Golden Retriever.

We are avid hunters of upland game birds and water fowl and have for many years used gun dogs, primarily our Golden Retrievers, in the sport. Our hunting interest has evolved more to the training of gun dogs. We have acquired a German Shorthaired Pointer from the Southwind Kennels, who is being shown in conformation and will be trained for her hunting titles. A pointing breed such as a German Shorthaired Pointer adds a new and exciting aspect to the sport.

Careful and dedicated breeding is not an easy task, and the responsibilities of being a qualified breeder take hard work and dedication to the breed. We have, over the course of our experience, shown our puppies to AKC Championships, Sweepstakes Championships and have even had the honor of having one of our dogs shown at Westminster. What's more, our dogs have also had the chance to prove their wonderful companion skills and hunting ability, while also proving their merit in the show ring. Without a focused breeding program, the qualities of a Golden Retriever or of any purebred dog can become diluted, obscured and distant. When we breed a litter, we first only consider breeding those dogs which have exhibited outstanding temperament, demeanor and conformation. Second, we only breed those dogs which have passed every clearance and requirement set forth in the Code of Ethics established by the official Golden Retriever breed organization, the Golden Retriever Club of America (GRCA) and in the case of GSP's by the official German Shorthaired Pointer Club of America (GSPCA). Third, we only seek to breed to enhance the qualities of our dogs, and carefully select our breeding pairs, often after lengthy analysis with other top tier breeders. Our puppies have gone on to be champions, wonderful companions, hunting dogs and competitors in the agility ring. We continue to strive to promote the best health and breed standard in all of our puppies, to help insure that those people who hope to find the best qualities in their Golden Retriever, have the greatest chance to do so.

We have also dedicated ourselves to being a significant part of the Golden Retriever community, serving as a director, officer and long-time member of the Austin Golden Retriever Club (AGRC). We are also long-time members of the GRCA and take part in its annual National and Regional events. We are annual contributors to the Golden Retriever Foundation, a very special organization which raises funds to help maintain the health of the breed and to fight cancer. We are members of the German Shorthaired Pointer Club of American. Along with showing and competing with our Goldens and GSPs, We are also a members of the American Kennel Club and the Travis County Kennel Club. Diane serves on the board of directors and is Vice President of the Travis County Kennel Club. She has trained Alliebeck's Golden Retrievers for obedience, agility and working companion titles. Diane frequently evaluates Golden Retriever litters, attends seminars developed by the nation's leading experts in puppy selection and evaluation and writes the AGRC member club column to the GR News, the GRCA's monthly magazine. Her experience in careful and selective breeding has also been a part of her and her husband Geoff's AQHA cutting horse program that has produced World Champion cutting horses in 2007, 2008 and 2010 (Ms Peppy Cat NCHA Open World Champion, MS Mimosa, NCHA World Champion and Ms Brady Alexander, 2012 NYCHA Junior Youth Champion), and multiple champions, NCHA Futurity Finalists and money earners. While certainly involving separate disciplines, the same care and dedication to improve the breed and plan the best cross ever transfers over from our cutting horse program to our dog breeding program. In each proram we must maintain a keen breeding eye with the ability to select the best and not mediocre specimens for our programs.