Our Story
Hello! My name is Tiffany Emig.
Growing up, every time we got a new puppy, I was the one that got to train it. I can clearly remember the park we trained in and taking them to puppy classes. It was my job!
My husband John and I met at Petland after high school - he worked in reptiles, and I was the puppy girl. At the time, I was going to vet tech school (I struggled with the organic chemistry and it ended up not being my path - but at least it led me here!). To this day, our mutual love for animals drives our passion at Enchanted Retrievers.
At 18 years old, I begged my parents for my first Golden Retriever, Darby. He was with me through thick and thin - through some of the most crazy years of my life. I do not know how I’d have gotten through it without him! He ended up being the mascot for a pet store that John and I opened in the 1980s called TLC in Folsom, California. Darby was also with us when my son Justin was born - his first words, in order, were mamma, “Dar Dog,” and then daddy! Dogs have always been central to our lives.
I began breeding American Golden Retrievers in the late 1990s. I call myself a “cycle breeder,” which means that once our girls are done breeding, they remain in our homes until the ends of their lives. Because of this, we only had a few litters at first, before taking an extended break while our two girls and our male lived out the rest of their lives. After they had all passed away, we made the shift to European Golden Retrievers in 2011. Our first was Belle!
When it comes to breeding, our primary focus is to think through how to build a better puppy. I am always someone who feels the need to be prepared and to know what to expect. Because of this, continued education is so important to me and informs my breeding, raising, and training practices. Our knowledge of American Goldens set the baseline, and as my journey progressed, I started doing more research, building relationships with other breeders, and attending shows and competitions. Eventually, I found someone to give me confirmation lessons - and at my first show, I won Best of Breed with my Bell! From there on, I was hooked. I learned how to properly groom my dogs, we started dock diving, hiking, travelling… they became my empty nest therapy dogs. Soon after, we added Ella, and later on, Tallahassee.
Our program draws from my extensive education in the science behind dog breeding, raising, and training.
I have completed breeder excellence seminars at UC Davis where I learned about the physical science behind breeding, the science of whelping puppies, and saw the Seeing Eye Dog Organizer speak. For the early development and emotional side of raising puppies, I have also studied programs such as Avi Dog, Puppy Culture, and Dr. Ian Dunbar’s work. After learning from all of these specialists, I put together Enchanted’s Proven Puppy Program, which combines all of the information I have learned throughout my career. Ultimately, however, our program focuses first-and-foremost on putting stable puppies into family homes.
One of the most important things to us is that our dogs are our babies too. We never re-home them - it would be like giving up one of our children. They are all loved and enriched - and science shows that if you have a dog that is stressed out and doesn’t have a happy, enriched life, it changes the genetic makeup of their puppies. For both our girls and our stud dogs, the life of the dog is always at the forefront of our consideration. We believe that happy, well-adjusted dogs make happier, healthier puppies.
Throughout this journey, the best thing about it has been the friends we have made, and the families that we have met. We have been able to build such amazing relationships.
I also love dressing up my girls! I hope you enjoy some of our family pictures below.
