Sievers Retrievers

Please do not buy dogs from this breeder.
This is a puppy mill. The poor dogs are caged all day and don’t get any socialization.
We got an older puppy from them who had serious behavior issues due to not being socialized properly. The breeder gave us two medications to give to the puppy and wouldn’t even explain what they were for but kept insisting that we had to give those to the dog.
The owner just uses these poor dogs to fund his crazy invention schemes and does not care about their well-​being.
Please do your research and stay away!

The Labradoodle we got was supposedly trained by their relative for a month at a cost of an additional $ 1400. The «trained» dog wets and poops indoors, does not respond to simple commands and is overall aggressive. When we brought this to the breeders attention we were dismissed and told the dog had responded well to training. I was amazed at how quickly this smart breed could forget everything it had been trained to do. Supposedly it would ring the bell when she needed to go outside. The dog didn’t even recognize the bell. We filed a complaint with the BBB which went nowhere. Sievers response to the BBB was that their experience was people who asked a lot of questions had far more problems with the dogs than others. I’m not sure what that means. I guess it means we should shut up about problems. I would not recommend this breeder or their trainer to anyone.

Arg, you get what you pay for I guess.
Sievers was very responsive, or so it appeared, until I realized that most «answers» to questions were stock emails. The litters are available practically every two weeks, there is no way that their «small family» is socializing dogs at that rate as they claim. Just do a little research before you give in to their lower prices, know the lower prices are tempting, but you don’t get the OFA and CERF and temprament tests of reputable breeders. I know everyone can’t, or doesn’t prefer, rescue. But, please do your homework before using a puppy mill.

I bought my first dog at Sievers and I can’t recommend them enough. It is an adventure of a drive to get there from Saint Louis but its well worth it. I often get compliments about my dog for his looks and especially his temperament. We visit medical facilities as a therapy team through Support Dogs, Inc here in STL. Couldn’t be happier. Definitely worth the extra cost, especially for first time dog owners.

Please don’t buy dogs from Sievers Retrievers in Brussels, IL. They are a puppy mill. We purchased a goldendoodle 4 years ago and a golden retriever 3 years ago from them. Our golden retriever has severe arthritis as a result of severe hip dysplasia and elbow dysplasia. She will be in pain for the rest of her life and we will be spending tons of money on supplements, pain medication, therapy, etc., etc. to relieve her pain. Her life will be shortened because we will eventually have to put her down because of the arthritis pain. It is so heartbreaking. The orthopedic surgeon told us there is nothing to do for her except elbow replacement surgery, which is only being done experimentally in certain areas of the U.S. and is very expensive. The orthopedic surgeon said she has been sending letters to Sievers for over 10 years, telling them they have hip dysplasia and elbow dysplasia in their dogs’ line, but Sievers refuses to quit breeding dogs that have bad hips and bad elbows. Our dogs’ veterinarian said she has known about Sievers since the early 1990s. They have a terrible reputation among veterinarians. Our goldendoodle that we purchased from Sievers has been mostly very healthy, but he is huge (100 pounds and he’s lean, not fat at all.) Sievers told us he would weigh 60 pounds, tops. My advice to anyone looking for a golden retriever or labrador retriever is to do a lot of research and find a highly respected breeder who doesn’t breed tons of dogs, doesn’t breed the mother dogs too frequently, who will show you the «line» (basically, the dogs’ family tree) and who will certify the dogs’ hips, elbows, heart, and eyes. If they won’t do that, then run in the other direction. No matter what, stay away from Sievers Retrievers in Brussels, IL. (I had no choice but to give 1 star in this review but Sievers obviously deserve no stars.)