As some of you may remember i posted here before asking about the different breeds which would be suitable for our family.
  In the end we decided on a golden retriever, mainly due to its friendly active nature, and relative ease of training. I had done my research on the breed, including books and visiting discovering dogs.
  I looked around for a breeder and found a litter, pups are ready in few weeks and have paid my deposit on a light coloured bitch. The mother of the pups was very friendly, and the pups were home reared in the sitting room. I didn't get to see the father, as the breeder did not own him, however i was shown kc papers showing his name (can't remember it off the top of my head).
  This was the bitches and the breeders first time litter.
  Ok now my problem, i have been reading up as much as i possibly can before the pups arrival, and looking through past posts i have been extremely worried and concerened about the iffy temprements of the goldies and stories on here. So much so, that i was tempted to ring the breeder to cancel.
  Please can someone put my mind at ease. We have been waiting for the right time to get a pup for so long now and are all extremely excited.
  But if the temprement of the goldie is really that unpredictable then we will have to reconsider :(

Some goldies can be fine and others will be not so nice!

If the mothers friendly then it is a higher chance that the pups will be friendly.

In any breed you will get friendly and not so friendly dogs.

I would say still go and get this pup as most goldies i know are very friendly.  Make sure you get the pup to some type of classes for training and sosilisation.

Good luck and if you really are in doubt then maybe it will be best to follow your gut:)

Rox

Many things can make the pup of just about any breed unpredictable.  The thing is when you do your home work and find a caring and concerned breeder who has done her work too, trained up her dogs and has checked in to the temperment and physical lines of her breed.  Then your chances of having a well tempered pup to start off with are great.  Then you have to do your part if the breeder has done hers with socializing, vet care, training classes and so forth.  Then your chances of having a well tempered dog are really high.  I would get the pup if you have done your homework and you feel confident about this breeder and have seen the mom to be a beautiful example of the breed in temper and physic.  Good luck and happy holidays

What is it about the temperament that worries you? If the mother was friendly and the pups seemed ok i shouldn't think you have much to worry about. Is it the temperament of the golden retriever breed as a qhole that concerns you? If so i can assure you that many goldens are GORGEOUS dogs! My retriever is absolutely lovely, so friendly towards everyone, a pleasure to train and a real softie. Within every breed you will get deviations, my border collie is very nervous but i know plenty of sociable, happy collies, i just happend to have a nervy one (love her anyway though.) The thing is a lot depends on how they are raised and it sounds as though you are going to be a great owner. Socialisation is the key to avoiding many problems, and i would definately reccomend training school. Goldens are lovely dogs, quite active as puppies and young adults but generally they have a heart of gold.
Go for it, you won't regret it. (Well actually you might when you are standing in the freezing cold and rain waiting for a pup to pee, cleaning up puddles, walking in the rain, suffering from lack of sleep from a noisy pup e.t.c. ;-)  )
Just kidding!

Ice Queen has made some very valid points.
Golden Retrievers, traditionaly were very good natured, placid dogs. Recently there have been some Horror Stories about them, and a less than predictable temprement.
My old Goldie is 14yr next week, and not a bad bone in her body. Providing the pup has been bred and raised well, there should be no problems. As Ice queen said, trust your instincts :)
It's better to say No, now rather than return it to the Breeder later, when everyone has become emotionally attached to the pup.

Hope everything works out well for you.

liberty :)