Comments for Jalerran Siberian Huskies

Comment on Upcoming Shows by Dyellen

Dyellen — Sat, 01 May 2010 20:13:44 +0000

A huge congrats, Jess, on Neo.

Comment on Upcoming Shows by Jalerran

Jalerran — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 21:28:26 +0000

“Neo” – Jalerran’s Reloaded de Nariz de Nieve, co-owner Angel & Marta from Spain, won his first point at his first show today in WV with handler Tim Terella. “Trinity”, his sister, unfortunately did not get to make her debut, as she apparently didn’t want to get her head on straight, so we opted to hold off on getting her into the ring yet. But, with any luck, maybe as the weekend progresses, she’ll come around a lot better.

Comment on “Diesel” by Janet P

Janet P — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 14:05:37 +0000

I am very sorry for your loss.

Comment on “Diesel” by Jalerran

Jalerran — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 01:18:30 +0000

We had called him “Ponyboy” while he was here.

Comment on “Diesel” by Kevin S

Kevin S — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 13:40:55 +0000

So very sorry for your loss Kyle. Mara and I read this and just felt awful for you. Can’t even imagine…

Comment on Hip Dysplasia by Jalerran

Jalerran — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 21:54:18 +0000

Hi Dy,

The sad thing is that you can encounter this type of scenario even with careful breeding. In the past, I’ve bred cleared, good-quality, champion dogs and produced puppies who were later diagnosed with epilepsy… most certainly not intentional, nor was it done indescriminately.

I’ve not had much difficulty with the hips, knock on wood, but the one case that was produced many years ago had required surgery and the puppy in question got physical therapy at the vet (swimming).

I’ve seen all kinds of health issues in the breed over the years… ectopic ureter, diabetes insipidus, autoimmune disorders, low thyroid… just when I think I’ve seen it all, something new pops up.

Sounds like Anara is lucky to have you to help her through .

Take care,
Jess

Comment on Thoughts on Dog “Politics” & Health by Jalerran

Jalerran — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 21:28:08 +0000

Hey Dy,
I hear ya… I’ve imported dogs from Spain and South Africa, lol. My guess would be that folks who would give you a hard time for bringing your girl in from another state are not the ones you’d necessarily want to be friends with anyway. But, I know that doesn’t make going to the shows and encountering such folks any easier either.
In a recent discussion with a friend, we concluded that I was trying to over analyze why people act the way “we” all do in the dog world. I’d suggest it’s because after having that behavior modeled for so long, that’s what people think is the norm (even if we don’t act that way in the ‘real world’), lol. I also believe that nobody is perfect, and as a result, we are subject to the unrealistic expectations held by all those ‘mean’ folks out there just waiting to pounce. I would probably include your suggestion, as well, of pride being a factor strongly influencing the behaviors….
But, my friend – (who I am hoping will eventually sign on to this blog) insisted that it really just comes down to ethics. If you are working with somone who has good ethics, they’ll always have that. I guess the problem therein lies how long it takes to truly learn a person’s ethics. Sort of like the commercial – “Mr. Owl – how many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop?” …. and “The world may never know.”, LOL

The whole topic is very interesting to me – but very disheartening all at the same time.

Anyway, as for the data base, I am exploring some pilot programs that would encourage more breeders and pet owners to keep and provide data on their lines/dogs, etc. I think it’s got a long way to go, and probably won’t truly take-off in my lifetime, but at least it’s a start.

Thanks for discussing.

Jess

Comment on What defines reputable breeding? by Jalerran

Jalerran — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 21:11:21 +0000

Hi Dy,
Thanks for the response.

I think you make a good point about they types of things we’d like to see every breeder doing; however, some of them are not documentable. I think the majority of folks involved in dogs truly do love their dogs (maybe I’m being optimistic), but it’s not something you could very easily include in a checklist . I’ve visited some places where I could tell they really loved their dogs, but I didn’t necessarily agree with the manner in which they were maintained. Likewise, there have been people who didn’t agree with my methods either.

For example, here, we have lots of room to run, and the dogs are allowed to be dogs. As a result, we have a higher risk of one getting a nick on his/her face due to rough play or a dispute… we have a higher risk of accidental breedings… and they have to go to the groomer a lot more often than they would if I would keep them under lock-and-key.

On the other hand, I used to work with a breeder who thought that whole scenario was horrible. Her dogs NEVER got a nick, NEVER had an accidental breeding, and were always immaculately groomed. They also did a lot of crate time, and didn’t get out to run very often (especially if the weather wasn’t good).

Needless to say, we’d had a falling out, and we were immediately ‘bad guys’.

I’ve toured more than 40 kennels in the US and Canada. There are some folks with A LOT of dogs. I’ve seen some that were what I considered to be well cared for, and others that never left their runs. But, in both those cases, based on my outline below of some general criteria, those folks still weren’t technically ‘puppy mills’. But, I’ve heard them called that by others before because they had lots of litters.

So, you will have people that sling that ‘puppy mill’ word around all the time, simply because people do things differently than they would.

What I would like to eventually see is a clearer definition.

When I don’t have puppies available, I always refer people inquiring on to other “reputable breeders”… Our list of things we’d like to see for someone to be reputable are as follows:

a. Do something with the dogs other than just breed them (conformation, agility, obedience, therapy, field trials, sledding, weight pulls, etc.)

b. Health screenings on the parents (OFA/CERF or ACVO)

c. Written Health Guarantee – Less than 36 months is a waste of time because many health problems won’t show up until after two years of age.

d. Extensive screening procedures for buyers and spay/neuter requirements for pets. Anyone who is in a big hurry to sell you a dog and does not ask lots of questions is not reputable. And anyone who sells dogs for breeding purposes to “just anyone”? is not reputable.

e. Reputable breeders do not breed for coat or eye color.

But, even some of the folks I work closely with don’t ‘require’ spay/neuter and don’t give a written health guarantee. They do all the other stuff. I certainly wouldn’t call them a ‘puppy mill’ or not reputable as a result, though.

So, to me, there’s just a lot of room for interpretation, and subsequently, EVERYONE gets labeled at some point or another. It’s a shame.

Jess

Comment on What defines reputable breeding? by Dyellen

Dyellen — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 01:59:09 +0000

This is a VERY sensitive subject. People have so many different opinions on this matter. To me a, reputable breeder is someone who does the applicable heath clearance (OFA, CERF. . .), the dogs are all treated as part of the family (not just property), the breeder knows their limits regarding care, space and time for the dogs. I don’t believe that number of dogs, litters, accidental breedings and such matter, compared to the health, care and love of each and every dogs.

JMHO

Comment on Hip Dysplasia by Dyellen

Dyellen — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 01:50:40 +0000

Again our rescue girl Anara, not only suffers from seizures, but also has HD in her right hip and has double luxating patellas. She is the results of careless breeding. Anara gets 1000mg of Glucosamine daily. She is 4 years old and can run with the younger girls. You can barely tell that she has issues. She is not severe enough for surgery for her hip. If we see that any of them begin to cause her too much discomfort, then we will consider the surgery. But with all of her “other” issues, we take what we can get with her.