Profile on Willis Mc Parti

Hello,

Many people who visit here or check out our website will comment on the 'pretty brown and white' doodle who lives with us. I thought you might enjoy a commentary on Willis and why she is not part of our breeding program even though she is well tested.

Education of the public on breeding philosophies can be a dangerous subject to write about, because it is such a personal choice. There is no right or wrong - just 'selective options'.

With Willis, I was very excited as she continued to pass each and every test so very well. Her coat is fabulous - a perfect fleece coat with a lovely crimped wave; her colors were such a surprise and delight; her confirmation is very nice and the temperament on that dog could not be better. She is such a lovebug and grunts when you hug her. Training Willis was a joy with hardly any effort and there are very few dogs I could say is perfect on a leash, but she is.

What happened? A bit over a year old, I took her in for a routine heart check to get 'certified' - it was our last test before deciding on her breeding career. I about fell off the chair when my dear vet told me she had a 'heart murmur'. Normally, a heart murmur is not an issue on a puppy as the heart muscles continue to develop and most go away but not when they 'show up' at a year.

This lead me to visit a Canine Cardiologist. I went for three tests and it was finally confirmed as 'Metrial Valve Dysplasia'. This is a condition that allows the bottom ventricle to 'backwash' with blood (leak) and creates a thicker wall then normal. It stresses that portion of the heart muscle and typically results in a shorter life span. There is no cure and no operation is available. I made the heart rendering decision to spay my beautiful Willis and keep her as our dear pet for the rest of her life.

Willis, is by far, our most physical dog. She is fast as lightening, jumps 4 foot fences, fetches like an athlete and has incredible hunting instincts. She shows no symptoms of being at all incapacitated, which makes us all happy. However, she should not be bred as her condition COULD be passed onto her pups. No, not every pup would be affected but I could not in good conscience breed a dog KNOWING she has a condition.

There is no possible way that any breeder can guarantee that a pup of theirs will not develop a health issue. In my opinion, there is a huge difference in producing pups from a dog WITH a condition.