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"Knock-Out Factors" are things that cause a breeder to
cull a dog/puppy.
We cull our dogs/puppies (we define "cull" as remove from
ones breeding program by spaying/neutering) based on
evaluations at 8 weeks (give or take 3 days), 4 months,
12 months, & 24 months of age based on our "Knock-Out
Factors".
If a dog bred by us is still here after 24 months it has
made the cut for our breeding program.
Every breeder has different "Knock-Out Factors" based on
the goals of their individual breeding program.
**It should also be noted that these are knock-out
factors for puppies born into litters bred by us that we
keep for future breeding. **
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Our Knock-Out Factors at 8 weeks of age:
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1.) Health
-Hernias of any kind that do not resolve on their own.
2.) Temperament
-Overly Shy
3.) Conformation
-Over 8 1/2 inches tall
-Under 5 inches tall
-Dwarfism
-Short outer toes
-Kinked tail
4.) Hunt
- not able to properly judge at this age
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Our Knock-Out Factors at 4 months of age:
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1.) Health
-Hip Dysplasia: any puppy who receives an OFA preliminary
report of "Borderline, "Mild", "Moderate" or "Severe".
-Cherry eye that does not resolve on its own without
treatment.
-Overbite or Underbite that does not resolve on its own.
-Undescended testicles in males: we do not wish to breed from
males who testicles do not drop by 4 months of age.
2.) Temperament
-Overly Shy
-Overly Dominant/Aggressive
3.) Conformation
-Very small/short/high set ears
-Cow Hocked, Crooked Legs, Very open/flat feet
4.) Hunt
-not able to properly judge at this age
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Our Knock-Out Factors at 12 months of age:
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1.) Health
-Glaucoma
-Hip Dysplasia: any puppy who receives an OFA preliminary
report of "Borderline", "Mild", "Moderate", or "Severe".
-Demodex Mange that does not resolve on its own without
treatment
-Luxated Patellas: any puppy who does not receive a "normal"
rating.
-Allergy issues (skin, food, etc) requiring any treatment beyond
supplements/benadryl/diet change.
-Imperforate Lacrimal Punctum (Epiphoral): excessive/chronic
spilling of tears onto the face due to failure of the tear glands
to form normally (overactive tear glands).
-Heart & Vascular disorders
-Moderate to Severe Distichiasis
-Juvenile Cataracts
-Entropion
2.) Temperament
-Overly Shy
-Overly Dominant/Aggressive
3.) Conformation
-Over 15 inches tall at the withers (shoulders)
-Under 12 inches tall at the withers (shoulders)
-Very Straight, upright shoulders
4.) Hunt
- lack of willingness to hunt when given ample opportunity
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Our Knock-Out Factors at 24 months of age:
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1.) Health
-Epilepsy
-Glaucoma
-Hip Dysplasia: any puppy who receives an OFA permanent
report of "Borderline", "Mild", "Moderate", or "Severe". We also
do not plan to keep males who receive a rating of "Fair", so
that we may breed up in hip grades.
-Intervertebral Disc Disease
-Progressive Retinal Atrophy (causing blindness)
-Thyroid: any puppy who does not receive a rating of "normal".
Dogs with an "Equivocal" rating will be retested in 3-6 months.
-Allergy issues (skin, food, etc) requiring any treatment beyond
supplements/benadryl/diet change.
-Blindness
-Deafness
-MLS
-FVII
-PK
-Moderate to Severe Distichiasis
-Uterine Inertia (causing c-sections)
2.) Temperament
-Overly Shy/Nervous
-Overly Dominant/Aggressive
3.) Conformation
-Over 15 inches tall at the withers (shoulders)
4.) Hunt
- lack of willingness to hunt when given ample opportunity
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Our Feelings on Euthanasia:
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We do not believe in placing/selling/giving away dogs/puppies
with problems that would severely affect their quality of life or
cause a large financial burden on the new owner. Here is a list
of problems that we feel is in the best interest of the affected
dog/puppy to warrant the dog/puppy being humanly
euthanized to prevent pain/suffering:
Cleft Palate (birth)
Tumbling Puppy Syndrome (moderately to severely affected)
Epilepsy (unless from chemical exposure)
MLS (moderately to severely affected)
Severely Aggressive (unresponsive to training)
Severely Shy (unresponsive to socialization)
"Moderate" to "Severe" Hip Dysplasia
Luxated Patellas "Grade 3" & "Grade 4"
Deafness (birth to 9 weeks)
Blindness (birth to 9 weeks)
**Note, this is our opinion only as we wish to be objective with
our breeding program.**
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